The Growth of Monarchies Chapter 13 Section 4

The English Monarchy  Anglo-Saxon England:  Alfred the Great:  King of Sussex in southern England  Vikings invaded, conquered several small kingdoms  Never conquered all of England  878, drove the Danish Vikings forces north of London, Danelaw, territory under Viking control

The Norman Conquest  1066, king had no heir to the throne  Two men claimed crown:  Harold, Anglo-Saxon nobleman  William, duke of Normandy in France, distant relative of the king  Harold, named new king  William angrily decides to take control by force  Battle of Hastings, 1066  Becomes King William I, aka William the Conqueror

The Norman Conquest  William very strong king:  Claimed all land in England personal property  Divided kingdom into fiefs  Domesday Book:  Survey of:  who lived where  How much money they had  How much taxes they could pay  Used to create central tax system in England  French culture in England

The English in France  William’s descendants inherit his role as duke of Normandy  Henry II, William’s great-grandson takes over, becomes part of English rule  Henry married Eleanor of Aquitaine, a powerful French duchess, ruled all of England, ½ of France

Magna Carta  1200:  Nobles worried about power of English king  King John, 1215  Lost French holdings, tried to raise taxes on nobles, resisted by taking up arms  Nobles resist, force signing of Magna Carta:  Nobles rights  Limit of the king’s power  One of most important documents in history to the formation of modern democracy

Parliament  Rebellion against king’s constant request to raise taxes  Meeting of king, nobles, clergy, middle class leads to the development of Parliament, governing body that still makes England’s laws today  Edward I, first king to use role of Parliament  Helped strengthen England’s central government & reformed its laws  Maintained power of king, kept Parliament in secondary role

Other European Monarchies  France :  Not much territory  Mid 900s, noble family rises to power, the Capetians  Hugh Capet, extended power of monarchy in France  1300, Capetians ruled almost all of modern France

Other European Monarchies  Holy Roman Empire:  Otto the Great, 936  Duke of Saxony, becomes king of the Germans  Emperor of the Romans, 962  Territories under him become known as Holy Roman Empire  Kingdom not inherited, had to be elected

Other European Monarchies  Spain and Portugal:  Two countries today share Iberian Peninsula  Ruled by Muslims in 700s, called Moors by the Christians  Civil war breaks out, Christians take advantage of weakness  Reconquista: reconquest of Iberian Peninsula by the Christians  Moors not completely driven out until 1492  Rulers of Aragon and Castile united in marriage, unifying Spain and Iberian Peninsula  Modern Spain originated in the late 1400s  Conflict between Christians and Muslims will continue