1. THE MIDDLE AGES 449-1485

2. THE MIDDLE AGES The Anglo-Saxon Period –449-1066 The Medieval Period –1066-1485

3. THE NORMAN CONQUEST Battle of Hastings –1066 –Beginning of The Medieval Period –Harold, king of England, defeated by William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy

4. THE NORMAN CONQUEST Consequences of Norman Invasion –Inventory and seizure of property –Martial law –Strong central government established

5. THE NORMAN CONQUEST William the Conqueror –Efficient and ruthless soldier –Able administrator –Able to conquer the entire country –Reigned for twenty-one years

6. THE NORMAN CONQUEST The Normans –Descended from the Vikings –Seized and remained in northwestern France (Normandy) –Adopted many French customs

7. THE NORMAN CONQUEST THE NORMANS Positives –Superb soldiers –Excellent administrators –Great borrowers and adapters Negatives –Lacked inventiveness –Unoriginal

8. THE NORMAN CONQUEST The Fusing of the Norman and Anglo-Saxon Cultures –Neither dominant –Anglo-Saxons adapted to the Norman ways Improve life through the Church or court Began to mingle with the Norman overlords

9. THE NORMAN CONQUEST Thomas Becket –Henry II’s Lord Chancellor –Archbishop of Canterbury –Defended the claims of the Church against the interests of the King –Murdered by several of Henry’s knights –Became a saint of the Church and a hero of the people

10. LAND & THE FEUDAL SYSTEM William had a great deal of land at his disposal –Retained much for himself –The rest he granted to his soldiers –Felt he was free to deed land by royal charter Expected obedience and service in return –Introduced into England the feudal system

11. LAND & THE FEUDAL SYSTEM Feudalism –Nobody owned land independently Allegiance –Feudalism is an elaborate chain of loyalties Rent paid by military service

12. LAND & THE FEUDAL SYSTEM The Domesday Book –Sometimes called Doomsday –Created in 1086 by William A complete inventory of all property Taxes could now be based on real property

13. THE MEDIEVAL CHURCH Responsible for creating a common culture & a common set of beliefs in Western Europe from the 11 th to 15 th century Latin became the language of all educated persons Despite national loyalty, every person was responsible to the Church The Church grew and prospered during the period Preserving and transmitting culture

14. MEDIEVAL LIFE As the period progressed, herding became more important than farming –Wages instead of labor –Production of wool encouraged the growth of cities in the north More people began to live in towns instead of manors Many became immensely rich Developed native forms of literature, songs and ballads, and a native drama

15. MEDIEVAL LIFE These new merchants were the first to form guilds –Societies to regulate prices and standards –Extended family life

16. MEDIEVAL LIFE Other Types of Work –The great English cathedrals –Often took several hundred years to build

17. MEDIEVAL LIFE Winchester Cathedral

18. MEDIEVAL LIFE Lincoln Cathedral

19. MEDIEVAL LIFE Salisbury Cathedral

20. MEDIEVAL LIFE Yorkminster Cathedral

21. MEDIEVAL LIFE Guilds were founded for many of these workers –Stonecutters and masons –Carpenters –Glass blowers –Stainers

22. MEDIEVAL LIFE Life in the Middle Ages was difficult and challenging Travel Food Winters –The difficulty of life was balanced with entertainment

23. MEDIEVAL LIFE Medieval Clothing

24. MEDIEVAL LIFE Medieval Clothing

25. MEDIEVAL LIFE Medieval Tournament

26. MEDIEVAL LIFE Medieval Festival

27. ENGLISH LAW William the Conqueror instituted written public documents for most government actions –Common Law Applies to all people instead of certain people –Primogeniture Exclusive rights for the first born son

28. ENGLISH LAW Ordeals –Innocence or guilt was settled by tasks –In 1215, Pope Innocent III declared that the ordeal system was irrational –Replacement: Jury System

29. ENGLISH LAW The Magna Carta –In 1215, a group of angry barons forced King John (1199-1216) to sign the Magna Carta –Established that levies must be made with the consent of the barons –Limited the king’s taxing powers –Foreshadowed the right of trial by jury and the beginnings of representative government in Parliament

30. THE CRUSADES The first Crusade was proclaimed in 1095 by Pope Urban II

31. THE CRUSADES Other Crusades followed in 1191, 1202, 1217, and 1270

32. THE CRUSADES Each Crusade began with a desire to rescue Jerusalem from the Turks

33. THE CRUSADES Most ended squalidly in raiding, looting, and a tangle of power politics

34. THE CRUSADES Results of the Crusades –Christian Europe exposed to Arabic culture –Commercial and intellectual horizons broadened –Knowledge and all manners of refinements in living were brought back from the East –Encouraged the ideal of true knightly behavior known as chivalry Considerable importance in literature Joined to the companion idea of romance

35. The Hundred Years’ War 1337-1453 The English monarchy never voluntarily relinquished its hold on its French possessions Numerous costly wars in France, culminating in the Hundred Years’ War Eventually England was driven from France

36. The Hundred Years’ War The Longbow –Used by the English from the time of Edward I (1272-1307) –Six-foot bows –Yard-long arrows capable of piercing a knight’s armor –Longbows and gunpowder did much to end the Middle Ages

37. THE BLACK DEATH In 1348, the Black Death came to England –First of a series of plagues that killed more than a third of the population –Scarcity of labor caused by the plagues resulted in the death of feudalism

38. THE WARS OF THE ROSES 1455-1485 Civil war between the House of York and the House of Lancaster –House of York’s emblem was the white rose –House of Lancaster’s emblem was the red rose

39. THE WARS OF THE ROSES In 1485, Henry VII succeeded Richard III Henry united the feuding families through marriage Ended the wars and founded the Tudor line With Henry’s accession, the real Middle Ages vanished Henry VII Richard III

40. MEDIEVAL LITERATURE Romance –Chivalry, love, wonders and marvels Fairy enchantments Giants Dragons Wizards Sorceresses

41. MEDIEVAL LITERATURE Three Principal Sources Britain –King Arthur and his knights Based on Celtic folklore Almost no historical basis Chivalric ideals

42. MEDIEVAL LITERATURE Three Principal Sources France –The court of Charlemagne

43. MEDIEVAL LITERATURE Three Principal Sources Rome –Classical stories such as the conquest of Troy

44. GEOFFREY CHAUCER 1340?-1400 First great figure in English literature Greatest work belongs to poetic and humorous realism –The Canterbury Tales

45. FOLK POETRY AND DRAMA Ballads –Came from the common people of early England and Scotland –Not written down but recited and sung –14 th and 15 th centuries

46. FOLK POETRY AND DRAMA Drama –Popular drama’s origins are in the Middle Ages –Miracle Plays Rough dramatizations of Biblical stories Wicked characters were played as comic characters

47. FOLK POETRY AND DRAMA Drama (cont.) –Morality Plays Took the place of miracle plays toward the end of the Middle Ages, during the dark and troubled times of the 15 th century Dramatic allegories representing virtues and vices Most famous was Everyman