England in the High Middle Ages
| Periods in English history | |
|---|---|
| Roman Britain | Circa 43–410 |
| Anglo-Saxon | Circa 500–1066 |
| Norman | 1066–1154 |
| Plantagenet | 1154–1485 |
| Tudor | 1485–1603 |
| Elizabethan | 1558–1603 |
| Stuart | 1603–1714 |
| Jacobean | 1603–1625 |
| Carolean | 1625–1649 |
| (Interregnum) | 1649–1660 |
| Restoration | 1660–1688 |
| Georgian | 1714–1830 |
| Regency | 1830–1837 |
| Victorian | 1837–1901 |
| Edwardian | 1901–1914 |
| First World War | 1914–1918 |
| Interwar | 1918–1939 |
| Second World War | 1939–1945 |
| Postwar | 1945–1981 |
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England in the High Middle Ages includes the history of England between the Norman Conquest in 1066 and the death of King John, considered by some to be the last of the Angevin kings of England, in 1216. A disputed succession and victory at the Battle of Hastings led to the conquest of England by William of Normandy in 1066. This linked the crown of England with possessions in France and brought a new aristocracy to the country that dominated landholding, government and the church. They brought with them the French language and maintained their rule through a system of castles and the introduction of a feudal system of landholding. By the time of William's death in 1087, England formed the largest part of an Anglo-Norman empire, ruled by nobles with landholdings across England, Normandy and Wales. William's sons disputed succession to his lands, with William II emerging as ruler of England and much of Normandy. On his death in 1100, his younger brother claimed the throne as Henry I and defeated his brother Robert to reunite England and Normandy. Henry was a ruthless yet effective king, but after the death of his only male heir William Adelin in the White Ship tragedy, he persuaded his barons to recognize his daughter Matilda as his heir. When Henry died in 1135 her cousin Stephen of Blois had himself proclaimed king, leading to a civil war known as The Anarchy. Eventually, Stephen recognized Matilda's son Henry as his heir and when Stephen died in 1154, he succeeded as Henry II.
Henry, considered the first Angevin king of England, had extensive holdings in France and asserted his authority over Wales, Scotland and Ireland. He clashed with his appointee to the Archbishopric of Canterbury Thomas Becket, resulting in Becket's murder and Henry making a dramatic exhibition of penance. The later part of his reign was dominated by rebellions involving his sons and Philip II of France that forced him to accept his son Richard as sole heir. Richard acceded to the Angevin inheritance on Henry's death in 1189 and almost immediately departed on a Crusade. On his return journey, he was taken hostage in Germany and a huge ransom was paid in order to secure his release in 1194. He spent the remainder of his reign restoring his lands in France, dying in 1199. His younger brother John succeeded in England and fought a successful war against Richard's nephew Arthur for control of the French possession. John's behavior led to rebellions by the Norman and Angevin barons that broke his control of the continental possessions. His attempt to retake Normandy and Anjou was defeated at the Battle of Bouvines. This weakened his position in England, eventually resulting in the treaty called Magna Carta, which limited royal power, and the First Barons' War. His death in 1216 is considered by some historians to mark the end of the Angevin period and the beginning of the Plantagenet dynasty.
The Normans adopted many Anglo-Saxon governmental institutions, but the feudal system concentrated more power in the hands of the king and a small elite. The rights and roles of women became more sharply defined. Noblewomen remained significant cultural and religious patrons and played an important part in political and military events. During the twelfth century divisions between conquerors and the English began to dissolve and they began to consider themselves superior to their Celtic neighbors. The conquest brought Norman and French churchmen to power. New reformed religious and military orders were introduced into England. By the early thirteenth century, the church had largely won its argument for independence from the state, answering almost entirely to Rome. Pilgrimages were a popular religious practice and accumulating relics became important for ambitious institutions. England played a prominent part in the Second, Third, and Fifth Crusades.
Between the ninth and thirteenth centuries, England went through the Medieval Warm Period, a prolonged period of warmer temperatures that allowed poorer land to be brought into cultivation. Agricultural land became typically organized around manors. By the eleventh century, a market economy was flourishing across much of England, while the eastern and southern towns were heavily involved in international trade. Many hundreds of new towns, some of them planned communities, were built, supporting the creation of guilds and charter fairs. Anglo-Norman warfare was characterized by attritional military campaigns of raids and the seizure of castles. Naval forces enabled the transportation of troops and supplies, raids into hostile territory, and attacks on enemy fleets. After the conquest, the Normans built timber motte and bailey and ringwork castles in large numbers, which were replaced by stone buildings from the twelfth century. The period has been used in a wide range of popular culture, including William Shakespeare's plays. Walter Scott's location of Robin Hood in the reign of Richard I and his emphasis on the conflict between the Saxons and Normans set the template for later fiction and film adaptations.
Society
Women in society
Medieval England was a patriarchal society and the lives of women were heavily influenced by contemporary beliefs about gender and authority. However, the position of women varied according to factors including their social class; whether they were unmarried, married, widowed, or remarried; and in which part of the country they lived. Significant gender inequities persisted throughout the period, as women typically had more limited life choices, access to employment and trade, and legal rights than men. After the Norman Conquest, the position of women in society changed. The rights and roles of women became more sharply defined, in part as a result of the development of the feudal system and the expansion of the English legal system; some women benefited from this, while others lost out. The rights of widows were formally laid down in law by the end of the twelfth century, clarifying the right of free women to own property, but this did not necessarily prevent women from being forcibly remarried against their wishes. The growth of governmental institutions under a succession of bishops reduced the role of queens and their households in formal government. Married or widowed noblewomen remained significant cultural and religious patrons and played an important part in political and military events, even if chroniclers were uncertain if this was appropriate behavior. As in earlier centuries, most women worked in agriculture, but here roles became more clearly gendered, with plowing and managing the fields defined as men's work, for example, and dairy production becoming dominated by women.
Identity
The Normans and French who arrived after the conquest saw themselves as different from the English. They had close family and economic links to the Duchy of Normandy spoke Norman French and had their own distinctive culture. For many years, being English was to be associated with military failure and serfdom. During the twelfth century, the divisions between the English and Normans began to dissolve as a result of intermarriage and cohabitation. By the end of the twelfth century, and possibly as early as the 1150s, contemporary commentators believed the two peoples to be blending, and the loss of the Duchy in 1204 reinforced this trend. The resulting society still prized wider French cultural values, however, and French remained the language of the court, business and international affairs, even if Parisians mocked the English for their poor pronunciation. During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the English began to consider themselves superior to the Welsh, Scots, and Bretons. The English perceived themselves as civilized, economically prosperous, and properly Christian, while the Celtic fringe was considered lazy, barbarous, and backward. Following the invasion of Ireland in the late twelfth century, similar feelings were expressed about the Irish.
- More information is available at [ Wikipedia:England_in_the_High_Middle_Ages ]
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