What did the Normans ever do for us? [i.e., the British]

Medieval England was in thrall to the powerful, French-speaking elite installed by William the Conqueror from 1066. As land-owning lords, the Normans dominated politically and economically, building grandiose castles to symbolise their strength. So how did England preserve its emerging national identity despite this crushing new influence? National Identity Writers in England in the twelfth century displayed national prejudices with no sign of shame. For the mid-twelfth-century author of the Deeds of King Stephen, Scotland was …

…than those defined by lordship. Most notable amongst these were the counties or shires which the Normans inherited from the Anglo-Saxons. The long endurance of these, still important to the present day, contrasts with developments in many continental areas. In their self-interested preservation of the machinery of Anglo-Saxon government, the new Norman rulers did learn to be English, and in so doing helped to determine the future political and administrative development of their conquered lands.