BRITISH LIFE AND CIVILIZATION FINAL NOTES

FEUDALISM

 The social structure of the middle ages was organised round the system of Feudalism.
Feudalism in practice meant that the country was not governed by the king but individual
lords, or barons, who administered their own estates, dispensed their own justice, minted
their own money, levied taxes and tolls, and demanded military service from vassals.
 Usually the lords could field greater armies than the king. In theory the king was the feudal
lord, but in reality the individual lords were supreme in their own territory. Many kings were
little more than figurehead rulers.
 Feudalism was built upon a relationship of obligation and mutual service between vassals
and lords. A vassal held his land, or fief, as a grant from a lord. When a vassal died, his heir
was required to publicly renew his oath of faithfulness ( fealty) to his lord ( suzerain). This
public oath was called " homage"

A Lord’s Obligations

 he was obliged to protect the vassal and guard his children

 Give military aid
 If a daughter inherited, the lord arranged her marriage
 If there were no heirs the lord disposed of the fief as he chose

A Vassal’s Obligations

 Attend the lord at his court

 Help administer justice and contribute Money if needed
 He must answer a summons to battle, bringing an agreed upon number of fighting men.
 He must feed and house the lord and his company when they travelled across his land.

MANORS

 Manors, not villages, were the economic and social units of the life in the early middle ages.
A manor house, one or more villages, and up to several thousand acres of land divided into
meadow, pasture, forest and cultivated fields.
 The fields were further divided into strips; 1/3 for the lord of the manor, less for the church,
and the remainder for the peasants and serfs. This land was shared out so that each person
had an equal share of good and poor. At least half the work week was spent on the land
belonging to the lord and the church.
 Time might also spent doing maintenance and on special projects such as clearing land,
cutting firewood, and building roads and bridges. The rest of the time the villagers were free
to work their own land.
 In short, the king owned the land and gave them to his barons. They had to do military
service in return. There were many titles ( freeman, serfs, vassals, lords) and the system was
like a continual cycle. There was a connection between all these people.
 When the merchants emerged they were not taken into consideration at first. The clergy and
the nobles regarded them with suspicion and as a threat to the already established
system/hierarchy.
 The concept of "nobility by birth" started to change and another system of ranking based on
"nobility by money" started to take root.
AFTER WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR

 We have previously said that the castles were initially designed to assist in the consolidation
of Norman rule, however it would be that the castles rapidly lost their function of holding
down the English. Though the strength of Norman England were expressed in a
determination to push the frontiers back and castles played a crucial role in this process their
second function became more and more prominent: dealing with disputes within the
Norman elite.
 The rivalry within the Norman elite reflected competition between nobles, disputes between
them and monarchs and, most seriously, succession problems in the Norman dynasty.
Impartibility (undivided inheritance) competed with the practice of all members of a family
having a claim. While male primogeniture became the rule, it was resisted by other
claimants.
 During his life time William I controlled two large areas: Normandy which he inherited and
was a subject of the king of France as the Duke of Normandy. England which he won after a
war and he was the king with no lord above him.
 When william died in 1087, he left the Duchy of Normandy to his elder son, Robert. He gave
England to his second son William, known as "rufus"
 William rufus died in a hunting accident in 1100 without an heir. Robert at the meanwhile
joined the Crusades an was on his way back home. Their younger brother Henry was hunting
with Rufus and he rode to Winchester and took charge of the king's treasury.
 In 1106 Henry I invaded Normandy and captured Robert joining Normandy and England
under one ruler.
 Henry's only son was drowned at sea and he wanted that his daughter Matilda would follow
him. Henry had married Matilda to another great noble in France, Geoffrey Plantagenet. He
was heir to Anjou, a large and important area southwest of Normandy.
 Matilda's son Henry II was the first unquestioned ruler of the English throne for a hundred
years. He destroyed the castles which many nobles had built without royal permission during
Stephen's reign, and made sure that they lived in manor houses that were undefended. The
manor again became the centre of local life and administration.
 Henry II was followed by his rebellious son Richard. Richard I has always been a popular king
because he was brave, and a good soldier, but his nickname Coeur de Lion (Lionheart), shows
that his culture, like that of the king before him, was french.
 Richard had no son, and he was followed by his brother, John.
 John had already made himself unpopular with the three most important groups of people,
the nobles, the merchants and the church.

Characteristics of the Medieval Period

1) Latin was the language of education English was the language of common people French was
the language of the nobility Literary works were class conscious in theme, genre and
language.
2) Most Medieval English literature is imitative, derivative and secondary.
3) Literature was impersonal. Works do not have names of writers . There was not much
interest in the poet which led to anonymous works.
4) Authority was important which usually derived from an ancient author. The author would put
his individual authority with the authority of others.
5) There was a visible effect of the presence of woman and the audience. Epics were replaced
by romances and heroic ideal was replaced by courtly love.
 6) Church and religion was important. They believed life was transitory and prepared for their
next life. This led to a concentration on the issue of salvation as observed in the moral
questions raised in literature.
7) Medieval literature was generally in verse and narratives which were intended not to be read
but listened.
8) Originality was not important in terms of literature, the story material was common
property.

MAGNA CARTA

 The Magna Carta is a document signed by King John I at Runnymede in 1215

 King John was forced into signing the charter because it greatly reduced the power he held as
the king of England and allowed for the formation of a powerful parliament
 The Magna Carta became the basis for English citizen's rights. (Not serfs')
 The purpose of the Magna Carta was to crub the right and privileges the King has exercised
freely and to restore the older English laws and customs that had prevailed before the
Normans came.
 The Magna Carta was a collection of 37 English laws - some copied, some recollected some
old and some new.
 The content of the Magna Carta was drafted by Archbishop Stephen Langton and the most
powerful Barons of England. (written by the church)
 King John signed the document which was originally called the 'Articles of the Barons' on
June 15, 1215.
 In 1205 King John quarreled with Pope Innocent III about who should be archbishop of
Canterbury. The pope wanted a man named Stephen Langton to be archbishop, but King
John swore he should never come to England.
 In 1209 the pope took his revenge; excommunicated King John and banned all church
services in all parish churches.
 King John gave in, and Pope Innocent III made the king and people pay him money whenever
he demanded it.
 Taxes levied by King John were high. His punishments against nonpayers were ruthless and
his idea of justice was considered greedy.
 In 1212 King John imposed taxes on the Barons in his attempts to regain the lost lands of
Aquitaine, Poitou and Anjou.
 The Barons took up arms against King John and captured London in 1215
 In June the Barons, in full armor, took King John by surprise at Windsor and he agreed to a
meeting at Runnymede.
 King John signed and sealed the document on June 10, 1215.
 The Barons renewed the Oath of Fealty to King John on June 15, 1215
 The royal chancery produced a formal royal grant, based on the agreements reached at
Runnymede, which became known as Magna Carta
 Copies of the Magna Carta were distributed to bishops, sheriffs and other important people
throughout England.
 The Church - was to be free from royal interference, especially in the election of bishops.
 Taxes - No taxes except the regular feudal dues were to be levied, except by the consent of
the Great Council, or parliament.
 The right to due process which led to Trial by Jury
 Weights and Measures - All weights and measures to be kept uniform throughout the realm.
The Beginning of the Parliament: John’s son, Henry III was only nine years old when he came to the
throne. Until he was 25 years oldhe was under the control of nobles and observed the rulers set by
Magna Carta.

THE NATIONS – SCOTLAND

 After the death of Edward I, his son Edward II, turned back to England. Robert Bruce had time
to defeat his Scottish enemies, and make himself accepted as king of the Scots. When
Edward II invaded Scotland in 1314 in an effort to help the last English-held castles, Bruce
destroyed his army at Bannockburn, near Stirling.
 6 years later, in 1320, the Scots clergy meeting at Arbroath wrote to the pope in Rome to tell
him that they would never accept English authority: "for as long as even one hundred of us
remain alive, we will never consent to subject ourselves to the dominion of the English"

LATE MEDIEVAL BRITAIN

 The 14th century was a century full of trouble for both Britain and her European rivals. The
era was dominated by endless wars and a deadly plague that erased almost 1/3 of the
population of Europe. The same was valid for Britain.
 In the 1330s England's major enemy was French backed by the Scots (Auld Allience)
 The long wars both in France and at home against the Scots further problematised by
maintaining control of Ireland and Wales exhausted the wealth of Britain.
 The long-lasting wars created a new class of armed men in the countryside replacing the
feudal system: 40 days service. These people grew stronger even enough to challenge the
Crown and new allies for the monarchs were merchants and gentry who provided money
when needed.
 England's troubles with France stemmed from the lands they held in France. The English King
was the Duke of Aquitaine in France.
 To establish authority the French king intervened in Britain's trade relations.
 Part of Aquitaine, an area called Gascony, traded its fine wines for England's corn and woolen
cloth. This trade was worth a lot of money to the English Crown. But in 1324 the French king
seized part of Gascony.
 Burgundy was England's other major trading partner, because it was through Burgundy's
province of Flanders (now Belgium) that almost all England's wool exports were made.
 When France attempted to control these places England went to war.
 Starting in 1337 during the reign of Edward III these wars lasted too long that they were
called the Hundred Years' War.
 The war ended in 1453 and England lost all his French lands except for Calais, a northern
French port.

THE AGE OF CHIVALRY

 Edward III and his eldest son, the Black Prince, were greatly admired in England for their
courage on the battle field and for their country manners.
 They became symbols of the "code of chivalry" which showed how a perfect knight should
behave.
 According to the code of chivalry, the perfect knight fought for his good name if insulted,
served God and the king, and defended any lady in need.
 Edward introduced the idea of chivalry into his court. Once, a lady at court accidentally
dropped her garter and Edward III noticed some of his courties laughing at her
  He picked up the garter and tied it ti his own leg, saying in French, "Honi Soit Qui Mal y
Pense" which meant " Let him be ashamed who sees wrong in it"
 From this strange yet probably true story, the Order of the Garter was founded in 1348.
Edward chose as members of the order 24 knight, the same number the legendary Arthur
had chosen.
 They met once a year on St. George's Day at Windsor Castle, where King Arthur's Round
Table was supposed to have been. The custom is still followed and Honi Soit Mal Y Pense is
still the motto of the royal family.

AFTER THE PLAGUE

 On return villagers were given land to farm, but this tenanted land was often the poorest
land of the manorial estate.
 After the Black Death there were so few people to work on the land that the remaining
workers could ask for more money for their labor.
 As many people died during the wars and the plague at the end of the 13th century the sharp
rise in prices had led an increasing number of landlords to stop paying workers for their
labour, and to go back to serf labour in order to avoid losses.
 By the mid-15th century few landlords could afford keeping home farms. They let their land
to smaller farmers known as the "yeomen"

PEASANTS’ REVOLT

 The taxes imposed on people in order to cover the expenses of the wars with France started
to be burdensome for the poor peasants.
 During the reign of Richard II the crown levied taxes from people over the age of 15 twice
already and the third tax resulted in revolt.
 The reasons of the revolt were not limited to taxation only the landlords wanted to force the
peasants back into serfdom because it was cheaper for them.
 The Leader of the revolt Wat Tyler, was the first to call for fair treatment of England's poor
people: "we are men formed in Christ's likeness and we are kept like animals.

AFTER THE PEASANTS’ REVOLT

 We also know that the peasants demanded the end of serfdom, a ceiling on rents, and the
abolition of the legal privileges of nobility and gentry. While negotiating with the king outside
London, the revolt's leader, Wat Tyler, was stabbed to death. And subsequent revolts
followed the revolt of 1381.
 Richard II has other problems to confront from aristocratic politicians, led by Henry
Bolingbroke (1366-1413). Bolingbroke overthrew Richard and took power as King Henry IV.
Henry IV spent his life dealing with English nobles and Welsh princes.
 His son Henry V, who gained unchallenged control over England brought the English the
closest they would ever come to the conquest of France. He became a national hero, as a
great military leader although he was considered by many as a brutal and somewhat
psychopathic man, even by the standards of late medieval warfare.
 After the death of sucha powerful king came his son Henry VI, quite on the contrary. And
wars among the magnates of Britain took root. We know these as the Wars of the Roses
which culminated with the crowing of Henry VII in 1485.
BUILDING THE HOUSE OF TUDOR

 The Tudor era saw unprecedented upheaval in England. Between them the five Tudor kings
and queens introduced huge changes that are still with us today.
 The years between the crowning of Henry VII in 1485 and the death of Elizabeth I in 1603
saw the old religious order swept away, the establishment of the American colonies, the
foundation of the Royal Navy and the power of Europe challenged.
 Henry was born into a country divided by conflict. He belonged to one branch of the
Plantagenet Royal Family, the House of Lancaster, who were fighting another branch, the
House of York, for control of the throne.
 This fight is known as the Wars of the Roses. Henry's mother Margaret was a descendant of
Edward III, which gave Henry a real, although questionable, claim to the throne.
 • In 1485, Henry Tudor is crowned King of England on the battlefield at Bosworth after his
army defeats and kills Richard III.
 Henry VII presents himself as the unifier of the warring Lancaster and York dynasties
symbolised by his adoption of the red and white Tudor Rose. His reign brings 85 years of civil
war to an end. He marries Elizabeth, daughter of the Yorkist king Edward IV. Within a year
they have a son, Arthur, later followed by another, Henry.

PEACE WITH SCOTLAND

 Henry wants to keep his kingdom secure and creates several foreign alliances to try to avoid
wars.
 He arranges the marriage of his 13-year-old daughter Margaret to James IV to secure peace
between England and Scotland. Although the peace doesn't last, the couple's great-
grandson, James I of England and VI of Scotland, will unite the crowns of Scotland and
England 100 years later.

HENRY VIII BECOMES KING

 The 17-year-old Henry stucceeds to the throne on the death of his father, Henry VII. His older
brother Arthur had died seven years earlier.
 The Pope gives a special dispensation for the young king to marry his late brother's wife
Catherine of Aragon. Three years later Henry invades France in pursuit of an ancient claim to
the throne. He is aided and supported by his advisor Thomas Wolsey, whonı he appoints Lord
Chancellor in 154.