Transcript The Middle Ages 1066-1485

The Middle Ages
1066-1485
The Beginnings of the Middle Ages
Battle of Hastings:
• William defeats Harold on October 14, 1066:
the Norman Conquest
Normans Influences:
• Administration, law and order
• Cultural unity
• Combined Norman and Anglo-Saxon culture
– Old English (AS) + French (Normans) + Latin
(Church) = Middle English
• The Domesday Book: complete inventory of
all land, cattle, and buildings for the purpose
of accurate taxes
Ouch.
Feudalism
Normans brought feudalism
• Caste system (who was where, socially)
• Property system (who owned what)
• Religious system (who had what church
power)
Drawback of Feudalism - Any system based on militarism and
wealth meant that greed could easily lead to violence (corrupt
vassals/lords)
The Feudal Pyramid
POWER
GOD
The POPE
The KING
NOBLES/VASSALS
KNIGHTS
MERCHANTS/
TOWNSFOLK
SERFS
POPULATION
Knighthood
Knighthood was primary duty of males above serf status
– Military service to the crown
– Strict training (usually fostered in another lord’s home)
– Once knighted, he gained the title of "sir" and full rights of
his status
– Followed Code of Chivalry: a code of conduct/manners for
knights derived from this system:
• First duty - defend lord, king, and Christ
• Treat women respectfully
• Brave and honorable
• Some rules/benefits to chivalry involved a knight
adoring particular lady: Winning her favor meant selfimprovement; acting in her name made a knight
braver.
Women in Medieval Society
• Had no political rights (could not
be soldiers)
• Status determined by men in her
life (e.g. father, brother,
husband); subservient to men
• Worth was measured by the
value of land she would bring to
new husband
• Lives of peasant women
consisted of child bearing, house
work, field work, and usually
death before age 40
Courtly Love
• Courtly Love
– a knight adhered to a particular
lady (usually not his wife)
– wore her colors in
battle/tournaments, glorified her
in words.
– However, the lady was always out
of reach, set above her admirer
(built-in drama for story tellers).
– Courtly love was never physical.
• Chivalry brought about an
idealized attitude towards
women (romance literature)
King Arthur
• Who was he?
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Son of the previous king raised in obscurity
Tutored by the wizard Merlin
Pulled a sword from the stone
Ruled the kingdom of Camelot
Knights of the Round Table known for great deeds
(quest for the the Holy Grail)
• Originally a Celtic/AS-era legend; advanced
in the Middle Ages in songs, poems, and stories
• Embodies the ideals of English society in any time period
(especially this one):
– Strong, fair ruler
– Promoter of bravery and equality
– Advocate of chivalry and courtly love
• Kingdom fell apart because the rules of
courtly love were violated (Sir Lancelot
and Queen Guinevere)
Big Events in the Middle Ages!
The Crusades (1095-1270):
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Series of holy wars waged between European
Christians and Middle Eastern Muslims over rights to
Jerusalem and Holy Land
Europeans benefitted from contact with the
Middle East through mathematics, astronomy,
architecture, crafts
Pope had absolute power over
most European kings. (The Catholic Church was the only Church.)
Murder of Thomas a Becket (1170):
• Friend of King Henry II, who appointed him Archbishop
of Canterbury
• Sometimes sided with the Pope over the King,
angering his friend
• Murdered by some of the king’s knights (later made a
saint)
• After Becket’s murder, king and state had less
authority/involvement with church affairs, so bishops
became corrupt with free reign
Big Events in the Middle Ages!
The Magna Carta (1215):
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Signed by King John
Heralded a return to older, democratic tendencies
Leaders were uncomfortable with too much central power
Ensured that all free men have rights of due process and trial by
their peers
Led to current laws like trial by jury and legislative taxation
The Black Death (1300s, recurring)
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Look how happy
King John is!
Known simply as The Plague
Spread by fleas from infected rats
1/3 of all of England died
So many deaths created a labor shortage. Serfs’ status rose,
ending the feudal system
The End of the Middle Ages:
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The collapse of feudal system
The rise of the Tudor Family (1485)
The Renaissance (to be continued….)
Spread of the Plague
Towns and Cities:
Out from Under the Overlords
• Medieval society originally centered around the feudal castle,
but as populations grew, people shifted to growing towns and
cities
• This made the feudal system obsolete since towns/cities
allowed people to be free and independent of a feudal lord in
the isolated countryside
• The city classes:
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Lower
Middle
Upper-middle
Merchant class
• The “people’s art”: Freedom
from feudal lords led to free
expression in the songs,
ballads, plays of ordinary
people