1066 – 1485 A.D.

William, Duke of Normandy: close cousin of Edward the Confessor, King of England 1066: Edward dies and Saxon witans (council of elders)

elects Harold II as King of England

William, Duke of Normandy, claims the throne was promised to him – leads Norman and French troops across English Channel

Battle of Hastings: William vs. King Harold II – Harold is killed

William defeats resistance in London

Christmas day: William “the Conqueror” took the throne as King William I

Feudalism Social system that existed in Europe during the Middle Ages

People worked and fought for nobles who gave them protection and use of land in return

Homage: a formal ceremony in which the Lord (or King) gave land to a Vassal, and the Vassal declared himself at the service of the Lord Vassal pledged faithfulness through the Christian vow of

fealty: the obligation or engagement to be faithful to a lord

All land belonged to the King. He kept some for personal use

Some land was given to the church

The rest of the land was given to supporters. These supporters received noble titles –

usually Barons. These patches of land were

called fiefs. Nobles were vassals of the King and owed him fees and taxes.Nobles also provided

Knights for the king. Knights received a smaller parcel of land

known as a manor.

Peasants who worked on manors were called

serfs.

Normans substituted language of law and business with their dialect of French Thousands of French words entered the English language

ANIMALS ARMOURY CLASS JOBS CLOTHES SOCIETY

CowBeefHenPorkSheepOxVeal

ArrowBowBattleCastleTowerShieldSpearWarArmy

QueenKingSovereignDukeBaronKnightEarlCountSerfServant

WeaverBankerTailorShepherdCarpenterBakerMasonDraper

CoatHatStockingsBlouseJacketShoesSocksBonnetTrousersCollar

TaxCropRentPropertyParliamentStatePloughLeaseReap

King Henry II1154: Norman rule ended when Henry

Platagenet became King Henry II.

Conflict with the Church• Church was very powerful

• Henry II placed Thomas Becket as the Archbishop of

Canterbury• Much to Henry’s surprise, Becket defied him and

sided with the Pope• 1170: Henry’s knights, misunderstanding the King’s

anger, murdered Becket

King Richard IMilitary king who was away on costly campaigns

most of the time. Left England in huge debt.

King JohnIntroduced new taxes to fix the debt, upsetting the Barons and almost leading to civil war. To

avoid civil war, Magna Carta was written.

Magna Carta: King promised not to tax land without first meeting with the Barons.First limits placed on the monarchy.

Henry IIIUnder his rule, the Great Council of Barons

becomes known as the Parliament

Edward IFirst king to summon a Parliament elected

partially by free men (nobles and plain townspeople)

Crusades in 12th and 13th centuries encouraged trade with the Middle East

Trade centers developed, the largest of which was London

Townspeople formed guilds Merchant guilds: promoted business in town

Craft guilds: protect interest of workers

Wealth no longer restricted to landowners

People lived closer together in unsanitary conditions 1348 – 1349: Black Death killed 1/3rd population

Feudal system declined as towns grew

Black Death = labor shortage, increasing the value of peasants’ work

1381: Peasant Revolt in southern England Demanded end of serfdom

Revolt was crushed

John Wycliffe (1320 – 1384) opposed direction of the Church and the clergy Oversaw the translation of the Bible into English

King Henry VI suffered the first of many bouts of madness Parliament appointed his cousin, Richard of York, as the temporary head

of government When Henry recovered, Richard was forced out of office. He started a

civil war known as the War of the Roses in 1453. York: white rose Lancaster: red rose

1461: Yorks won and put Richard’s son, Edward IV, on the throne, where he remained until his death in 1483

After his death, his son Edward V (still a boy) was put on the throne. Shortly after, he died alongside his brother in the Tower of London while under the protection of his uncle, Richard of Gloucester.

Richard of Gloucester declared himself King Richard III. Two years later, Henry Tudor, distant cousin of the Lancastrian Kings, led

a rebellion against King Richard III. He took the throne and became King Henry VII, married Richard’s niece, and united the Yorks and Lancastersunder a new royal line: House of Tudor.

This signaled the end of the Medieval Period

Chivalry: the medieval system, principles, and customs of knighthood; the qualities idealized by knighthood, such as bravery, courtesy, honor, and gallantry toward women

Originally, chivalry focused on loyalty and valor on and off the battlefield.

By the 13th century, it grew – every knight was to pledge service to a lady, joust for that lady’s favor, and rescue maidens in distress

Troubadour: writer and performer of songs and poetry of the middle ages Spread this idea of chivalry with their songs about

chivalrous knights

Celts told stories of the great hero, King Arthur

Was King Arthur real or fictional? We do not know for sure. We consider stories about him legends – facts and fiction mixed together.

Around 1136, Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote History of the King of Britain, a mix of Celtic legends and the writings of Venerable Bede. The idea of King Arthur spread throughout England and France.

Arthurian Knights of the Round Table depicted chivalry.

Inspired Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the 14th century narrative poem

Arthurian romance reached its height with La Morte d’Arthur (The Death of Arthur), a 15th century prose work by Sir Thomas Malory. It holds the greatest collection of Arthurian legend and was printed in 21 volumes.

During the Norman Conquest, learning came to a halt

After, there was a rebirth of learning and literature

Religious communities at Oxford drew scholars. This led to the first English college – Oxford University. Cambridge University soon followed.

Language: Latin: language of the Church and Universities Middle English: language of the people. Literature in Latin began to fade as literature in Middle English grew

in popularity

John Wycliffe translated the bible in Middle English. More people learned to read as a result.

Johann Gutenberg (1454) created the Gutenberg Press

Geoffrey Chaucer Ranks second only to Shakespeare as

England’s greatest writer

Wrote The Canterbury Tales Poetic tales provide a detailed portrait

of life in the later Middle Ages

Lyrics Lyres were greatly popular

Poets often played lyres while reciting their lyrics

Ballads Folk song that told a story (narrative poem)

Story of Robin Hood first told as a ballad

Church sponsored plays to be performed as part of religious services

Mystery Plays (also known as Miracle Plays): retold stories of the Bible and presented lives of Saints

Morality Plays: plays with the single purpose of dramatizing between the power of good and evil for control of one’s soul