In January 1066 King Edward the Confessor died without an heir. Three claimants disputed the throne: Harold Godwinson (crowned the next day), Harald Hardrada of Norway, and William, Duke of Normandy. Harold defeated Hardrada at Stamford Bridge in September, then marched south to face William at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066. Harold was killed and William was crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day.
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The Norman conquest brought a French-speaking aristocracy, a new system of land tenure (feudalism), the great Domesday Book survey of 1086, and the construction of stone castles across England and Wales. The Bayeux Tapestry, embroidered shortly afterwards, tells the story in pictures and is still on display in Normandy.
The exam often asks the date of the Norman Conquest (1066), the battle William won (Hastings) and the survey he commissioned (the Domesday Book of 1086).
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