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Performer - Culture & Literature Marina Spiazzi, Marina Tavella,

Margaret Layton © 2012

Developing society Norman kings and the House of Plantagenet

Developing society: Norman kings and the House of Plantagenet

Performer - Culture & Literature

1. Norman kings

• William I (1066-1087)

• William II (1087-1100), called ‘Rufus’ because of

his red hair

• Henry I (1100-1135), William Rufus’ brother

• Stephen (1135-1154), Henry’s nephew and the

last Norman king



2. The House of Plantagenet

• Henry II (1154-1189), Henry I’s grandson

• Richard I (1189-1199), the Lion-Hearted, third

son of Henry II

• John (1199-1216), the Lackland, fifth son of

Henry II

• Henry III (1216-1272), John’s son

• Edward I (1272-1307), Henry III’s son

• Edward II (1307-1327), Edward I’s son

• Edward III (1327-1377), Edward II’s son

• Richard II (1377-1399), Edward III’s grandson



3. Henry II: Control of Barons

• He destroyed all castles that

had been built illegally during

Stephen’s reign.

• He hired mercenaries.

Knights could pay a sum of

money, the ‘scutage’, instead

of giving the king military

service.



4. Henry II: the reform of justice

• The king regained control of the justice system by

creating travelling judges.

• The law they administered was called

common law

It was different from the law

administered in other parts of

Europe, linked to the civil law

of the Roman Empire and the

canon law of the Church.

The common law was used

everywhere and based on

local customs comparisons

and previous cases.



5. Henry II and the Church

• The clergy wrote documents

like receipts (showing you

had paid your taxes) or

contracts (when you sold

your land).

• The most powerful

churchman in England was

the Archbishop of

Canterbury.

In medieval times the Church was very important.




• Henry aimed at reducing the power

of the Church.

• He appointed his friend Thomas

Becket as his Chancellor.

• Once Archbishop of Canterbury,

Becket became an opponent of the

King, who claimed authority in

investing the bishops.

• The conflict between the King and

Becket lasted for a long time until

Becket was murdered by four

knights sent by the King.




• Europe was shocked by the murder of Thomas

Becket.

• After his death, Becket was made a saint, and

Canterbury Cathedral became a shrine for pilgrims

to visit.



6. The Magna Carta

• In 1215 the barons

- refused to pay the scutage;

- conspired to resist the King;

- occupied London;

- made King John sign an important document, the

Magna Carta.

Events leading to the Magna Carta:

• King John became unpopular because:

- he lost French territories;

- he collected higher taxes to equal less income

coming from the loss of a great mass of the

French land.



6. The Magna Carta

• promised freedoms to all

people;

• protected the rights of ordinary

people;

• gave England the basis of a

legal system;

• promised to have good and fair

laws;

• prevented any freeman from

being punished without a

proper trial.

The Magna Carta:



7. The birth of Parliament

From the earliest times, the kings of England had assembled nobles and other important

subjects in the witan, or council, to advise them.

During the reign of Henry III assemblies were summoned. They included:

- bishops;

- noblemen;

- knights of the shire;

- two representatives from the towns.

The transition from the king’s council to Parliament was gradual. In 1295 the meeting of the king’s council

was known as ‘The Model Parliament’.



7. The birth of Parliament

By the close of the 14th century Parliament had assumed

something of its modern form:

• it had been split into the House of Lords and the

House of Commons;

• the Commons had acquired a crucial role in taxation and

legislation.



8. The Black Death, 1347-1350

• The Black Death was one of

the worst natural disasters

in history.

• It was caused by fleas,

blood-sucking parasites,

living on rats which infested

the ship trading with Europe.

• The dead littered the streets everywhere.

• Cattle and livestock roamed the country unattended.

Illustration of the Black Death from the Toggenburg Bible (1411)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Smallpox01.jpg




The disease cycle

Fleas drank rat blood that

carried the bacteria

Bacteria multiplied in

flea gut.

Fleas bit human and regurgitated blood into

human wound

Human beings were

infected




• High mortality rate: one third of England’s population

died.

• Enormous economic and social effects:

- labour was scarce;

- wages rose;

- prices dropped;

- better living conditions of peasants left alive.

Consequences of the Black Death:



9. The War of the Roses, 1450-1500

• expenses of the Hundred Years’ War

• increasing power of the House of Commons

• civil war fought by the two rival families

Decline of the monarchy due to:

the House of Lancaster the House of York



9. The Wars of the Roses, 1450-1500

Lancaster vs York

The House of Lancaster

•Henry IV, Richard II’s

cousin, 1399-1413

•Henry V, 1413-1422

•Henry VI, 1422-1461

The House of York

•Edward IV, son of the Duke of

York, 1461-1483

•Edward V, Edward IV’s son, 1483

•Richard III, 1483 - 1485



9. The Wars of the Roses, 1450-1500

Main events of the war

• Henry VI was weak and Lancastrians became unpopular.

• In 1461 he was confined to the Tower by the son of the Duke

of York, who seized the throne as Edward IV.

• Edward V was murdered by his uncle Richard, Duke of

Glouchester, who crowned himself as Richard III.

• Richard III was killed by Henry, Earl of Richmond, at the battle

of Bosworth in 1485.

• Henry became Henry VII, the first king of the Tudor dynasty.

• He married Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV.

presentazione di powerpoint - wordpress.com · 05/11/2016 · europe was shocked by the murder of...

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