Historical context #2: the Middle Ages

#Historical background # 2

From 1066 to 1485

The Normans

The Normans came originally from Scandinavia. They had landed in Northern France in the region that is still called Normandy. They were rapidly assimilated by the native Franks. Through marriages and the adoption of the Franks' ideals and language, they became a roughly civilized people.

When they landed in Britain under William, Duke of Normandy, they defeated Harold at Hastings (1066) and they brought over a new language, French, from their country. William divided all the land of the kingdom among the Barons who had helped him in the conquest, expecting from them service in war. Those who obtained land in this way subdivided it among others on similar terms. That is how they gave origin to the so-called feudal system. Those who received the land from the King or from the Barons had to swear allegiance to the King. A strong central power was so created for the first time in England.

However, this did not happen without a long struggle with the Barons. It took about a century to the Norman Kings to defeat all insurrections because of a strong sense of racial and social difference that prevented the development of national conscience and the fusion of the conquered with the conquerors.

The civilization of the Normans was marked by two main features: chivalry and religion. They built abbeys, churches and castles in Britain and founded two orders of knighthood: the knights who protected the pilgrims to the Holy Land were called the Knights Hospitallers of St John while the knights who protected the sepulchre at Jerusalem were the Templars.

The Kings of this period were: William the Conqueror, William II, Henry I and Stephen. Steven reigned through a period of anarchy and disorder and died in 1154. On his death the crown went to Henry II, the son of a Norman Princess, Matilda, who had married Geoffrey Plantagenet, King of Anjou. (Henry reigned both on Britain and a large part of France).

The Plantagenets

From 1154 the three main powerful groups in England - the King, the nobles and the clergy - were in constant struggle for supremacy. Henry II was a strong and learned King. He tried to unify the rules of the common law to the Roman law. He also tried to enforce a certain number of rules (Constitutions of Clarendon) which would have given him control over the clergy. But the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, complained to the Pope. By doing so Becket became the champion of the Roman Church but provoked the king's anger. In 1170 a group of four knights murdered him in Canterbury Cathedral.

Under Henry II's successors - Richard the Lionheart and John - the crown lost a great deal of its authority. Richard took part in the third Crusade and spent most of his reign away from England. John, his brother, who succeeded him, is known as the cruellest English king. When he did not accept the Archbishop of Canterbury chosen by the Pope, he was excommunicated and his vassals where absolved from their allegiance to the King. The barons understood that this was a good opportunity of reducing the King's power and forced him to sign a charter. According to this the King had to act according to certain rules to obtain their support, for example the king had to consult the barons before taking action. It was called Magna Carta Libertatum and was the first step towards constitutional monarchy.

to be continued....

Anna-Maria Bellomo