Lecture 04 an outline of medieval british history

4.1 The formative centuries, 1066 – 1500s.

4.1.1 The Norman Conquest began the new era in the history of GB, the era of feudalism. On October 14, 1066 the decisive battle between the Anglo-Saxons and the invading Normans took place at Hastings. Though the Anglo-Saxon army fought bravely it was defeated and King Harold was killed. Thus, 1066 is the official date of the establishment of the Norman rule over England. December 25, 1066 is the date of William the Conqueror’s coronation. This conquest opens up the period of final establishment of feudalism in England. 20 years after the conquest in 1086 William ordered a record, or register of all land-holdings to be made. The Saxons called the register the Doomsday Book.

4.1.2 The Norman invaders brought their language with them too. They spoke a Norman dialect of French and it became the tongue of the court circles, administration, and the official language of the state. Latin was the language of the church, law and learning. The wealthy Anglo-Saxons copied their superiors and also learned to speak French. However, the common people, the peasantry and the inhabitants of towns, continued to speak Anglo-Saxon.

4.1.3 In the 12^th century a new dynasty was established when Henry II (1154-89) became king of England. He came from France and he was called Henry Plantagenet. To his new English possessions he soon added some Scotch territory, established his lordship over Wales and made “conquests” in Ireland. He removed most of the old sheriffs and replaced them by appointees of his own who were better tax collectors. Henry II was succeeded by Richard the Lionhearted, who loved adventure and conflict and typified the chivalry of the time. On Richard’s death John, (who had the nickname of Lack Land) became the king (1199-1216).

4.1.4 John was unwise enough to make an attack on the church over the filling of the vacant seat of Archbishop of Canterbury at the time when Pope Innocent III was in power. He with the help of powerful barons made John on June 15, 1215 at a field called Runnymede by the river Thames sign the programme of demands expressed by the barons in a document known as Magna Carta or Great Charter. This document provided the church and the barons with their old rights and liberties. The document also established that the king may not collect any taxes (except the feudal taxes), save with the consent of his royal council, which slowly developed into a parliament. Fifty years later, in 1265, Simon de Monfort summoned the first elected Parliament. Some time later, Parliament was separated into two Houses: one including the nobility and higher clergy, the other including the knights and burgesses, and no law could be made, nor any tax levied, without the consent of both Houses as well as of the Sovereign.

4.2 Wars and conflicts.

4.2.1. Medieval times saw bitter clashes between England and Scotland. Scottish history knows many names of the patriots of the country, one of whom was William Wallace (c. 1270–1305). He led an army against the English forces of King Edward I, who had occupied Scotland, and defeated them in 1297. The following year Wallace was himself defeated, and was later captured and hanged. The film Braveheart (1995) was made about his life. The King of Scotland Robert the Bruce (1274–1329) joined William Wallace in trying to take power from the English in Scotland, but was defeated several times by the army of King Edward I. He finally defeated the English, and England recognized Scotland as an independent country.

4.2.2. There is a popular story about how Robert the Bruce, when he was hiding in a cave from the English, watched a spider repeatedly trying to attach its web to a rock until it finally succeeded. This made him determined to keep trying to defeat the English.

4.2.3. In 1348 an epidemic of the plague that was called the Black Death was brought to England from France. People died within 24 hours, soon one-third of England’s population had perished. Position of common people was very difficult that time as far as the country didn’t have enough laborers to work on the lords’ fields and their work was paid very little. In 1381 peasants revolted. Sixty thousand people from Essex and Kent marched to London led by Wat Tyler and Jack Straw. They wanted to see the king. The king promised to fulfill their demands, but didn’t keep his promise. Wat Tyler was murdered and the rebellion was suppressed.

4.2.4. England lost practically all its lands in France during the Hundred Years' War, which ended in 1453. Yet there was no peace in the country. Long before the end of this war, a feudal struggle had broken out. During the Hundred Years' War some of the barons, who were professional soldiers, built castles with high walls and kept private armies of thousands of men. They thought more about their "family politics" than about national politics and were a real threat to the king's power. Realizing the danger which these big barons represented to the Crown, Edward III tried to marry his sons to their daughters. But that did not help to strengthen the position of the reigning House. The feudal struggle grew into an open war – the War of the Roses which ended with the battle of Bosworth in 1485. King Richard III of the House of York was killed in the battle, and, right in the field, Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, was proclaimed King of England.