Normans practised apartheid on English
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A NEW STUDY of the Domesday Book has found life in England after the Norman Conquest was a "medieval version of apartheid", with the English living as second-class citizens in their own land.
The divide between the 1.5 million Anglo-Saxons and the 20,000 Normans was even greater than historians previously thought, according to an eight-year research project by an Oxford medievalist, Dr Katharine Keats- Rohan.
Her detailed genealogical analyses of the 11th century Domesday Book and 12th century manuscripts have revealed that in the 100 years following the Norman conquest there was virtually no inter-marriage between the Norman aristocracy and the English. In the top 10 Norman families, there was no inter-marriage at all for several centuries. Among a further 2,000 Norman families, the inter-marriage rate was less than 5 per cent for at least four generations.
"Most historians have assumed there was substantial intermarriage between the Normans and the English. My research has revealed that this was definitely not the case," said Dr Keats-Rohan. "I believe it shows the Normans considered themselves to be socially and ethnically elite. It was socially unacceptable to mix with the English. In terms of ethnic superiority and social separation, it was a medieval forerunner of apartheid."
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments