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The Medieval Period 1066 - 1485

The Medieval Period 1066 - 1485. The Norman Conquest. The Battle of Hastings in 1066 King Harold of England was beaten by William of Normandy Normans were of Viking and French ancestry Full take-over, not just a temporary invasion. Norman Invasion cont.

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The Medieval Period 1066 - 1485

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  1. The Medieval Period1066 - 1485

  2. The Norman Conquest • The Battle of Hastings in 1066 • King Harold of England was beaten by William of Normandy • Normans were of Viking and French ancestry • Full take-over, not just a temporary invasion

  3. Norman Invasion cont. • The dual realms of England and Normandy became the most powerful force in Europe. • Melding of the Norman and Anglo-Saxon cultures

  4. Land and the Feudal System • Anglo-Saxon land was taken away and given to those who fought for William the Conqueror. • No land was owned independently. • Chain of loyalties, with rent paid primarily in military service to the overlord or king.

  5. The Doomsday Book • William had this book inventory all of the land holdings in England and their claims. • Taxes were now based on property, whereas before they were equal for all.

  6. The Medieval Church • The Medieval Church helped to create one homogenous society with a common culture and set of beliefs. • Latin, the language of the church, became the language of the educated. • Religious men were still predominant in collecting and writing manuscripts.

  7. Medieval Life • Most people lived in the country on a feudal manor where they worked their own fields and the lands of the lord of the manor to whom they owed allegiance. • Farming changed to herding as English wool from sheep became popular.

  8. Growth of Cities • Due to herding, cottages became mills. • Towns in the north expanded due to the production of wool. • A new merchant class grew. • Guilds were created to assure fair wages.

  9. English Law • Common Law • Common to the whole country and all its people rather than to certain classes of people • Developed as society developed • Law of Primogeniture • Firstborn son inherits his father’s titles, estates, lands, etc.

  10. Medieval Law cont. • Ordeals • People’s innocence or guilt was settled by giving them tasks. If they were successful, they were judged innocent. • The pope found this law “irrational” in 1215 • Magna Carta • Limited the king’s taxing powers and foreshadowed the right of trial by jury.

  11. The Crusades • The first crusade was in 1095, proclaimed by Pope Urban II, to rescue Jerusalem from the Turks. • Several more followed. • All ended poorly in a tangle of raiding, looting and power politics. • Through these travels Europeans were exposed to eastern mathematics and medicine. • Chivalry as an ideal.

  12. The Hundred Years’ War • England never fully relinquished its lands to the Normans, thus resulting in a series of wars ranging from 1337 to 1453. • English longbows were the weapon that most impacted their efficiency.

  13. The Wars of the Roses • The Black Death killed 1/3 of the population in 1348. • Scarcity of labor but burdensome taxes • Peasants revolted • Civil war between the House of York, whose emblem was the white rose, vs. the house of Lancaster whose emblem was a red rose.

  14. Medieval Literature • Medieval romances consisted of tales of chivalry. • Autobiography • Travel writing • Devotional writing (lives of the saints)

  15. Folk Poetry and Drama • The ballad • Songs sung at alehouses and around firesides • Rarely written down • Flourished during the 14th and 15th centurires but not published until the 18th century • Miracle Plays based on the lives of saints • Morality Plays • Virtues and vices

  16. Geoffrey Chaucer1340? - 1400 • Born into an upper, middle-class family • He was a court favorite and served as a soldier, fighting in France • Held many diplomatic positions throughout his life. • One of his most important contributions was bringing the English language to literature.

  17. The Canterbury Tales • The tale brings together characters from all classes. • Each character shares a tale on the way to a pilgrimage in Canterbury. • Ideally Chaucer had intended to have each character tell two tales on the way and two more on the way home, but he died before this was accomplished.

  18. Chaucer cont. • The Canterbury Tales provides our best picture of life in 14th century England • Chaucer shows a profound understanding of human motivation • Written in poetry rather than prose • Easy, informal vocabulary

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