The Anglo-Normans were mainly the sons, grandsons, etc. of the Normans living in England. Most of the Normans came to England at the time of the Norman conquest in 1066. A few Normans had settled in England prior to the conquest. After the conquest the Normans, although few in number, controlled most of England. They often married English wives and their children became Anglo-Norman as a result of being of two cultures.
It was during the reign of Henry I of England the term Anglo-Norman was first used in the Hyde Chronicle. The term Anglo-Norman kingdom is first applied to the reign of William the Conqueror. He was the first to bring both England and Normandy under one ruler.
References[change | change source]
- Edward A. Freeman, The History of the Norman Conquest of England, Vol I (Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1877), p. 2
- C. Warren Hollister, Henry I (New Haven; London, Yale University Press, 2003), p. 15
- David C. Douglas, William the Conqueror; The Norman Impact upon England (Berkeley; Los Angeles, University of California Press, 1964), p. 263