Transcript Centralizing Power

Centralizing Power
Medieval England and France
William the Conqueror 1066-1087)
 Illegitimate son of Robert




Duke of Normandy
Married Mathilda, daughter
of Count Baldwin of
Flanders
Brought archers and cavalry
to claim English throne;
Harold’s infantry had
neither
Crowned king Christmas
Day 1066
Half brother Odo, bishop of
Bayeux serves as regent
when William absent
Henry I (1100-1135)
 Younger brother of William
Rufus (II)
 Crowned three days after
brother’s death in a hunting
accident
 Nickname “Beauclerc”
indicates he had received
some learning possibly in
preparation for career in the
church
 Legitimate sons drowned;
succeeded by nephew
Stephen since barons
opposed to female ruler
(daughter Matilda)
Henry II (1154-1189)
 Spent only 13 years in
France; 21 on the
continent
 Ruled an empire from
Scotland to the
Pyrenees
 Died in France
fighting his son
Richard who had
joined forces with the
French King
Richard the Lionheart (1189-1199)
 Went on crusade 1190
 Captured by the Holy
Roman Emperor and
held for ransom
 150,000 silver marks
 John’s efforts to seize
the crown blocked by
Eleanor of Aquitaine
John (1199-1216)
 Nicknamed Lackland and
Soft sword
 Excommunicated in 1209
 Forced to sign Magna
Carta as peace treaty
ending rebellion of
barons
 England is in Civil War
when John dies; barons
have asked French king
to rule
British Hat Rack
Nobility
Land
English lords supporting Harold lose lands
William conquers England
Henry II marries Eleanor of Aquitane
English kings involved in hundreds of years of
war trying to hold lands in France
 Barons swear direct allegiance to WI
W grants fiefs to Normans but they must
secure his permission to fortify castles
Military
ToP
William the Conqueror
William’s heirs follow in his footsteps
Economy
Religion
William’s Domeday Book
Henry II appoints Thomas Beckett Archbishop
Henry I sets up tax collectors behind checkered
tables – Chancellor of the Exchequer
Edward secures support of Parliament to
raise taxes
of Canterbury; may have been responsible for
his murder
Issue: extent to which churchmen are subject to
King’s courts
Bureaucracy
Judiciary
Henry I institutes bureaucracy names those loyal
Henry II institutes jury system
to him
Henry II sends royal judges all over England
once a year
Beginnings of a unified body of law –Common
law
Hugh Capet (987-996)
 Chosen instead of the
last Carolingian
 Spent much of is reign
fighting
 Ruled with son Robert
 Gave away his lands
to secure the dynasty
Philip II (Augustus) 1165-1223
 More than doubled
domains of French
king
 Fought major barons
and won before taking
on John
 Began the building of
Notre Dame
 Walled the city of
Paris
Louis IX (the Pious) (1226-1270)
 Curbed private feudal
warfare
 Encouraged use of
Roman law
 Went on 7th Crusade
1248; stayed in the
Holy Land until 1254
 Helped to fortify cities
 Died on 8th crusade
Philip IV (The Fair) 1285-1314
 Arrested Jews and seized




their assets
Levied a 50% tax on clergy’s
income
Arrested Knights Templar
and may have seized their
significant treasury
Trying to pay for the costly
crusades of his predecessors
in part and for the increased
cost of war
Expands bureaucratic model
French Hat Rack
Nobility
Land
Tough to control since so many are more
Capetian lands not extensive but sit across trade
powerful than the French kings
Capetians build bureacracy to outmaneuver and
build their lands through marriage and conquest
routes
Philip II (Augustus) triples lands controlled by
Capetians through conquest, becoming more
powerful than his nobles
Military
ToP
Philip Augustus successfully fights King John
Hugh Capet surprises everyone –he and his heir
(Lackland, Softsword) of England regaining
Normandy
produce baby boys who live
Economy
Religion
Bailiffs collect taxes (PII)
Philip IV defies Pope Boniface VIII (clearly
Philip IV insists on collecting taxes from the
Church that had previously paid no tax
Gets backing for this policy from Estates General
unafraid of excommunication or interdict – gets
backing from Estates General
Captures the Pope
Manipulates the election of French pope who
moves papacy to Avignon for 100 years
Bureaucracy
Judiciary
Philip II sets up beginnings of the French
Bailiffs serve in royal courts
bureacracy when he creates royal officials to serve
the courts and collect taxes
Royal courts of appeal set up by Louis IX
Weakens ties to lords who formerly set up courts