1. Station 2: Maniacal Middle Ages 1066-1485 1119: Knights of the Templar is founded to protect pilgrims travelling to the Holy Land 1170: Thomas Becket murdered 1171: Henry II invades Ireland, beginning nearly 800 years of British domination 1232: Pope Gregory IX starts the Inquisition 1250: First commoners allowed in British Parliament 1348: Black Death strikes England 1381: Peasants’ Revolt in England 1485: First Tudor King, Henry VIII, is crowned King of England

2. The Norman Conquest of England created a powerful Anglo-Norman entity and brought England into the mainstream of European civilization (before this it was a backwoods island) The feudal system centralized military, political, & economic power in the Crown The Roman Church transcended National boundaries and fostered cultural unity among Europeans The rise of towns and cities freed people to pursue their own commercial and artistic interests The Magna Carts weakened the political power of the Church & laid the groundwork for later English constitutional law Exposure to Eastern civilization as a result of the Crusades broadened Europeans’ intellectual horizons The ideals of chivalry improved attitudes toward, but not the right of, women The rise of the yeoman class paved the way for democracy in England The bubonic plague (Black Death) created a labor shortage that contributed to the end of feudalism and to the passing of the Middle Ages Station 2: Four Centuries of Change

3. Station 8: More Middle Ages Feudalism: a social hierarchy where the King was the primary landholder & gave people land in exchange for military and/or economic support Males above the serf class were expected to serve and train as knights Women in the Middle Ages had no political rights. A woman’s social standing depended completely on either her husband’s or father’s status. Chivalry led to an idealized attitude toward women and gave rise to a new form of literature—romance Population centers shift to cities where people were able to live and work outside of the feudal system Public outrage for the political assassination of Thomas a Becket created a backlash against the English monarchy and weakened the king in his power struggle with Rome

4. Station 8: More Middle Ages In 1215, English barons forced King John to sign the Magna Carta as an effort to curb the Church’s power. The document later becomes the basis for English constitutional law Although the English lost the 100 Years’ War with France, by the end of the war the yeoman (small landowners) replaced the knights in armor as the primary military force The Black Death or Bubonic Plague spread by fleas who fed and lived on infected rats created a labor shortage which gave the working class more power and ended feudalism