UNIT II А A n g l o - N o r m a n B r it a in

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^ П р Ь е N orm an Conquest did have
BRITAIN IN MIDDLE AGES
4 L immediate social, political and
E arly M id d l e A ges cultural im plications. The new tough
foreign aristocracy captured power and
A M ATURIN G FEUDALISM. TH E DOMESDAY BOOK. TH E PLANTAGENET lands. By 1100 (12th c.) there were 500
KINGS. C O N FLIC TS W IT H TH E CHURCH AND BARONS. RICH A RD I, JOHN
Norm an castles in the English coun­
LACKLAND. MAGNA CARTA LIBERTATA.
tryside. There was a blow against the
Later M id d l e A ges
Church as well; Saxon bishops were ei­
ther deposed or replaced by Normans.
В SIMON DE MONFORT. TH E GROW TH OF PARLIAMENT. TH E HUNDRED During the 11th and 12th centuries an
YEA R S’ WAR. TH E BLACK DEATH. TH E PEASAN TS’ REVOLT. apparatus o f Government o f exceptional
effectiveness was established.
K ey words, term s a n d concepts:
England was also drawn into close
1. F eudalism , fe u d a l hierarchy
links with the other side o f the Channel.
2. A language g ap
But there was a language gap between the
3. D om esd ay b o o k
local (Anglo-Saxon) population and the
4. T en an ts-in -ch ief (barons), vassals
new landowners, o f both the Church and
5. Freem en, freeh old ers, cottagers, villeins, serfs
6. To raise m on ey (shield m oney) the Norman Aristocracy.
Latin was a language o f monasteries, W illiam I, the C onqueror
7. To im pose taxes, fis c a l policy
8. T h om as B ecket — the m artyr Norm an French was now the language
9. R ich ard (C oeu r-de-L ion ), the L ion -H eart o f law and authority. Inflected English,
10. Joh n L acklan d. M agna C arta — the G reat C h arter o f Liberty (1215) spoken differently in the various regions Broadly it was related to the tenure o f
11. Sim on de M ontfort. The P arliam en t remained the language o f the people. land itself, obligation and dependence,
12. T he P lague — the black d eath The brightest evidence o f the situa­ as expressed in the term “vassalage”.
13. Poll Tax tion in the country was the Domesday The first relationship focuses on warfare
14. W ycliffe Book (1086), a survey o f England’s land in an age o f violence, the second on the
15. John Ball, W at Tyler (1381) and people; according to it Norman soci­ use as well as the tenure o f land in an
ety still rested on “lordship, secular and age when land was the key to society.
©go spiritual, and the King, wise or foolish, All land in the country belonged
was the lord o f lords, with only Lord in to the Crown. The king was the great­
Heaven and the Saints above him.” est landowner in the country and he
H istorians have introduced into parcelled out (gave away) the land to
their interpretation o f N orm an and the great landowners who were his
o th er European lordship the term tenants-in-chief (barons). The barons
“feudalism ”, first em ployed during held their land as a gift, in return for
the 12th century. The term was used in specified services to the Crown. W hen
both narrow and broad sense. Narrowly barons parceled out their land, they also
it was related to m ilitary (knightly) required knightly services from their
service as a condition of tenure of land. tenants. During the reign o f W illiam I

14
170 barons had in their service about
4000 knights who were distinguishable
as a social group.
The two social groups were opposed
to “the poor m en”: lords themselves
cultivated only a third or two fifths o f
the arable land in use. The rest was
cultivated by various kinds o f “peas­
ants” (a controversial term not in use
at that time): villeins (41% ), cottagers
(32% ), free holders (14% ) and serfs
(10% ) — the group with no land at all.
At the time o f the Domesday Book, the
basic distinction was, however, that all
men were either free (free holders) or
serfs.
In the 13th century King John Lack­
land (1 19 9-12 16 ) replaced m ilitary
Anglo-Saxons working in the field s
service o f his ten ants-in-chief by pay­
ments, known as “shield money”.
T he R oyal H o u se o f N orm andy
In rural England lords lived in m a­
nors which were in their own estates.
The peasants, free holders and others W ILLIAM I
lived in villages and hamlets. (1066-1087)
The Domesday Book was designed The Conqueror
for fiscal purposes to increase and pro­
tect the King’s revenue.
The full im plications o f the social,
political and cultural changes follow­
ing the Norman Conquest took time to
I
Robert W ILLIA M II
work themselves out. Duke o f (1087-1100)
They were: a political unification Normandy Rufus
o f the country and the centralization
o f government — a strong royal gov­
ern m en t, feudal interd ep en d ence;
HENRY I
the supreme power of the King over
Matilda (1100-1135)
all his vassals; the establishm ent of
m. Geoffrey m. Edith (Matilda)
the feudal hierarchy, a further devel­
Plantagenet
opm ent of the relationship between
(Count o f Anjou)
the King and the barons, sometimes
stormy, sometimes cohesive, an em er­
gence o f English com m on law (from
precedent to precedent), the making
o f Parliam ent.
The latter two were the most obvious
I
HENRY II
phenomena if we investigate (consider) (1154-1189)
the historical events chronologically and Plantagenet
examine the sequence o f monarchs.
T able 1
W illiam I The Conqueror (1 0 6 6 - Henry V, and later upon his death to
1087) (the Norm an Dynasty) died as Geophrey o f Anjou; the son o f Geophrey
a result o f falling from his horse in a o f Anjou (Angevin) becam e the first
battle in France, was succeeded by his Plantagenet*.
two sons, one after the other: Henry II (1154-1189) was friendly
W illiam II (1087-1100) was cruel with Thom as Becket, a humble clerk,
but a brave soldier, little loved and little who was appointed the archbishop o f
missed when he died. Canterbury. Henry misjudged this man
H enry I (1100-1135) was scholarly who considered his first loyalty to be the
May. Picking flow ers and well educated. His daughter was Church and not the King.
m arried to the G erm an E m peror
Planta genista — Latin for “broom”.
16

P la n ta g en et K
T able 2
■ ..■■■! v ^ - r ! ^ = = = = = = q e ^ 5 5
The M urder o f T hom as Becket
in the C athedral
in g s
...........................................
The conflict ended in the murder
o f Thom as Becket in his own cathedral
by the King’s servants. Becket was cano­
nized (St. Thomas); his shrine became a
place o f pilgrimage for the whole o f Eu­
rope, for the cures effected there, until
it was destroyed by Henry V III in 1538.
So the King o f the House o f Plantagenet
was the first to have a conflict with the
Church and he physically destroyed the
opposition.
His wife Eleanor took a lively inte­
rest in politics. Somewhat too lively at
times, for she abetted (helped and sup­
ported) her sons when they rebelled
against their father, she was, as a result,
imprisoned.
Henry II’s reign was one o f consti­
tutional progress and territorial expan­
sion.
Richard I the L io n -H eart (1 1 8 9 —
1199).
King R ichard may have had the
heart o f a lion but England saw all too
little o f him. He was called a romantic
sportsman and spent most o f his life in
Crusades in the Holy Land.
R ichard I
the Lion-H eart
-M )
He used England’s money to finance
his crusades and other adventures, but
he was not very lucky — returning from
his successful mission, he was captured,
and was kept im prisoned in Austria,
awaiting the payment o f a huge ran­
som.
He returned to England to stop his
younger brother John from usurping
18
the throne, soon after, he rushed to fight
King Philip o f France who had sup­
ported John. Philip was defeated but Ri­
chard was killed in a siege o f a castle.
His wife who never set foot in Eng­
land, left no children. So, John (Lack­
land) (1 1 9 9 -12 16 ), the youngest son of
King Henry II, continued the dynasty’s
rule.
King John Lackland was the most
unpopular king: he lost m ost o f his
French possessions; he broke his father’s
heart with his misbehavior, he rebelled
against his brother, quarrelled with the
Pope, etc. The list o f his stupidities and
misdemeanours was endless but he did
one good thing (or was forced to do it).
In 1215 the barons made him seal the
M agna C arta, which, though it limited
the prerogative o f the Crown and ex­
tended the powers o f the Barons, has
since becom e the foundation stone o f
an Englishman’s liberty.
The pressure on the pocket is more
quickly felt than the pressure on the
mind — that is why John Lackland was
forced by his barons to seal the Magna
C arta Libertata (the Great Charter o f
1215). Pressed by the demands o f war,
he had im posed taxes that irritated
many o f his m ost powerful subjects.
The Magna Carta is a document that
dealt with privileges claimed by N or­
man barons. It was to become part o f
the English constitutional inheritance,
because the baronial claims for liberties
were in time translated into the univer­
sal language o f freedom and justice. It
was the beginning o f limiting the pre­
rogatives o f the Crown.
During the struggle for the Great
Charter (Magna Carta) the legions o f
barons openly opposed the King — dis­
obeyed him, did not pay taxes, raised

M agna Carta
L ibertata
G reat Charter
o f Liberty
an army o f knights, enjoyed support o f
townsmen (London supported them),
the King was forced to seal the Charter.
It’s important to point out that by
limiting the King’s power, Magna Carta
restricted arbitrary actions o f barons
towards knights and proclaim ed the
power o f law over the free people o f
the country.
King John was succeeded by his son
Henry III (121 6-1 27 2). He was not as
bad as his father but he was continu­
ally short o f m oney and extravagant
by nature.
Henry III faced a further develop­
ment o f baronial ambitions and protests.
They accused the King o f violating their
rights and liberties. After a very bad
harvest in 1257 Henry III demanded a
third o f all English property. This aroused
a new baronial riot. The barons finally
came armed to the Parliament at Oxford
and drew up “provisions” — “Oxford
Provisions” and additional “W estm in­
ster provisions” — to protect the knights
from barons which gave all the power in
the country to barons. The King and his
son did not want to become puppets; and
as a result a military conflict developed.
The country was divided into sup­
porters and enemies o f the King and a
Civil war broke out.
The army o f barons was headed (led)
by Earl Simon de M ontfort and was at
first successful in capturing the King’s
fortresses and castles. They were greeted
by townsmen and students o f Oxford The M edieval P arliam ent
and church bells.
In 1264 Earl Simon took the King
prisoner; in 1265 — P arliam ent was
sum m oned with “com m on s” repre­ 13th centuries, relationships between ry. Enforced labour services by villeins
sented in it — two knights from a shire the king and the baron s, and the were giving way to wage labour, and
and two merchants from a town. m aking o f Parlim ent were the m ain villeins commuted their labor-dues by
Prince Edward, Henry’s son and heir, historical phenomena o f that period. paying money to the lord instead. Then
(later to succeed Henry as Edward I) During the reign o f Edward I (1272— the pattern changed: the lords again re­
rescued Henry. King Henry III man­ 1307) there were not only lords, bishops quired labor services. But a lot o f villeins
aged to defeat Simon de M onfort and and great abbots present in Parliament, were freed, and some o f the freed were
killed him in a battle and secured his but there were also “com m ons”. This able, energetic or lucky enough to buy
Crown and his rule. demonstrated the growing wealth and land and prosper as Yoemen.
T he 1295 Parliam ent was called importance o f townsmen and knights o f Th e 13th century was a period
Model Parliam ent, though it assured the shire not only in the local communi­ o f su b stan tial eco n o m ic activity.
a continuity o f the 1265 Parliament o f ties but also in the whole country. W heat was shipped overseas, but the
Simon de Monfort. Econom ics and politics were very country’s wealth was coming from the
The comm ons were summoned by closely connected, and the King’s main exports o f wool. Later on, when the
the King’s W rit to some o f the Parlia­ goal in sum m oning Parliam ent was wool began to be made into cloth in
ments (one in eight before 1284; one in to raise m oney from the population England, rather than exported as raw
three — in the later years o f Edward the through taxes— l/10th from people in material, it stimulated the growth o f
I’s reign, one o f which was the so-called towns, 1/15th — from the people in the industry. In the 13th and 14th centuries
Model Parliament o f 1295). country. England was far behind Flanders in
The “Oxford Provisions” were not Social relations in the country were the production o f cloth but there was
observed by Kings. So, in the 12th and undergoing changes in the 13th centu­ enough development.
20
 the Scone Abbey (1296) but had failed
----------------------------- e ^ Q o ---------------------------------------------
to subdue the Scots. Edward I who had
Questions: been called “the Hammer o f Scots” died
1. W hat w ere the p ecu lia r traits o f the N orm an Rule in England? not far from the border o f Scotland dur­
2. W hat was the m ean in g o f the term “fe u d a lis m ” in relation to ing his last abortive campaign to defeat
N orm an England? the Scots.
3. W hy w as the D om esday b o o k written? T he rule o f his son, Edward II
4. W hat w ere the political, social, econ om ic an d cultural consequences (1307-1327) is traditionally character­
o f the N orm an Conquest? ized as a great failure o f the hereditary
5. W hen was the fir s t conflict o f the K ing with the Church? principles o f M onarchy: Edward II had
6. W hat d o y ou kn ow a b o u t the relation s in the fa m ily o f H enry II?
no talent to be a King, but he was the
7. W hat was the fir s t attem p t to lim it the p o w er o f the King? W hen
eldest son and succeeded his father. He
was it a n d why?
angered the barons by his foolishness,
8. W hen d id the British P arliam en t a p p e a r a n d h ow d id it develop in
his extravagance, favourites and m ili­
the M iddle Ages?
tary defeats. His reign was a troubled
9. W hat w ere econ om ic a n d social relations in the early M iddle Ages
one and he was deposed and forced to
in England?
abdicate by the barons, assisted by his
wife. He died, probably murdered, and
was succeeded by his son, Edward III
(1327-1377).
Edward III is recognized by histori­
ans as a passionate fighter, who was fond
o f tournaments, chivalry and battles. He
instituted the O rder o f the G arter and
cultivated the spirit o f chivalry at his
court. He pursued a sensible policy o f
tolerance with barons, thus securing
their loyalty. His com m ercial policies
facilitated the development o f wool trade
and rise o f prosperity. But the warrior
king was eager to lead his knights in
battles, so Scotland was his first rather
hard prey as he had failed to subjugate
it, though having taken its King David

В Later M id d l e A g es

dward I (127 2 -1 3 0 7 ) was deter­

mined to strengthen his royal The Stone o f Destiny
authority and his Kingdom. To do that fro m the Scone A bbey
he asserted his rule in all territories on
the British Isles, especially in W ales
and Scotland. He succeeded in im pos­
ing English rule on Wales: his son, who
was born in a Welsh castle and “could
spell not a word o f English” at that time,
later, in 1301 was created the Prince
o f Wales and ruler o f the principality.
Since that time the eldest son o f the
English monarch has been given that
title.
Relationships between England and
Scotland were similar to those between
England and Wales, but the Scots had a
greater degree o f independence. Edward I
had made several military raids to the
Northern kingdom, seized the national
treasure— the Stone o f Destiny from A Tournam ent

21

Л baff/e in France
prisoner to England. The dynastic ac­
cident helped Edward III to start the
Hundred Years’ W ar (1338-1453) which
was carried during the reigns o f five
English Kings.
Edward declared his claim to the
French throne, as his mother had been
the sister o f Charles IV, king o f France,
who left no male heir when he died in
1338. This was a respectable enough rea­
son for the war to return the lost English
lands in France. The results o f the first
stage o f the war were not as successful as
the English had expected them to be. But
several victories were won at sea (1340 at
Sluys), and in the field — Gascony was
recaptured, at Crecy the English archers
made the King o f France flee from the
battle field, Calais after a long siege sur­
rendered in the face o f starvation. King
Edward’s eldest son,— Edward, the Black
Prince, a warrior o f a high reputation,
in 1356 won a victory at Poitiers. In
1348 the outbreak o f plague, “the Black
death” dealt a terrible blow at the peo­
ple o f Europe and England. It was a
terrible disaster, more than 1/3 o f the
English population died.
The econom y and trade o f Eng­
land suffered and the social unrest
was spreading due to the results o f the
econom ic, social, political and military
status. Violence was sparked off by yet
another poll-tax o f 1381. People revolt­
ed against the tax-collectors and judges,
in the south and south-east o f England.
The rebels, led by W at Tyler and John
Ball, a clergyman, marched to London,
captured the Tower with the help o f
Londoners, killed the archbishop o f
Canterbury and the Lord Chancellor.
John Ball was a radical opponent o f the
-sa* 23
Church-lords and supported the ideas
o f John Wycliffe, the first reformer o f
the Church (1 3 3 0-13 8 4 ). He preached
ideas o f social justice: “W hen Adam
delved and Eve Span who was then the
gentleman?”
The Peasants’ Revolt made far reach­
ing demands: a charter o f liberties, the
end o f all lordship except the King’s, the
end o f serfdom, return o f church land to
people, etc.
The young King Richard II met the
Kentismen face-to-face at Smithsfield.
W at Tyler was pronouncing their de­
mands which were unacceptable to
feudalism.
T h e G reat P ea s a n ts’ Revolt. 1381
■■■•
T he King appeared to agree but
during the negotiations W at Tyler was
treacherously killed and his head, set up
on a spear, was shown to the rebels to
persuade them to retreat from London
and disband. Shocked and morally de­
stroyed they obeyed only to be physical­
ly tortured and executed, John Ball was
hanged. The punitive actions continued
long into autumn. The Great Peasants’
2 4 *>X-
Revolt was defeated. But the ruling class
had been badly frightened and the un­
popular Poll Tax withdrawn.
Through a primitive faith in the King
(a kindly king) senior lords prevented
the peasants from any attempts to es­
tablish their power. But the rebellion
undermined the strength and rule o f the
feudal class and as a consequence few
barons dared to refuse the peasants at­
tempts to buy freedom. Actually, peas­
ant dependence in Britain disappeared
by the 15th century and the W at Tyler
rebellion was instrumental in that.
King Richard II (1 3 7 7 -1 3 9 9 ) after
considerable civil struggle, eventually
wrested the power from Parliament and
the barons. He seems to have pursued
a policy o f revenge and high-handed
despotism.
He brought Duke John o f Lancas­
ter’s son Henry to England, but Henry
gained enough support to take King
Richard prisoner and cause him to ab­
dicate in his favour. The House o f Lan­
caster’s Henry IV (1399-1413), Henry V
(1 4 1 3 -1 4 2 2 ), Henry V I (14 2 2 -1 46 1 ) —
were followed by the kings o f the York
family — two Edwards: Edward IV and
Edward V, and Richard III, a hunch
back, a cruel m onster, deformed in
body, mind and soul (according to the
Tudor historians).
s !g )
There is a statement, that King Rich­
ard II was the last King from the House
o f Plantagenets — he was deposed and
dethroned by the House of Lancaster.
But it is to be stressed, that the two
new royal branches were related to the
Plantagenets, were the derivatives o f
the main stem.
The 13th century was described by
historians as a Plantagenet spring after
a grim Norman winter. It was the cen­
tury o f the new gothic style in architec­
ture, o f Salisbury Cathedral, foundation
o f universities, the development o f the
Com m on Law & the Parliament, and
the em ergence o f English as the lan­
guage o f the nation. The symbol o f this
spring can be seen in the lyrics “Sum ­
mer is icumen in”. But the following
two centuries were filled with wars,
discord and discontent.
The 14th century — brought the dis­
asters o f the Hundred Years W ar (1337—
1453) the Peasants’ Revolt 1381, the
exterm ination o f the population by the
Black death (1 3 4 8 -1 3 4 9 ) and punitive
execution o f the participants, with posi­
tive achievements in literature (G eof­
frey Chaucer completes the Canterbury
Tales (1 3 9 3 )) ,— a rch ite ctu re ,— and
further strengthening o f the English
language.
The 15th century saw the continua­
tion o f the struggle for the crown and
the establishment o f the Lancaster dy­
nasty in the person o f Henry IV, King
o f England (1 3 9 9 -1 4 1 4 ).

— ^ д о . .............. —

Questions:
1. H ow d id E d w ard I m an ag e to im pose English Rule on Wales?
2. W hat w ere the English relations with Scotland in the reign o f
E dw ard I?
3. W hat w ere the m ilitary a n d territorial am bition s o f E dw ard III?
P lease give the dates o f his rule.
4. W hat w ere the reasons o f social unrest in E ngland in the last
q u a rter o f 14th century? S peak o f the G reat P easan ts’ Revolt.
5. W hy is the destiny o f the last P lantagen et King R ichard II
con sidered tragic?
6. P lease give a concise characteristic o f the 14th century.