The End of the Middle Ages

The Battle of Hastings In October 1066, a daylong battle known as the Battle of Hastings ended the reign of the Anglo-Saxons and began the Norman Conquest.

William the Conqueror In the battle, Duke William of Normandy, known as William the Conqueror, defeated King Harold of England, the last of the Anglo Saxon kings. William did not want to kill the Anglo Saxons, he just wanted to rule them. The new group under William’s reign became known as the Anglo-Normans.

Some Important Historical Events: 1066 Norman Conquest KNOW THIS DATE William of Normandy (called William the Conqueror), who already controlled northern France, invaded and conquered England in 1066 C.E., with the decisive victory at the Battle of Hastings. Old French became language of power, commerce, and religion in England End of Old English (looks/sounds very German; the language of Beowulf) French merged with Old English to produce Middle English, the language of Chaucer—close enough to modern English that we can recognize it.

The Feudal System The Anglo-Normans brought a new language, French, and a new social system, feudalism, to the country. Feudalism was not just a social system, but also a caste system, a property system, and a military system.

The Feudal System The basic chain of feudalism was as follows: 1. God 2. Kings 3. Nobles (Barons, Bishops, etc.) 4. Knights- who did not own land 5. Serfs or peasants- who did not own land

Some Important Historical Events: Domesday Book commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1087 : Census, land register, and income record to create a tax roll Can learn a lot about commerce, absolutely everything that everyone owned Learn a lot about common names and daily life According to the Domesday Book, slavery was fairly commonplace. Lists 10% of England’s people as slaves. Germanic tribes also enslaved Slavic neighbors (thus the word slavery). Africans were sold across the Islamic world. Can see original copy in the British Library (a museum of manuscripts)

The Three Estates The three estates (social classes) in the Middle Ages were Aristocracy (kings and their vassals), Clergy (Those who prayed- priests, monks, nuns, friars, etc.), and the Commons (everyone else- doctors, lawyers, clerks, yeomen, etc).

The Crusades The Crusades ( ), a series of wars waged by European Christians against Muslims, were waged during the period. The prize of The Crusades was Jerusalem and the Holy Land.

Some Important Historical Events: CRUSADES: 1095 Pope Urban II called for a holy war against the Muslim Turks who controlled what he saw as the Christian Holy Land of Palestine. Pope said if you died fighting in a crusade, you would go to heaven. 8 crusades in total over 200 years—the last 7 failed horribly due to disease, cold, hunger, and battles. Another negative effect from the point of view of the Christian Western Europeans: galvanized Muslims and gave them a stronger foothold/following in the Middle East; the opposite of their goal.

Some Important Historical Events: CRUSADES,cont.: SOME BENEFITS TO EUROPE: Increased trade and new merchant class. Increase in art and education: Greek language and Plato studied again; philosophy, math. Increase in religious inspiration due to dedication to God; art, architecture. Crusades also greatly contributed to a secular kind of hero-worship of knights (shown in tapestries, tales).

Some Important Cultural Changes: Peasant Uprisings & Plague Guilds grew in late middle ages. Craftsmen each had their own guild: ropemakers, armorers, mailmakers, master dyers, stonemasons, weavers, etc. Plague freed many from vassalage and opened up opportunities. Difficult hierarchical training program from apprentice to master and job placement. Functioned as a union of sorts. Guilds became very rich and powerful over time. Origin of freemasons, for instance.

St. Thomas a Becket Thomas a Becket, the archbishop of Canterbury, was murdered in his own cathedral by four knights because he too often sided with the pope instead of the King Henry who had appointed him to the position. Becket’s murder enraged the common people who deemed him a martyr and they lashed out against King Henry which weakened the kings power in his struggle with Rome.

Gothic Architecture: prevalent in W. Europe from 12 th – 15 th Cen. C.E. Features: Pointed arches High, narrow vaults Thinner walls Flying buttresses Elaborate, ornate, airier interiors Stained-glass windows Everything reaches to heaven, to God

The Magna Carta The Magna Carta was signed by King John in The Magna Carta was a document that limited the Church’s power.

The Hundred Years’ War The English and French entered into the Hundred Years’ War ( ) because two English kings were claiming they were to take the French throne. This war showed that England was no longer represented by the armor clad knight but by the green clad yeoman. Common people were taking up the fight for their country.

The Black Death The Black Death, or bubonic plague, struck England in The Black Death was highly contagious and killed approximately one third of the population. The Black Death caused the end of feudalism.

The Crusades They ended disastrously Many knights never returned.Those that did lost most of their holdings Many serfs escaped to towns and demanded more pay and more rights. The Church lost prestige As towns grew feudalism died out: the power of the nobles decreased while the power of the king increased

The Hundred Years War Long struggle between France and England Fought over the Duchy of Aquatain 1340 Edward III invades France and defeats French fleet. Leads to English naval dominance for the next 30 years War interrupted by Black Death for 8 years New Weapons and tactics such as the long bow and eventually the canon Brings about the end of chivalry

The Battles of Crecy, Pointers and Agincourt English win huge tracts of land in France The knights on horseback were over matched by the English Archers. The archers consistently were out numbered and yet won all three Battles. Agincourt was the most lopsided of all. The English led by Henry V had 6000 men against a force of French. The longbows proved too much for the heavily armored French Knights

The Black Death The bubonic plague-Horse riding Mongols carried infected fleas from China-Spread by traders to the West Killed between 60 and 70 million people and wiped out 1/3 of Europe's population Effects- decimated trade, town populations decreased, farms were abandoned, manorial system crumbles, higher wage demands and peasant revolts, Church loses prestige (flagellants and prayers have little effect), Anti-Semitism rose, pessimism and apocalyptic beliefs grew

Joan of Arc

Five years after Agincourt The French signed a treaty saying that King Henry V of England would inherit the French thrown after the death Charles VI A teenage peasant girl believes she has visions from God telling her to drive the English out of France Joan of Arc renews the French spirit and leads France to victories over the English including the siege of Orleans She convinced Charles to go with her to Rheims where he is crowned king of France. This turned the tide of the War and from this point on England’s position in France grew weaker and weaker

The Death of A Saint Joan is captured by Burgundians loyal to England and turned over for trial The English turned her over to the Church who tried her for witchcraft Charles VII abandons her She was condemned by the Church and burned as a witch. 25 years later The Church determined that her trial was improperly conducted and declared her not guilty In 1920 she was declared a saint by the Church

The Great Western Sch ism Pope Boniface VIII vs. King Philip IV of France Avignon Popes and the College of Cardinals Three popes at once? Anti popes and the Council of Constance Election of Pope Martin V ends schism The Church becomes weakened and the kings power increases

The End of Feudalism Kings gain upper hand in struggle for power with nobles New warfare Breakdown of manorialism with the rise of cities The Black Death Rise of Nationalism Corruption and scandal lead to a weakening of the Church

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