were there more surfs in 1057 England (before the norman conquest) or 1117 England (after the norman conquest)? which ruling class treated smallholders better?

by grapp
cazador5

I can't answer right now but I highly recommend you read Frank Barlow's The Feudal Kingdom of England, 1042-1214 He talks a lot about the changes that occurred during the time period you are discussing. Also your question concerns only 60 years of time - I would venture to say that changes that we or even the people at the time would be able to perceive might not have existed. But I do know that there were some institutions and social structures that were changed fairly rapidly, so perhaps I'm wrong.