The Medieval Period also known as “Middle Ages”

1066-1485

The Norman Conquest:•Battle of Hastings - 1066 A.D.•Harold, King of England was defeated by William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy (France)

• Systematic invasion, including inventory and seizure of property•Martial law was put into effect•Strong central government was set up with clearly defined lines of authority

•Reigned for twenty-one years; succession assured at his death•Invasion of England was to support his claim that he had been promised succession to the English throne•He was an efficient and ruthless soldier & a good administrator•With the help of his followers he was able to conquer the entire country•Slaughtered many A-S nobility & replaced them with Normans, accounting for clear historical break between A-S & Norman-dominated England.

William the Conqueror

The Normans:•Name derived from “Northman”•Mainly descended from Vikings who had seized and remained in northwestern France, which became known as Normandy•After more than 100 years in France, Normans adopted many French customs & had own variation of French language, Norman-French•Use of stone far exceeded that of English, but could not match A-S in learning or as artisans and craftsmen

The Normans: •Superb soldiers•Excellent administrators & lawyers•Great borrowers & adaptersThey Lacked:•Inventiveness•Original ideas•William subdued the whole land partly because he could adopt & use institutions of the highly centralized & stable A-S government.

Land and the Feudal System

Land and the Feudal System

•After the invasion, William retained much of the gained land. He then granted land to those who fought faithfully for him.•The year 1066 brought the largest change of land ownership in the history of England.

Land and the Feudal System

•William felt that the land was his by right of conquest and that he was free to deed land to his vassals by royal charter, expecting obedience and service in return.•In A-S period, king kept loyalty of his warriors by sharing spoils of war. In medieval period, land replaced plunder as commodity bonding king and lord to vassal.

Land and the Feudal System

•After the invasion, William retained much of the gained land. He then granted land to those who fought for him.

•He felt that the land was his by right of conquest and that he was free to deed land to his vassals by royal charter, expecting obedience and service in return.

This system was known as “Feudalism.”

Feudalism was

a complicated system of landholding

Land and the Feudal SystemNo one owned land independently but only

as a vassal of an overlord, who in turn owed

allegiance either to some great noble or the king.

Feudalism was:•An elaborate chain of

loyalties• A system of paying rent through military service to

overlords

Problems of Feudalism

The grants William gave were mainly the estates

of certain Anglo-Saxons who had died at the Conquest.

Land and the Feudal System

The boundaries of these estates were frequently vague, and the first 20 years of Norman rule saw many disputes about property.

Land and the Feudal System

Another problem: feudalism was like a “caste system.”

Land and the Feudal System

Another problem: There were disputes among landowners

Benefits of Feudalism

William writes a complete inventory of all property called the Domesday Book, the book of judgments.

Land and the Feudal System

This was an administrative feat without equal anyplace else in Europe.Taxes in England could now be based on real property.

The Medieval Church

•The single institution that did the most to promote unity,

(a common culture and a common set of beliefs),

was the Medieval Church.•Latin, the language of the Church,

became the language of all educated persons.

In the Middle Ages, no subject was studied as an end in itself,

But rather as a demonstration of God’s hand in the world.

Medieval Life

•Most people lived in the country & were attached to a

Feudal manor.•As period progressed, farming

was replaced by herding.

Medieval Life

•Sheep herding causes a proliferation of sheep in England – by end of 13th century, there were probably 18 million sheep in England.

•Cottages become small mills for spinning wool because many people became involved in the wool industry.

Medieval Life

•This allows the common people to be able to pay what they owe their overlords in wages rather than labor.•Shift from agrarian to pastoral economy forced many peasants into towns. •Labor shortage caused by Black Death temporarily improved peasants’ living conditions.

Medieval Life

•Some large towns and cities had grown up, mostly in the south of England and related to the court. London is an example.•Population shift into cities further eroded feudal system because these peasants were no longer tied to manor.

Wool production causes cities to build up in the north.

Medieval Life

These populous centers, far from the influence of the French court, developed forms of literature, songs and ballads, and a native drama with a good deal of color and pageantry. While songs and ballads had varied subjects, medieval drama was generally religious, depicting events related to Scripture.

A whole new class of merchants grew up.

Guilds: societies to regulate prices & standards

Guilds were one result of the rise of the middle classof industrious free men living in towns.

Guilds

Later, cottage workers form guilds to assure fair wages & prices & good standards of materials and workmanship.

Guilds ~ Encouraged an extended family life. Often, a master would have apprentices and journeymen living with him. Guilds were organized around various professions, and were also religious societies.

This is the period of the great English cathedrals, Winchester and Lincoln, Salisbury

and Durham.

Often these cathedrals took hundreds of years to complete.

These huge structures created a revolution in architecture

as designers wrestled with the difficulties associated with

size and complexity. More than houses of worship, cathedrals were

histories written in stone, stained glass & wood, telling Biblical stories, faith

made manifest.Much of the communal life of the city centered around these cathedrals.

The first English dramas were performed here.

Medieval Life ~ austere in many ways. •Travel was difficult•Food offered little variety, even for the rich• Winters brought a very limited & unwholesome diet

•Countryside, however, and towns were colorful & beautiful without

smoke of factories•Dress was bright and varied

English Law“When William the Conqueror had subdued the whole island, and by terrible examples had tamed the minds of the rebels, he decided to place the government of the people on a written basis and subject them to the rules of law.” ~Richard Fitzneal, 12th century English cleric

One of William’s innovations was to institute written public documents for most government actions.

English LawCommon law took root during this period. This refers to law that is common to the whole country and all its people, in contrast to kinds of law applying only to certain classes of people.

English Law

Law of primogeniture came into effect.

Primogeniture gave the firstborn son exclusive

right toinherit his father’s titles,

lands, and estates.

Ordeals

•During the early part of this period, matters of law were still settled by ordeals.•How people’s innocence or guilt was settled•Disputes between two people also settled by ordeals ~ ex: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight•Trial by ordeal often involved “tests” like walking on hot coals or swimming with hands chained behind one’s back.

In 1215, Pope Innocent III declared that the ordeal system was “irrational.”

•Gradually, in England, people who were indicted were asked to abide by the judgment of their neighbors. In this way, the JURY SYSTEM came into being.•In 1215, a group of angry barons forced King John to sign the MAGNA CARTA, or Great Charter.

MAGNA CARTA foreshadowed the right of trial by jury, habeas corpus, or the right not to be illegally detained.

Habeas corpus

Habeas corpus also foreshadowed the beginnings of

representative government in parliament.

The Crusades, Hundred Years’ War, and the Wars of the Roses

The Crusades 100 Years’ War Wars of the Roses

The Crusades, Hundred Years’ War, and the Wars of the Roses

The Crusades:•Most crusades begin originally to rescue Jerusalem from Turks, but ended in raiding, looting, and tangled politics•1095, 1191,1202,1217,1270

100 Years’ War: Wars of the Roses:

The Crusades, Hundred Years’ War, and the Wars of the Roses

The Crusades:•Christian Europe is exposed to Arabic culture

100 Years’ War: Wars of the Roses:

The Crusades, Hundred Years’ War, and the Wars of the Roses

The Crusades:•Encouraged chivalry

100 Years’ War: Wars of the Roses:

The Crusades, Hundred Years’ War, and the Wars of the Roses

The Crusades:•Most crusades begin originally to rescue Jerusalem from Turks, but ended in raiding, looting, and tangled politics•Christian Europe is exposed to Arabic culture•Encouraged chivalry

100 Years’ War:•(1357-1453) War between France and England due to England not wanting to relinquish French possessions

Wars of the Roses:

The Crusades, Hundred Years’ War, and the Wars of the Roses

The Crusades:

-(11-1200’s)Most crusades begin originally to rescue Jerusalem from Turks, but ended in raiding, looting, and tangled politics

-Christian Europe is exposed to Arabic culture

-Encouraged chivalry

100 Years’ War:•(1357-1453) War between France and England due to England not wanting to relinquish French possessions•Established the effectiveness of the English longbow, which greatly decreased fortitude of castles

Wars of the Roses:

The Crusades, Hundred Years’ War, and the Wars of the Roses

The Crusades:

-(11-1200’s)Most crusades begin originally to rescue Jerusalem from Turks, but ended in raiding, looting, and tangled politics

-Christian Europe is exposed to Arabic culture

-Encouraged chivalry

100 Years’ War:-(1357-1453) War between France and England due to England not wanting to relinquish French possessions-Established the effectiveness of the English longbow, which greatly decreased fortitude of castles

Wars of the Roses:•Black Death strikes and kills more than 1/3rd of the population

The Crusades, Hundred Years’ War, and the Wars of the Roses

The Crusades:•Most crusades begin originally to rescue Jerusalem from Turks, but ended in raiding, looting, and tangled politics•Christian Europe is exposed to Arabic culture•Encouraged chivalry

100 Years’ War:•(1357-1453) War between France and England due to England not wanting to relinquish French possessions•Established the effectiveness of the English longbow, which greatly decreased fortitude of castles

Wars of the Roses:•Black Death strikes and kills more than 1/3rd of the population•Responding to the scarcity of labor and oppressive laws and taxes, the peasants revolted, resulting in a civil war between the House of York and the House of Lancaster.

Medieval Literature

The Romance

Consisted of tales of chivalry to which were added a love interest,

and all sorts of wonders and marvels —

fairy enchantments, giants, dragons, wizards, and sorceresses.

The medieval concept of romantic love came from France.

Romantic tales came from three principal sources:

Britain (King Arthur and his Knights)France (the court of Charlemagne)

Rome (stories such as the conquest of troy)

The stories of King Arthur and his court are based in Celtic tradition and have almost no historical basis.

The finest verse romance in English, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, is about one of the knights at Arthur’s court.

Geoffrey Chaucer (1340? – 1400)

Chaucer is the first truly great figure in English literature.

Chaucer wrote in Middle English.

Chaucer was a fine poet and storyteller, as well as a noted humorist.

His best known work is The Canterbury Tales, his unfinished

masterpieceabout pilgrims on their way to

see the shrine of St. Thomas a Becket in Canterbury.

This frame story serves as a social commentary on the types of people who were common in Medieval English society.

Folk Poetry and the Drama

Ballads were a common form of poetry that were sung and recited at firesides and gatherings.

Folk Poetry and the Drama

English and Scottish ballads came to influence the entire romantic movement, with most of them belonging to the later Middle Ages.

The subject matter of the folk ballads stemmed from the everyday life of the common folk. Device commonly used was the refrain. Sometimes incremental repetition is used: repetition of a previous line or lines but with a slight variation each time, which advances the story stanza by stanza.

Popular drama had its origins in the Middle Ages,

with the tradition of miracle plays -rough dramatizations of Biblical

stories. Religion was uniting force in almost

every aspect of life in the Middle Ages.