Norman Reforms of the Church (AQA GCSE History)

Timeline

Summary

Archbishop Lanfranc introduced widespread and far-reaching changes to the Church in England after he was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury in 1070. These changes affected the structure of the Church, the number and nature of Church buildings and the rules that its members had to follow. Perhaps his most important change was the introduction of the Church courts in 1076. This separated the legal authority of the church and the state. 

Church leadership in the Norman Church

• Once William’s place on the English Throne was secure, he set about reforming the English Church

  • The man he appointed to do this was Lanfranc who was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury in 1070

• The Archbishop of Canterbury was the most senior and important position in the English Church

  • Lanfranc replaced Stigand who was widely seen as being too interested in securing personal wealth and power instead of serving the pope

• Lanfranc’s appointment led to a power struggle with Thomas, the Archbishop of York

  • The Archbishop of York was the second most powerful position in the English Church

  • But Thomas had crowned William and believed this gave him primacy over LanFranc

• Lanfranc ordered Thomas to swear loyalty to him and Thomas refused

  • William ordered Thomas to submit to Lanfranc’s authority 

  • Thomas appealed to the pope but was forced to accept that Lanfranc was in charge

• Lanfranc then oversaw widespread reforms to the existing Anglo-Saxon structure of the English Church

• He replaced all of the Anglo-Saxon bishops except for Bishop Wulfstan of Worcester

  • Norman bishops were seen as being more likely to help Lanfranc make his changes

• Lanfranc also introduced a new hierarchy for the English Church

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Norman churches

• Alongside the organisational changes to the English Church, the Normans also made wide-sweeping changes to the physical church buildings

  • Anglo-Saxon Churches were often wooden and the Normans viewed the cathedrals as being old-fashioned and unimpressive

  • By the year 1200, Westminster Abbey was the only Anglo-Saxon cathedral that had not been demolished and rebuilt

• The churches and monasteries were rebuilt in a Romanesque architectural style

  • This includes features found on both Roman buildings and those found in Byzantium (modern-day Türkiye)

  • Features include rounded arches over doors and windows and being symmetrical in design

  • The spectacular cathedrals in Norwich, Ely, Winchester, Bury St. Edmunds and Durham were larger and more impressive than anything built in Anglo-Saxon England

  • The Normans believed building these cathedrals and churches demonstrated their superior culture and technology

• Cathedrals were also built in important towns, such as Exeter, close to large population centres and where they were most needed

Lanfranc’s reforms

• Alongside the changes to the Church structure and buildings, Lanfranc made other changes to the way the English Church ran

• He strictly enforced the rule that members of the clergy were not allowed to get married

  • Those who were already married were allowed to keep their wives

• He stamped out simony and nepotism which had been common in the Anglo-Saxon Church

• He introduced councils of bishops known as synods to help bring in his reforms effectively

• At the Council of Winchester in 1076, Lanfranc established the Church courts

  • This meant that members of the clergy could no longer be tried in the normal, secular courts

  • Instead, they were tried by the synods as Lanfranc argued that secular courts had no authority over churchmen

  • This caused great anger amongst the wider population as the synod’s punishments were seen as less harsh than the normal court’s

  • The Church courts also weakened William’s power but he supported Lanfranc in making the changes

  • Banned the clergy from marrying or having sexual relationships, and the Council of Winchester ordered that only Church courts could try clergy for crimes.