But this was not just a matter of a new king. Norman lords brought with them their household knights, clerks, artisans, and even peasant followers. French became the language of the court, law, and aristocracy. Norman abbeys and priories were staffed by monks from Normandy and other parts of France.
Over the next century, a new Anglo-Norman elite developed, fusing with the existing Anglo-Saxon landholders where they could, replacing them where they could not. Castles sprang up across the land, staffed by Norman castellans and garrisons. Even village names began to shift under French influence.
This migration was not a brief episode but a sustained movement. Throughout the 12th century, lords from Anjou, Brittany, Maine, and Poitou also came to settle in England as England itself was often ruled by kings who were also dukes or counts on the continent. Thus, the ruling class of England was very much an international Francophone elite.
Jewish communities: invited migrants and later persecution
One of the most notable groups of medieval migrants were the Jews, first invited to England by William the Conqueror, who, like many medieval rulers, recognized their value in stimulating economic life. By the late 11th century, Jewish communities were established in London, York, Lincoln, Norwich, and many other towns.
Jews came primarily as moneylenders, as Christians were forbidden by the Church to lend at interest. They also became vital for royal finances, paying heavy taxes and tallages directly to the crown. Jewish scholars, physicians, and traders enriched urban life, bringing connections to wider European Jewish communities.
However, the history of Jews in medieval England is also a tragic story. They faced periodic hostility, fueled by religious prejudice and resentment of debts. Notorious massacres occurred — such as at York in 1190, when a mob besieged Jews in Clifford’s Tower and many committed suicide rather than submit to forced baptism. Anti-Jewish legislation tightened in the 13th century, culminating in Edward I’s Edict of Expulsion in 1290, forcing all Jews to leave England. It was not until the 17th century that Jews were officially allowed to return shutdown123