Benchmark Ques
• In English history, the Magna Carta
(1215), the Petition of Right (1628) and the
Bill of Rights all reinforced the concept of
– A. universal suffrage
– B. religious toleration
– C. a limited monarchy
– D. a laissez-faire economy
Democratic Development in
England
Vocabulary
1.
Feudalism
1.
2.
System of rule in which powerful landowning lords divide land to
gain loyalties
Common law
1.
A legal system based on customs and court rulings
1.
3.
Limited monarchy
1.
4.
A man of high rank in a feudal society (loyal and below the king)
Vassal
1.
6.
Government where a constitution limits the power of the king.
Lord
1.
5.
Applied to everyone
Lesser lord
Absolute monarch
England
(1000-1700)
• Absolute monarch
– Kings that rule with complete power.
– They believed this power came from God
• Divine right:
– Because of divine right, kings also though they could do anything without
any consequences.
• William the Conqueror
– King of England
• Required vassals to pledge loyalty to him first.
• Introduced a census
• Raised taxes
• King Henry II
• Introduced common law
• Raised taxes
• Tried to gain more power (problem with the Church)
• King Henry’s son John
• Continued to raise taxes and gain more power
– Caused a problem with the Pope and the nobles.
• In 1215
– Nobles forced King John to sign the Magna Carta
• Magna Carta
– Reduced the kings power (king had to obey the law)
– Protected the rights of the nobles.
– Protected all free men from
• unreasonable arrest or imprisonment
– and gave them the right to a court trial
– No new taxes unless agreed on
Parliament
• Magna Carta led to the creation of
– Parliament
• Group of law makers
• The king now had to get permission from
parliament to raise taxes or pass a law.
• English Bill of Rights
– Forced Monarchs to obey the law and share
power with parliament.
• Limited monarchy
– Constitution limits the power of the monarch
King
The Catholic Church
They protect the king
And
The land
They work
the land
Lords or Noblemen
Knights
Peasants and Serfs
• Feudalism was the system of loyalties and
protections during the Middle Ages.
• As the Roman Empire crumbled, emperors
granted land to nobles in exchange for
their loyalty.
• A manor is the land owned by a noble and
everything on it. A typical manor consisted
of a castle, small village, and farmland.
• During the Middle Ages, peasants could
no longer count on the Roman army to
protect them.
• The peasants turned to the landowners,
often called lords, to protect them.
• Many peasants remained free, but most
became serfs. A serf was bound to the
land. He could not leave without buying his
freedom, an unlikely occurrence
• Life for a serf was not much better than
the life of a slave. The only difference was
that a serf could not be sold to another
manor.