Normans, Non-Normans, Nobles and New Men: Social elitism in the Period 1066 to 1135

Summary

When Henry I seized the English throne after the death of his elder brother William Rufos in 1100 he was heir to little more than the problems attendant upon the terms of William the Conqueror's will. The Conqueror had left Normandy to his eldest surviving son Robert Curthose and England to William Rufus, while the youngest son Henry received a large sum of money. The question of the legitimate succession to William the Conqueror was one that dominated most of Henry's reign. William's deathbed decision doubtless stemmed simply from his most recent assessment of his sons’ capabilities. It was probably not a discourse on the distinction between inherited and acquired possessions, but an invitation to his sons of the ‘let the best man win’ variety, since they or their heirs were bound sooner or later to fight each other for the whole of his possessions. Such a situation was inevitable because William had governed Normandy in association with a number of wealthy and powerful men to whom he was related. These same men later became the wealthiest landholders in England. As the Norman duke's relatives they were his natural supporters, but if the duke was not also king of England, they stood to lose their vast wealth in England. They were therefore as likely as were his sons to challenge William's will, as the brief civil wars faced by both Rufos and Henry upon their accessions showed.

Discussion of Henry I's reign usually revolves around three main themes: his Norman wars, his promotion of the so-called new men, and the succession. It has often been emphasized that for England the reign of Henry I was a time of peace. Even on the Continent Henry preferred to avoid conflict where possible, buying support here or making a marriage alliance there. He sought only to defend the borders of his father's territories, not to increase them. The work of the late Warren Hollister elucidated Henry's relationship with many of his most important barons, and emphasized the importance of seeing the reign in an international context. The question of Henry I's new men was discussed in Judith Greeen's admirable study The Government of England Under Henry I. She pointed out that the newness of Henry's men consisted in the fact that they owed their wealth and influence not to to birth or to military service, the traditional means of advancement, but to dedicated careers in the king's administration.