Norman Conquest Encyclopedia

When the Normans prevailed over the English at Hastings and became rulers of the land, considerable legal, social and religious reforms took place. The church was soon under the control of Lanfranc of Bec, former teacher of Pope Alexander II and friend of William I. He reformed and encouraged monasticism in England, promulgating his manual of ritual devotions known as Consuetudines , a word derived from the Latin consuetudinaris.

See also: Church; Hastings; Lanfranc of Bec; Normans; Pope Alexander II; William I