Medieval England

I. Norman Conquest

A. William, Duke of Normandy, defeated Harold, King of England, at the Battle of Hastings; this and occupation of England marked end of Anglo-Saxon Period and beginning of Medieval Period.

B. Normans were descendents of Viking invaders of northwestern France; demonstrated aggressiveness and resourcefulness of ancestors; never more than ruling minority, although Norman presence changed way of living

II. The Reign of William the Conqueror

A. The most powerful duke in France, ruled England with strength and efficiency; intelligent, energetic, thorough administrator, centralized power by appointing representatives to collect taxes, supervise legal and administrative matters, and organize the military; representatives directly responsible to the king; William ordered an extensive survey of all property, eliminating arguments and establishing a firm basis for awarding confiscated lands.

III. The Feudal System

A. The system of reciprocal loyalties introduced by William; feudal king owned all land, distributed among loyal followers who are servants and obedient; the same occurred among those loyal followers; all holders of land owed military service directly to king

B. One in thirty belonged to nobility or clergy; small % of population made up of freemen; others were surfs (slaves, lower class freemen), doomed to a life of poverty

C. System dominated early Medieval Period; lasted until thirteenth or fourteenth century

IV. The Monarchy after William

A. Several able kings consolidated and extended the achievements of William; through the years government was systemized more; common law established, Parliament established

B. Under mediocre and weak kings England reverted to periods of anarchy; In 1215, near end of reign of greedy, vengeful King John, he was forced to sign Magna Carta to limit rights on royal system

V. The Medieval Church

A. Roman Catholic Church was unifying force of age as well as one of England’s most powerful institutions; Churchmen held government offices

B. Church was impetus behind explosion of architectural creativity during Medieval Period

C. From late 1000’s to early 1200’s, Church sponsored series of Crusades to recapture Holy Land fro Moslems. Major impact had to do with opening of new avenues of trade and introduction of new ideas, foods, and fabrics into England

D. Tremendous influence and wealth of the Church inspired the jealousy of England’s inability in early Middle Ages

E. By late Middle Ages Church’s political and secular hold on England had weakened; scandals, abuses of power, feuding cardinals and popes allied with Continental princes undermined respect for Church; reformers from within Church responded to need of spiritual renewal

VI. The Growth of Towns

            A. Raising sheep for wool was an important occupation in Medieval England

B. Merchants and tradespeople organized into guilds to control prices and quality and to provide for political, social, and religious needs of members

            C. Towns also became centers of creative and artistic activity

            D. A few towns were centers of education

VII. The Decline of Feudalism

A. Development of wool industry, establishment of guilds, growth of towns, and Black Death factors in decline of feudalism

            B. Peasants Revolt protested disproportionately hard tax on poor; failed

C. Hundred Years’ War fought between English and French; French won later battles, English lost almost all of its French lands; Parliament gained power through raising revenues through taxation; end of quasi-civil war and crowned Henry VII signaled end of Medieval Period

VIII. Literature in the Medieval Period

A. For nearly three hundred years after Norman Conquest, little literature of consequence was produced in England

B. Popular forms of literature in Medieval Period were ballads (narrative songs), mystery plays, and miracle plays.

C. Most famous writer of Medieval Period was Geoffrey Chaucer; drawing on sources as diverse as French poetry, English songs, Greek classics, contemporary Italian tales, and Asp’s fables, he created a masterful blend of old and new, using integral rhythms of spoken language

D. Around 1362 The Vision of William Concerning Piers the Plowman, a long allegorical poem in Middle English, first appeared. Describes major historical events; William Langland generally credited

            E. The courtly tradition of Medieval Period was expressed in romance

            F. William Caxton had tremendous influence on preservation of English literature

IX. The Development of the English Language - Middle English

A. The English language changed more during four centuries after 1066 than it did during any period before or since

            B. The French Inheritance

1. Following defeat at Battle of Hastings, French became language of aristocratic ruling class of England

2. Elimination of English court and displacement of English aristocracy destroyed linguistic unity of country

3. French words entered English by the thousands; often, instead of replacing an Anglo-Saxon word, the French term existed alongside the Old English

4. In medieval England the tendency to simplify ways of communication hastened elimination of grammatical endings and gender distinctions from Old English words

                        5. For three centuries the literature of England was trilingual

            C. The Standardization of English

1. By late 1200’s there were five major regional dialects, although some scholars say that the differences in spelling were so great that each writer created his or her own dialect

2. Out of this chaos of dialects, English re-emerged as a national language in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries

3. Of the several Middle English dialects the one that prevailed to become the basis for Modern English was the East Midland dialect.

4. A force for standardizing English came at the end of the Medieval Period with the invention of movable type in Germany and its subsequent production in England

D. English of the late Medieval Period

1. To contemporary speakers of English, the English of the early Medieval Period looks and sounds like a foreign language

2. By the late 1300’s Chaucer was writing poetry that can be understood by most people who know Modern English

3. While diversity of dialects was a hallmark of Middle English, by 1500 a newly standardized English, blended with French, had emerged.