Europe and the
Middle Ages
During the Middle Ages invasions by the Angles,
Saxons, Magyars, Vikings, and Mongols disrupted
social, economic and political order of Europe. These
invasions led to a strengthening of the feudal system
and a strengthening of European monarchies. Because
of this, monarchies began to consolidate their power
and began forming nation-states. These nation states
are now known as England, France, Spain and Russia.
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Feudalism and the Middle
Ages
European Invasions
Migrations of people happened all over Europe. The Angles and Saxons migrated from continental
Europe to England. The Magyars migrated from Central Asia to Hungary. And the Vikings
migrated from Scandinavia to Russia. These invasions caused havoc all over Europe and safety
declined. Trade and travel were no longer safe and cities and towns declined. Despite the
negative impact of the invasions, they did reinforce the feudal system because the manors with
castles provided protection from invaders.
Feudalism is going to contribute to a rise of Kingdoms and
eventually the establishment of some of the nations that still exist
in Europe today.
Nation States in
Europe
Russia
England
France
Italy
Spain
With your partners, you will
complete the tour of the Middle
Ages Tour of Nation States
(England, France, and
Spain)…Before moving on to
the next country you must
raise your hand to have Chief
Customs Officer Girard approve
your passport….
England
William the
Conqueror
•
•
•
Nationality: Norman
Reigned as King of England
from 1066 to 1087
Accomplishments:
– Leader of the Norman Conquest (invasion and
occupation of England by the Normans)
– United most of England
– Victory at the Battle of Hastings in 1066
– Built the Tower of London
Historic castle on
the north bank of
the River Thames
in central London.
At the bottom of
the picture you can
see the water-gate
called the “Traitors’
Gate.” The Tower
was used as a
royal residence
and as a prison.
Today it houses
the Crown Jewels
of the UK!
Common Law
The crafting of English Common Law was begun in the
reign of Henry II. Henry ruled England from 1154 to
1189. He strengthened the royal courts of justice by
sending royal judges to every part of England at least
once a year. They collected taxes, settled lawsuits,
and punished crimes. Henry also introduced the use of
jury in English courts.
Over centuries, case by case, the rulings of England’s
royal judges formed a unified body of law that became
known as common law. Today the principles of English
common law are the basis for law in many Englishspeaking countries, including the United States.
The Magna Carta
On June 15, 1215, consenting to the
demands of 40 rebellious barons, King
John affixed his seal to Magna Carta. By
doing so he attempted to avoid a civil war.
Although, just 10 weeks later, Pope
Innocent III nullified the agreement, and
England plunged into internal war.
Magna Carta was written by a group of
13th-century barons to protect their rights
and property against a tyrannical king. It is
concerned with many practical matters and
specific grievances relevant to the feudal
system under which they lived. The
interests of the common man were hardly
apparent in the minds of the men who
brokered the agreement.
"The democratic
aspiration is no mere
recent phase in human
history . . . It was
written in Magna
Carta."
-Franklin Delano
Roosevelt, 1941
Inaugural address
Magna Carta,
literally meaning
“great charter”
There are two principles
expressed in Magna Carta
that resonate to this day:
"No freeman shall
be taken,
imprisoned,
outlawed, banished,
or in any way
destroyed, nor will
We proceed against
or prosecute him,
except by the lawful
judgment of his
peers and by the
law of the land."
"To no one
will We sell, to
no one will We
deny or delay,
right or
justice."
Hundred Years War
The Hundred Years
War, lasting from
1337 until 1453, was
a defining time for the
history of both
England and France.
The war started in
May 1337 when King
Philip VI of France
attempted to
confiscate the
English territories in
Southwestern
France. It ended in
July 1453 when the
French finally
expelled the English
from the continent
(except for Calais).
Parliament
Near the end of the Middle Ages, the
role of government in England
underwent many changes. From the
Magna Carta to the creation of the
English Parliament, England laid the
foundation for representative
government and regulated
sovereignty.
The Magna Carta clearly defined
the ancient rights and privileges of
the people. It established the
principle that the king no longer
had absolute control, and
prevented English rulers from
taking advantage of their subjects.
Later, England would institute a
Parliament to allow British nobles
the opportunity to voice their
opinions in political matters. This
entire process moved the world
one step closer to the types of
governments that are seen today.
The Parliament of England was the
legislature of the Kingdom of
England. Over centuries, the
English Parliament progressively
limited the power of the English
monarchy.
France
Hugh Capet
The kings of France, like those of
England, looked for ways to
increase their power. After the
break up of Charlemagne’s empire,
French counts and dukes ruled
their lands independently under the
feudal system. By the year 1000,
France was divided into about 30
feudal territories. In 987, the last
member of the Carolingian family—
Louis the Sluggard—died.
Hugh Capet, an
undistinguished duke from
the middle of France,
succeeded him as King of
France. The Capet family
ruled only a small territory,
but at its heart stood Paris.
Hugh Capet began the
Capetian dynasty of French
kings that ruled France from
987 to 1328. The Capetian
dynasty expanded their
control over most of France.
Joan of Arc (1412-1431)
Joan of Arc, a patron saint of France and
a national heroine, led the resistance to
the English invasion of France in the
Hundred Years War. When Joan was
about 12 years old, she began hearing
"voices" of St. Michael, St. Catherine, and
St. Margaret believing them to have been
sent by God. These voices told her that it
was her divine mission to free her country
from the English and help the dauphin
(King’s eldest son) gain the French
throne.
They told her to cut her hair,
dress in man's uniform and to
pick up the arms. Joan went
to fight in the Hundred Years
War and was eventually
captured by the Burgundians
and sold to the English in
1430. The English, in turn,
handed her over to the
church’s court to be tried for witchcraft and heresy. Much was
made of her persistence on wearing male clothing. She was told
that for a woman to wear men's clothing was a crime against God.
Her determination to continue wearing it was seen as defiance
and finally sealed her fate.
Joan of Arc (1412-1431)
Joan was convicted after a fourteen-month interrogation and
on May 30, 1431 she was burned at the stake in a
marketplace. She was nineteen years old. Charles VII made
no attempt to come to her rescue. In 1456 a second trial was
held and she was pronounced innocent of the charges
against her.
Spain
Isabella and
Ferdinand
To Isabella and Ferdinand, one of the most renowned royal
couples in history, their primary achievement was not
funding conquistadors to expand their empire overseas or
uniting disparate kingdoms into what eventually became
modern Spain. The couple believed their most important
legacy was ridding Spain of the Muslims.
When Isabella, the daughter of King John II of Castile, and
Ferdinand, the son of King John I of Aragon, were married
in October 1469, Muslims had ruled large parts of the
Iberian Peninsula for more than 700 years. Propelled by
their Christian faith to pursue an expensive, bloody, 10-year
battle to unite their land under Christian leadership, the
couple finally conquered the last Muslim stronghold in
January 1492.
With peace assured at home, Ferdinand and Isabella
quickly agreed to sponsor an expedition across the Atlantic
Ocean to be led by a sea captain named Christopher
Columbus. This voyage of discovery was not first time
Isabella showed an interest in strengthening Spain's
commercial prospects overseas
I love him like
a brother…and
a husband!
Spanish Inquisition
Spain was beginning a historic
reunification of Aragon and
Castile. The marriage of
Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella
of Castile created a unified
Hispania not seen since Roman
times. Afraid that laws
commanding the exile or
conversion of Jews were thwarted
by conversos, i.e. synagoguegoing "Catholics," Ferdinand and
Isabella commissioned an
investigation or Inquisition.
The Inquisition had been created in the twelfth century by Pope Lucius
III to fight heresy in the south of what is now France. The Catholic
Monarchs decided to introduce the Inquisition to Castile, and
requested the Pope's assent.
During the reign of the Catholic Monarchs and long afterwards the
Inquisition was active in persecuting people for offences such as
crypto-Judaism, heresy, Protestantism, blasphemy, and bigamy. The
last trial for crypto-Judaism was held in 1818.
Charles V
Ruler of the Holy Roman Empire
from 1519 and, as Charles I, of
the Spanish Empire from 1516
until his voluntary retirement and
abdication in favor of his younger
brother Ferdinand I as Holy
Roman Emperor and his son
Philip II as King of Spain in 1556.
In the New
World, Spain
conquered
Mexico and
Peru, and
extended its
control across
much of South
and Central
America.
Charles
oversaw the
Spanish
colonization of the Americas. Charles provided 5 ships to
Ferdinand Magellan whose voyage -the first circumnavigation of
the Earth- laid the foundation for the Pacific oceanic empire of
Spain and began Spanish colonization of the Philippines.
Russia
Ivan the Great
The Russian state would
become a genuine empire
during the long, 43-year
reign of Ivan III. This
prince was only a boy of
13 when Constantinople
fell to the Turkish Empire
in 1453. In 1472, the Ivan
III managed to marry the
niece of the last Byzantine
emperor. He then began
calling himself czar, the
Russian version Caesar
(the title became official
only during the reign of
Ivan IV). By calling himself
czar, however, Ivan III
openly claimed to make
Russia the “Third Rome.”
In many ways, he became great by continuing with the work
that his predecessors had started. However, he worked on a
larger scale. Ivan the Great united many of the previously
autonomous provinces, succeeded in freeing Russia from the
Mongols, centralized power in Moscow, and expanded the
Russian nation.