How powerful were sheriffs? Thursday 20 th November Do Now: How are medieval sheriffs portrayed in popular culture? Why? What is this based on?

Objectives Understand the role of the sheriff in English law Evaluate their importance and influence

Read Purser’s section on sheriffs (p59). Also the case studies on William Malet and Picot. a)What did sheriffs do? b)What sort of man did William appoint as sheriff? c)What made sheriffs more powerful under the Normans? d)How useful was the institution of sheriff to William as king?

Explain why William I used sheriffs in English local government. 12 marks Levels Mark Scheme Nothing written worthy of credit. 0 L1: Answers will contain either some descriptive material which is only loosely linked to the focus of the question or some explicit comment with little, if any, appropriate support. Answers are likely to be generalised and assertive. The response will be limited in development and skills of written communication will be weak. 1-2 L2: Answers will demonstrate some knowledge and understanding of the demands of the question. They will either be almost entirely descriptive with few explicit links to the question or they will provide some explanations backed by evidence that is limited in range and/or depth. Answers will be coherent but weakly expressed and/or poorly structured. 3-6 L3: Answers will demonstrate good understanding of the demands of the question providing relevant explanations backed by appropriately selected information, although this may not be full or comprehensive. Answers will, for the most part, be clearly expressed and show some organisation in the presentation of material. 7-9 L4: Answers will be well-focused, identifying a range of specific explanations, backed by precise evidence and demonstrating good understanding of the connections and links between events/issues. Answers will, for the most part, be well-written and organised

Explain why William I used sheriffs in English local government. 12 marks William used sheriffs in English local government for two principle reasons. One was for their practical day-to-day enactment of royal will and the other was to increase royal power relative to the rest of the nobility. The duties of the sheriff had remained largely unchanged from Saxon times. They executed the king’s will within their jurisdiction: running royal lands, collecting taxes and overseeing justice. William was keen for sheriffs to survive and continue in this role and appointed men he knew he could trust to this powerful office. He was keen to appoint men liable to exploit their areas to the fullest – such as Picod of Cambridgeshire who was remembered as a ‘prowling wolf’ by contemporary monks. This reveals William’s desire to use sheriffs as a way of exploiting his new conquest. Sheriffs gave William a very useful direct tool to extract wealth from the shires and also gave him a direct connection to the local legal system of the shire court. Through the sheriffs, William could ensure the enactment of royal will across the polity. The second main use William had for sheriffs was as a counterpoint to noble power. Whilst William had reduced the size of earldoms when granting land to his followers, he did not similarly reduce the jurisdiction of sheriffs. This meant that the power of sheriffs increased substantially after the conquest. As the title of sheriff was in the hands of the crown and was not hereditary, this gave William an excellent tool to balance vassals who ran the risk of challenging royal power. Sheriffs could be used to curtail the ambitions of nobles to ensure there could be no repeat of the situation between Edward and Godwin. To conclude, sheriffs offered William an opportunity to extend his authority into the heart of every earldom, to balance the power of his nobles and granted him an additional form of patronage that he could use to further his aims.