Transcript The Middle Ages

A general overview so you can better
understand Sir Gawain and Chaucer
The beginning

 55 BCE: Julius Caesar invades Britain
 By 77 AD Roman conquest of Britain is complete
 122 AD – in response to raids from the north,
Emperor Hadrian builds a wall across northern
England
The fall of Rome

 From 372-410 A.D. Roman Empire
 Raiders from the north – Goths, Visigoths, and
Vandals
 410 A.D. Rome sacked, citizens slaughtered, temples
looted – official end of Pax Romana
 Empire broke apart
 Western section decayed into warring kingdoms
 Eastern section became the Byzantine Empire
 Much more unified – Constantinople becomes the
largest, wealthiest city in the world
Arrival of the invaders

 Britain under attack by various tribes from the north,
east
 Jutes, Angles, Saxons, Danes (Vikings)
 Tribes attacked and then settled, prompting a
migration from modern day Scandinavia and
Germany to Britain
 Constant battling between groups leads to creation
of kingships (think Beowulf)
 Time marked by violence
Britain, C. 540 A.D.
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Role of the Church

 314 A.D. – arrival of Christian Church in Britain
 597 A.D. – St. Augustine arrives in Britain
 Sent by Pope Gregory to convert pagan British who
have melded Christianity with their Celtic gods
 Establishes major seats for the church in Canterbury,
York
 Effectively overpowers the Celtic church
 Creation of monasteries – way to keep teachings of
church, place of knowledge
The many kingdoms

 7th to 8th centuries – rise and fall of many kingdoms
 Kent, Northumbria, Mercia, Wessex
 Aethelbold (726-57) first to call himself King of
Britain – kingdom much of southern England
 Kingdoms brought rule, law, structure
 Established rules for interacting with the church
Britain, C. 800 A.D.

Alfred the Great

 870 A.D. – King of Wessex (southern England)
 Successfully defends area from raids by Vikings
 Vikings not interested in settling – just looted, killed and
left
 Developed treaties with surrounding kingdoms which
helped secure large area
 Reclaimed London from Danish control
 Helped create political unity throughout England
 Laws of his kingdom, first basis for British laws
 Ruled against the custom of blood feuds – “wirgild”
 Increased the role of church, tried to restore education
Rise of Wessex

 Alfred dies in 899 A.D. – left kingdom to son Edward
 Continued his father’s work
 Established the dominance of the West Saxon
kingdom
 Opposite to northern England – under control of
Danes and part of Scandinavian empire
 York – Viking city run by Eric Bloodaxe
1066 A.D.

 Norman invasion part of political battle between
King Edward the Confessor and Harold, Duke of
Wessex
 Edward promised his crown to William of
Normandy
 Upon his death, Harold seized control
 William invades – defeats Harold at the Battle of
Hastings
 Crowned on Dec. 25, 1066 A.D.
Norman rule

 William the Conqueror brought Norman rule to England,
now linked with France, not Scandinavia
 Replaced old Anglo-Saxon ruling families with Norman
 Destroyed/overpowered old kingdoms
 Required allegiance in form of set number of knights from
each area
 Created new social class
 Doomsday Book – full accounting of who, what was in
southern England for taxation, tything purposes
 Brought language, culture to England (very behind in
cultural development)
Turnover I

 William dies in 1087 A.D.
 Decedents William II and Henry I struggle to keep the kingdom
together, face insurrection
 Stephen, nephew of Henry I looses control of kingdom to Geoffrey
the Fair and his wife Matilda
 Begins the Plantagenet line
 Their son Henry II married Eleanor of Aquitaine
 England gains more control of France, becomes one of the most
powerful leaders in Europe
 Creation of common law, replacing some of the old Anglo-Saxon
feudal laws
 Growth in economy, trade in England, spurred by First Crusade
 Henry responsible for death of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of
Canterbury in ongoing dispute over power, influence of church
Turnover II

 Henry II dies in 1189 A.D. after failing to stop son
Richard from seizing the throne, aided by his
mother, Eleanor
 Richard the Lionheart captured while on crusade in
the Holy Land
 Ransomed and then taken prisoner again in
Germany
 Raised taxes, created many new taxes to pay for
crusade, ransoms
A +: The Magna Carta

 John I, Richard’s brother, takes over in 1199 A.D.
 Almost looses control of whole kingdom
 Creates income tax, continues harsh taxing rules left
by his brother
 Battle with barons leads to signing of the Magna
Carta in 1215 A.D.
 John dies in 1216 and is first English monarch to be
buried in England
Other + developments

 Henry III (1216-1272)
 Completion of Westminster Abby
 Creation of Parliament
 Edward I (1272-1307)
 Conquest of Wales, peace
with Scotland
Turnover III

 Edward II (1327-77)
 Abandons the throne to his young son
 Alienated his wife as homosexual, she took refuge in
France, raised forces against him
 Edward III (1327-77)
 Began 100 Years War with France
 1348 A.D. – arrival of Black Death in England
 50 percent of population dead by 1350
 Did oversee a growth in Parliament
Turnover IV

 Richard II (1377-99)
 Took throne at age of 10
 Betrayed by nobles and deposed by Henry
Bolingbroke, a nobleman
 Henry IV (1399-1413)
 Encountered serious legitimacy issues as usurped the
throne
Turnover V

 Henry V (1413-22)
 Successfully expanded English territory back into France, made
English empire greater
 Henry VI (1422-71)
 Battled Joan of Arc over French lands occupied by England
 Beginning of French nationalism
 Beginning of War of the Roses
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Civil war among the aristocracy
House of York (white rose) led by Richard of York
House of Lancaster (red rose) led by King Henry
War lasts for 30 years – destroys aristocracy
Ends at Battle of Tewkesbury, Edward (York’s son) defeats Henry
Henry executed at Tower of London
Turnover VI

 Edward IV (1461-83)
 Brings relative peace to England
 Richard III (1483-85)
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Brother of Edward
Leads coup against his nephews for throne
Has two young boys killed
Challenged by nobles
Killed at the Battle on Bosworth Field
 Defeated by Henry Tudor, married to Elizabeth York,
Edward’s daughter
 Tudor’s assentation to throne marks end of mediaeval
period – last king to gain throne through combat