Abstract
This chapter presents a brief overview of Englishness and of ethnic interaction before the Norman conquest of 1066 to understand the fate of that identity and the nature of relations between English and Normans after the conquest. A key factor in the survival of Englishness after 1066 is the strength of that identity before. The various factors that upheld English identity in the Anglo-Saxon period are examined to explain its strength and reveal both change and continuity in that identity in the generations following 1066. This chapter also discusses how the English dealt with important pre-conquest minorities and their interaction with the Normans.