 The Battle of Hastings in 1066 King Harold of England was beaten by William of Normandy Normans were of Viking and French ancestry Full take-over, not just a temporary invasion

 The dual realms of England and Normandy became the most powerful force in Europe.  Melding of the Norman and Anglo- Saxon cultures

 Anglo-Saxon land was taken away and given to those who fought for William the Conqueror.  No land was owned independently.  Chain of loyalties, with rent paid primarily in military service to the overlord or king.

 William had this book inventory all of the land holdings in England and their claims.  Taxes were now based on property, whereas before they were equal for all.

 The Medieval Church helped to create one homogenous society with a common culture and set of beliefs.  Latin, the language of the church, became the language of the educated.  Religious men were still predominant in collecting and writing manuscripts.

 Most people lived in the country on a feudal manor where they worked their own fields and the lands of the lord of the manor to whom they owed allegiance.  Farming changed to herding as English wool from sheep became popular.

 Due to herding, cottages became mills.  Towns in the north expanded due to the production of wool.  A new merchant class grew.  Guilds were created to assure fair wages.

 Common Law Common to the whole country and all its people rather than to certain classes of people  Developed as society developed  Law of Primogeniture  Firstborn son inherits his father’s titles, estates, lands, etc.

 Ordeals People’s innocence or guilt was settled by giving them tasks. If they were successful, they were judged innocent. The pope found this law “irrational” in 1215  Magna Carta Limited the king’s taxing powers and foreshadowed the right of trial by jury.

 The first crusade was in 1095, proclaimed by Pope Urban II, to rescue Jerusalem from the Turks.  Several more followed.  All ended poorly in a tangle of raiding, looting and power politics.  Through these travels Europeans were exposed to eastern mathematics and medicine.  Chivalry as an ideal.

 England never fully relinquished its lands to the Normans, thus resulting in a series of wars ranging from 1337 to  English longbows were the weapon that most impacted their efficiency.

 The Black Death killed 1/3 of the population in  Scarcity of labor but burdensome taxes  Peasants revolted  Civil war between the House of York, whose emblem was the white rose, vs. the house of Lancaster whose emblem was a red rose.

 Medieval romances consisted of tales of chivalry.  Autobiography  Travel writing  Devotional writing (lives of the saints)

 The ballad  Songs sung at alehouses and around firesides  Rarely written down  Flourished during the 14 th and 15 th centurires but not published until the 18 th century  Miracle Plays based on the lives of saints  Morality Plays Virtues and vices

 Born into an upper, middle-class family  He was a court favorite and served as a soldier, fighting in France  Held many diplomatic positions throughout his life.  One of his most important contributions was bringing the English language to literature.

 The tale brings together characters from all classes.  Each character shares a tale on the way to a pilgrimage in Canterbury.  Ideally Chaucer had intended to have each character tell two tales on the way and two more on the way home, but he died before this was accomplished.

 The Canterbury Tales provides our best picture of life in 14 th century England  Chaucer shows a profound understanding of human motivation  Written in poetry rather than prose  Easy, informal vocabulary