High and Late Middle Ages Ch. 8 1050 – 1450 AD

Chapter 8, Section 1 Royal Power Grows

The Power of Monarchs England begins to form as a nation Monarch (king), nobles, and clergy (church officials) all had similar power Around 1000AD, monarchs start exerting their power over nobles by: Growing their land holdings Building their own armies Establishing courts (royal justice) Strengthening their relationship with townspeople

England is Born The Anglo-Saxons Germanic tribe conquers what will become England Who will be King of England? In 1066, King Edward dies without an heir Nobles in England want king to be his brother in law, Harold. William, the Duke of Normandy, wants to be King of England too

The Battle of Hastings 1066 William has support of the Pope church support = more powerful At the Battle of Hastings, William defeats Harold’s Anglo-Saxon army Becomes knowns as William the Conqueror On Christmas Day, 1066 he becomes the king of England

William the Conqueror as King He has to establish power over the nobles Grants fiefs (vocab term from Ch. 7) Every vassal had to swear first allegiance to him over anyone else Collects taxes from manors Creates the Domesday Book 1086 Has officials count all people/livestock to know the population aka: who to tax

King Henry II Inherits the Throne 1154 Henry wants to expand royal justice Creates English Common Law Set of laws that apply to ALL of England Replaces feudal law, or law of the manor Created a jury system Henry clashes with the Church Common Law means that clergy can be tried in court Clergy felt that the Church governed them NOT the king Henry’s BFF Thomas Becket, an Archbishop, disagreed with him on this

King Henry II and Thomas Becket “Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest?” Four of Henry’s knights take the hint Thomas Becket is killed in his cathedral in Canterbury Church blames Henry for this but he denies sending them To make peace with the Church, Henry stops trying to regulate it