Transcript The Middle Ages 1066-1485

The Middle Ages
1066-1485
OldLit Book pg.74
How and when did the Middle Ages start?
• The Battle of Hastings:
– King Edward the Confessor dies; Harold (the last AS king)
claims the throne
– Duke William of Normandy, Franch (illegitimate son of
Edward’s relative) also claims the throne
– William defeats Harold on October 14, 1066: the Norman
Conquest
• The Normans brought administration, emphasis on
law, and cultural unity
• The conquest combined Norman and Anglo-Saxon
cultural elements
– Old English (AS) + French (Normans) + Latin (Church) =
Middle English
• The Domesday Book: a complete inventory of all land,
cattle, and buildings for the purpose of accurate taxes
Ouch.
Feudalism and Knighthood
• The Normans brought in a new social hierarchy called feudalism.
It incorporated three systems:
– Caste system (who was where, socially)
– Property system (who owned what)
– Religious system (who had what church power)
• God was overlord; monarchs derived their power/authority from God
(“divine right”); a king was born a king because God chose that person to
rule
• The primary duty of males above serf status was military service
(knighthood):
– Strict training (usually fostered in another lord’s home)
– Once knighted, he gained the title of "sir" and full rights of his status
• Chivalry: a code of conduct/manners for knights derived from this system:
– A knight’s first duty was to defend lord, king, and Christ
– A knight would treat women respectfully
– A knight was brave and honorable (ie, he did not attack an unarmed
opponent)
• A drawback of the feudal system? Any system based around 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
Women in Medieval Society
Did women in the Middle Ages have any rights?
• No. They had no political rights (couldn’t be soldiers)
• A woman’s status was determined by the men in her life
(father, brother, husband); she was subservient to them
• A woman’s worth was measured by the value of land she
would bring to new husband
• The lives of peasant women consisted of child bearing,
house work, field work, and usually death before age 40
Chivalry & Courtly Love
• Some rules/benefits to chivalry
involved a knight adoring particular
lady: Winning her favor meant selfimprovement; acting in her name
made a knight braver
• 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)
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
Big Events in the Middle Ages!
The Crusades (1095-1270):
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A 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
At this time, the Pope had absolute power over
most European kings (the Catholic Church was the only Church).
Murder of Thomas 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