The Medieval Period
1066-1485
In the beginning….
The Normans invade England in
1066. William the Conqueror
takes the crown.
He brings Feudalism to England
Feudalism: Political and
economic system in which the
king owned all of the land in
the kingdom
William gave ¼ of land to
himself, ¼ to the church, and
the rest to loyal nobles (barons)
Barons give William warriors
called knights
Barons swear their allegiance to
the king, knights swear their
allegiance to the barons, etc.
Defeated Anglo-Saxons are
reduced to serfs (peasants),
bound to the land
Then…
William’s successors were less organized than he
was, which resulted in barons fighting for land and
power.
In 1154, Henry II takes over the crown
He is one of England’s most memorable rulers
Reformed the judicial system—instituted royal
courts and initiated the formation of English
Common Law.
His wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, brought the
Code of Chivalry with her from France.
Code of Chivalry
Code by which knights lived by
The ideal knight respected and
defended the church, his king, his
country, and stood up to injustice
The qualities of a knight included:
Faith, modesty, loyalty, courtesy,
bravery and honor
To honor and respect women
To go on quests, like the Crusades
Successors
Richard the Lion-Hearted
Fights in the Crusades
John (Richard’s brother)
Signs Magna Carta in 1215
John’s son, Henry III
Limits the funds royalty can spend and gives more authority
into the hands of barons
Created an advisory council of barons that met regularly.
Edward I
Established the inclusion of commoners (House of
Commons) as well as barons (House of Lords) in the
council. (Parliament)
Decline of Feudalism
Medieval towns begin to grow, which leads to a decline of
feudalism since wealth was no longer based on land ownership.
Commoners are now getting more and more power.
The flipside to this is that the growth of towns meant crowding
and poor living conditions which resulted in disease.
Strife in England
Black Death killed one third of England’s population
1.5 million killed between 1348-1350
Peasants’ Revolt of 1381
Abdication of Richard II
Supporter of Chaucer (Canterbury Tales)
Wars of the Roses
Civil War between the House of Lancaster and the House
of York over the rightful heir to the throne
Medieval Literature
Romance emerges – imaginative
adventure story concerned with
noble heroes, gallant love,
chivalric code of honor, and daring
deeds
Idealized world of castles, heroes,
courtly love, and spells
This countered the real world of
plagues, battles, and civil unrest
Religious faith was a vital element
of the literature of the time period
King Arthur and the Knights of the
Round Table become the medieval
heroes
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Author is anonymous
Written c. 1400 in Middle
English (language spoken
after the Norman invaston
of 1066 thru 15th century)
Important because:
Alliterative poetry
Epic poem
Medieval romance
0
