Re: Dear France
William inherited a very efficient English civil service
And gradually dismantled it because they, rather unsportingly, wanted a say in how the country was run. After all, under the Saxon system, free men were entitled to a say in how things were run.
Under the Normans, not so much.
(The English titles for Noble ranks are a real mixture: King (Saxon, Cynge), Duke (from Latin Dux, meaning "commander of two legions"), Earl (Saxon, Eorl meaning "Noble Warrior") etc etc.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
