Sussex in the High Middle Ages includes the history of Sussex from the Norman Conquest in 1066 until the death of John, King of England, considered by some to be the last of the Angevin kings of England, in 1216. It was during the Norman period that Sussex achieved its greatest importance in comparison with other English counties.[1] Throughout the High Middle Ages, Sussex was on the main route between England and Normandy, and the lands of the Anglo-Norman nobility in what is now western France. The growth in Sussex's population, the importance of its ports and the increased colonisation of the Weald were all part of changes as significant to Sussex as those brought by the neolithic period, by the Romans and the Saxons.[1] Sussex also experienced the most radical and thorough reorganisation of land in England, as the Normans divided the county into five (later six) tracts of lands called rapes. Although Sussex may have been divided into rapes earlier in its history,[2] under the Normans they were clearly administrative and fiscal units.[3] Before the Norman Conquest Sussex had the greatest concentration of lands belonging to the family of Earl Godwin. To protect against rebellion or invasion, the scattered Saxon estates in Sussex were consolidated into the rapes as part of William the Conqueror's 'Channel march'.[4][5]
- ^ a b Armstrong 1974, p. 43
- ^ Hudson, T P, ed. (1980). "A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 6 Part 1, Bramber Rape (Southern Part) - Bramber Rape". British History Online. pp. 1–7.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Hullwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Brandon 2006, p. 83
- ^ Golding 2013, p. 65