The Rise of Monarchies

England, France, and Spain

England

After the Fall of Rome• England was invaded by the

Angles and the Saxons, who divided the island into seven kingdoms (known as Anglo-Saxon England)

• Each had their own laws and customs

• Later the Vikings invaded and conquered most of England

• Alfred the Great, one of the seven Anglo-Saxon kings, forced the Vikings out of much of England

• Alfred’s descendents ruled England for another 2 centuries UNTIL…

t is the year 1066. The King Edward the Confessor has died. He has left no heir. England faces a crisis there is no clear candidate for king.

Your Task.

You are a member of the Council called the Witan it is your job to chose a new king.

•An experienced leader

•A skilled warrior

•English

•A relative of the late king

Try to rank the 4 key qualities in order of importance.

arold Godwinson, Earl of Wessex, was the late king’s brother-in -law. Harold Claimed that he had been given the crown on Edward’s death bed.

He was an experienced warrior and had been Earl of Wessex for many years. But he was believed to have murdered Edward’s brother.

Illiam, Duke of Normandy (in France) claimed that Edward had promised him the crown of England when Edward died.

He also claimed that Harold Godwinson had sworn to support his claim to the throne. William said Harold had sworn on the bones of a saint to help William become the next king of England.

In 1016 England had a Viking king called King Cnut. King Cnut was also King of Norway and Denmark. King Cnuts’ family ruled England until 1042 when Edward the Confessor took the throne. King Cnut’s heirs said they were the real Kings of England.

Harald Hardraada was Cnut’s heir.

t the Age of 51, Harald Hardraada was the most renowned soldier of the Age.”

dgar Atheling was the son of Edward the Confessors’ brother. But when Edward died Edgar was only 14 years old.

If you chose Harold Godwinson well done! Give yourself 10/10. Harold was the Witan’s choice. He was English and an experienced soldier. He understood how England should be governed.

If you chose Harald give yourself 7/10. He was a great warrior and an experienced ruler. But to the English he was a foreigner and they didn’t want to be ruled by a foreigner.

If you chose William give yourself 7/10. He was an experienced ruler and a skilled warrior but like Harald Hardraada he was a foreigner.

If you chose Edgar give yourself 3/10. Although Edgar was a relative he was far too young to make a good king.

What Actually Happened

• The Council of Witan chose Harold Godwinson to become the next king

• William of Normandy got upset that he wasn’t chosen, so he built an army in France and sailed to England

• Harold gathered his own army and marched down to Hastings, where the two armies battled

The Battle of Hastings

• Both armies were roughly the same size, but William’s army had infantry, archers, and cavalry

• Harold’s army withstood William’s first attack because they were situated on a fortified hill, and the Normans had to retreat

• As they were retreating, Harold’s front line – with all of his strongest soldiers – ran after the Norman army

• William ordered his army to fight these soldiers

The Battle of Hastings (cont.)

• As they were retreating, Harold’s front line – with all of his strongest soldiers – ran after the Norman army

• William ordered his army to fight these soldiers, who were much more vulnerable now that they were off of the hill

• Harold’s army suffered huge losses

• William continued fighting, and his army eventually conquered Harold’s (Harold died in battle)

King William

• Became known as William the Conqueror

• Was a very strong king, unified all of England

• Created the first English tax system by collecting information about all English people– All info was put in the

Domesday Book• Blended English and

French cultures

France

Early France

• French kings controlled very little territory after Charlemagne died

• Much of the land was controlled by the king of England and other English nobles

• some nobles had more land and power than the king of France – they often ignored his orders

The Capetians

• Were initially very weak, but gained power over time

• Had over 300 years of unbroken succession

• Won support of the Catholic Church

• Gained territory by playing the nobles off of one another

• Built a strong and efficient government

Struggles with the Church

• Philip IV, a Capetian king, wanted to extend royal power and collect more taxes from the Catholic Church

• The pope got really upset at this and forbade Philip from issuing new taxes on the church

• Philip threatened to arrest any clergy who did not pay up

The Babylonian Captivity

• Philip IV then sent an army to capture the pope

• The pope escaped, but he was severely beaten and died soon afterward

• The next pope elected was French, and he moved the seat of the Catholic church from Rome to Avignon, a city in France

• The French monarchy now had control over religious rulers

Spain

Religious Struggles and the Reconquista

• Almost all of Spain was under Muslim control, known as the Moors by Christians in the region

• Small Christian kingdoms began expanding their territory, trying to drive the Moors out of Europe

• When a civil war broke out in Muslim Spain, the Christians began a series of attacks to claim the land, called the Reconquista

• Eventually the Spanish drove the Moors almost completely out of Spain

Spain After the Reconquista