Surnames came in with the Normans. Previous to the Conquest, Englishmen had but one name; and when, for convenience, another was needed, they were called by their occupation or from some personal peculiarity, as Edward the Carpenter, Harold the Dauntless. Among the Normans the lack of a second, or family, name had come to be looked upon as a sign of low birth, and the daughter of a great lord (Fitz-Haman) refused to marry a nobleman who had but one, saying, "My father and my grandfather had each two names, and it were a great shame to me to take a husband who has less."
The principal amusements were hunting, and hawking (catching birds and other small game by the use of trained hawks).
The Church introduced theatrical plays, written and acted by the monks. These represented scenes in Scripture history, and, later, the careers of the Vices and the Virtues were personified.
Jousts and tournaments, or mock combats between knights, were not encouraged by William I, or his immediate successors, but became common in the period following the Norman Kings. On some occasions they were fought in earnest, and resulted in the death of one, or more, of the combatants.
SIXTH PERIOD[1]
"Man bears within him certain ideas of order, of justice, of reason, with a constant desire to bring them into play…; for this he labors unceasingly."—Guizot, "History of Civilization."
THE ANGEVINS, OR PLANTAGENETS, 1154-1399
THE BARONS VERSUS THE CROWN
Consolidation of Norman and Saxon Interests—Rise of the New English
Nation
Henry II, 1154-1189
Richard I, 1189-1199
John, 1199-1216
Henry III, 1216-1272
Edward I, 1272-1307
Edward II, 1307-1327
Edward III, 1327-1377
Richard II, 1377-1399