1. High Middle Ages- part I: The Growth of Royal Power
Honors Western Civilization
Mrs. Civitella

2. I. Growth of Royal Power During the Early Middle Ages- 500-1300 A.D.:
Feudal Power
Church Power
Lords offered protection
Owned huge amounts of land
Nobles ruled their own courts
Church courts heard cases involving clergy and Canon Law
Coined their own money
Had their own army
Could raise armies

3. II. Trade led to an increase in Royal power
Feudal warfare disrupted trade
The new middle class (merchants living in trading cities) preferred powerful kings who encouraged trade:
Reduced tolls on trade routes
Reduced sales taxes
Kings established royal courts
Royal courts administered uniform laws throughout the country

5. III. Trade benefited kings
Wealthier towns could be more heavily taxed
Paid soldiers were hired for royal armies
(lessened the dependence on feudal lords for military protection of the kingdom)
Monarchs took advantage of political, economic, and social changes to centralize power

7. IV. The Anglo-Saxons The Norman Conquest
1066 Anglo-Saxon Edward the Confessor died without an heir to the throne
Three rival kings all claimed rights to the throne
One of the claimants was William, the Duke of Normandy
A cousin of the Edward
Descendant of the Vikings (tough)
Vassal of the French king
Held a feudal stronghold in northwestern France

8. Battle of Hastings
Gathering a force of several hundred boats and some 6,000 soldiers, he invaded England in 1066 A.D.
He had the backing of the Pope
William defeated Harold, the king chosen by the Anglo-Saxon nobles, on Christmas Day 1066
The victory gave William the English crown and the title William the Conqueror

11. V. The Growth of Royal Power
A. William I was very involved in the decisions of his kingdom
He took Anglo-Saxon lands and kept some for himself
Gave some land to his Norman (French) vassals in return for military service
Gave some land to the Church
He required every vassal to swear allegiance to him (instead of a feudal lord)

12. Growth of royal power continued
In 1086, William had a complete census taken to determine taxable wealth
This was the first census of western Europe taken since Roman times
Every person, manor, and farm animal was counted
The census data was recorded in the Domesday Book

15. VI. A blending of English and French culture
William I’s court and nobles were French-speaking
England’s population remained largely Anglo-Saxon
Over the next 300 years Norman French and Anglo-Saxon ways blended to form a new English culture

16. 4. William’s heirs increase royal power
Henry I, William’s son (ruled ) created the royal exchequer, or treasury to efficiently collect taxes
Henry I expanded the power of royal courts by sending circuit judges into the countryside
In each town, a circuit judge ordered juries to report on crimes and disputes

17. 5. Henry II established an early jury system
The jurors made their decisions based on whatever facts were generally known
Eventually two types of juries developed:
grand jury- decided what cases would be brought to trial
trial jury- gave verdicts on the cases

18. VII. Common Law and dependence on the King
Any free man could bring a case before a royal court
These court decisions became the basis for common law
Accepted legal principles were applied to everyone throughout England
Royal courts increased the people’s dependence on the King
Fees and fines of the court increased the treasury of the King

19. VIII. Henry II vs. Thomas Becket
Henry II came into power in England in 1154
In 1162 Henry II made Thomas Becket the Archbishop of Canterbury
Becket had been a long-time advisor and friend to the King
Prior to Henry’s reforms, members of the clergy who were accused of a crime could claim “benefit of the clergy” and were tried in Church courts
Church punishments were much less severe than those of feudal or royal courts
In 1162 Henry declared that everyone, even clergy, must be tried for crimes in royal courts

20. Henry II vs. Thomas Becket
Becket protested and claimed that clergy were not subject to royal laws and royal courts
Becket excommunicated one of Henry’s vassals
This meant that the vassal could no longer serve in the royal army
This put the Church and the King in direct conflict with one another

21. In 1170 Henry ordered four of his knights to execute Becket
They assassinated Becket in Canterbury Cathedral after he finished mass
The assassination backfired on Henry
The English people were upheld that Becket was murdered
He became a martyr

23. IX. Becket the Martyr The Church made Thomas Becket as saint
Miracles were said to have taken place at his tomb
Canterbury Cathedral became a major pilgrimage and tourist site in England
Henry backed down on the issue of clergy being tried in royal courts

25. X. King John and the Magna Carta
John (Henry II’s youngest son) reigned from
He inherited a huge debt
John believed that the nobles in England were plotting against him
In 1204 John lost the region of Normandy to France
He spent much of his reign trying to get it back

26. XI The Magna Carta
John put enormous taxes on the English people in an attempt to get out of debt and fight the war
He alienated the Church by not accepting the Pope’s nominee for archbishop of Canterbury
Pope Innocent III placed all of England under an interdict- no one in the country could receive any sacraments
In 1214, the nobles revolted and forced John to sign the Magna Cart “Great Charter”

27. Magna Carta significance
Spelled out the rights of the nobility
Stated that the king was subject to the same rules of law as the nobility
The foundation for all constitutional government
Written on parchment in Latin
Copies were sent to churches throughout England

28. Four times a year, the sheriffs had it read aloud in the county courts
After John’s death in 1216, the Magna Carta was modified and reissued

29. XII. The development of Parliament
The new middle class (those engaged in business, craftsmanship, or trade) began to play an increasing role in European society
Henry III added townspeople (called Burgesses) to the Great Council that advised the king
In 1295, Edward called representatitives from the clergy, nobility and burgesses into session

30. Parliament continued
This new legislative body was called the Model Parliament
By 1400, Parliament had divided into two chambers:
House of Lords- nobles and clergy
House of Commons- knights and burgesses

32. Separation of powers
Eventually Parliament would be given the “power of the purse”, meaning the right to approve any new taxes
The “power of the purse” allowed Parliament to provide an important check on royal power

33. XII. Monarchs in France
In 987, the Capetians (ruling family in France) made the throne hereditary
Won support of the Catholic Church
Built an efficient system of government agencies to carry out the King’s policy called a bureaucracy
collected taxes
enforced royal law

34. XIII. The Estates General
Philip IV established a legislature in France in 1302
The Estates General had three types of representatives:
first estate- clergy
second estate- nobles & the middle class
third estate- peasants and unskilled laborers

36. XIV. The Holy Roman Empire
Unlike England and France, Germany remained divided because of disputes between the emperor, the pope, and powerful German nobles
In 1122, the pope and the emperor reached a settlement about choosing bishops

38. The Holy Roman Empire vs. the Church
The emperor could appoint bishops and give them land
The pope could reject a candidate that they found unworthy
During the 1100s and 1200s Holy Roman emperors tried to gain control of Italy
The pope and his Italian nobles defeated the Germans

39. In 284, emperor Diocletian divided the empire into two parts to make
it easier to govern. He kept control of the wealthier eastern part but appointed
a co-emperor to rule the western provinces

41. XV. The Byzantine Empire
After the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 A. D., the western region of the Roman Empire fell leading to the “dark ages”
The eastern part of the empire did not fall, it became known as the Byzantine Empire
The capital was Constantinople (named for the Roman Emperor Constantine

42. Byzantine Empire 395-1453 A.D. Strengths of the Empire:
Efficient government
Loyal, well-trained army
Strong economy (trade flourished)
Constantinople became the center of world commerce (trade)

43. The Byzantine Empire

44. E. Fall of the Byzantine Empire
Civil wars over succession weakened the empire
Late in the eleventh century, Seljuk Turks (Muslims) invaded Byzantium
The Byzantine Empire seeks help from the Roman Catholic Church leading to the crusades
By 1453, the Ottoman Empire took Constantinople and changed the name of the capital from Constantinople to Istanbul