The Middle Ages 1066-1485

1066 King Edward the Confessor died without an heir The Duke of Normandy (William the Conqueror) invaded England This leads to a new, French influence After 20 years, William I orders records of all land ownership, which becomes the Domesday Book

Rise of Feudalism Feudalism= economic, social, and political position determined by birth

Problems with Feudalism A strong vassal might decide to overpower a weak overlord

Knights Servants to their lords Trained to be warriors Granted the title of “Sir” Based on complex social codes (chivalry)

Women No political rights Subservient to husband, father, brother Life of having and caring for children, housework, and fieldwork

Chivalry System of ideals and social codes Must take oath of loyalty to overlord Governs warfare Encouraged “courtly love” Courtly love implies admiration and adoration (not physical love) The admired lady was set above the admirer Topic of many poems and stories

Romance Courtly love and chivalry gave women an elevated status in some ways BUT Not really Actual outcome: romantic heroes saving the day

Fall of Feudalism More contact with the outside world= more business opportunities Need for merchants, carpenters, stonemasons, other artisans Yeomen, small landowners, replaced some of the knights

Effects of Fall of Feudalism Art is more geared toward “middle class” Writers such as Chaucer focused more on “city classes” Ballads were sung in public gathering places Song or songlike poem that tells a story in a regular pattern of rhythm and rhyme

The Decline of Feudalism Monetary System Before the Crusades After the Crusades foreign coins are melted down gold coins are used peasants can earn gold in exchange for labor or goods few coins exist feudal lords make coins for use on their own property only peasants can save money, have greater buying and selling power QUESTIONS • Why would the Crusades have brought about a widespread use of gold coins? [Crusaders needed money that would be accepted in other lands.] BACKGROUND • The minting of coins was essential in the revival of England’s economy. serfs use barter system

Religious Happenings The Crusades to free Jerusalem from Turkish control begin The Knights Templar is founded A religious order whose mission was to protect pilgrims to the Holy Land

The Crusades (1095—1270) series of holy wars waged by European Christians against Muslims in the Middle East ultimately unsuccessful QUESTION • What might have prompted knights to join the Crusades? [Possible response: The code of chivalry said that they had to defend the Christian faith, so if the pope called for knights to join a crusade, they would have felt obligated. They would have been fighting for a holy cause.] • Siege warfare was often used during the Crusades: Invaders tried to destroy a city’s protective walls and block off its supplies. The large objects in the lower right-hand part of the painting are called mantelets. What do you think their function might have been? [They acted as shields, through which battering rams could be propelled.] BACKGROUND • The Crusades were begun when Pope Urban II, the head of the Catholic Church in Rome, sent out a plea. He urged followers to wage war against Muslims occupying Jerusalem and other places in the Middle East that were considered holy to Christians. Europeans benefit from contact with Arab civilization

Benefits to Europeans from Crusades Examples of sophisticated culture to which Europeans were exposed include public libraries in Damascus and Baghdad wealthy cities such as Cairo providing links to spice trade universities such as Al-Azhar University in Cairo, one of the oldest universities in the world BACKGROUND • Because of the Crusades, Europeans were exposed to Eastern mathematics, astronomy, architecture, and crafts. • The rich Islamic cities captured by the Crusaders had sophisticated cultures: Baghdad and Damascus had well-established libraries; Cairo was an important ink in the spice trade, and Arab universities were established long before their English counterparts. medical knowledge—first accurate study of smallpox and measles

Political Happenings The Magna Carta The Hundred Years War

The Magna Carta 1215 Magna Carta—“Great Charter” No freeman shall be taken, or imprisoned, or outlawed, or exiled, or in any way harmed, nor will we go upon him nor will we send upon him, except by the legal judgment of his peers or by the law of the land. To none will we sell, to none deny or delay, right or justice. —Magna Carta, clauses 39 and 40 Magna Carta—“Great Charter” signed by King John, under pressure from English barons protected rights of aristocrats QUESTION • What legal rights enjoyed by Americans today are implied by these clauses from the Magna Carta? [right of habeas corpus, right to trial by jury, right to a speedy and fair trial, right to equal justice under the law] BACKGROUND • The signing of the Magna Carta heralded a return to older, more democratic tendencies in England. • Although the document was written for aristocrats and did not protect the rights of common people, it later became the basis of English constitutional law. meant a return to more democratic tendencies

The Hundred Years’ War 1337–1453 war between England and France England unsuccessful leads to British national consciousness Yeoman small landowners with longbows BACKGROUND After the war, due to a rise in national consciousness, the English were no longer best represented by the knight in shining armor (an import from the Continent). Instead, they were more accurately represented by the green-clad yeomen, who had formed the nucleus of the English army during the Hundred Years’ War in France. Their yard-long arrows could fly over castle walls and pierce the armor of knights. begin to become dominant force (instead of knights)

The final blow to feudalism The Black Death

The Black Death 1348–1349 Black Death (bubonic plague) highly contagious and fatal disease, spread by the fleas on infected rats factor in decline of feudalism England’s population is reduced by one-third. Labor shortage gives lower classes more bargaining power. Over time, serfs gain freedom. BACKGROUND • The increasing congestion of the cities contributed to the outbreak of the plague. • Medieval people did not understand the source of this awful affliction. They thought the disease was caused by a strange aligning of the planets, by earthquakes in central Asia, or by a Jewish conspiracy to weaken Christian countries. • The symptoms of the bubonic plague included blotches on the skin, hardening and swelling of the glands under the armpit or in the groin, delirium, and insanity.

The Black Death The symptoms of the bubonic plague included blotches on the skin hardening and swelling of the glands under the armpit or in the groin delirium insanity Death strangling a victim of the plague. From the Stiney Codex. Czeckoslovakia, 14th century.