The Middle Ages (0)

The Middle Ages
The Middle Ages are one of the most turbulent periods in English history. The Middle Ages are so called as the middle period between the decline of the Roman Empire and the Renaissance . 
The Middle Ages started in 1066. with the Battle of Hastings and the Norman Conquest. William the Conqueror took all the lands from the Saxon English and gave these to French nobles. Normans were known as great builders. This is assured by the fact that many great castles and other buildings, including the Tower of London, were built during the Norman Conquest. In 1086 . Domesday Book was compiled. It is a detailed survey of England ordered by William the Conqueror. The reign of  King William Rufus who was the son of William started in 1087 and lasted until 1100. Next king was Henry I who was the brother of William Rufus. His reign was from 1100-1135. In 1135 Henry I nephew Stephen got to the throne of England and reigned the country for 19 years .  He was the last Norman king of England and his reign ended in 1154 . 
From 1154 until 1377 the Plantagenet Kings of England ruled the English. The first Plantagenet King was Henry II. He was the grandson of Henry I. He had struggles  with Thomas Beckett , who was the Archbishop of Canterbury . Beckett ended up being murdered in Canterbury's cathedral in 1170. Henry II reign ended in 1189 and the next King of England was his third son Richard . Richard lead the country for 10 years and he was succeeded by Henry II's fifth son John. In 1215 King John was forced by the Barons to sign the Magna Carta, which was a collection of 37 English laws . The purpose of the Magna Carta was to curb the King and make him govern by the old English laws that had prevailed before the Normans came . King John's reign lasted until 1216. Then the power was taken over by his son King Henry III. He leaded England for a very long time, until 1272. He was succeeded by his son Edward I. Edward I conquered Wales in 1284. He also tried to conquer Scotland and it even went right for him but only temporarily. Under the direction of Robert Bruce  Scotland managed to restore its independence. In 1307 he was succeeded by Edward II, his son. In 1311-1315 there was the Great Famine. There was a series of cold and wet springs and early winters that reduced harvests throughout western Europe , and by the Spring of 1315, about ten percent of the population had died of starvation, and a number more had perished of illnesses that they could not fight off in their malnourished state. Edward II's reign lasted until 1327 when the leading was taken over from him by his son Edward III. The Hundred Years War began in 1337 . It was a struggle between England and France for the dominance of Wester Europe. In  Medieval England, the Black Death was to kill 1.5 million people out of an estimated total of 4 million people between  1348  and1350. No medical knowledge  existed in Medieval England to cope with the disease . The Black Death is the name given to a disease called the bubonic plague . In 1377. Edward III's reign ended and it marks the end to the Plantagenet Kings.
From 1377 - 1485 the Royal Houses of Lancaster and York became Kings of England in the Middle Ages and ruled the English. In 1377 Edward III was succeeded by his grandson 
Richard II. The Black Death of 1348 - 1350 decimated the population of England, so in 1349 King Richard II attempted to limit the wages paid to labourers to their pre-plague levels. That caused the Peasants Revolt in 1381 . Richard II gave promises to the peasants to calm them down. The final outcome was that the King's promises were ignored, and the oppression of the peasants continued. In 1382 the Bible was translated  into English by John Wycliffe. In 1399 Richard II was succeeded by his grandson Henry IV. He lead England until 1413 and was then succeeded by his son Henry V. Henry V reign lasted until 1422. In 1422 his son Henry VI got on the throne. In 1453 the Hundred Years War ends. The only English possession on Continental Europe was Calais. Already in 1455 the Wars of the Roses began. The Wars of the Roses were a series of  civil wars fought in medieval England from 1455 to 1487  between the House of Lancaster and the House of York. In 1461 the youngest son of Edward III, Edward IV, was crowned as the new king of England. He lead England until 1483 and was succeeded by Edward V. Edward V's reign lasted only for a few months. In 1483 Richard III got the power. He brought the Middle Ages to an end. In 1485 Henry VII succeeded Richard III. He was the first king of the Tudor dynasty.

Key events

The Norman invasion

King Edward of England died on January 5, 1066, after a reign of 23 years. Leaving no heirs, Edward's passing away ignited a three-way rivalry for the crown that culminated in the Battle of Hastings and the destruction of the Anglo-Saxon rule of England.
The leading pretender was Harold Godwinson, Harold and Edward became brothers -in-law when the king married Harold's sister. Harold's powerful position , his relationship to Edward and his esteem among his peers made him a logical successor to the throne.

William, Duke of Normandy, also laid claim to the English throne. William justified his claim through his blood relationship with Edward as they were distant cousins and by stating that some years earlier, Edward had designated him as his successor.
The third rival for the throne was Harald Hardrada, King of Norway . Hardrada ruled Norway jointly with his nephew Mangus until 1047 when Mangus conveniently died. Earlier (1042), Mangus had cut a deal with Harthacut the Danish ruler of England. Since neither ruler had a male heir, both promised their kingdom to the other in the event of his death.
The battle for the throne ended with the Battle of Hastings in 1066. It was won by William the Conqueror and his forces and it marked the start to the Norman Invasion.
The Hundred Years War
The Hundred Years War was a series of wars between England and France. The background of the Hundred Years War went as far back as to the reign of William the Conqueror. When William the Conqueror became king in 1066 after his victory at the Battle of Hastings, he united England with Normandy in France. William ruled both as his own.
The Hundred Years War, lasting from 1337 until 1453, was a defining time for the history of both England and France. The war started in May 1337 when King Philip VI of France attempted to confiscate the English territories located in South -western France. It ended in July 1453 when the French finally expelled the English from the continent . The Hundred Years War was a series raids, sieges and naval battles.
The Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses were a series of civil wars fought in medieval England from 1455 to 1487 between the House of Lancaster and the House of York. The name Wars of the Roses is based on the badges used by the two sides , the red rose for the Lancastrians and the white rose for the Yorkists. Major causes of the conflict include : 1) both houses were direct descendents of king Edward III; 2) the ruling Lancastrian king, Henry VI, surrounded himself with unpopular nobles; 3) the civil unrest of much of the population; 4) the availability of many powerful lords with their own private armies; and 5) the untimely episodes of mental illness by king Henry VI. The Wars of the Roses ended with the killing of Richard (the House of York) by Henry VII. Henry VII married Elizabeth of York. He merged the rival symbols together into a red and white Tudor Rose.
Completion of the Domesday Book
It is a written record of a survey of England ordered by William the Conqueror in 1086. William was an attempting to register the landed wealth of the country in a systematic fashion and to determine the revenues due him. The survey was executed by groups of officers called legati, who visited each county and conducted a public inquiry .
The original manuscript was made in two volumes. The first and larger one, sometimes called the Great Domesday, included information on all England, with the exception of three eastern counties (Essex, Suffolk, and Norfolk), several northern counties, London, and some other towns. The surveys of the three eastern counties made up the second volume, which was known as the Little Domesday.
Beginning of the English class system
English class system started at the beginning of the medieval period under the rule of William the Conqueror. Barons were responsible directly to the king; lesser lords were directly responsible to a baron . Under them were the peasants, tied by a strict system of mutual duties and obligations to the local lord . They were forbidden to travel without their lords permission .
Evolution of Parliament, the Model Parliament
The Model Parliament is the English parliament set up in 1295 by Edward I. It was the first Parliament to include representatives from outside the clergy and aristocracy, and was established because Edward needed the support of the whole country against his opponents: Wales, France, and Scotland.
Independence of Scotland
The first time Scotland got to be independent was after the First Scottish War of Independence. The First War of Scottish Independence started in 1296 by the English invasion of Scotland. The First Independence war ended with de jure restoration of Scottish independence with the  Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton in 1328. Scotland's de facto independence had been restored in 1314 at the Battle of Bannockburn.
Signing of the Magna Carta
Magna Carta is a British document, which was signed by King John in 1215. It reaffirmed long-standing rights and responsibilities of the English nobility; limited the powers of the king; and recognized that all people, including the government and monarch , are subject to the law.
Peasants' Revolt
The Peasants' Revolt of 1381 is one of the most dramatic events of English history. It began as a local revolt in Essex and quickly spread across much of the south east of England.
The causes of the Peasants Revolt:
No peasants could be paid more than the wages paid in 1346.
No lord or master should offer more wages than paid in 1346.
No peasants could leave the village they belonged to.
On June 14th , the king met the rebels at Mile End. At this meeting , Richard II gave the peasants all that they asked for and asked that they go home in peace . Some did. Others returned to the city and murdered the archbishop and Treasurer - their heads were cut off on Tower Hill by the Tower of London. Richard II spent the night in hiding in fear of his life.
On June 15th, he met the rebels again at Smithfield outside of the city’s walls. It is said that this was the idea of the Lord Mayor who wanted to get the rebels out of the city. Medieval London was mostly wooden. Any attempt to put down the rebels in the city could have ended in a fire or the rebels would have found it easy to vanish into the city once they knew that soldiers were after them. At this meeting, the Lord Mayor killed Wat Tyle who was one of the leaders of peasents. The death of Tyler and another promise by Richard to give the peasants what they asked for, was enough to send them home.

By the summer of 1381, the revolt was over. Richard did not keep any of his promises claiming that they were made under threat and were therefore not valid in law. Leaders from both Kent and Essex were hanged . The poll tax was withdrawn but the peasants were forced back into their old way of life - under the control of the lord of the manor .

Key persons
William the Conqueror

Reigned as King of England in 1066. – 1087. With his victory at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 Norman rule was established in England. He is also known for building a great number of buildings in London including the Tower of London. Commissioned the Domesday Book. A survey of his newly conquered lands and possessions in England. His death was a riding accident when he fell from his horse .

King Henry II

Reigned as King of England in 1154–1189. He was the first of Angevin Kings. Henry II made Ireland a part of his domain . He is known as a strong and determined king and he had a terrible temper.

King John

Reigned as King of England from April 6, 1199 to October 19, 1216. In 1215. he was forced to sign Magna Carta by the English barons. He was not a very popular king. People think of him as a cruel and disloyal person. He died in 1216. after eating peaches.

King Henry III

Reigned as King of England from 19 Oct 1216 to 16 Nov 1272. During Henry III reign the custom of having Parliaments was established. He was a very kind king and it is known that he could never say “no” to anyone . The rebuilding of Westminster Abbey was started by him.

King Edward III

Reigned as King of England from January 25, 1327 to 1377. During his reign in 1340 the Hundred Years War was started between England and France. King Edward III main ambition was military glory.

King Henry VI

Reigned as King of England from Aug 31,1422 to March 4, 1461 and also from October 31,1470 to April 14, 1471 . Henry VI., was only nine months old when he was proclaimed King of France and England. He was the king who ended the Hundred Years War and also started the Wars of Roses. In 1471. he was imprisoned in the Tower of London where it is believed that he was murdered.
Sources:
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.co m
http://en.wikipedia.org
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk
http://ehistory.osu.edu
http://www.new2-geaneology.co m
http://www.tiscali.co.uk
http://www.historycentral.co m