Norman yoke

Normans (top) and Anglo-Saxons (bottom), as illustrated in Geschichte des Kostüms (1905) by Adolf Rosenberg and Eduard Heyck

The Norman yoke is a term denoting the oppressive aspects of feudalism in England, attributed to the impositions of William the Conqueror, the first Norman king of England, his retainers and their descendants. The term was used in English nationalist and democratic discourse from the mid-17th century.