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medieval England -- national historical trends England
Medieval Era: English National Trends
Figure 1.--Medieval English history is complicated given the various invasions and complexs series of kingdoms which rose in various regions of modern Britain. This is a Victorian view of the death of Siward the Strong painted by Valentine Cameron Prinsep. Siward or Sigurd was an important earl of 11th-century northern England just before the Norman cnquest.
Siward appears to have been of Scandinavian origins. He was as a powerful regional strongman in England during the reign of Canute the Great (1016�35). Canute conquered England (1010s). Siward was one of the many Scandinavians who came to England after the conquest and became one of Canute's earls, in this case controlling much of northern England (1030s). He entrenched his legitmacy through marriage to the Saxon nobility.
He supported Canute's successors, kings Harthacnut and Edward the Confessor. After expanding his control into the middle shires, he seized Cumberland and then move against Scotland (1050s). He fought the forces of Mac Bethad mac Findla�ch ('Macbeth'). Despite losing his son Osbjorn, Siward defeated Mac Bethad (1054). And this Scottish interlude earned him a place in William Shakespeare's 'Macbeth'. Siward died a year later (1055). Some accounts, admitedly biased, claim tht Siward was among those who had sworn an oath to uphold King Edward's alleged declaration that William, Duke of Normandy (later King William I) was to be his heir.
The end of Roman rule in Britain can be seen as the beginning of the Medieval era. Raids of Germanic tribes had begun even before Rome withdew it legions. The Anglo-Saxons and Jutes gradually expand their raids which become waves of invasion which gradually turned into settlement by the 5th century just as it did in the rest of the Western Empire. The Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were Christianized by missionaries from both Rome and Ireland. Christianity became an important cultural influence in England for the first time. The first Viking or Norsemen, appear in the 8th century and raids gradually increase in severity. The first raids were on islands and coastal towns. The Vikings are often referred to in English history as the Danes, but not all came from Denmark. The Vikings began full scale invasions (865). The Danes almost overran all of Britain , but were fimnally stopped by King Alfred of Wessex. Feudalism developed in Britain much as it did on the continent. The Germanic invaders (Saxons and Jutes) were freeman (ceorl). They were responsible to the tribal chiefs and were not serfs. Over time war and subsistence farming had reduced most freemen into serfdom. William the Conqueror after defeating Harold at Hastings (1066) brought Norman-style political and military feudalism to England. He was the most efficent administrator since the departure of the Romans. William used the feudal system to collect detailed information on his new realm and collect taxes. England as other Medieval kingdoms was faced with a struggle for supremecy between Church and state. This conflict became especially severe during the reign of Henry II. Loyal supporters of the king murdered Archbishop Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral. King Edward I initiated the conquest of both Wales and Scotland. The trading interest of the Danes had brought renewed vigor to towns in England. Norman rule with their concern woith administration further promoted the growth of towns. Another factor was the perpetual need of English kings to borrow money. Many towns were able to in effect purchase royal charters which detailef grants of rights. In all the Feudal kingdoms of Europe, there was an inherent tension between the king and his nobels. This conflict became became increasingly serious under Richard I and reached a crisis under King John. A victory by the barons forced Jpohn to sign the Magna Carta (1215). Thedocument is considered to be one of the modst important constitutional charters in history. While it applied only to the barons, it limited royal power and was a major first step in English democracy. Edward III initiated the Hundred Years War with France (1337). Edward had a claim to the French crown through his mother. Hostilities erupted and cintinued over 100 years. The plague or Black Death devestated Europe. It began in Italy and moved rapidly north. The Channel was no barrier. It soon reched England (1348). Along with the pain and suffering there was a significant economic impact. The huge number of people killed significantly reduced the labor force, altering the relationship beteen the nobility and the peasantry. The plague accelerated a process already underway of breaking down the Feudal System. The Wars of the Roses was a drawn out dynastic civil war pitting the House of Lancaster against the House of York. The English economy centered on the wool trade and the inclosues to increase wool production had profoundconsequences. Almost independent of the German Refomation was the Reformation in England, but this proved to be crucial because of the future imperial role of England. Political rather than religious issues were to drive the Reformation in England. England emerged from the Medieval era during the Tudor era.
Ancient Britain
Relatively little is known about ancient Britain. There are some fascinating archeological sites, which offer tantalizing glimpses of ancientlife such as their dolmens and barrows. The best known sites are of course the massive stone circles at Stonehenge and Avebury. The earliest Britains had evolved into Bronze Age culture by the time the first
Celtic peoples reached Nritain in the early 5th century BC.
The Celts
The Celts were the dominant culture in Europe north of Greece and Rome. They were an iron age peole when they invaded Britain in the 5th centuy. ) brought their energetic Iron Age culture to Britain. The Celts encountered by Ceasar were related to those in Britain.
Julius Ceasar was the first Roman to invade Britain. His interest in Briain appears to be associated with his invasion and conquest of Gaul. His invasion appears to be an attemp to prevent Celtic raids on Gaul from Britain (54 BC). The Romans did not, however, achieve a permant presence in Britain until the reign of Emperor Claudius (43 AD). London and Colchester were some of the earliest Roman settlements, but within a few decades, Britain south of Scotland (the Clyde) was in Roman hand (85 AD). The Celts were not easily passified and there were revolts that the Romans brutally supressed. The largest was that staged by Queen Boadicea afterher daughter had been brutalized by Romans. The Emperor Hadrian hadca wall constructed accross northern England in the 2nd century AD. The wall was built to prevent raids from unpacified barbariand to the north. Occiupying the military may have been a secondary reason. Rome changed the face of Celtic Britain. Important towns appeared, in addition to London and Colchester, were Bath, Lincoln, Gloucester and York are important Roman towns, but there are many others. Many towns were colonia, founded as settlements for retired legionaries. The Romans also built the first real roads in Britain, primarily for military purposes, but they were also of great ecomonic use. Roman Britain imported many of the refinments of Roman life, including wine, olive oil, plate, clothing, and furnishings of all kinds. Raw materials such as lead, tin, iron, wheat, and wool as well as slaves were exportec back to Rome. This trade and economic activity in general began to decline with the economic dislocation experienced in the 4th century as the Roman Empire struggled to contain the Germanic tribes on their eastern frontier. The Romans were gradually forced to withdraw legions from Britain to meet the growing barbarian threats to Gaul and Rome itself. The withdraw of the the legions reduced the urban population and combined with declining trade with Rome, overal economic activity declined. Urban life declined and the reduced Roman force had difficulty meeting barbarian incursions. Roman Britainss appealed to the Western Empire for assistrance (410). The emperor sorely pressed by both Germans and Huns was unable to provide military support and Roman administrators were soon withdrawn altogether. It was the legions and important officials who left. Many Romans stayed in Britain and were gradually absorbded along with many Celts in the Germanic invasions that followed. The departure of the legions marks the beginning of Medieval Britain.
The end of Roman rule in Britain can be seen as the beginning of the Medieval era. Raids of Germanic tribes had begun even before Rome withdew it legions. The Anglo-Saxons and Jutes gradually expand their raids which become waves of invasion which gradually turned into settlement by the 5th century just as it did in the rest of the Western Empire. The Celts were either absorbed or withdrew into remote sections of Britain, Wales and Cornwall and even across the Channel to Brittany. Gradually the loosely associated Germanic tribes began to develop more formal associations and regional kingdoms began to form in Kent, Sussex, Essex, Wessex, East Anglia, Mercia, and Northumbria. Although Christianity had been introduced to Britain by the Romans, the Celts had for the most part not been Chritianized and the Germanic invaders of the 5th century were still pagan.
The collapse of Roman Imperial authority with the withdrawl of the Legions brought about the end of formal Christian religion in much of England (5th century AD). Anglo-Saxon invaders took control of much of the island south of Hadian's Wall. Re-Christianization began when Pope Gregory I sent a team of missionaries who gradually converted most of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms (6th-7th crnturies). Irish monks were active in Scotland and northern England. Christianity became an important cultural influence in England for the first time. Differences between Irish and Roman doctrinal issues and religious customs were decided in favor of Rome at the Synod of Whitby (663). The process of Anglo-Saxon conversions led to an explosion of both local church buildings and monasteries which were the main church instututions. Monastic communities began to become of considerable importance (7th century). We also begin to see Cathedrals. The Church was a cebter of learning. A major source on the early medieval era in England comes to us from the writing and historical accounts of the Venerable Bede who lived in the late 7th and early 8th centuries.Church institutions as they were repositories of wealth were targeted by the Vikings (9th cntury). Reforms followed under the kings of Wessex who promoted the Benedictine rule then popular on the Continent which aided Monasticism. The Norman conquest mean that Norman and French churchmen seized control of the English Chiurch (1066). Monastaries revived (10th century) and gradualy acquired extensive land holdings and wealth. Many were noted for manuscript illumination. Church scholars pomoted learming. King Alfred of Essex was also known for his interest in learing. All learning and education at the time was in the hands of the Church. A substantial part of the wealth of Britain by the late-medieval era became locked up in the manastaries. Henry VIII's disolution of the monastaries was an often brutal acyion, but by unlocking the church's wealth was a factor in stumulating sconomic growth. One impact was the development of a strong landed gentry that dominated the Commons and would be the core of resistabce to the Stuart effort to establish absolutist rule.
The first Viking or Norsemen, appear in the 8th century and raids gradually increase in severity. The first raids were on islands and coastal towns. The Vikings are often referred to in English history as the Danes, but not all came from Denmark. The Vikings began full scale invasions (865). The Danes almost overran all of Britain , but were fimnally stopped by King Alfred of Wessex. Britain was split between the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and the Danelaw. Within the Danelaw, the land was divided among the Danish warriors. Alfred's successors eventually conquered the Danelaw and form the first united English kingdom. The Danes left an enduring imprint on England in place names and in English law, such as trial by jury. Danish invaders overcame King �thelred (965?-1016) in the 10th century. A Dane, Canute became king (1016). When the Danish line expired (1042), Edward the Confessor of the Wessex dynasty regained the throne, although the Dane Godwin held the true power. After Edward's death Harold was establishing his control when William, duke of Normandy invaded and defeated Harold at Hastings (1066).
Feudalism
Feudalism developed in Britain much as it did on the continent. The Germanic invaders (Saxons and Jutes) were freeman (ceorl). They were responsible to the tribal chiefs and were not serfs. Over time war and subsistence farming had reduced most freemen into serfdom. This was not just the descendents of the Germans, but also the conquered Romans and celts that had not fled to the west (Wales and Cornwall). Most of the population was dependant on the Anglo-Saxon aristocracy of lords and thanes. Towns and urban life were of only minor importance in Anglo-Saxon Britain. With the development of the rural based manorial system, Anglo-Saxon thanes achieved a substantial measure of autonomy over their manors. ribal chiefs evolved into the monarchs of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. The monarch had legislative, executive, and judicial powers. The aristocracy formed a council of advisers (witenagemot). The king established the shires that have come doen in modern times to be the counties of England. The shires were goverened by earldormen. These were appointments made by the king, but over time sime became powerful hereditary earls who conrolled several shires. Shire courts were overseen by sheriffs. Anglo-Saxon Britain had an agricultural economy. Without large urban population centers there was limited manufacture or trade. This began to change with the coming of the Vikings (Danes) in the 9th century. The Danes were avid traders and it is at thi time that larger urban center begin to appear in Bitain for the first time since the demise of Roman Britain.
Dynastic History
Williaam with his victory at Hastings became King William I of England. William move rapidly to seize control over all of Anglo-Saxon England. After the death of William's second son, Henry I, civil war broke out. Henry II acceeded to the throne (1154). Henry II's reign saw the development of conflict between the monarchy and the Church. Henry was noted for his judicial reforms which greatly expanded the authority and scope of the royal courts. Henry initated English efforts to conquer of Ireland. (1171). Conflict between Richar I and John I and heir nobility resulted in the signing of the Magna Carta (1215) and the principal of limits on royal power. King Edward I initiated the conquest of both Wales and Scotland. He also implemented important reforms and expansion of the central courts. Dynastic conflicts, especilly the War of the Roses depleted the nobility and weakened the monarchy in the 15th century. The Tudor family assended the throne (1485).
The Normans (1066)
English King Harold II (Godwinson) prepared to meet Duke William aiong the Channel Coast. But then a Norwgian Viking army struck in the north. The Norwegian force was led by King Harald Hardrada and Harold's half brother Tostig Godwinson. They defeated a northern English Army and seized York (Septembwe 20). Harold forced marched his army from the Channel norht to York, adistance of 185 miles--an amazing accomplish for a medieval army. He surprised and defeated his brither at Stamford Bridge near York (September 25). He then defeated Hardrada. Along the Channel, Duke William landed (September 28). King Harold had to turn his troops around and force-march them south to do battle with the Noirmabs wards to intercept the Norman army. The two armies met for the climaruc battle at Hastings (October 14). The two battles at York and forced marches were a factor at Hastings. King Harold was struck by an arrow and killed and the English army defeated. The depleted English forces wereunable to resist the subsequent Norman conquest. Unlike many medieva; conquesta, the Norman conquest of England is thoroughy documented, The historical dument is the famed Nayeux Tapestry. The tapestry has it all--ailing ships, armored knights, war horses, evem of all things Haley's comet. The victory at Hastiungs ruurned Duke William into King William I, betterknown to histoty as the Conqueror. William brought Norman-style political and military feudalism to England. He was the most efficent administrator since the departure of the Romans. William used the feudal system to collect detailed information on his new realm and collect taxes. He made use of the church bureaucracy to strengthen the new central government. He also created a more efficent royal justice system. The Normans from an early point began to demonstrarte their mastery over the Anglo-Saxons with imposding stone buildings. And here none was more imprtant than the Tower of London. One historian writes, "The Tower was a huge structure, the biggest non-ecclesiatical building in ngland, rising some ninety feed above ground, with four pepperpot turrets at each corner .... An undercroft, or basement, formed the lowest floor of the White Tower, where a well was struck to supply the inhabitants with water. The cellar vaults were used at first for storing food and drink, as well as arms and armour. A more sinister function was their later use as the Tower's principal torture chambers, the agonized screams of victims muffled by their surrounding earth and stone." [Jones]
The Church
England as other Medieval kingdoms was faced with a struggle for supremecy between Church and state. This conflict became especially severe during the reign of Henry II. Loyal supporters of the king murdered Arch Bishop Thomas � Becket in Canterbury Cathedral.
Wales
King Edward I initiated the conquest of both Wales and Scotland. The Welsh castles stand in mute testimony to his success in Wales. The scotts proved a tougher nut to crack.
Scotland
King Edward I initiated the conquest of both Wales and Scotland.
The Anarchy: First English Civil War (1135-54)
The Anarchy is a two decade conflict which might be called the First English civil war. The fighting resulted in a
widespread collapse of law and order in both Normandy and England. The conflict arose as a succession crisis in the final years pf Henry I's rule. His only legitimate son, William Adelin, died aboard the White Ship (1120) This was not an immediate problem, but as Henry aged it created questions about the secession. Henry attempted to install his daughter, the Empress Matilda, as his successor. There was, however etensive resisrabce to the udea of a ruling queen. Resistbce was led by the King's nephew Stephen of Blois. Upon the King's death (1135), Stephen seized the throne and was supported by his brother, Henry, bishop of Winchester. Stephen did not have an easy reign. He soon had to face heavy fighting with English barons, in partbecause his legitamacy was not firmly established. He also had to fight rebellious Welsh lords and Scottish invaders. And then having supressed a major rebellion in the English southwest, Matilda having assembled her forces in France, invaded (1139). She was assisted by her half-brother, Robert of Gloucester. More than aeade of figting insued. Henry II would energe king.
Ireland
Henry II initated English efforts to conquer of Ireland (1171). It would be a process that would take centuries and England and Ireland still live with the consequences to this day.
France
Henry II as his inheritance from his mother received the provinces of Anjou, Normandy, and Aquitaine. While dispersed these provinces were in wealth comparable to that of England. They also made Henry the most imporant nobel in France. The result would be wars with France for several centuries. Efforts to enlarge these these territories and even seize the French throne would engaged a series of English monarchs and eventually lead to the Hundreds Year War and the destrution of the French nobility at ????.
Towns
The trading interest of the Danes had brought renewed vigor to towns in England. Norman rule with their concern woith administration further promoted the growth of towns. Another factor was the perpetual need of English kings to borrow money. Many towns were able to in effect purchase royal charters which detailef grants of rights.
William Marshal (1146/47-1219)
No account of medievel England would be complelet without an account of William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke. He is commonly referred to as William the Marshal or Earl Marshal. He is often described as England's greates knight. He would serve five five English kings (The 'Young King' Henry, Henry II, Richard I, John, and Henry III. William's father, John Marshal, supported King Stephen when he seized the throne (1135), leasing to The Anarchy. He then switched sides when Queen Matilda returned from France with an army (1139). [Chadwick] William had a rocky start, caught in the middle of a vicious cicil war. King Stephen besieged Newbury Castle (1152). William who was only 5 years old was used as a hostage to ensure that John (his father) who commanded the Castle garrison would surrebder as prommused. John did no such thing and sed the time granted by Stephen to reinforce the garrison and alert Matilda's forces. When Stephen ordered John to surrender immediately or poor William would be hanged, John replied that he should go ahead saying, "I still have the hammer and the anvil with which to forge still more and better sons!" Stephen then set about to launch William from a pierri�re (trebuchet) at the castle. Ulimateky Stephen could not bring himself to so brutally kill the boy. William was finally released with the Peace of Winchester that ended the civil war (1153). William was knighted (1166). As aoung man he served as a knight errant and a brilliant tournament fighter. He is the only many know to have bested Richard the Lionheart and then served Richard and his family. He was appointed protector for Henry III, at the time a boy of only 9 years, and regent of the kingdom (1216). His final achievement was to save England from French conquest at the Battle of Lincoln (1217). [Asbridge] Stephen Langton eulogized William as the "best knight that ever lived."
Magna Carta and the First Baron's War (1215-17)
In all the Feudal kingdoms of Europe, there was an inherent tension between the king and his nobels. This conflict in England became increasingly serious under Richard I and reached a crisis under his brother King John. John escaalated financial demands on the nobility while pursuing failed foreign policies. His church policies were also unsuccessful. The result was the First Barons' War (1215�17). It was a kind of civil war launched by a group of rebellious barons, led by Robert Fitzwalter. The war broke out hen King John refusal to abide by the terms of the Magna Carta he had sealed (June 15, 1215). The barons gained support of the French. The future Louis VIII commanded a French army aiding the barons and seeking to depose King John. The Dauphin, Prince Louis, intent on deposing King John continued the War even after many of the rebel barons made their peace with John. William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, who had set his seal on the Magna Carta played a critical role in the conflict. Marshal led his men in Battle of Lincoln who defeated the invading French army (1217). It was surely one of the most important battles in English history, although not well known. One historian writes, "At at age when most men of his day were long dead, he won two of the most important battles of the Middle ges to confirm ngland's separation from Europe and preserve Magna Carta's revolutionary guarantees of personal freedom." [Brooks] The victory by the barons forced King John to honor the Magna Carta which he had signed. The document is considered to be one of the most important constitutional charters in history. It meant that the monarch ruled within the boundaries of law and not by mere whim. While it guaranteed only the rights of barons, it limited royal power and was a major first step in English democracy. The baronial wars flared again in the 13th century and played a role in the rise of Parliament.
Glories of Mideval England
Two developments emerged in England duruing the meddieval era. One was sgared with the Contginent. The other was destinctly English. Here the great cathedrals and common law are often seen as he two magnificent accomplishments of medieval England. The Cathedrls were largely a Norman accomplishment. The Common law is a much more complicateed fushion of Velric, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, Norman, and Christian tradfitions. And while the cathedrals are magnificent and show a growing command of technology, the common law is by fr the most important.
Edward III initiated the Hundred Years War with France (1337). Edward with his many French possessions refused to do homage to King Philip VI of France. Edward had aclaim to the French crown through his mother. Hostilities erupted and cintinued over 100 years. The French suffered some serious defeats in the early years of the war, Cr�cy (1346) and Poitiers (1356). At Poitiers French King John the Good was captured by the English Black Prince Under Charles V the struggle became a war of attrition. He relied on Bertrand du Guesclin to engage the marauding Free Companies, marauding mercenaries. Charles V by his death had stabilized the struggle (1380). England's Richard II seeme willing to settle the differences. Charles VI's mental instability and feuding princes undermined the French position. John the Fearless, duke of Burgundy, had the king's brother, Louis of Orleans murdered (1487). This left France deeply split between Armagnacs and Burgundians. Henry V seized the opportunity. The result was the most disastrous French military defeat until Napoleons defeat in Russia. Henry destroyed the cream of French nobility at Agincourt (1415). This fundamentally weakened the Feudal system in France. Henry forced Charles VI to acknowledge him as the legitimate heir to the French throne. France was split between the powerful John Duke of Burgundy and the Dauphin, Charles, son of Charles VI and Isabella of Bavaria. Gradually the Dauphin aided by the young peasant girl Joan of Arc built his power. He was crowned Charles VII at Reims, recaptured Paris, and recovered Normandy (1450). Charles then took Guienne (1453). With the the victory of Castillon, France had effectively defeated the English and united the country. It also significantly
The plague or Black Death devestated Europe. It began in Italy and moved rapidly north. The Channel was no barrier. It soon reched England (1348). Along with the pain and suffering there was a significant economic impact. The huge number of people killed significantly reduced the labor force, altering the relationship beteen the nobility and the peasantry.
Decline of the Feudal System
The plague accelerated a process already underway of breaking down the Feudal System. Serdom was no longer sustasninble. The nobility needed to retain agriultural workers, especially with all the deaths from the plague. Nobels who abused his peasants found that many would run away to the expsnding towns whre jobs were available. There was in the 14th century a quickening of economic life and the impct of the Renaisance began to be felt. The expanding ecoinomic activity meant a grow of towns. This gave increasing importance to the burgess and artisan classes. The revolt of Wat Tyler signaled the end of the Feudal System.
The Wars of the Roses was a drawn out dynastic civil war pitting the House of Lancaster against the House of York. The heraldic shield for the Lancastrians was the red rise and the Yorkists employed the white rose. The conflict arose when both houses could claim descendents from King Edward III and a variety of contributing factors. The ruling Lancastrian king, Henry VI, brought loyal, but unpopular nobles to court. The development of civil unrest. The existence of powerful nobels with loyal private armies. Episodes of mental illness on the part of Henry VI. The War of the Roses was the last medieval war in England, in part because so much of the nobility were killed in the fighting. This strengthened both the monarchy and the gentry and merchant classes. The Tudors emerged at the end of the War and led England into the modern era.
English merchants began exporting wool themselves in the 14th century. Previously foreign traders marketed English wool. As the century progress the trade in raw wool began to give way to the trade in raw wool. Inflation in the 16th century affected wool prices. Inflation was in part a result of all the gold and silver flowing into Europe from the Spanish conquests in America, some of which reached England through privetering. The expansion of the wool trade meant more land was coverted to sheep reaing or inclosed. This displaced large numbers of tennant farmers was forced off the land, producing class of wandering, beggars. The Elizabethan poor laws were specifically created to address this situation. The seemingly economic shift had significant political consequences. Inflation reduced the real income of the monarchy because much of its income was fixed sums. The country gentry, however, greatly benefited from the inclosures as well as from the purchase of the lands obtained by closing the monasteries, much o which was also coverted to sheep rearing. The gentry began to use Parliament to asertively protect its wealth from royal taxation.
The Renaissance
The Renaissance reached northern Europe about a century after it appeared in Italy. It was, however the Elizabethan Age that was the greates period of artistic and intellectual flowering, of course led by William Shakespeare--if it was Shakespeare who wrote those magnificent plays.
War with Spain
It was a time that English audacity and technology at sea laid the groundwork for the Royal Navy and command of the seas. Sir Francis Drake, Sir John Hawkins , and the other "sea dogs" bedelved the Spanish treasure fleet with the Queen as a secret partner. The English then formed overseas trading companies and very modest colonization attempts were made in the Caribbean and North America by Sir Humphrey Gilbert and Sir Walter Raleigh. The long conflict with Spain was rooted in an English hunger for Spanish treasure and a commercial and maritime rivalry, but Philip II's desire to destroy the Reformation in the Netherlands and England was also a very important factor. This struggle culminated in the destruction of the Spanish Armada (1588) but continued long after the defeat of the Armada.
The Reformation
John Wyclif raised concerns about the Catholic Church in the 15th century and translated the Bible into English. The Reformation came to England in the 16th century. Almost independent of the German Refomation was the Reformation in England, but this proved to be crucial because of the future imperial role of England. Political rather than religious issues were to drive the Reformation in England. It was a Defender of the Faith, Henry VIII that set the Reformation in motion in England. Henry VIII decided to divorce his wide, the Spanish princess Catherine. He was furious when Pope Clement VII refused to approve the divorce. In response he
rejected papal authority over the Church in England. He founded the Anglican Church and set himself up as head of the new church (1534). While sparked by his personal life, the break with Rome had many advantages or Henry. One of the most important was the wealth of the Church was now at his disposal. Much of this he
seized by closing the monestarires. Huge quantities of land were in the hands of the monestaries. The first tentative steps toward actual reformation was a liturgy in English and The Book of Common Prayer. There was some opposition to Henry's Reformtion, but his adroit use of Parliament helped to build popular support for his policies
and set important precedents for the future of Parliament. Henry's lesser known and very devout Protestant son Edward VI played a major role in the success of the Reformation in England. Mary I or Bloddy Mary as she became known to history maried Phillip II of Spain and tried toturn England back to Catholocism but was childless. It was then the protestant Princess Elizabeth who turned England decideldly back to Protestantism, although she tried to moderate the religious issue.
The Tudors (1485-1603)
England emerged from the Medieval era during the Tudor era. The Tudor era began with Henry VII (1485). Henry following the War of the Roises restored order to the realm. A reviving economy restored prosperity. Henry VIII inherited a prospoerous country and a solvent exchequer. Henry unified England and Wales (1536). He and his minister Thomas Cromwell moved to centralize the government. Trade and commerce reached new peaks under Henry bringing properity to England. The new Humanist spirit of the Renaissance reached England during Henry's reign. It was Henry who launched the Reformation in England when the pope's refused l to grant Henry a divorce from Catharine of Arag�n (the aunt of Emperor Charles V so that he could remarry Ann Bolyn in an effort to have a male heir.
The accession of James I, the first Stuart monarch can be seen as the end of the Medievil era in England (1603). This is only a matter of historical convdenience as the end of Medieval age was in fact a gradual process. James was the son of Mary Queen of Scotts who Elizabeth had executed and he did not know. he was king of Scotland when Elizabeth died and thus united the Scottish and English crowns. The Stuarts who believed in absolute divine right monarchy brought on the greates comstitutional crisis in English history--when led to the rise of parlimentary government.
Lengend
In the popular mind of course there are two figures that dominate Medieval England. One is King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table. The other is Robin of Locksly and his struugle with Prince John and support for King Richard the Lionheart. There are countless images of these and other Medieval figures, many of which are imaginative rather than accurate depictions.
Sources
Asbridge, Thomas. The Greatest Knight: The Rmarkable Life of Willim Marshal, The Power behind Five English Thrones (2014), 416p.
Brooks, Richard. The Knight Who Saved England: William Marshaland the French Invasion of 1217 (2014).
Chadwick, Elizabeth Biography of John Marshall (2009).
Jones, Nigel. Tower: An Epic History of the Tower of London (2012).
