1. English Rulers

2. Claiming the throne of England Norman Conquest - 1066
Edward the Confessor, the ½ Saxon ½ Norman ruler of England died childless
Harold, brother-in-law of Edward was crowned king of England which led to the Norman Conquest
William, Duke of Normandy invades and conquers England by winning the Battle of Hastings in 1066, earning him the title Conqueror and King William I of England
England’s new ruling class spoke French
English kings are now vassals (feudal lords) to the King of France (Wm. was Duke of Normandy)

3. William I
Kept land for himself and made all nobles/vassal vow loyalty directly to him
New Forest – Royal hunting area – anyone caught hunting would lose his eyes
To reduce fires – all went to bed at 8pm
Heavy Taxes on all sales, use of roads and bridges
Raised the moral level of the English clergy which loved to marry, gamble and hunt
Grew so fat he could hardly get on his horse
Only son Henry stayed by his death bed
Coffin too small, body burst, terrible smell

4. William II Rufus 1087 - 1100 Named for his red hair & ruddy complexion
Wm.I’s favorite son
Named king over his older brother Robert who became the Duke of Normandy
His father believed William was better suited to control the English who weren’t happy about Norman rule
Robert, Duke of Normandy pledged Normandy to his brother William II for 10,000 marks so he could go on a Crusade.
Fought to recapture lands in France that his brother had lost
He promised the English that he would rule using more liberal laws and less taxes
Instead he ruled England as a tyrant

5. William II Rufus cont
The church didn’t like his lifestyle or the fact that he delayed in appointing bishops to positions so he could take the churches revenue.
Excommunicated (reason why he didn’t go on the 1st Crusade)
William II never married
Rebuilt the Palace of Westminster
Died while on a hunting trip in New Forest. No one cared if his death was accidental or intentional.
Peasants had to bring his body back, since his nobles would not
The Clergy refused to perform any last rites over his body

6. Henry I 1100 - 1135 Youngest son of the Conqueror
With his brother William II at the time of death, he went to secure the treasury and was acknowledged as King. (brother Robert, Duke of Normandy was the eldest)
Secured his position with the nobility & church by issuing a charter of liberties that acknowledged the feudal rights of nobles and the rights of the church.
Set up Exchequer to handle the kingdom’s finances
Wise ruler and skilled diplomat
Took over Normandy after his brother returned from his Crusade.
Imprisoned older brother Robert
His only legitimate son and heir died in 1120 in a shipwreck crossing the channel

7. Henry I cont He had at least 21 illegitimate children
Began the department of the Exchequer (Treasury)
Made the central government more efficient by using lesser nobility as civil servants
Named his daughter Matilda and her young son, Henry as his heirs, (Matilda was married to Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou in France)
Stephen of Blois, his nephew, took the throne instead and plunged the nation into civil war

8. Stephen of Blois 1135 - 54 Grandson of William I and nephew of Henry I
England was ravaged by the civil wars between Stephen and Matilda’s armies
Henry of Anjou, Matilda’s son, finally defeats Stephen
Stephen names Henry as heir, passing over his two children

9. Henry II
Born in France and inherited large territories in France
Married to Eleanor (she was 11 years older) and added her wealthy territory, the Aquitaine to his processions.
Restored law and order in England after Stephen’s rule
Thomas Becket, his friend and chancellor was named Archbishop of Canterbury in 1162
Henry quarreled with Becket over his decree which would try priests accused of crimes in royal courts instead of a church court
The controversy ended when four of Henry’s Knights murdered Becket as he was praying. (Henry had uttered to his Knights, “Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?”)

10. Thomas Becket

11. Henry I I cont.
He journeyed to Canterbury where he knelt before the altar where Becket was slain. He had the monks beat him across his bare back!
To appease the pope for the murder of Becket, Henry invaded Ireland, a Catholic country that did not heed the pope.
He began the jury system in England and replaced the old feudal courts with his royal courts
Common Law – rulings from royal judges which formed a body of law for all of England
His sons often rebelled against him with the financial help of his wife Eleanor. He had Eleanor imprisoned in numerous castles.
He also spent most of his reign fighting against French King Louis VII and his son Philip II Augustus. (he was a vassal to the French king)
Queen Eleanor outlived Henry (she was 82 when she died)

12. Eleanor of Aquitaine Daughter of the powerful Duke of Aquitaine
Married to Louis VII of France – had two daughters by Louis VII before the marriage was annulled
Married Henry of Anjou the future Henry II of England
Mother of 5 sons and 3 daughters with Henry
Mother of two kings; Richard I and John I

13. Richard I
He first received the Aquitaine from his mother to rule at age 14
He fought against his father with his brothers, who were aided by his mother
After being crowned King of England, he freed his mother from her castle jail
He remained in England for 6 months to raise money for his Crusade
He insisted that Philip II Augustus accompany him on the Crusade so Philip would not try to seize Richard’s lands in France
He married at the request of his mother (the marriage was probably never consummated)

14. Richard I cont.
He was kidnapped and held for ransom which his mother Eleanor raised for him, since she had been left in charge of England
He discovered that his brother John had been plotting to seize the throne of England, but will forgive him exclaiming, “You are a child”.
He fought constantly with Philip II Augustus over his lands in France.
Treasure was found on his lands in France and Richard demanded that it be turned over to him.
When the treasure was not turned over to him, he laid siege to the area where it was held.
He took an arrow in the shoulder and refused treatment for his wound
He died of gangrene poisoning leaving England and his French possessions to his younger brother John

15. John I
Nicknamed John Lackland by his father because he wasn’t given any land and Softsword by Philip II for losing most of his French lands.
After refusing to accept the election of a new archbishop, the pope excommunicated him and placed an Interdict on England
To have the Interdict and excommunication lifted, he had to give England to the pope who gave it back to John as a fief
He was a tyrant, who extorted money, raised taxes and confiscated property to fund his wars against France

16. John cont.
His nobles forced him to sign the Magna Carta, the Great Charter in 1215, which forced him to respect the rights and privileges of the English nobles
The Magna Carta basically states the king is not above the law and must follow the laws
England is established as a limited monarchy
The king can not arbitrarily demand taxes, he must have the consent of the Great Council
Due Process of Law – right to a trial by jury & protection of the law
His baggage train was swept away while crossing a tidal area and John lost many valuables, including his crown.
He became ill with fever, which was aggravated by overeating and also suffered from dysentery. He died at age 49, leaving his 9 year old son Henry, as king.

17. Henry III 1216 - 72 Regents ruled for him until 1227 when he took over
Weak, indecisive, and easily led by others
High taxes, bad foreign policy (trying to regain his lost lands in France), led to a rebellion of his nobles.
The Baron’s Rebellion led by Simon de Montfort, his brother in law, led to the capture of Henry III and his son, Edward.
Nobles rebelled because Henry was violating the Magna Carta

18. Henry III cont.
Simon de Montfort actually rules for a period of time and begins the concept of representative assembly by inviting the nobility, clergy, and commoners to join in a meeting of the Great Council (later the Parliament)
Simon de Montfort is killed by Henry’s son Edward.
Royal authority is restored in 1267, Henry starts to show signs of senility. He dies in 1272, age 65, after a reign of 56 years

19. Edward I
After supporting his father in the civil wars, he leaves on a Crusade in 1270 (8th)
He marries Eleanor of Castile (a love match, they were inseparable)
An outstanding warrior king who did not exhibit any of his father’s bad characteristics
Holds regular meetings of the Model Parliament which includes members of the nobility, knights, clergy, and burgesses when he needed approval for levying taxes

20. Edward I
He conquers Wales naming his son, Edward the Prince of Wales, heir to the throne of England
Builds massive castles to keep Wales secure
He battles William Wallace and Robert the Bruce of Scotland (the movie Braveheart is based on this event)
Made the concept of Representative government in England a fact
His son, Edward II, was a terrible ruler
Presiding over the
Model Parliament

21. Today’s Parliament grew from the Model Parliament
England’s law making body (legislative)
House of Lords - Upper house of nobles and high clergy
House of Commons - Lower house of townspeople, knights, freeman
Only the House of Commons could propose new taxes

22. Kings of France

23. Hugh Capet 987 - 996 Hugh Capet, the first Capetian Ruler,
was the Count of Paris. He ruled the
Ile de France – Paris and the
surrounding land. He was elected by
French nobles.

24. Achievements of the Capetians
Primogeniture – the right of the eldest son to inherit
Married into families to gain land
Developed a strong central government causing the townspeople to side with them rather that the powerful feudal lords.
Increased their money through taxation.
Allied themselves with the Church
Encouraged the growth of towns, manufacturing &
trade by imposing law & order
Use of royal courts instead of feudal courts

25. Louis VII
Louis VII went on the 2nd Crusade & spent most of his reign fighting Henry II who married his first wife, Eleanor

26. Philip II Augustus 1180 - 1223 Son of Louis VII & his third wife
Became king at age 15
Probably left the Third Crusade to return to France to seize English lands in France from his co-crusader, Richard I
Philip II tripled the land under his control
Philip II gave France a strong central Government
Called the “maker of Paris” because he paved the streets, walled the city, and began building the Louvre

27. Louis IX or St. Louis 1226 - 1270 Grandson of Philip II Augustus
Known for his religious fervor and his political astuteness
Went on the 7th and 8th Crusades
Created the Parlement of Paris – the supreme court of France
Bailiff – royal officials who presided over the King’s courts & collected the Kings taxes

28. Philip IV the Fair
French King who quarreled with the pope over the taxation of the Church in France
Involved himself in costly wars with England and taxed the French heavily
Borrowed heavily from the Jews and refused to pay them back so he kicked them out of France and confiscated their property
Destroyed the Knights Templar and took their money
Called a meeting of the Estates General to approve his tax on the Clergy

29. "The Poor Fellow Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon"
A monastic military order of Knights formed after the 1st Crusade to protect pilgrims on route to the Holy Land
They fought with Richard I and others in the battles for the Holy Land
They became very powerful and wealthy bankers who skirted the usury issue
Philip IV needed funds to continue his war with England and targeted the Templars as a source of money

30. The secret meetings and rituals of the Knights Templar would eventually cause their downfall
Philip IV charged them with heresy and confiscated their holdings.
He accused them of many crimes, tortured and destroyed them
On March 19th, 1314 the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, Jacques de Molay was burned at the stake.
De Molay is said to have cursed Philip IV and Pope Clement V, as he burned, asking both men to join him (in death) within a year.
Both did die within the year!

31. Estates General France’s Representative Assembly
First Estate – included upper & lower clergy
Second Estate – included nobles
Third Estate – included the bourgeoisie, workers, peasants
Unlike the Parliament in England, the Estates-General did not limit the French Kings power
France will become an absolute monarchy

32. German States

33. Otto I the Great 936 - 973 He ended the Magyar threat
Admired Charlemagne
Defended the pope who gave him the title Holy Roman Emperor

34. Henry III Ruled from 1046-1056 Power of Emperor reached its height
He saw church as a branch of royal government
He chose who would be Pope

35. Henry IV Only 6 when he came to power
Nobels and Church took advantage of his youth and reasserted their strength
Argued with Pope Gregory VII over the investiture controversy.
Was excommunicated by Gregory VII and was left standing in the snow for 3 days at Canossa Castle (1077) in Northern Italy before Pope would revoke his excommunication.

36. Concordat of Worms
In 1122 it was agreed that the Emperor Henry V could grant land to church officials.
Church would now control all spiritual powers
Ends struggle over lay investiture.
Popes continue to meddle in the affairs of the Holy Roman Empire.

37. Frederick I Barbarossa 1155-1190
First to call his lands the Holy Roman Empire
Defeated by the Lombard League trying to increase his power by winning Italian lands
Drowns on his way to the Holy Land during the Third Crusade

38. Frederick I Barbarossa actually from Luxembourg
Holy Roman Empire
Empire of
Frederick I Barbarossa
Empire of Charles IV
actually from Luxembourg
Papal States

39. Germany and Italy
German Kings tried to increase their power by winning control of more Italian territory
Lombard League – Alliance of Italian towns (merchants) which will fight against the German Knights under the leadership of Frederick I Barbarossa
Battle of Legnano – Italian foot soldiers of the Lombard League defeat Frederick’s German Knights
Shows that towns could wield military and economic power
Holy Roman Empire – German States and Northern Italy
German States did not unify like England and France

40. Nation States Characteristics
People live in one defined geographical location
One government for the state
People speak the same language
Patriotism to their country