History of the UK Part II Week Three By Han Linye School of English Studies

Chapter Outline II. The Shaping of the Nation the Plantagenet Dynasty the Great Charter Beginning of Parliament The Hundred Year’s War The Black Death The Wars of Roses

Edward the Confessor (1005-1066)—King of England 1042-1066, Anglo-Saxon King of England, ruling from 1042 until his death

The Norman Conquest When Edward was on his death-bed, several men laid claim to the English throne: the King of Norway, the Duke of Normandy (Edward’s cousin), and Harold Godwinson (brother of Edward’s wife) and Harold was chosen as the King by the Witan.

William the Conqueror  William, the Duke of Normandy, claimed that Edward had promised the crown to him and landed his army in England in September 1066. Harold was killed in the battle of Hastings and William (the first Anglo-Norman King of England) was crowned in Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day, 1066.

The Battle of Hastings took place on October 14, 1066 is considered as the decisive battle, resulting in the Norman conquest of England.

William the Conqueror secured control of the country by ruthlessly crushing any rebellion; constructed 50 castles by 1087; built Tower of London as a military fortress; replaced the Witan with the Great Council.

William the Conqueror replaced the English bishops with Normans and made himself Head of the Bishops; completed the establishment of the feudal system in England; Sent his clerks to compile a property record known as Domesday Book in 1085. (The book stated the extent, value, population and ownership of the Land).

Feudal System

William’s Government Winchester Castle—Seat of Government; Sheriff—King’s representatives; ruled over county courts; Even some lords have their own courts—Manor courts.

Church Reform William appointed an experienced lawyer called Lanfranc as A of C; Church courts are tied to the laws of Rome.

French Influence buildings and fortifications; changes to the English language; a shift in the upper levels of society and the church; adoption of some aspects of continental church reform; possible changes in law, royal administration, trade, agriculture, the peasantry, women's roles and rights, and education.

the House of Plantagenet When William I died in 1087, he gave England to his second son (William II) and Normandy to his eldest son (Robert). Henry, his third son, got England in 1011 and Normandy in 1106. In 1135, Henry’s nephew Stephen seized the throne instead of Henry’s daughter Matilda. Henry’s grandson, Henry Plantagenet (First King of the House of Plantagenet) succeeded as Henry II in 1154.

Broom or Plantagenet

Geoffrey of Plantagenet, Count of Anjou

Henry II got Normandy from his mother, Anjou from his father

Henry II strengthened the Great Council; established a new tax system based on annual rents and chattels (movable property) appointed circuit judges; founded the jury system; gathered the Common Law; precedents—the basis of English Common Law; by the end of the 12th century, all the royal offices moved from Winchester to Westminster.

Henry II Rule of Law

Thomas Becket His plan to reform the church courts was in collision with Thomas Becket (the king’s chief secretary; Archbishop of Canterbury). Becket was exiled and returned 6 years later and was murdered by Henry II’s followers.

Angevin Empire安茹帝国 Henry II got Aquitaine by his marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine part of Ireland by military conquest

Richard I Richard I succeeded Henry II in 1189; known as Richard the Lionheart even before his accession, because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior; He spoke very little English and spent very little time in England (he lived in the southwest of France). He was busy with the 3rd Crusade in his lifetime. He remains one of the very few Kings of England remembered as an enduring, iconic figure in England.

This bronze statue of Richard I stands outside the Palace of Westminster in London.

The Official Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

King John of England King John, Richard’s younger brother, succeeded the throne when he died without issue; King John—the “Lackland” and “Soft-sword”; Robin Hood: a legendary outlaw, a contemporary of King John (serious social injustice and problems); The barons, discontented with John’s tyranny and misgovernment, forced King John in 1215 to sign and observe the Magna Carta (The Great Charter).

Magna Carta It tried to establish a legal relation between the king and his barons by defining their respective rights and obligations. According to Magna Carta, no tax should be made without the approval of the council; no freeman should be arrested or imprisoned except by the law of the land.

It was the first document forced onto an English King by a group of his subjects (the barons) in an attempt to limit his powers by law and protect their privileges. Magna Carta in the medieval period mostly did not limit the power of Kings; but by the time of the English Civil War it had become an important symbol for those who wished to show that the King was bound by the law.

Impact of Magna Carta as important to English people as the Declaration of Independence to the Americans; regarded as the corner stone of English History; the first step of constitutional experiment and rule of law; influenced the development of the common law and many constitutional documents, including the United States Constitution.

Beginning of Parliament Henry III (King John’s son) showed too much obedience to the Pope and hurt the national feeling of many English people. Simon de Montfort, (Henry III’s brother-in-law) , a defender of the Great Charter, rebelled with his barons and forced the king to sign the Provisions of Oxford.

Provisions of Oxford are often regarded as England’s first written constitution were installed in 1258 by a group of barons led by Simon de Montfort The provisions forced King Henry III to accept a new form of government in which power was placed in the hands of a council of twenty four members, twelve selected by the crown, twelve by the barons. The twenty four members selected were to pick two more men to oversee all decisions.

Beginning of Parliament Montfort reformed the Great Council: each county sends two knights and each town sends two representatives to join the Great Council at Westminster. The first meeting, held in 1265, was regarded as the earliest English Parliament.

Prince of Wales Henry III was succeeded by his son Edward I. Under his rule, England conquered Wales. Edward I gave his son the title Prince of Wales, a title held by the heir to the throne ever since.

The Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453) War between France and England from 1337 to 1453; Continued intermittently for more than 100 years and ended in Victory for France; Caused by territorial and economic disputes.

The Hundred Years’ War Edward III claimed that he should succeed to the French throne and was refused by the French nobles. During the initial stage, the English won great victories and the tide of the war was turned after the death of Henry V (recognized to the French throne in 1420). The war ended in defeat for the Anglo-Normans in 1453.

The Hundred Years’ War Guns and gunpowder were first used in the war. (Gunpowder dealt a blow to the Knights: pillars of feudal order/ flower of feudalism) Joan of Arc: a national heroine in French history.

The Black Death (1348-1349) during the Hundred Years’ War; a deadly epidemic disease; started in Italy and soon spread to other parts of Europe; population fell from 4 million to 2 million; resulted in the shortage of labor.

The Wars of Roses (1455-1485) a factional struggle for accession to the Crown between two branches of the Plantagenet family; red rose—House of Lancaster (nobles of the Scottish and Welsh border); white rose—House of York ( progressive south).

The Wars of Roses (1455-1485) backward landowners in the North and West Vs commercial-minded gentry in the South; The last war: between Richard III and Henry Tudor; ended in Henry Tudor’s (the founder of Tudor Monarchy) victory in 1485; a deadly blow to feudalism in England; the ending of Middle Ages in European history and beginning of the modern world history.