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The Middle Ages
1066–1485
Norman England
In 1066 William of Normandy, France, became king of
England. His reign brought many changes.
•Latin and French replaced English as the languages of
learning and of the court.
•Powerful Anglo-Saxons had to give up their land to
Norman lords loyal to William.
•The Normans, great administrators, emphasized law
and order and brought record-keeping systems to
England.
•England “caught up” with European ideas.
Feudalism
The Normans brought feudalism
to England. Feudalism
•was based on a religious
concept of rank, with God as
the supreme overlord
•was a social system, caste
system, property system,
and military system
•determined a person’s
rank, duties, and
loyalties
GOD
King:
ruled by
“divine right”
Feudal Lords:
powerful
landowners
Vassals:
did work or military
service for feudal lords in
exchange for land
Serfs:
servants to lords and vassals;
bound to their master’s land
Knights in Shining Armor
Knights made up the Middle Age’s military.
•Training began in boyhood and
ended in vows of loyalty to a lord
(squire).
•Knights defended their lord’s
interests, property, and family
and responded to the king’s call
to arms in the event of war.
© Gianni Dagli Orti/CORBIS
•A knight’s equipment—horse,
weapons, armor—was expensive,
so most knights came from
wealthy, noble families.
Fifteenth Century Manuscript
Illumination of a Knight in Armor from
the Codex Capodilista
Chivalry
Chivalry was a system of ideals and social codes
governing the behavior of knights.
•Knights had to
•be able to ride well, use weapons, and observe certain
rules of warfare
•be loyal to their lord, even if it meant death
•defend the Christian faith, even if it meant death
•help any person in need
•act with courtesy toward women of rank
Courtly Love
Courtly love was an aspect of chivalry that encouraged
nobles and knights to improve themselves by adoring a
particular lady.
•A knight seldom “adored” his own wife.
•The adored lady remained pure and out of the knight’s
reach—he served and entertained her and gave her
gifts.
Women in the Middle Ages
Women had no political standing and depended on the
men in their family for their rank.
•Noblewomen
•Peasant women
•bore children and
supervised the household
and servants
•bore many children,
worked the fields, and
kept house
•managed the estate in
their husbands’ absence
•were under the command
of their fathers, brothers,
and husbands
•were under the command
of their fathers, brothers,
and husbands
The Rise of England’s Cities
As England’s cities grew and more people began to live
in towns or cities, the feudal system weakened.
•City people were free of loyalties to a lord.
•They could earn money in exchange for labor and
services.
•They could move to another city or town.
•They could choose careers other than the military, the
Church, or farming.
Society in the Cities
Society in cities and towns looked very different from
feudalism. People were divided in classes based on
wealth: lower, middle, and upper-middle.
•Under feudalism:
•Rank is received at birth
and is hard to change.
•Wealth is concentrated in
noble families.
•Art reflects the concerns
of the noble class.
•In cities and towns:
•People can change rank
by working hard and
making more money.
•Wealth is generated by
the merchant class.
•Art reflects the concerns
of the middle class, who
can now buy it.
The Roman Church in the Middle Ages
•was extremely powerful and controlled most of the
kings and queens in Europe
•gave all European nations a
common belief system
•was the center of learning,
publishing books and
maintaining libraries
British Library, London
•considered Latin to the
language of the educated
Miniature of John Lydgate and the Canterbury
pilgrims leaving Canterbury, from a volume of
Lydgate’s poems (early 16th century). MS Royal
18 D II, fol. 148.
The Crusades (1095–1270)
The Crusades were a series of wars waged by European
Christians against Turkish Muslims who controlled
Jerusalem and places in the Middle East that were
important to both religions.
•At times the Europeans prevailed, but in the end the
disputed land remained under Muslim control.
•Crusaders brought back to England new knowledge of
Eastern mathematics, astronomy, architecture, and
crafts.
•Crusaders also acquired a taste for Middle Eastern
spices and flavors.
The Magna Carta
In 1215, nobles suffering under
King John’s vicious reign forced
him to sign the Magna Carta
(“Great Charter”), which
•later became the basis for
English—and American—
constitutional law
© Bettmann/CORBIS
•curbed the king’s and
the Church’s power over
noblemen
Facsimile of the Magna Carta, signed by King
John of England at Runnymede, laying the basis
for political and personal liberty. Barons' coats of
arms and royal seals surround the document.
The Hundred Years’ War (1337–1453)
The Hundred Years’ War was the first national war
waged by England against France. It
•was fought on the Continent
•was based on two English kings’
claims to the French throne
•Yeomen (small landowners) with
longbows represented the English
armies in France.
© 2003-2004 clipart.com
•marked the end of the age of
knights
Plague
The Black Death, or bubonic plague, struck England in
1348. The plague
•was highly contagious and spread by fleas from
infected rats
•killed one third of England’s people, causing a labor
shortage and giving the lower classes more bargaining
power
•contributed to the end of feudalism as serfs gained their
freedom from lord and land
What Have You Learned?
Match the cause to its effect.
The Crusades
Magna Carta
Plague
Plague
_____________—
A labor shortage gives serfs more
bargaining power and eventually wins
them their freedom.
Magna Carta
_____________—
The king and the Church no longer have
uncurbed powers over noblemen.
The Crusades
_____________—
The English gain new knowledge of
Eastern mathematics, astronomy,
architecture, and crafts.
Life of Chaucer
1340 (?)—1400
Considered the Father of English
Literature
Father a wealthy wine merchant
(middle class) whose connections
allowed him to place his son in the
court
Became a powerful figure in medieval
England
•Controller of Customs
•Justice of the Peace
•Minister of Parliament
Chaucer continued…
Captured and ransomed during the
100 Years’ War
Handwritten copies of Canterbury
Tales circulated widely in the court
(a remarkable 80 copies still in
existence from the Middle Ages)
Wrote in the vernacular (“everyday”
language)
Chaucer the first writer to be buried
in what came to be known as Poet’s
Corner in Westminster Abbey
The Canterbury Tales
Frame Story
•An outer story which contains
one or more smaller stories
within it.
•In this case is a group of
pilgrims telling stories to one
another while on a pilgrimage
to Canterbury to see the shrine
of Thomas a Becket
•Good frame story is like a good
picture frame—should make
the material within more
beautiful and compelling
Canterbury Cathedral
The Canterbury Tales continued…
Structure
•Canterbury Tales is divided into two broad
sections, the “General Prologue” where
Chaucer introduces all the pilgrims, and the
pilgrims’ tales
•Tales
•Each pilgrim was originally intended to tell four
stories for a total of 120; Chaucer only
completed 24 of these
•Tales are appropriate to the teller
•Tales often respond to the tales of other pilgrims
•Most tales have a prologue and/or an epilogue
The Canterbury Tales:
Structure continued…
“General Prologue”
•The Function
•The “GP” introduces all of the important pilgrims (29 in
all).
•The frame story is appropriate for Chaucer’s purpose
because it allows him to include people from all parts of
society, from peasants to nobility. A pilgrimage is the only
way this could have happened, because class barriers
were very rigid during the Middle Ages.
The Canterbury Tales:
Structure continued…
“General Prologue” continued…
•The Situation
•The month is April.
•The narrator (Chaucer) encounters 29 other pilgrims at
the Tabard Inn on the outskirts of London.
•They decide to travel as a group to Canterbury, to visit the
tomb of the martyr St. Thomas a Becket (murdered after
guards of King Henry II misinterpret Henry’s anger at
Becket to mean he wants Becket dead).
The Canterbury Tales:
Structure continued…
“General Prologue” continued…
•The Plan
•The Host of the Tabard Inn, Harry Bailey, devises a
contest: To pass the time, each pilgrim will tell two stories
on the way there and two on the way back for a total of
120 tales.
•The teller of the best tale (chosen by the Host) will receive
a dinner paid for by the rest of the pilgrims on the way
back.
The End