Module 11: Medieval England

William the Conqueror- king of england from 1060-1087; he was a powerful french noble who conquered england and brought feudalism to england

Henry II- king of england in 1154-1189; married to Eleanor of Aquitaine, and father of Richard the Lion- hearted and John (Magna Carta)

Common Law- a unified body of law formed from rulings of England's royal judges that serves as the basis for law in many English- speaking countries today, including the united states

Magna Carta- "Great Charter" - a document guaranteeing basic political rights in England, drawn up nobles and approved by King John in AD 1215

Borough- a self-governing town

Parliament- a body of representatives that makes laws for a nation

Hugh Capet- King of France from 987-996; elected by Frankish nobles to succeed King Louis V, he founded the Capetian dynasty, which rule France for 300 Years

Philip II- First of the great Capetian kings, he regained French lands from the English and strengthened the central government of France

Estates- General- an assembly of representatives from all three of the estsates, or social classes, in France.

Avignon- a city in southeastern France that served as the seat of the papacy from 1309 to 1377

Great Schism- a division in the medieval Roman Catholic Church, during which rival popes were established in Avignon and in Rome

John Wycliffe- a prominent English philosopher, theologian, church reformer, and Bible translator

Jan Hus- a professor in Bohemia, taught that the authority of the Bible was higher than that of the pope

Great Famine- 1315-1317, a prolonged period of major crop failures that led to mass starvation in Northern Europe

Black Death- a deadly disease that spread across Asia and Europe in the mid- 14th century, killing millions of people

Bubonic plague- a highly infectious disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, primarily spread by fleas on rodents

Hundred Years' War- a conflict in which England and France battled on French soild on and off from 1337 to 1453

Joan of Arc- French soldier and national heroine; she rallied the French troops during the Hundred Year's War and was burned at the stake for heresy

Origins of England 

• For many years England was under the control of the Saxons who had taken it from Rome

• In 871 Alfred the Great ruled England

  • King of Wessex would rule the country

  • Each district in England was known as a shrine

  • The shrine was governed by a shrine-reeve

  • Term sheriff came about

• By 1013 the Danes had taken over England

  • As danish power faded the anglo-saxon nobles chose Edward the Confessor to be their king

  • Edward was part Anglo-Saxon and part Norman (from Normandy in France)

  • When he died a distant relative (William) claimed the throne of England

  • Not wanting a foreigner as their king the nobles chose Harold of Wessex as their King

• William of Normandy attacks England

  • William crosses the channel and attacks England with his Norman nobles

  • William the Conqueror defeats Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066

  • William of Normandy becomes William I of England

• Harold was killed with an arrow to his eye

  • With williams victory, each feudal lord in england had to take an oath of allegiance directly to william

  • All feudal lords were now vassals to the king

  • William wanted to collect taxes from everyone in the Kingdom

  • How would he know how much wealth each person had? The Doomsday Book

• Doomsday book

  • Determined population and wealth of everyone in the kingdom

  • Used information to set taxes that would be charged

  • Trying to avoid these taxes was like avoiding doomsday

• William was succeeded by his sons

  • William II (Rufus) became king in 1087

  • Henry became Henry I in 1100

  • Henry I ruled England from 1100- 1135 and made the government more efficient and strengthened the power of the king

  • He sent traveling judges all through the kingdom to try cases

  • He kept control of the legal system that way

• Henry I

  • Every free nab would serve in army

  • Those that didn’t had to pay a tax that the king would use for mercenaries

  • The Army would be loyal to him

• Henry II wanted to completely control everything

  • French lands that once belonged  to his grandfather William I was lost

  • He fought a series of wars to gain them back

  • Other issue was with the church

  • Church would not pay tax to aid in war against France

• Thomas Becket

  • Archbishop of Canterbury was the head churchman of England

  • He would not allow his priests to be tried by a King's royal court

  • All clergy would be tried by Church courts

• Archbishop dies

  • Using lay investiture Henry II appoints his close friend Thomas Becket to ne Archbishop

  • They became bitter enemies

  • Thomas Becket was murdered by the King's guards

• Richard I "the Lion-hearted" (1189-1199)

  • Son of Henry II

  • Not interested in everyday chores of ruling

  • He fought in the Crusades against the Muslims

  • Was popular with both Normans and Saxons

• 10 years as king - Richard spent 6 months in England

  • Richard ruled with the people not above them

  • While Richard was away his brother John ruled England

  • John was a mean incompetent ruler

  • He charged many taxes as he fought wars against France, was involved in the Crusades, and had to ransom Richard when he was kidnapped during the war

• John I (and the last)!!

  • When Richard died in Battle in 1199 John was named King

  • He lost most of the lands that Henry II had won for England in France

  • He was nicknamed "John Soft sword"

  • The nobles took advantage of his weakness and rebelled against him

  • In 1215 nobles forced John to sign the Magna Carta

• Magna Carta 1215

  • John was forced to sign the document or he would not receive any money for his wars

  • Nobles would grant John's wishes for more money if he guaranteed certain rights

• John promised:

  • Not to collect any new taxes without the permission of the great council

  • Not to take property without paying for it

  • Accused person must have a trial by a jury of peers

  • Major reason for importance of this document:

    • King was not above the law!

• Parliament 1265

  • The English Parliament developed during the time of Henry III in 1265

  • Mixed great council of nobles with middle class

  • Bicameral- two parts

  • House of Lords (nobles and clergy)

  • House of Commons (knights and other representatives- known as Burgesses)

• Parliament could not pass laws

  • But could refuse to consent to new taxes asked for by the crown

• Deals would be made

  • Parliament would trade taxes for more political power

Nationalism Grow in Europe 

1. Hundred Year's War- countries involved? England and France

   1. On and off for over 100 years- 1337-1453. The result was the France drove England out of their country (except for a small little piece of land in France). During the war there were developments in warfare. Longbow, cannon

2. Joan of Arc- French female hero of the 100 years war.

   1. She heard voices that she thought was the voice of God. Led the French in battle- siege of Orleans. She has become an inspiration to the troops.

   2. She was captured by the British. The British claimed that the voices that she heard was not God. It was the Devil.

   3. She was accused of witchcraft. She was burned at the stake for witchcraft in 1431. Since she was accused of witchcraft and executed her soul could never enter heaven. In 1920 the church retracted its statement of heresy against Joan of Arc and named her a Saint

3. In England, two families fought for control of England-

   1. Yorks- their symbol was a white rose.

   2. Lancasters- their symbol was a red rose

   3. The war between the two families was called the War of the Roses

   4. Henry Tudor- becomes the king of England in 1485. When Henry became king it ended the war because- he was related to both families. He becomes Henry VII- founder of the Tudor Dynasty.

4. Henry VII strengthened the power of the monarchy. He used the "Court of Star Chamber". It was a court in which his enemies would be charged with crimes and they always would be convicted in secret.

5. Problems continued between the pope and the kings of Christian countries

   1. The problem begins with the King of France and the Pope- King of France was Phillip IV (the Fair), and between the pope was Boniface VIII. The problem between the two of them was over taxes

   2. Phillip IV tried to have the pope kidnapped and force him to comply. Boniface VIII escapes but a month later he died. 

   3. In the process of picking a new pope would be the cardinals would meet and pick a new pope from among the cardinals. Using lay investiture (a lay person picks a religious position) Philip IV picks a new pope (a Frenchman- Clement V). 

   4. He then moved the papacy from Rome to Avignon in France. In history this becomes known as the Babylonian Captivity 1309-1377. 

   5. In the 500's BC the Jews had been enslaved and forced to live and work in Babylonia. They were captives- hence the term Babylonian Captivity- just like the Jews the papacy was held captive in France.

6. French pope decides to return to Rome (Gregory XI). Soon after his return to Rome he dies. 

   1. The college of Cardinals meet again and elect a new pope. They elect an Italian pope named Urban VI. 

   2. The French cardinals didn't like the fact that an Italian was elected pope. They elected their own pope (French). And the French pope (Clemet VIII) remained at Avignon in France. 

   3. They excommunicated each other. Historians call this the Great Schism (split)- 1378-1317.

7. The church realizes that they cannot continue with two popes. In fact, there was an earlier church council that tried to solve the problem- had appointed another pope- there were three popes

8. So in 1414 the church met at the Council of Constance. They got rid of the popes and elected a new pope Martin V

9. Criticism of the Church increased. The English author Chaucer wrote a book called "The Canterbury Tales" which criticized the church. The religious characters in the book showed their hypocrisy, greed, and worldly pursuits instead of spiritual devotion, thereby exposing the corruption within the institution.

10. Other Critical authors are John Wycliffe and Jan Huss

    1. John Wycliffe taught that the Bible was the supreme and sike authority of the Church. A person must read the Bible and interpret it for themselves .

    2. Jn Huss also taught that the Bible was the sole authority . The pope asked Jan Huss to explain his beliefs. Jan Huss refused because he felt threatened. The pope grants Huss "safe passage". Jan Huss goes to the Council of Constance and explained his beliefs. He was arrested and charged with heresy and burned at the stake

11. Inquisition in Spain: started by Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain. Spain forcing people to believe in the Church. People were arrested and tortured. 2000 men and women were executed from 1478-1490

12. Europe was affected by "The Black death" 1347. The Black Plague was the term for the bubonic plague which struck Europe killed 1/3 the population of Europe