THE HIGH MIDDLE AGES: 1000 to 1300
The Norman Conquest
1066 William the Conqueror invaded England.
He was the most powerful man in France.
He was the Duke of Normandy, so this is called the
Norman Invasion.
He defeated the Anglo-Saxons at the Battle of
Hastings and became the King of England.
William the Conqueror
Being a foreigner, how did he make the English
nobility loyal to him?
He made them all swear allegiance directly to him!
France and England
Thanks to William the Conqueror, England became
the most powerful feudal state in Europe.
Kings in England and France began building strong
central governments.
The King of England was powerful and controlled the
nobles
Henry II
In 1154, Henry II became the King of England.
He was the great-grandson of William the Conqueror.
He was the most powerful man in Europe:
1. He was the King of England.
2. He ruled most of France. (Because he married
Eleanor of Aquitaine.)
3. His rebellious son (Bad King John) later broke all the
laws of England.
The English legal system
1175 As King of England, Henry II set up the English legal
system:
1. Common Law - Judges made law.
Common Law is based on precedent: What past judges
have ruled.
2. Circuit courts - Judges held trials. They rode on
horseback from town to town. Dealt with major crimes.
3. Trial by jury - At first, the testimony of jurors helped the
judge decide the case.
4. Habeas Corpus - The Magna Carta gave judges the
power to overrule the king: A judge decides whether a
man should have been arrested.
It guarantees the individual a right against arbitrary
arrest and imprisonment.
Common Law
* Roman law was used throughout Europe, especially
France and Italy.
* Henry II rejected it in England and decided to use
Anglo-Saxon tradition - Common Law - as the law of
the land.
* Common law is a body of rulings made by judges
based on community traditions and previous court
decisions.
Common Law
When making a decision, a judge consults past
precedent - what past judges have ruled in a similar
situation.
Example: An English judge, based on local standards,
ruled that the killing a person in self-defense is not
murder.
That set a precedent: Ever after, judges in that
community followed that precedent.
Common Law
American law is based on English Common Law.
This is why lawyers have law books: They bring up
past cases to convince the judge.
Summing it up
* 1066 William the Conqueror set the tone: We will
follow English law and traditions.
* 1154 Henry II (WTC’s great-grandson): We will
follow English law and traditions. I call it Common
Law.
* 1215 King John (Henry’s rebellious son): Nope. I
ignore the law and do whatever I please.
Magna Carta
Less than 200 years after the reign of William the
Conqueror, one of his descendants, King John, sat
upon the throne of England.
He was an exceedingly bad ruler. He stole, he told
lies, and he put innocent people in prison. If he
wanted money, he simply demanded it of any persons
who had it, and if they refused to give it, he did not
hesitate to torture them
Magna Carta
King John of England broke every law in the book!
Church law - He confiscated church property.
Feudal law - He confiscated barons’ property.
Common law - He ignored centuries of law.
The English barons made war on him.
They defeated him and forced him to sign the Magna
Carta.
As a result, the King’s power was limited.
This was the basis for England’s constitution.
He signed the parchment, either in
the meadow or on an island in the river, and then went back to his palace. It was said by some that he gnashed
his teeth, and shrieked, and rolled on the floor like a madman; but the barons were hard at work seeing to it that
many copies of this parchment were made and sent over the land to be read aloud in the churches.
This parchment was the famous Magna Carta, or Great Charter, signed in 1215. The barons were then
the most powerful men of the kingdom, and they saw to it that as long as he lived the king kept his word. After
50 years later, not only the barons but representatives of the towns were admitted to the council. This was the
beginning of the English Parliament; and now, if a king ruled unjustly, he must account, not only to the barons,
but to the whole people.
7 Basic Principles of the
Magna Carta
1. Limited Government -The King cannot do anything he pleases. There are limits on
the King. The King is limited by the law - and now this piece of paper known as the
Magna Carta.
2. The Rule of Law -There is a body of law that has evolved over centuries. Everyone
must obey the law. Even the king.
3. Balance of Power -If a King breaks the law, who removes him from power? His
vassals, the barons had the right to get rid of him.
4. Power of the Purse – The King cannot raise taxes on his own. Before the King can
raise taxes, he must consult the barons.
5. Private Property - The King cannot seize a man’s property. Every free man is entitled
to three absolute rights: Life, liberty, property.
6. Due Process - An accused person is entitled to a hearing and trial.
7. Judgment by Your Peers - When put on trial, a man has the right to a jury. The King
cannot choose the jury. The jury must consist of his peers - his social equals.
Hundred Years War
England and France battled each other for over a
century as to who had the right to the French Throne.
In 1420 they signed a treaty in which Henry V would
inherit the crown after the French king Charles VI.
However both Henry V and Charles VI died within 2
years of each other and the battle as to who should
get the crown continued.
Charles v. Henry
English – Henry VI
French – Charles VII
Charles VII declared himself king…however declaring
oneself king and actually being king were not the
same. his people would not recognize him as king
until he was crowned in the traditional manner and
place. French coronations always took place at the
Cathedral in Rheims.
But ... Rheims was controlled by the English.
Key Characters
Joan of Arc
Charles VII
Henry VI
Eyewitness to visions (Joan’s sister or father)