1066-1485
What effects did the Norman invasion have on the
way the English were governed?
2. What were the main features of feudalism? How did
this change the social structure of Anglo-Saxon
England?
3. What developments in the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries began to undermine the feudal system?
1.
— Battle of Hastings; William the Conqueror-Duke of
Normandy; William defeated the last Anglo-Saxon
King, Harold of England
— French became the language of the court in England
— William wished to govern the Anglo-Norman English;
not conquer them
— William and his barons combined the more
democratic Anglo-Saxon traditions with the new social
system of the Normans: feudalism
— Radically affected English history, language, and
culture
— William the Conqueror
— William’s cousin was the English king called Edward the
Confessor.
— Edward died childless earlier in 1066; Harold was
crowned the following day.
— Claiming that the throne was promised to him, William
crossed the English Channel to claim the throne.
— The Normans combined some of the more democratic
Anglo-Saxon practices (not democratic in the way we
think of today) with their own administrative abilities.
— The Normans stressed cultural unity.
— The Domesday Book: a complete inventory of all of
England’s property
— Taxes, for the first time, were based on what people
owned.
— William, and his successors, maintained their French
titles in addition to new English ones.
— William divided the property of fallen English
landowners between his own followers.
— Feudalism replaced the social structure we read about
in Beowulf.
— A social system, a caste system, a property system, and
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a military system.
Based on “religious” concept of rank; God was supreme
overlord.
Vassal-dependent tenant (even the king was a vassal to
God)
The king appointed barons and granted them land.
These barons then supported the king monetarily and
militarily. Barons were then allowed to appoint their
own barons.
Serfs were bound to the land and could not leave it.
— Because of so many disagreements, knights were
always riding into battle to serve their lord.
— Different lords were constantly fighting.
— A component of the feudal system, the system by
which the Lord of the Manor exploited the serfs or
tenants who worked his estate.
— Economic portion of feudalism
— People paid taxes to the lord of the manor who then
paid the King.
— Boys were trained from an early age to be soldiers for
their lord.
— Complex code for knighthood
— Swore loyalty to the feudal lord
— Women, even wealthy women, had little control over
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their own lives.
Marriages were arranged to benefit the families as a
whole.
Women could marry as early as 12 with parental
consent.
A dowry was awarded to the husband’s family.
Women answered to men their entire lives.
Most women died young (life expectancy was about
40) because of constant child bearing and
malnutrition.
— Women were seen as inherently sinful; this has a
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biblical origin.
Because of Eve’s original sin, many people viewed
women as an instrument of evil.
This was just a way for women to be treated as
subservient property…
Men were allowed to beat their wives physically.
Married women could own and maintain property in
the absence of their husbands.
— Chivalry: system of ideals and social codes governing
the behavior of knights and gentlewomen
— Knights had to adhere to certain rules of combat.
— The idea existed that a knight should adore a lady
because it made him more brave in battle.
— The knight could never act on his admiration; it was all
from afar so the lady could stay pure.
— Romance: a term applied to a verse narrative that
traces the adventures of a brave hero who has to
overcome danger for the love of a noble lady
— The Lord of the Rings is considered a modern romance.
— Romance is a term that can be applied to several
different literary devices and genres.
— As the population grew, people began to settle in
cities. This made the feudal system obsolete.
— There were three basic city classes: lower, middle, and
upper middle.
— There was an emerging merchant class.
— This new middle class was not bound to the land and
was able to fund new emerging art forms: ballads and
mystery/miracle plays.
— 1095-1270; a series of holy wars waged against Muslims
— Pope Urban II sent out a plea to Christians in Europe
stating that it was their Christian duty to take back
holy lands from Muslims.
— Ultimately the only thing that European Christians
gained was exposure to Middle Eastern mathematics,
architecture, and astronomy.
— http://www.history.com/topics/middleages/videos#the-crusades
— Thomas, a Norman, had risen to great power under his friend King Henry II
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(reigned 1154-1189).
All Christians were Catholic; this was before the Protestant Reformation.
King Henry was a vassal of the pope.
The pope controlled most all of the crowns of Europe.
Henry appointed Thomas to Archbishop of Canterbury (head of the Catholic
Church in England).
Thomas sided with the pope; this infuriated Henry.
Thomas a Becket was killed after Henry said “Will no one rid me of this
turbulent priest?”
Thomas’s martyrdom encouraged such outrage that it caused the crown to have
even less control over clergy members, leading to a great deal of corruption in
the church. Chaucer points this out in through his characters.
The Pope had no boundaries.
— “Great Charter”
— Signed by King John in 1215
— Limited the control the monarchs had over subjects
— War waged by England against France
— Based on weak claims to the throne of France by two
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English Kings (Edward III and Henry V)
Militarily unsuccessful for the English, but it did help
foster a sense of consciousness for Britain
Most importantly: the yeoman (small landowner) class
came into power-replacing the knight
The bows used by the yeoman class could penetrate
the knight’s armor
Chivalry faded; knighthood faded
— Bubonic plague
— Struck England from 1348-1349
— Spread from the fleas that infested infected rats
— Lowered population by a third-giving lower classes
more bargaining rights
— The workforce was cut (see above)
— http://www.history.com/topics/middleages/videos#coroners-report-plague
1.
Knight
2.
Squire
3.
Yeoman
4.
Prioress; another nun and three priests
5.
Monk
6.
Friar
7.
Merchant
8.
Clerk
9.
Sergeant of Law
10.
Franklin-
11.
Dyer haberdasher, weaver, carpenter, carpet maker
12.
Cook
13.
Shipman
14.
Doctor of Physic
15.
Wife of Bath
16.
Parson
17.
Manciple
18.
Miller
19.
Summoner
20.
Pardoner
21.
Reeve
22.
Plowman
23.
The Host
24.
The Narrator
— Chaucer- the father of English poetry
— Made the English language respectable
— Before Chaucer, serious poets did not write in English
— Chaucer was educated; was important enough to
receive ransom money from the king when captured in
France
— Government servant
— The tales completed by 1400
— There were supposed to be 116 tales (plus four from the
host); only 24 were finished
— Meet at the Tabard Inn in Southward near London
— 55 miles to Canterbury
— Three Estates
— First Estate: Those Who Prayed (Ecclesiastical
Characters)
— Second Estate: Those Who Fought (Nobility)
— Third Estate: Those Who Worked (Peasantry)