During the first third of the eleventh century there was a change in the social order in East Anglia. Patterns of power which had prevailed during the tenth century came to exercise a less dominant influence within communities and social groupings. There was not only a shift in the interests of the great dynasties who had formerly controlled comital offices, but there was also a transformation in the relationship between secular and ecclesiastical power, which acted as a catalyst for a wider series of changes. Taken with the evidence from the previous two chapters, there were three critical changes in the regional social order. First, the new alliance between the Crown and the reform abbeys did not reach out to include the court nobility; second, leading dynasties whose power had formerly been encompassed by Königsnähe increasingly looked towards more localized structures of power and lineage; and third, a gentry rank established a close relationship with the reform abbeys. Together these three developments changed the social order, setting up tensions between families whose power was focused upon the court and those dynasties who looked more towards local power structures. No less important was the way in which nobles of the gentry rank were able to articulate their power and status as part of their ties with the reform abbeys. Both of these changes can be compared to parallel developments in regions of continental Europe during the early eleventh century, when regional senses of identity and power were being more intensively forged, while a new social category of knights was carving out its position within the social order.

These issues will be discussed by looking at three separate themes in turn, comprising the alliance between King Cnut and Ramsey Abbey; the dealings of several Danish lords and one English lord with Ramsey and Ely abbeys; and the relationship between East Anglian abbeys and families of gentry status. These discussions will draw attention not only to the changes in these areas, but will also highlight the significance of their inter-connections.

The Reconfiguration of Ramsey Abbey's Identity

The battle of Assandun in 1016 is identified as a turning-point in both the narrative and memorial records preserved at Ramsey.