The English kings are, of course, Catholic, but they are not above struggles with Rome over who controls the Church in England, a struggle that has still to be played out to a conclusion. The English ambition to gain land and power at the expense of France is another issue in the two nations' intertwined histories. This status is ignored by English Kings as a matter of course, but is a bone of contention with France. There are also political considerations: thanks to ancient oaths of fealty, the English King is nominally a vassal of the French King. The kingdom is sprawling and not always easy to defend at every point. This basic position on both a defensible island and on the continent brings opportunities and problems for an English King. The King's holdings in France, it has to be said, are far more valuable than his English provinces. England is only one part of a larger, Norman domain but is increasingly wealthy due to the wool trade.
The King, his courtiers and the great lords are all French-speaking Normans, and most hold lands on both sides of the English Channel. The Early Period: By 1087 England is, for the most part, firmly in the control of its Norman overlords.
