The Middle Ages

1. The Middle Ages (1066-1485)

2. Norman Invasion of England (1066) • William the Conqueror invades England, wins the Battle of Hastings, and defeats King Harold • William believed throne was promised to him • Illegitimate son of a duke of Normandy • …who was a cousin to the English king, Edward the Confessor

3. Sailing across • William, a bastard son, angry upon hearing the news, sends an insulting demand for the throne. • Sails across the channel from Normandy to England with 1,000 “dragon ships.” • 80-ft. long, propelled by oars and a single sail

4. The Setup • Winds change; helps ships • Harold doesn’t have enough time to get to the coast to meet William • William has enough time to set up spiked fences in front of ditches

5. Battle of Hastings • 5,000 to 7,000 troops on each side. • English had warriors and peasants • Wedge-shaped formations; spearmen in front; everyone else with battle-axes • Fought on foot • Normans had a mix of archers and dismounted and mounted warriors.

6. Battle of Hastings • The battle raged all day • Anglo-Saxon battle-axes proved deadly against mounted cavalry • Dismembered horses • Confusion breaks out amongst English • Retreat blocked off by ditches • Normans slowly win

7. William Reigns • William sets himself up as king • Wants to rule Anglo-Saxons, not eliminate them • Introduces feudalism • Brings the French language • Brings the “Domesday Book,” which kept inventory on all of England • First time taxes were based on what people owned

8. Feudalism • Feudalism bound every person to a strict role-based system: • King • All-powerful overlord and land owner • Lord • Land-owner who gives land in exchange for services • Vassal • Receives land and provides military service for it • Knight • The military service; defenders • Serf • Peasants bound to the land; slave-like

9. Knights • Were the muscle of the feudal system • When vassals opposed lords— • Knights defended and attacked • Chivalry • Governs knights’ and gentlewomen’s behaviors • Idealistic courting • Women were adored, but their position was unchanged • Led to romance tales (King Arthur and Camelot)

10. Romance,Romanticism, *Romance Romance Romanticism Era of rebellious art, music, writing, architecture, and ideas during the 19th Century. Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, Keats, Beethoven, Goethe, Thoreau, Emerson, and a lot more A bunch of later-on guys who we aren’t studying… • Love stories; sometimes great, sometimes cheesy, sometimes overly sexual • Check out Wal-Mart book aisles or your grandmother’s bookshelf, and look for the buff Indian dudes. *Romance: Verse narrative tracing the adventures of a brave knight who overcomes danger for the love of a noble lady (or high ideal). He’s usually aided by magic.

11. Romance

12. Romanticism

13. *Romance

14. *Romance

15. *Romance

16. *Romance

17. *Romance

18. *Romance

19. Armor • Rich knights • 120-lbs of metal • Suffocation, heart-failure, heat stroke, drowning • Turtle on his back

20. Getting Past Armor • Knight weapons: • Dagger, sword, club- • headed mace, lance, • battle-ax, flail, • polearms • Strange weapons • Warhammer

21. The End of Armor • Yeoman archers with longbows • Gunpowder (1325) • Guns • Cannons

22. I need a volunteer!

23. Feudalism weakens • With the growth of population, a new middle class emerged: • Merchant class • Evident in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales • New art and music, not aristocratic, but the people’s. • Sung ballads • Expressed viewpoint of people

24. The Crusades (1095-1270) • A series of holy wars • Started by Pope Urban II • Wanted Christians of Europe to reclaim Jerusalem and other holy places in the Middle East from the Muslims • 200 years of disastrous military expeditions and slaughter • (2:40:00) movie clip

25. Thomas à Becket • Appointed archbishop of Canterbury by Henry II • Henry wanted the upper hand against the Church and thought Thomas would help. • Well… Thomas didn’t. He sided with the pope. • Knights misinterpret order and slaughter Thomas in his own cathedral. • Results in backlash for Henry; public outrages. • Church abuses their own power because no one can stop them.

26. The Magna Carta/ The Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453) • English barons force King John to sign the Magna Carta(1215). • Constitutional law, trial by jury, and legislative tax • The Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453) • Claims for France’s throne • English kings: Edward II and Henry V. • English lose • By the end, yeoman (small landowners) replaced knights • Birth of modern, democratic England

27. The Final Blow to Feudalism • Population growth, gunpowder, and yeoman archers, and then… • The Black Death (or bubonic plague) • Fleas from rats • Began in China and spread west on Silk Road. Ended on merchant-ship rats; came to Europe • Reduced Europe’s population by a third • Reduced the world’s population from 450 million to 350 million in the 14th century. • Destroyed faith; caused labor shortage, which gave lower class more bargaining power against overlords; provided serf freedom • Which knocked out feudalism’s last support

28. Bubonic Plague • Swollen lymph nodes around the groin, armpit, and neck • Acral gangrene (generally of the fingers, toes, lips, and nose) • Chills • General ill feeling (malaise) • High fever • Muscle cramps • Seizures • Swollen lymph nodes around groin, armpit, and neck • Pain in infected areas • Skin color changes • Vomiting blood, heavy breathing, aching limbs, coughing, extreme pain (caused by decay of skin while still alive) • Extreme fatigue, gastrointestinal problems, delirium, and coma

29. Plague Doctors • Much later… • In the 17th century, plague doctors moved through towns, helping the infected • Suit • Heavy, waxed overcoat • Glassed-eye openings • Beak to hold scents and straw • (ambergris, balm-mint leaves, • cloves, laudanum, rose petals)

30. Review! • 1066 • Feudalism • Knights, chivalry, and courting • Women roles • Romance, Romanticism, *Romance • Thomas Becket • Crusades • Magna Carta • Hundred Years’ War • Population growth, yeoman archers, gunpowder, and the Black Death