Question

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1. How did William the Conqueror become king of England?
2. where did the Normans come from?
3. How did the Norman Conquest transform England?
4. What was the Magna Carta?
5. How did the Magna Carta limit royal power?

Answer 1

1. He invaded England to press his claim to the throne as the Duke of Normandy when the previous one died. After the Normans, under his leadership, won victory at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, he pressed on to London and took the city where he was crowned king.
2. The Normans came from the Duchy of Normandy in what is now known today as parts of northern France. All that is left of the Duchy today are the Channel Islands.
3. Native rulers were purged from offices and largely replaced by Normans. Anglo-Norman was used as the language of the ruling classes. The Normans inherited the previous system of government and centralized it. But perhaps the greatest legacy of the Conquest was that language changed as Old English assimilated French words, eventually transforming into Middle English centuries later - the language of poets such as Geoffrey Chaucer.
4. The Magna Carta features prominently in the history of democracy as an attempt to limit the power of the King of England, declaring that the monarchy was not above the law and could not simply abuse their power over their subjects at will. Punishment would be meted out by due process of the law, not simply by the king's say. English Common Law would eventually evolve from what the Magna Carta had begun.
5. It severely limited royal power by subjecting the king to the judgement of his peers, such as the barons, from which a committee was formed by the Charter that could seize his possessions at any time should they deem it necessary. It also affirmed certain freedoms, such as acknowledging due process in the law for all.