1. The Middle Ages: 1066–1485 Introduction to the Literary Period
Feature Menu
Interactive Time Line
Milestone: The Norman Conquest
Milestone: The Age of Feudalism
Milestone: The Magna Carta
Milestone: The Decline of Feudalism
Milestone: The Black Death
Milestone: The Hundred Years’ War
What Have You Learned?

2. The Middle Ages: 1066–1485
Choose a link on the time line to go to a milestone.
1066
Norman Conquest
1348–1349
Black Death
1215
Magna Carta
1337–1453
Hundred Years’ War
1000
1100
1200
1300
1400
1500
1000s–1300s
Age of Feudalism
1300s–1400s
Decline of Feudalism

3. The Norman Conquest William the Conqueror a duke from Normandy, France
claimed the English throne had been promised to him In
crosses the English Channel with a huge army
BACKGROUND:
• William was the illegitimate son of the previous duke of Normandy, who was a cousin of the English king Edward the Confessor. When Edward died without an heir, Harold, the earl of Wessex, was crowned king. William claimed, however, that the old king had promised the throne to him.
• As a soldier, William the Conqueror was efficient and ruthless. As a ruler, he emphasized law and order and cultural unity.
• One of William’s great administrative feats was an inventory of nearly every piece of property in England—cattle, buildings—the Domesday Book.
The survey established a social hierarchy that was recognized for centuries.
defeats King Harold at the Battle of Hastings

4. The Norman Conquest The Normans Change England
land divided among William’s followers from Normandy
more contact with European civilization
a new language—French
a new social system—feudalism
BACKGROUND:
• After the Norman Conquest, any noble person who held lands granted by the king was called a baron. This term could also refer to higher nobles, such as earls, and members of the royal family called dukes.
• The wife of any nobleman was referred to as a lady.

5. The Age of Feudalism Feudalism social, property, and military system
King
Lords powerful landowners
Vassals did work or military service for feudal lords in exchange for land
Serfs servants to lords and vassals, bound to their master’s land
social, property, and military system
based on a religious concept of rank
some vassals appointed by king in return for loyalty
QUESTIONS
• Look at the power pyramid. The king, a single individual, is at the top, with the most power. The serfs, who have no power at all, are at the bottom. The serfs made up the majority of England’s population. Who do you think—king or serfs—was more important to feudal society?
[Possible response: The serfs. Without them, the pyramid would have collapsed. They worked the land, harvested the crops, and handled the livestock that everybody else needed to survive.]
• The serfs were not allowed to leave the land to which their lord assigned them, and they had no control over their duties. Why do you think the serfs, who greatly outnumbered the nobles, agreed to this arrangement?
[Possible response: First, the nobles had the power and money to protect the serfs. Second, the serfs were probably worried that if they rebelled, the knights would put down the rebellion quickly and punish them. Third, the slide says that feudalism was based on a religious concept of rank. The Church was so important at this time that to rebel against the system was to rebel against God and risk the Church’s anger.]
• Where do you think knights fit into the pyramid?
[Possible response: I think knights would be considered vassals because they provided military services.]
BACKGROUND
• By requiring that the nobles swear loyalty to him, William established a centralized government in England. Over time the power of the king in England would diminish as the role of Parliament grew, but the importance of a centralized government would endure.
lords (powerful vassals) appoint their own vassals

6. The Age of Feudalism Knights in Shining Armor
provided military service to lords
often the sons of nobles
began training at an early age
wore very heavy armor into battle
QUESTIONS
• What is the common view of a knight in shining armor?
[Possible answer: I usually picture knights as handsome men who do only good and always defeat evil. The “shining armor” is always perfectly polished, and the knight is graceful and poised.]
• Given what you know about the Middle Ages, and the fact that armor and weapons could weigh over a hundred pounds, what do you think a knight’s job was really like?
[Possible answer: I think a knight’s job would have been very tiring and difficult. The weight and bulk of the armor would have made it hard for knights to be graceful and quick on their feet in battle, and the armor probably got dinged up in the first battle. It was expensive and couldn’t be replaced. I’d hate to have to wear something so constricting and hot.]
BACKGROUND
• Although there was a great demand for knights, not every boy could become one. His parents had to have enough money for a horse, armor, and weapons.
• A knight’s education began at about the age of seven. He received instruction in good manners and social skills as well as training in using a sword and shield.
• At about the age of fourteen, a boy became a squire, a personal servant to a knight.
• During the early Middle Ages, armor consisted of a helmet, a shield, and a relatively flexible mail shirt.
• Later, heavier and less flexible suits of armor were worn over a heavily padded undergarment of leather and a mail shirt.
• Some suits of armor weighed 120 pounds and contained 200 custom-fitted iron plates.
• This form of protection was so bulky and heavy that a knight could neither dress himself for battle nor right himself if he wound up on his back. Servants dressed the knights and stood by to help in case he was unhorsed.
followed a code of chivalry

7. The Age of Feudalism Code of Chivalry A code of conduct that covered
whom to defend—knight’s lord, the king, and the Christian faith
how to treat a lady— courtly love
how to help others
The word chivalry is related to cheval, the French word for “horse.”
In French, chevalier refers to a knight who rides a horse. In England as well as France, riding was an important skill.
how to resist the urge to run away if captured

8. The Age of Feudalism Courtly Love The knight
adored the lady and was inspired by her
glorified the lady in words
The lady
QUESTIONS
• What do you think about the concept of courtly love?
[Possible response: I think it’s very odd that knights would be expected to adore a lady but not have a relationship with her. The situation has many possibilities to cause problems—jealousy from spouses, love affairs, and broken hearts.]
• Why do you think this kind of relationship was called “courtly” love?
[Possible response: If it only happened between a lord or knight and a lady, it must have happened often at court.]
• How do you think courtly love was expected to improve a knight?
[Possible response: Maybe it taught him to put another person’s happiness before his own. It encouraged him to be admired for great deeds done in his lady’s name, so it inspired great deeds.]
BACKGROUND
• Although courtly love brought about an idealized attitude toward women, it did little to improve their actual position. A woman in medieval society had no political rights and was always subservient to a husband, father, or brother.
• The Church also regarded women as inferior to men, and women had no authority in the Church.
remained pure and out of reach
was set above her admirer

9. The Age of Feudalism The Romance new genre of literature
inspired by legends of chivalrous knights
hero goes on quest to conquer evil enemy
hero often has magical help
includes stories of distant, idealized courtly love
BACKGROUND
• Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is considered the greatest English example of the romance.

10. The Age of Feudalism The Crusades (1095—1270) series of holy wars
waged by European Christians against Muslims in the Middle East
ultimately unsuccessful
Europeans benefit from contact with Arab civilization
QUESTION
• What might have prompted knights to join the Crusades?
[Possible response: The code of chivalry said that they had to defend the Christian faith, so if the pope called for knights to join a crusade, they would have felt obligated. They would have been fighting for a holy cause.]
• Siege warfare was often used during the Crusades: Invaders tried to destroy a city’s protective walls and block off its supplies. The large objects in the lower right-hand part of the painting are called mantelets. What do you think their function might have been?
[They acted as shields, through which battering rams could be propelled.]
BACKGROUND
• The Crusades were begun when Pope Urban II, the head of the Catholic Church in Rome, sent out a plea. He urged followers to wage war against Muslims occupying Jerusalem and other places in the Middle East that were considered holy to Christians.

11. The Age of Feudalism Benefits to Europeans from Crusades
Examples of sophisticated culture to which Europeans were exposed include
public libraries in Damascus and Baghdad
wealthy cities such as Cairo providing links to spice trade
universities such as Al-Azhar University in Cairo, one of the oldest universities in the world
BACKGROUND
• Because of the Crusades, Europeans were exposed to Eastern mathematics, astronomy, architecture, and crafts.
• The rich Islamic cities captured by the Crusaders had sophisticated cultures: Baghdad and Damascus had well-established libraries; Cairo was an important ink in the spice trade, and Arab universities were established long before their English counterparts.
medical knowledge—first accurate study of smallpox and measles

12. The Magna Carta 1215 Magna Carta—“Great Charter”
No freeman shall be taken, or imprisoned, or outlawed, or exiled, or in any way harmed, nor will we go upon him nor will we send upon him, except by the legal judgment of his peers or by the law of the land.
To none will we sell, to none deny or delay, right or justice.
—Magna Carta, clauses 39 and 40
Magna Carta—“Great Charter”
signed by King John, under pressure from English barons
protected rights of aristocrats
QUESTION
• What legal rights enjoyed by Americans today are implied by these clauses from the Magna Carta?
[right of habeas corpus, right to trial by jury, right to a speedy and fair trial, right to equal justice under the law]
BACKGROUND
• The signing of the Magna Carta heralded a return to older, more democratic tendencies in England.
• Although the document was written for aristocrats and did not protect the rights of common people, it later became the basis of English constitutional law.
meant a return to more democratic tendencies

13. The Decline of Feudalism
Growth of Cities and Towns
townspeople not tied to master’s land or to knighthood
merchant class—people earn their own money
city people’s tastes influence arts—ballads, miracle plays, and so on
QUESTIONS
• Why might some people have left the security of the feudal system for a less-familiar life in a town or city?
[Possible response: If they were serfs, maybe they wanted to do something other than farm and tend animals, so they escaped to a city, despite their lord’s expectations of loyalty. Maybe lesser nobles didn’t want to be knights or clergy, so they left the farms to try their luck in the city.]
• How do you think the nobles might have reacted to the growing importance of cities?
[Possible response: On the one hand, the cities were cutting into their power—taking away potential workers and making money that did not go back to the lords. On the other hand, the cities were probably producing goods that the nobles wanted to buy.]
• A boy born into feudalism would tend the land if he was a serf. If he was in a noble family, he would become a knight or perhaps a member of the clergy. How were the choices different for a boy born in the city?
[Possible response: He would probably have more choices. He could make goods and sell them, practice a trade, teach, go to sea. His choices would depend on what his family did and how much money they had, but he would have more options than his feudal peers.]
BACKGROUND
• The development of the city classes—lower, middle, and upper middle—is evident in the works of Geoffrey Chaucer. Many of his characters make their living outside the feudal system.
• The influences of city life and the tastes of city people were reflected in the ballads sung in alehouses and at firesides; in the mystery and miracle plays, performed outdoors by the new guilds, or craft unions; and in the great cathedrals and municipal buildings.
• In a medieval city, most shops opened at 6:00 A.M. and closed around 3:00 P.M. Merchants advertised by shouting out to—and sometimes grabbing—passersby. News came primarily from the town crier, who would ring a bell as he walked about, calling out timely information. Pigs roamed freely, adding to the filth from open drains.

14. The Decline of Feudalism
Monetary System
Before the Crusades
After the Crusades
foreign coins are melted down
gold coins are used
peasants can earn gold in exchange for labor or goods
few coins exist
feudal lords make coins for use on their own property only
peasants can save money, have greater buying and selling power
QUESTIONS
• Why would the Crusades have brought about a widespread use of gold coins?
[Crusaders needed money that would be accepted in other lands.]
BACKGROUND
• The minting of coins was essential in the revival of England’s economy.
serfs use barter system

15. The Black Death 1348–1349 Black Death (bubonic plague)
highly contagious and fatal disease, spread by the fleas on infected rats
factor in decline of feudalism
England’s population is reduced by one-third.
Labor shortage gives lower classes more bargaining power.
Over time,
serfs gain
freedom.
BACKGROUND
• The increasing congestion of the cities contributed to the outbreak of the plague.
• Medieval people did not understand the source of this awful affliction. They thought the disease was caused by a strange aligning of the planets, by earthquakes in central Asia, or by a Jewish conspiracy to weaken Christian countries.
• The symptoms of the bubonic plague included blotches on the skin, hardening and swelling of the glands under the armpit or in the groin, delirium, and insanity.

16. The Black Death The symptoms of the bubonic plague included
blotches on the skin
hardening and swelling of the glands under the armpit or in the groin
delirium
insanity
Death strangling a victim of the plague. From the Stiney Codex. Czeckoslovakia, 14th century.

17. The Hundred Years’ War 1337–1453 war between England and France
England unsuccessful
leads to British national consciousness
Yeoman
small landowners with longbows
BACKGROUND
After the war, due to a rise in national consciousness, the English were no longer best represented by the knight in shining armor (an import from the Continent). Instead, they were more accurately represented by the green-clad yeomen, who had formed the nucleus of the English army during the Hundred Years’ War in France. Their yard-long arrows could fly over castle walls and pierce the armor of knights.
begin to become dominant force (instead of knights)

18. What Have You Learned? Match the cause to its effect. Cause Effect
The Crusades
Black Death
Hundred Years’ War
Cause
Effect
__________ A labor shortage gives serfs more bargaining power.
__________ The English are exposed to Eastern cultures and knowledge.
__________ Yeomen replace knights as main military group.
Black Death
The Crusades
Hundred Years’ War

19. END

20. Viewing the Art The Middle Ages
This illustration from the Golf Book of Hours shows peasants taking a break from their work in the fields.
Activity: What elements in the illustration suggest that it is a romanticized view of peasant life?
Possible responses: The peasants’ clothing is neat; the peasants do not seem fatigued from hard work; the mood of the scene is peaceful and serene.

21. In addition to scenes of ordinary daily life, the Golf Book of Hours also shows both peasants and the nobility playing a variety of sports.