3. The Middle Ages (1066-1485) PDF

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Literatura Inglesa FILOLOGÍA Ana Álvarez QuintasThe Middle Ages (1066-1485)1066-1500: Major Events The Norman Conquest (1066) The Crusades (1095-1270) The Martyrdom of Thomas Becket (1170) The Magna Carta (1215) The Hundred Years' War (1337-1453) Climate Change and Famine The Black Death (1348-1349)...

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Literatura Inglesa

FILOLOGÍA

Ana Álvarez Quintas

The Middle Ages (1066-1485) 1066-1500: Major Events 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

The Norman Conquest (1066) The Crusades (1095-1270) The Martyrdom of Thomas Becket (1170) The Magna Carta (1215) The Hundred Years' War (1337-1453) Climate Change and Famine The Black Death (1348-1349) Peasants Revolt (1381) Wars of the Roses (1455-1485)

1. The Norman Conquest (1066) 

Harold, earl of Wessex, was crowned king after Edward’s death, but...

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William, Duke of Normandy--cousin of Edward the Confessor- -believed Edward had promised the throne of England to him

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Norman Invasion of 1066: Battle of Hastings

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William and his progeny remain dukes of Normandy and kings of England

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LANGUAGE:  Norman French = language of aristocracy  Norman and Anglo- Saxon elements-> Middle English

2. The Crusades (1095-1270) 

Holy wars between Christian Europe and Muslims over control of holy sites like Jerusalem

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Jerusalem = a sacred city to Muslims, Christians and Jews.

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Although controlled by Arabs since the 600s, the right of Christians to worship had been respected.

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In the early eleventh century Seljak Turks seized Jerusalem and closed it to Christians.

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The Byzantine Emperor appealed to Pope Urban II to send Knights to take back the Holy Land.

3. Martyrdom of Thomas Becket (1170) 

Thomas à Becket: c. 1118- 1170

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Norman chancellor (prime minister) to King Henry II (reigned 1154- 1189) and Archbishop of Canterbury

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Becket took his job seriously, sided with the pope

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Four knights of Henry's murdered Becket in the cathedral at Canterbury

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Becket was canonized a saint

4. The Magna Carta

* King John was forced to sign it in 1215 > No royal official shall take goods from any man without immediate payment. > No free man shall be imprisoned except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land. > In future no official shall place a man on trial without producing credible witnesses. > Courts shall be held in a fixed place at a fixed time. > The barons shall elect a House of Lords for the creation of laws. > The English church shall be free. > For a trivial offence, a free man shall be fined only in proportion to the degree of his offence.

5. The Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453)

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Base don weak claims to French throne by English monarchs Edward III (reigned 1327-1377) and Henry V (reigned 1413-1422)

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Unsuccessful for the English, but fostered a sense of British nationalism

6. Climate change and Famine 

1300s -1400s: temperature of Europe began to cool violent storms and unpredictable rainfall crop yields dropped dramatically

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1315-1317 = the worst years

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10-50 % of the population starved to death

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famine -> dramatic increase in violent crime, widespread reports of cannibalism

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The powerlessness of Church and Kings to deal with the crisis began to raise questions....

7. The Black Death (1348-1349)

Probably bubonic plague—a highly infectious disease spread by fleas from infected rats

8. Peasant Revolt (1381) -England had been at war with France for nearly 50 years, and the French were threatening to invade -Since the Black Death, taxes have been going up steadily -Priests (Lollards) are telling people that they are all the same in God’s eyes!

9. Wars of the Roses (1455-1485) -The House of Lancaster and the House of York, supporters of two branches of the royal House of Plantagenet, fought a series of wars for control of the throne of England. -Civil War -> crown changed possession several times until Henry Tudor defeats Richard III and then marries Elizabeth of York, uniting the families. -The Tudors aimed to centralize royal power. The resulting stability led to the Renaissance in England....