1. The Medieval Period also known as “Middle Ages”

2. The Norman Conquest: Battle of Hastings - 1066 A.D.
Harold, King of England was defeated
by William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy (France)
Systematic invasion, including inventory and seizure of property
Martial law was put into effect
Strong central government was set up with clearly defined lines of authority

3. William the Conqueror
Reigned for twenty-one years; succession assured at his death
Invasion of England was to support his claim that he had been promised succession to the English throne
He was an efficient and ruthless soldier & a good administrator
With the help of his followers he was able to conquer the entire country
Slaughtered many A-S nobility & replaced them with Normans, accounting for clear historical break between A-S & Norman-dominated England.
William the Conqueror

4. The Normans: Name derived from “Northman”
Mainly descended from Vikings who had seized and remained in northwestern France, which became known as Normandy
After more than 100 years in France, Normans adopted many French customs & had own variation of French language, Norman-French
Use of stone far exceeded that of English, but could not match A-S in learning or as artisans and craftsmen

5. The Normans: Superb soldiers Excellent administrators & lawyers
Great borrowers & adapters
They Lacked:
Inventiveness
Original ideas
William subdued the whole land partly because he could adopt & use institutions of the highly centralized & stable A-S government.

6. Land and the Feudal System

7. Land and the Feudal System
After the invasion, William retained much of the gained land. He then granted land to those who fought faithfully for him.
The year 1066 brought the largest change of land ownership in the history of England.

8. Land and the Feudal System
William felt that the land was his by right of conquest and that he was free to deed land to his vassals by royal charter, expecting obedience and service in return.
In A-S period, king kept loyalty of his warriors by sharing spoils of war. In medieval period, land replaced plunder as commodity bonding king and lord to vassal.

9. Land and the Feudal System
After the invasion, William retained much of the gained land. He then granted land to those who fought for him.
He felt that the land was his by right of conquest and that he was free to deed land to his vassals by royal charter, expecting obedience and service in return.

10. This system was known as “Feudalism.”

11. a complicated system of landholding
Feudalism was
No one owned land independently
a complicated system of landholding

12. Land and the Feudal System
No one owned land independently but only
as a vassal
of an overlord, who in turn owed allegiance
either to some great noble or the king.
No one owned land independently but only
as a vassal
of an overlord, who in turn owed allegiance
either to some great noble or the king.

13. Feudalism was: An elaborate chain of loyalties
A system of paying rent through military service to overlords
An elaborate chain of loyalties
A system of paying rent through military
Service to overlords

14. Problems of Feudalism The grants William gave were mainly the estates
Of certain Anglo-Saxons who had died at the Conquest.
The grants William gave were mainly the estates
of certain Anglo-Saxons who had died at the Conquest.

15. Land and the Feudal System
The boundaries of these estates were frequently vague, and the first 20 years of Norman rule saw many disputes about property.

16. Another problem: feudalism was like a “caste system.”
Land and the Feudal System
Another problem: feudalism was like a “caste system.”
Another problem: feudalism was like a “caste system.”

17. Another problem: There were disputes among landowners
Land and the Feudal System
Another problem: There were disputes among landowners
Another problem: There were disputes among landowners

18. Benefits of Feudalism
William writes a complete inventory of all property called the Domesday Book,
the book of judgments.

19. Land and the Feudal System
This was an administrative feat without equal anyplace else in Europe.
Taxes in England could now be based on real property.

20. The Medieval Church
The single institution that did the most to promote unity,
(a common culture and a common set of beliefs),
was the Medieval Church.
Latin, the language of the Church, became the language of all educated persons.
In the Middle Ages, no subject was studied as an end in itself,
But rather as a demonstration of God’s hand in the world.
In the Middle Ages, no subject was studied as an end in itself,
But rather as a demonstration of God’s hand in the world.

21. Medieval Life Most people lived in the country & were attached to a
Feudal manor.
As period progressed, farming was replaced by herding.
Most people lived in the country & were attached to a
Feudal manor.
As period progressed, farming was replaced by herding.

22. Medieval Life
Sheep herding causes a proliferation of sheep in England – by end of 13th century, there were probably 18 million sheep in England.
Cottages become small mills for spinning wool because many people became involved in the wool industry.

23. Medieval Life
This allows the common people to be able to pay what they owe their overlords in wages rather than labor.
Shift from agrarian to pastoral economy forced many peasants into towns.
Labor shortage caused by Black Death temporarily improved peasants’ living conditions.

24. Medieval Life
Some large towns and cities had grown up, mostly in the south of England and related to the court. London is an example.
Population shift into cities further eroded feudal system because these peasants were no longer tied to manor.

25. Medieval Life Wool production causes cities to build up in the north.

26. A whole new class of merchants grew up.
These populous centers, far from the influence of the French court, developed forms of literature, songs and ballads, and a native drama with a good deal of color and pageantry. While songs and ballads had varied subjects, medieval drama was generally religious, depicting events related to Scripture.

27. Guilds: societies to regulate prices & standards
Guilds were one result of the rise of the middle class
of industrious free men living in towns.

28. Guilds
Later, cottage workers form guilds to assure fair wages & prices & good standards of materials and workmanship.

29. Guilds ~ Encouraged an extended family life
Guilds ~ Encouraged an extended family life. Often, a master would have apprentices and journeymen living with him. Guilds were organized around various professions, and were also religious societies.

30. This is the period of the great English cathedrals, Winchester and Lincoln, Salisbury and Durham.

31. Often these cathedrals took hundreds of years to complete.
These huge structures created a revolution in architecture
as designers wrestled with the difficulties associated with
size and complexity. More than houses of worship, cathedrals were histories written in stone, stained glass & wood, telling Biblical stories, faith made manifest.
Much of the communal life of the city centered around these cathedrals.
The first English dramas were performed here.

32. Dress was bright and varied
Medieval Life ~ austere in many ways.
Travel was difficult
Food offered little variety, even for the rich
Winters brought a very limited & unwholesome diet
Countryside, however, and towns were colorful & beautiful without smoke of factories
Dress was bright and varied
Countryside, however, and towns were colorful
& beautiful – no smoke from factories
Dress – bright and varied

33. English Law
“When William the Conqueror had subdued the whole island, and by terrible examples had tamed the minds of the rebels, he decided to place the government of the people on a written basis and subject them to the rules of law.”
~Richard Fitzneal, 12th century English cleric
One of William’s innovations was to institute written public documents for most government actions.

34. English Law
Common law took root during this period. This refers to law that is common to the whole country and all its people, in contrast to kinds of law applying only to certain classes of people.

35. Law of primogeniture came into effect.
English Law
Law of primogeniture came into effect.

36. Primogeniture gave the firstborn son exclusive right to
inherit his father’s titles, lands, and estates.

37. Ordeals
During the early part of this period, matters of law were still settled by ordeals.
How people’s innocence or guilt was settled
Disputes between two people also settled by ordeals ~ ex: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Trial by ordeal often involved “tests” like walking on hot coals or swimming with hands chained behind one’s back.

38. In 1215, Pope Innocent III declared that the ordeal system was “irrational.”

39. Gradually, in England, people who were indicted were asked to abide by the judgment of their neighbors. In this way, the JURY SYSTEM came into being.
In 1215, a group of angry barons forced King John to sign the MAGNA CARTA, or Great Charter.

40. Habeas corpus
MAGNA CARTA foreshadowed the right of trial by jury, habeas corpus, or the right not to be illegally detained.
Habeas corpus

41. Habeas corpus also foreshadowed the beginnings of
representative government in parliament.
Habeas corpus also foreshadowed the beginnings of representative government in parliament.

42. The Crusades, Hundred Years’ War, and the Wars of the Roses

43. The Crusades, Hundred Years’ War, and the Wars of the Roses
Most crusades begin originally to rescue Jerusalem from Turks, but ended in raiding, looting, and tangled politics
1095, 1191,1202,1217,
1270
100 Years’ War:
Wars of the Roses:

44. The Crusades, Hundred Years’ War, and the Wars of the Roses
Christian Europe is exposed to Arabic culture
100 Years’ War:
Wars of the Roses:

45. The Crusades, Hundred Years’ War, and the Wars of the Roses
Encouraged chivalry
100 Years’ War:
Wars of the Roses:

46. The Crusades, Hundred Years’ War, and the Wars of the Roses
Most crusades begin originally to rescue Jerusalem from Turks, but ended in raiding, looting, and tangled politics
Christian Europe is exposed to Arabic culture
Encouraged chivalry
100 Years’ War:
( ) War between France and England due to England not wanting to relinquish French possessions
Wars of the Roses:

47. The Crusades, Hundred Years’ War, and the Wars of the Roses
-( ’s)Most crusades begin originally to rescue Jerusalem from Turks, but ended in raiding, looting, and tangled politics
-Christian Europe is exposed to Arabic culture
-Encouraged chivalry
100 Years’ War:
( ) War between France and England due to England not wanting to relinquish French possessions
Established the effectiveness of the English longbow, which greatly decreased fortitude of castles
Wars of the Roses:

48. The Crusades, Hundred Years’ War, and the Wars of the Roses
-( ’s)Most crusades begin originally to rescue Jerusalem from Turks, but ended in raiding, looting, and tangled politics
-Christian Europe is exposed to Arabic culture
-Encouraged chivalry
100 Years’ War:
-( ) War between France and England due to England not wanting to relinquish French possessions
-Established the effectiveness of the English longbow, which greatly decreased fortitude of castles
Wars of the Roses:
Black Death strikes and kills more than 1/3rd of the population

49. The Crusades, Hundred Years’ War, and the Wars of the Roses
Most crusades begin originally to rescue Jerusalem from Turks, but ended in raiding, looting, and tangled politics
Christian Europe is exposed to Arabic culture
Encouraged chivalry
100 Years’ War:
( ) War between France and England due to England not wanting to relinquish French possessions
Established the effectiveness of the English longbow, which greatly decreased fortitude of castles
Wars of the Roses:
Black Death strikes and kills more than 1/3rd of the population
Responding to the scarcity of labor and oppressive laws and taxes, the peasants revolted, resulting in a civil war between the House of York and the House of Lancaster.

50. Medieval Literature The Romance
Consisted of tales of chivalry to which were
added a love interest,
and all sorts of
wonders and marvels —
fairy enchantments, giants,
dragons, wizards, and sorceresses.

51. The medieval concept of romantic love came from France.
Romantic tales came from three principal sources:
Britain (King Arthur and his Knights)
France (the court of Charlemagne)
Rome (stories such as the conquest of troy)

52. The stories of King Arthur and his court are based in Celtic tradition and have almost no historical basis.

53. The finest verse romance in English, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, is about one of the knights at Arthur’s court.

54. Geoffrey Chaucer (1340? – 1400)
Geoffrey Chaucer (1340? – 1400)

55. Chaucer is the first truly great figure in English literature.

56. Chaucer wrote in Middle English.

57. Chaucer was a fine poet and storyteller, as well as a noted humorist.

58. His best known work is The Canterbury Tales, his unfinished masterpiece
about pilgrims on their way to see the shrine of St. Thomas a Becket in Canterbury.
His best known work is The Canterbury Tales, his unfinished masterpiece
about pilgrims on their way to see the shrine of St. Thomas a Becket in Canterbury.

59. This frame story serves as a social commentary on the types of people who were common in Medieval English society.

60. Folk Poetry and the Drama
Ballads were a common form of poetry that were sung and recited at firesides and gatherings.

61. with most of them belonging to the later Middle Ages.
Folk Poetry and the Drama
English and Scottish ballads came to influence the entire romantic movement,
with most of them belonging to the later Middle Ages.

62. The subject matter of the folk ballads stemmed from the everyday life of the common folk. Device commonly used was the refrain. Sometimes incremental repetition is used: repetition of a previous line or lines but with a slight variation each time, which advances the story stanza by stanza.

63. Popular drama had its origins in the Middle Ages,
with the tradition of miracle plays -
rough dramatizations of Biblical stories.
Religion was uniting force in almost
every aspect of life in the Middle Ages.