The Medieval Period

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The Medieval Period

• 1066-1485

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In the beginning.

• The Normans invade England in 1066. William the
  Conqueror takes the crown.
• He brings Feudalism to England
• Feudalism Political and economic system in which
  the king owned all of the land in the kingdom
• William gave ¼ of land to himself, ¼ to the
  church, and the rest to loyal nobles (barons)
• Barons give William warriors called knights
• Barons swear their allegiance to the king,
  knights swear their allegiance to the barons,
  etc.
• Defeated Anglo-Saxons are reduced to serfs
  (peasants), bound to the land

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Then

• Williams successors were less organized than he
  was, which resulted in barons fighting for land
  and power.
• In 1154, Henry II takes over the crown
• He is one of Englands most memorable rulers
• Reformed the judicial systeminstituted royal
  courts and initiated the formation of English
  Common Law.
• His wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, brought the Code
  of Chivalry with her from France.

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Code of Chivalry

• Code by which knights lived by
• The ideal knight respected and defended the
  church, his king, his country, and stood up to
  injustice
• The qualities of a knight included
• Faith, modesty, loyalty, courtesy, bravery and
  honor
• To honor and respect women
• To go on quests, like the Crusades

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Successors

• Richard the Lion-Hearted
• Fights in the Crusades
• John (Richards brother)
• Signs Magna Carta in 1215
• Limits the funds royalty can spend and gives more
  authority into the hands of barons
• Johns son, Henry III
• Created an advisory council of barons that met
  regularly.
• Edward I
• Established the inclusion of commoners (House of
  Commons) as well as barons (House of Lords) in
  the council. (Parliament)

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Decline of Feudalism

• Medieval towns begin to grow, which leads to a
  decline of feudalism since wealth was no longer
  based on land ownership.
• Commoners are now getting more and more power.
• The flipside to this is that the growth of towns
  meant crowding and poor living conditions which
  resulted in disease.

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Strife in England

• Black Death killed one third of Englands
  population
• 1.5 million killed between 1348-1350
• Peasants Revolt of 1381
• Abdication of Richard II
• Supporter of Chaucer (Canterbury Tales)
• Wars of the Roses
• Civil War between the House of Lancaster and the
  House of York over the rightful heir to the
  throne

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Medieval Literature

• Romance emerges imaginative adventure story
  concerned with noble heroes, gallant love,
  chivalric code of honor, and daring deeds
• Idealized world of castles, heroes, courtly love,
  and spells
• This countered the real world of plagues,
  battles, and civil unrest
• Religious faith was a vital element of the
  literature of the time period
• King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table
  become the medieval heroes

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Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

• Author is anonymous
• Written c. 1400 in Middle English (language
  spoken after the Norman invaston of 1066 thru
  15th century)
• Important because
• Alliterative poetry
• Epic poem
• Medieval romance

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