Anglo Saxon Landscapes During the Norman Conquest

The arrival of the Normans in the later half of the eleventh century greatly altered The Anglo-Saxon ways of living. The skill of the Normans surpassed the Anglo-Saxons' in architecture and agriculture at the time of the conquest. But before focusing on home-life or having the occasion to think about domestic architecture or decoration, the Normans had to subjugate an entire society. Most often designed upon windy peaks, castles were straightforward constructs that permitted their occupants to spend time and space to offensive and defensive schemes, while monasteries were rambling stone buildings commonly placed in only the most fecund, broad valleys. Gardening, a placid occupation, was impracticable in these unproductive fortifications. The best specimen of the early Anglo-Norman style of architecture existent presently is Berkeley Castle. The keep is said to date from William the Conqueror's time period. A significant terrace serves as a discouraging factor address to intruders who would try to mine the walls of the building. On one of these parapets is a scenic bowling green covered in grass and surrounded by an aged hedge of yew that has been designed into coarse battlements.