the middle ages

The Middle Ages

(1066-1485)

Norman Invasion of England (1066)

• William the Conqueror invades England, wins the Battle of Hastings, and defeats King Harold

• William believed throne was promised to him– Illegitimate son of a duke of Normandy• …who was a cousin to the English king, Edward the

Confessor

Sailing across

• William, a bastard son, angry upon hearing the news, sends an insulting demand for the throne.

• Sails across the channel from Normandy to England with 1,000 “dragon ships.”– 80-ft. long, propelled by oars and a single sail

The Setup

• Winds change; helps ships– Harold doesn’t have enough time to get to the

coast to meet William

• William has enough time to set up spiked fences in front of ditches

Battle of Hastings

• 5,000 to 7,000 troops on each side. • English had warriors and peasants– Wedge-shaped formations; spearmen in front;

everyone else with battle-axes– Fought on foot

• Normans had a mix of archers and dismounted and mounted warriors.

Battle of Hastings

• The battle raged all day• Anglo-Saxon battle-axes proved deadly

against mounted cavalry– Dismembered horses

• Confusion breaks out amongst English– Retreat blocked off by ditches– Normans slowly win

William Reigns

• William sets himself up as king– Wants to rule Anglo-Saxons, not eliminate them– Introduces feudalism– Brings the French language– Brings the “Domesday Book,” which kept

inventory on all of England• First time taxes were based on what people owned

Feudalism• Feudalism bound every person to a strict role-

based system:– King

• All-powerful overlord and land owner– Lord

• Land-owner who gives land in exchange for services– Vassal

• Receives land and provides military service for it– Knight

• The military service; defenders– Serf

• Peasants bound to the land; slave-like

Knights

• Were the muscle of the feudal system• When vassals opposed lords—– Knights defended and attacked

• Chivalry– Governs knights’ and gentlewomen’s behaviors– Idealistic courting

• Women were adored, but their position was unchanged

• Led to romance tales (King Arthur and Camelot)

Romance, Romanticism, *Romance Romance• Love stories; sometimes great,

sometimes cheesy, sometimes overly sexual

• Check out Wal-Mart book aisles or your grandmother’s bookshelf, and look for the buff Indian dudes.

Romanticism• Era of rebellious art, music, writing,

architecture, and ideas during the 19th Century.

• Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, Keats, Beethoven, Goethe, Thoreau, Emerson, and a lot more

• A bunch of later-on guys who we aren’t studying…

*Romance: Verse narrative tracing the adventures of a brave knight who overcomes danger for the love of a noble lady (or high ideal). He’s usually aided by magic.

Romance

Romanticism

*Romance

*Romance

*Romance

*Romance

*Romance

*Romance

Armor

• Rich knights–120-lbs of metal–Suffocation, heart-failure, heat stroke,

drowning–Turtle on his back

Getting Past Armor

• Knight weapons:– Dagger, sword, club-– headed mace, lance,– battle-ax, flail, – polearms

• Strange weapons– Warhammer

The End of Armor

• Yeoman archers with longbows

• Gunpowder (1325)– Guns– Cannons

I need a volunteer!

Feudalism weakens

• With the growth of population, a new middle class emerged:– Merchant class

• Evident in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales• New art and music, not aristocratic, but the

people’s.– Sung ballads– Expressed viewpoint of people

The Crusades (1095-1270)

• A series of holy wars

– Started by Pope Urban II

– Wanted Christians of Europe to reclaim Jerusalem and other holy places in the Middle East from the Muslims

– 200 years of disastrous military expeditions and slaughter

– (2:40:00) movie clip

Thomas à Becket

• Appointed archbishop of Canterbury by Henry II– Henry wanted the upper hand against the

Church and thought Thomas would help.– Well… Thomas didn’t. He sided with the pope.

• Knights misinterpret order and slaughter Thomas in his own cathedral.– Results in backlash for Henry; public outrages.– Church abuses their own power because no

one can stop them.

The Magna Carta / The Hundred Years’ War (1337-

1453)• English barons force King John to sign the Magna

Carta (1215).• Constitutional law, trial by jury, and legislative tax• The Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453)– Claims for France’s throne

• English kings: Edward II and Henry V.– English lose– By the end, yeoman (small landowners) replaced

knights• Birth of modern, democratic England

The Final Blow to Feudalism• Population growth, gunpowder, and yeoman archers,

and then…• The Black Death (or bubonic plague)– Fleas from rats– Began in China and spread west on Silk Road. Ended on

merchant-ship rats; came to Europe– Reduced Europe’s population by a third– Reduced the world’s population from 450 million to 350

million in the 14th century.– Destroyed faith; caused labor shortage, which gave lower

class more bargaining power against overlords; provided serf freedom• Which knocked out feudalism’s last support

Bubonic Plague• Swollen lymph nodes around the groin, armpit, and neck• Acral gangrene (generally of the fingers, toes, lips, and nose)• Chills• General ill feeling (malaise)• High fever• Muscle cramps• Seizures• Swollen lymph nodes around groin, armpit, and neck• Pain in infected areas• Skin color changes• Vomiting blood, heavy breathing, aching limbs, coughing, extreme

pain (caused by decay of skin while still alive)• Extreme fatigue, gastrointestinal problems, delirium, and coma

Plague Doctors

• Much later…• In the 17th century, plague doctors moved

through towns, helping the infected• Suit– Heavy, waxed overcoat– Glassed-eye openings– Beak to hold scents and straw• (ambergris, balm-mint leaves,• cloves, laudanum, rose petals)

Review!• 1066• Feudalism• Knights, chivalry, and courting• Women roles• Romance, Romanticism, *Romance• Thomas Becket• Crusades• Magna Carta• Hundred Years’ War• Population growth, yeoman archers, gunpowder, and

the Black Death