Norman Influence

The Normans’ where a group of people well known to this day the Viking also known as Northmen and Norseman. They where skilled sailors and navigators and colonized Greenland and Iceland. In addition they participated in trade and commerce as a Arabic countries and came to be known as “rus”, which happens to be how Russia obtained its name. However, the biggest contribution came after the Battle of Hasting, were William the Conqueror after defeating the King of England changed history. In particular, Williams conquest lead to a new age of architecture that spanned some 500 years with the building of stone castles. Initially, motte and bailey castles where built quickly because it was composed of primarily wooden and earthen materials which provided

Since, the Norman invaders wanted to keep there conquest and continue their advances the building of stone castles allowed them to maintain and subjugate their citizens. Consequently, the erecting of these stone castles lead to feudalism which included lords, nobleman, military class and serfs (slaves). Typically, individuals where born into a caste and were subject to the norms and requirements of their position. For instance, the serf was bound in slavery to work on his lords estate for his lifetime giving 1/3 of his gross earnings from agriculture in exchange for security and protection. However, the life of the serf whether male or female was one of hard manual labor. Furthermore, the stone castle lead to the building of massive and impressive churches which beckoned many pilgrims to view their relics. The symbolism within these structures included huge doors indicating the gravity of salvation, with towers to the heavens and corridors for the divine. These structures lead to an influx of revenue from pilgrims who traveled great distances to view and take in the essences of these “holy places” much like it still does