THE MIDDLE AGES 1066 – 1485
1042 – 1066 EDWARD THE CONFESSOR (Saxon) had lived in Normandy in exile
when he returned he brought with him Norman nobles and monks and gave them the richest lands.
The same ceremonial for coronation used for him in 1043 is used now. It is 900 years old.
When he died, the council chose as king HAROLD (Saxon – Godwin)
But WILLIAM OF NORMANDY, who claimed the English throne, gathered an army and
defeated Harold and the resistance of the town of London at the battle of Hastings 14 October 1066.
He was crowned at Christmas night in Westminster. This is the last invasion of England.
WILLIAM OF NORMANDY 1066 – 1087
In England the political and religious institutions of the feudal system were imposed from above
 the king really owned all of the land and gave part of it on certain bonds
 so the feudal system was more complete and regular than in other countries.
Moreover the economic bases of the feudal system had already been developing in England out of the towns
and the political organisation was already starting to shape in the form of the feudal system.
 so the feudal system is firmly established in England.
the KING was the only owner of all the land
 he gave the barons the land, the political, judicial and economic power and
 he received honours, loyalty, taxes and military services
he had to lead the army at war and to keep the peace.
The BARONS lived in the manors, paid taxes and when they died, the land passed on to their first son after
paying a tax. They had the right to rebel against the king if he did not respect the contract, but at the time it
was nearly impossible.
The KNIGHTS were lesser noblemen
The PEASANTS worked on the lord’s land and had strips of land for their own
SERFS and the SLAVES
The meadows and waste land were common and were used for pasture.
Some have survived to the present day: Wimbledon Common, Clapham Common.
The woods and the hunting and fishing rights belonged to the lord.
FEATURES OF THE ENGLISH FEUDAL SYSTEM
1. THE BARONS

the king divided the country in shires (see map)

the barons received lands in different areas so that they could not concentrate in one area great
military forces  they could not become semi-independent princes

the king was by far more powerful than the barons: he had more money and more lands. He had
retained for himself a quarter of the lands, the forests and all the towns.

in each county there was a sheriff, appointed by the king, who was more powerful than the baron and
was there to control him and to exact taxes.
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private armies were forbidden and there were seldom wars between the nobles. But the nobility had to
defend themselves so they started to build castles of stone instead of wood. The Tower of London,
built by William the Conqueror is still standing. (see photo)

In 1075 there was a revolt of the barons against all these limitations imposed on them, but the king
defeated them with the help of the peasants.
2. DOMESDAY BOOK
The king ordered to make a survey, a census, all over the country in every shire, in order to
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impose taxes on the people
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have a detailed description of the situation of the country in England
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to discover who was getting too rich and powerful
Nobody dared to oppose.
‘Doom’ the last judgement. It was not possible to appeal from it than it was form the last judgement.
It was written in black and red ink and included the land, the people and the animals in each shire.
There were few slaves and they soon became paid freemen or artisans (commutation).
It was much cheaper.
3. THE CHURCH
William’s relationship with the Church was business-like: The Pope had given his blessing to the invasion and
the king continued to pay the annual tax to Rome (Peter’s pence)
4. THE LAW
The king enforced the common law. It was more accepted to the people. It separated lay justice from clerical
justice. In England there was little influence or interference from the church.
WILLIAM II 1087 – 1100
HENRY I 1100 – 1135 married Edith, the offspring of Wessex king

he could well read and write and used very well bureaucracy

he reaffirmed the old Saxon laws and adapted them to the feudal system to find a conciliation with the
Saxons

he concentrated the administration of justice in the hands of the king and appointed travelling judges

He creates a state council, composed by nobles and counsellors, from which the parliament derives
and a private council or cabinet for everyday problems
When he died there was ‘the anarchy’: 20 years of feudal wars.
STEPHEN 1135 – 1154, the son of Matilde and Geoffrey Plantagenet of Anjou. His son succeeded him.
HENRY II 1154 – 1189 PLANTAGENET
Their emblem was a broom (plantagenistra). He was French, he was king of England, of Normandy and vassal
of the king of France. He had lands from Scotland to the south of France.
1. the nobles.
He strengthened the authority of the king and attacked the barons because they were too powerful and
destroyed many castles. He forbade them to build fortified castles so the typical English mansions are not
fortified. In 1170 he started a general purge of the sheriffs to forbid unauthorised taxation and after that
he gave them more power.
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The barons could now pay the SCUTAGE, that is a tax instead of giving military service to the king.
This way the king could hire well trained mercenaries and have a good faithful army and
the knights became more attacked to the land and later the typical English country gentleman.
2. the church
The bishops represented the power of Rome and at the same time they were powerful feudal lords. The
problem was as to who had to invest them and who was to judge them, because clerical justice was
greatly limited.
The king passed THE CONSTITUTIONS OF CLARENDON: a body of laws by which the king was the first to
impose justice then the judgement passed to the church.
THOMAS BECKETT was the chancellor of the king and also archbishop of Canterbury. At first he helped the
king but then he opposed him to defend the interests of the church. He sent him in exile for 7 years and
when he returned he was killed by 4 knights of the king in 1170 in his church.
There was a great scandal and the king had to make amends and accepted to be whipped in public.
The Constitution of Clarendon was abolished and T. Beckett made a martyr and saint.
3. the common law of the land
He improved the legal and administrative system. It was imposed everywhere the common law of the land
based on previous cases and decisions. It was based on Anglo-Saxons principles, not on roman law.
For this reason also canon law was less important. There were already travelling judges but in this period
trial by jury was imposed. It was not compelling but it was much better than trial by ordeal (they put a hot
iron on the tongue, if after three days the mark was still there, he was a culprit).
It was described in the Ammurabi Code, shown at Louvre written on a stone. Ordeal means ‘judgement by
God’. It is still used by some Bedouin tribes.
MIDDLE ENGLISH (1066 – 1450)
The second important event in the history of English was the conquest of Britain by the French-speaking
Normans in 1066. Their arrival had important effects. Up to 1200 the ruling class had a double nationality and
usually spoke French. They often spent long periods in France where they acquired not only the language but
also the customs and traditions. French was therefore the language of the court and the nobility for the next
two hundred years, while Latin was the language of religion and learning. The English language only survived
in common speech.
This class division can still be seen in the different words that English has for the animal and for its meat. The
common people, who looked after the animals, used Anglo-Saxon words like pig, cow and sheep, while the
French speaking aristocracy, who ate the meat, called it pork, beef and mutton, all words of French origin.
Slowly French words were carried over into English to supply deficiencies in its vocabulary: administrative,
ecclesiastical, military and legal terms, as well as words dealing with food, fashion and social life, medicine and
art. Some words were also borrowed directly from Latin, which remained the language of the church.
Anti-French feeling was strong among the common people, and national pride was growing at every level of
society, among both unlettered and learned people. English was made compulsory in the Law Courts by the
middle of the 14th century, and later introduced into schools as well.
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The process of transformation continued and, by the middle of the 15th century, the new form of English was
spoken by all classes.
When Middle English finally emerged as a literary language, with Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century, it was
quite different from the Anglo-Saxon of the previous period. Among other changes:

Mercian (also called the Midland dialect) replaced West Saxon and, together with the dialect of the capital,
London, laid the foundation of Standard English (i.e. the form of English commonly spoken throughout
England);

Old English inflections were strongly reduced and replaced by prepositions;

adjectives were no longer inflected, except for final -e, which remained to mark the plural;
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grammatical gender became simplified, corresponding to natural masculine, feminine, and neuter;

the plural of nouns and the genitive singular were marked by the -(e)s ending:

the genitive singular gradually developed into the modern possessive case: the kinges power ----> the
king's power
RICHARD I THE LIONHEART 1189 – 1199
He could not speak English and spent only 6 months in England. He was very popular but irresponsible.
He took part in the third crusade against the heathens and left the country in the hands of administrators and
then of John. The crusades were wars which had a religious objective, a strategic objective (the control of the
Middle East) and an economic one (booty, lands and feuds). They were provoked by a growing feeling of
antisemitism, spread all over Europe. He spent a fortune for the crusade and an enormous sum of money to be
ransomed from the emperor of Germany. He got this money from the selling of statutes to towns: they paid
lots of taxes and wanted to pay a sum of money to be independent. To gather this money the corporations
were born. Consequences of the crusades were a direct contact with Italian towns and a general increase of
commerce and culture.
JOHN LACKLAND 1199 - 1216
He was hated by the barons, the people, the towns and the church

he imposed excessive taxes, required unauthorised services and confiscated lands and possessions
without regular process.
The historical fact is that a man called “Robin Hood” was wanted in Yorkshire in 1230. according to the
legend he used bow and arrow not a sword as the nobility. A similar legend appeared in the same
period in Switzerland in ballads: William Tell against the cruel bailiff.

He made war on France and lost his provinces in Normandy (so he was said Lackland)
and the barons got furious

He made an enemy even to the Pope for the appointment of the archbishop of Canterbury.
He was excommunicated and the kings of France and Scotland attacked England.
1214 battle of Bouvines: the barons and the people refused to fight and revolted.
1215 MAGNA CHARTA
At Runnymede the king accepted to sign the Magna Charta that defined the duties of the feudal lord and
the alliance of the barons and the town citizen against the king. It did not involve all the people but was
the beginning of a constitutional monarchy.
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It stated:
‘no freeman shall be arrested, put in prison or lose his property, or be outlawed or banished or harmed in
any way unless he has been judged by his equals under the law of the land’
‘no taxes shall be demanded without the consent of the great council’:
a permanent council of 24 barons was set to control the king. This is the beginning of a Parliament.
The barons already identified themselves as a social class.
John gathers an army and fights the barons. There was a civil war until he died in 1216.
Later the Magna Charta was forgotten until the Tudors because the bourgeoisy was very loyal to the king
and the nobility had been nearly eliminated by the War of the Roses.
It was fully rediscovered only in 1900.
FEUDAL SYSTEM  NEW CAPITALISTIC AGRICULTURE AND COMMERCE

‘commutation’ the slaves become waged workers

increase of agricultural production

development of international commerce

improvement of ports and roads

organisation of fairs
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coinage of gold and silver coins

production of wool for the Flanders
England almost had the monopoly: no other country produced so much wool
In 1100 – 1200 the Cistercian monks had organised large sheep rearing and wool commerce

the towns were self-governed:
they were organised in guilds of merchants, of craftsmen and artisans: YEOMAN
the guilds were exclusive and class division was marked. Some guilds had nearly an industrial
organisation, especially those of the weavers and goldsmiths.
They were very powerful, even on the election of the MAYOR.
FEUDAL SYSTEM 
CAPITALISTIC AGRICULTURE AND COMMERCE
Taxes on land
taxes on other forms of wealth 
Which involve other social classes 
Who take part in the government of the country 
The king allies with the middle classes instead of the barons =
The middle classes start to have political power
HENRY III 1216 – 1272
He was nine years old so a group of barons formed the Great Council. They were very united and clever in the
administration of the country. They claimed the right to appoint sheriffs and other important offices. The king
wanted to contrast the council but he was incompetent, weak and extravagant. He asked for a lot of money
and gave lands and offices to his French friends. He was too submitted to the clergy and spent a lot of money
to build Westminster Abbey.
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A civil war broke out
the king and some of the nobles against
The barons, merchants, students, the university of Oxford and the town of London led
by SIMON DE MONTFORT, Earl of Leicester
In 1264 the king was imprisoned and Simon ruled the country for a year.
He summoned a meeting (discussion) A PARLIAMENT

representatives of the barons  House of Lords

2 citizens of each city or borough elected by the inhabitants  House of Commons

2 representatives for each shire (it was the first time)

representatives of the clergy  it is no more part of the Parliament
the Parliament had more and more importance from now on.
The Normans had not invaded
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WALES: it was conquered by nearby feudal lords in 150 years of wars
The Llewellyn recovered even more lands and only in 1285 the king conquered Wales
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IRELAND: it was divided in clans and barons so there were many wars and little economic
development: it was a poor backward country. It will be conquered only in 1500.

SCOTLAND: it was an independent feudal territory with friendly relationship with England. Edward I
and II had made some attempt to conquer it. The conquest of Scotland was abandoned after the
defeat of Edward II at the battle of Bannockburn in 1314.
EDWARD III 1327 – 1377
He founded the Order of the Garter: 24 knights, based on king Arthur’s model, with ideals of honour and
service meet once a year on St. George’s day at Windsor Castle. This custom is still followed today. Members
are Prince Charles and Hirohito.
HUNDRED YEARS’ WAR 1337 – 1453
He was the grandson of the king of France and claimed the throne of France through female descendance.
It was only apparently a mediaeval war of conquest  it was a political and commercial war

France helped Scotland against England

The Flanders were the centre of wool industry: they bought English wool then they weaved it

The Guascogne was a very rich English feud for the production of wine, salt and hay
1250 revolt of the weavers of the Flanders
 the county was nearly independent and the king of France wanted to obtain control of it
 the weavers ask for help to England
1303 battle of Coutrai the weavers obtain the control of the city
1346 battle of Crecy the English win and get Calais
1356 battle of Poitiers the English win
1360 peace of Bretigny the English have nearly a half of the French territory
These victories were due to the villains and the longbow. The villain is in the same condition of the knight.
1369 – 1377 the English didn’t fight even a battle but lost nearly all the territories but Calais because
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the English had been weakened by the war in Spain
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the French organised a great popular resistance organised by Du Guesclin, military genius on the
Middle Ages.
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Discovery of gunpowder: it could be used by little trained people, instead the longbow required a long
training
consequences of the war:

enormous cost of lives and money

decline of the feudal system

improvement of national wool industry:
immigration of weavers and artisans from the Flanders was favoured
and manufacturing industry was set near rivers.
England became the first producer of wool fabric in Europe and in 1400 stated to export it.

Strong sense of national identity: English became the official and literary language and French
language and culture was rejected.
1348 BLACK DEATH
Bubonic plague killed on third of the population and, together with the war, provoked a serious economic
crisis. They made the social and economic transformation faster.
Agriculture was totally disorganised: there were no serfs
 paid labourers required higher wages
 the prices were doubled
 land was used for sheep rearing  production of wool increased
the relationship between classes was only economic now.
1381 PEASANTS’ REVOLT
causes:
a new tax was imposed on everybody over 14, the Poll Tax (head)
there was shortage of workers but they were underpaid
They founded the Great Society, a sort of primitive Christian communism, which assisted the peasants and
prepared a set of social demands, such as abolition of slavery, commutation of all jobs, and organised a
national armed revolt. They killed sheriffs, took castles and marched to London. They didn’t meet any
resistance. They killed some ministers and set siege to the Tower. The king promised pardon and
emancipations from villeinage. Afterwards he denied his promises and had Wat Tyler killed. The army charged
the rebels and the revolt failed. The revolt anyway contributed to the freedom of serfs:
1. new taxes were imposed only on landowners
2. the salaries were defined according to the current prices
3. the revolt gave independence and feeling of a class
The Church was the only depositary of culture. The monasteries were centres of culture, fine arts, agriculture
and industrial techniques. The monks depended on the Pope but the bishops were more connected with the
state because they also had state functions.
After 1300 there had been a decline:

because of the selling of reliques and the collections of tenths the clergy had lost respect
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
having a large temporal possession they lost their spiritual importance. The church was a part of the
feudal system and so was part of its decline.

It was no more the only educated class. Now lay people could express their opinion on religion and
they criticised the church

England was strongly anticlerical because they paid heavy taxes and these taxes went to Rome.

When, in 1305 the Pope was in Avignon, that is the Pope was French, religion contrasted with the
national feeling.

They had knowledge of the corruption of the church of Rome
1372 WYCLIFFE
1. He denied the church the right to possess temporal goods and started to preach for the confiscation
of monastic properties. He was supported by the lords who wanted to have a gain and by the priests
(the parishes were poor while the monasteries were very rich).
2. He criticised the worship of relics, the veneration of images and the payment for masses.
3. he claimed that the rightful man is as close to God as a priest
(similar ideas will be widespread by Luther)
4. he considered important only the study of the Bible and the preaching and not the sacraments, as all
Protestants  so he translated for the first time the Bible into English.
For this reason he was expelled from Oxford and later burns at the stake.
His ideas formed the basis of Lollardy or Lollard heresy.
Groups of Lollards read and interpreted the Bible preaching in all the country to evangelise the lowest
classes. The Commons at first resisted to the arrest of these preachers but in 1401 there was a violent
persecution. In 1500 Luther’s ideas were welcomed by the Lollards.
HENRY V 1413 – 1422
Young and ambitious he opened the second period of the Hundred Years’ war for political and economic
reasons: he wanted the support of the middle classes and, as there was a civil war in France, he allied himself
with the Duke of Burgundy. 1415 battle of Agincourt: 13,000 English soldiers defeated 50,000 French ones.
Shakespeare wrote a famous history play about this battle. He started a systematic conquest of Normandy
and married Catherine, the daughter of the king of France. 2/3 of France were under the English rule.
HENRY VI 1422 – 1461
He was nine months old and was nearly a demented person so a Lord Protector governed the country.
England was defeated by France and lost nearly all territories but Calais:

France had a better use of artillery and of cannons

France had better tactics

Joan of Arc roused a wave of national patriotism. She was a young peasant girl who got an important
role in the army which was trying to defend Orleans. The king was afraid of the enthusiasm for her
and sold her to the English who burnt her on the stake.
1453 the end of the Hundred Years’ war
1455 – 1485 WAR OF THE ROSES
the king could not face the rivalry between the nobles because the monarchy had lost its strength.
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
The house of LANCASTER (red rose) was supported by nobles of Wales and Scotland (reactionary
feudal lords)

The house of YORK (white rose), supported by Anglia and London, even if their contribution was not
active.
The victory of the York is the victory of the middle classes and of the most modern and advanced areas
It was a war of succession between few very powerful lords who wanted to rule the country, not a feudal war
of lords who wanted to free from the king. It was a war of extermination of the nobles as a ruling class.
There was only one battle 1461 at Towton where the York won but the war continued.
EDWARD IV 1461 – 1483
He was very very rich because he confiscated the goods of the enemies.
EDWARD V 1463
He was only 13 and governed with his uncle, Lord Protector who had the king and his brother imprisoned in
the tower and then killed.
RICHARD III 1483 – 1485
He lost the support of the people and was defeated in 1485 at Bosworth Field by
HENRY VII TUDOR 1485 – 1509
He descended, from his mother’s side, from the Lancaster, of which he was the only survivor.
He married Elisabeth of York, Edward VI’s sister and last descendant of the house of York.
He put an end to the War of the Roses.
A totally new monarchy rises, based on the new relationship between social classes, also because all the noble
families were extinct.
1400 – 1500 Transition age from the feudal system to the middle classes

Real improvement in the life condition of the population

Increase of industry and commerce

Development of parliamentary institutions: the noble lose their social function

Education of the nobility and the merchants

War of the Roses  destruction of the nobles  the crown and the middle classes are strong and
ready to ally.

1477 the first book was printed. The church produced books by copying them but it was too slow to
satisfy the requests. The printed books were a weapon of the middle classes for political and religious
reforms.

Because of the Black Death and the Hundred Years’ War the lords become modern landowners and
produce more wool for industry

The guilds introduce new technological innovations (water energy) and move the textile industry in the
valleys and in the villages. Some towns lose their importance and some new are born.
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