Chapter 8: Royal Power Grows
Warm Up ( April 8) What are 4 qualities that make a medieval king good?
Good Kings Do These 1. Always appear to be strong and powerful 2. Stop other rulers stealing your land or interfering in your rule 3. Keep the Empire together – lose no land 4. Keep the barons on your side – you need them to fight for you and pay taxes 5. Keep your promises so people trust you
Monarchs Monarchs (kings) centralized power Monarchs strengthened relationships with townspeople. Townspeople supported royal rulers
William the Conqueror When King Edward of England died, he didn’t have a successor. The nobles of England appointed that the brother-in-law of Edward should become the King. His name was Harold William a Duke of Normandy believed he should be King. So he decided to fight Harold for the Crown (Battle of Hastings) Guess what? That Bull (William) won
Expanding Power Granted land to the Church, lords and barons He monitored who built castles where Required his vassals swear allegiance to him rather than the lords
Domesday Book William had a complete census taken in 1086 called the “Domesday Book” Created an efficient tax collection system where they could collect fines, dues, and taxes
King Henry II Educated and energetic King Focused his attention on the justice system Henry would send out guards to enforce laws Verdicts made in court became known as common law Created jury system to speak the truth
Conflict with the Church Henry tried to extend his royal power Church was not happy Henry wanted to arrest church members for corruption Thomas Becket an archbishop was against it. Henry sent 4 knights over to his Church and killed him.
Bad King John
King John Dumb, cruel and untrustworthy king Got into a dispute with Pope Innocent III which got him excommunicated Innocent also placed England under the interdict for about 5 years
Barons Hated John King John raised taxes and abused power Barons wanted to kill John Barons stormed the castle and told John he needs to sign the Magna Carta
The Magna Carta Asserted nobles had certain rights Most importantly, kings must obey the law Townspeople couldn’t be arrested for no reason. = Due Process of Law Habeas Corpus: Guarantee a fair trial Kings would also have to call on a council of people to approve taxes and laws: Parliament