The Middle Ages

1. The Middle Ages Political and Social Milestones from 1066-1485

2. Norman Conquest William the Conqueror defeats the English king, Harold, in 1066. Harold was the last Anglo-Saxon king. * William wants to rule the Anglo-Saxons, not eliminate them, which is why we speak English and not French He took an invitatory of everything in England and began to tax people. This was called the Domesday Book. It provided detailed accounts by geographical area of manors, serfs, huts, mills, fishponds, and streams. The land is divided among Norman barons loyal to William. Feudalism gives every man and women a fixed place in the class system

3. Feudalism Every lord is given a piece of land On this land, lesser lords, knights, vassals, and serfs serve the landowner in different ways. Based on a religious concept of hierarchy: God- King- Barons � Vassals � Knights � Peasants � Serfs. Serfs, the lowest class of people, were similar to slaves in that they could not leave the land on which they worked. On the other hand, they were not bought and sold.

4. Knights Dubbing: To confer knighthood on Chivalry: The system of ideals that governed a knights behavior First obligation is to protect lord. The code also covers how to treat a lady, help others, and resist the urges to run away if captured. They could never attack an unarmed opponent

5. Chivalry (cont�) Courtly Love: Revering and acting in the name of a lady made you a better man and knight. The knight would wear a ladies colours in battle or glorify her through words, but she always remained pure and out of reach. This goes against human nature and was the material for many songs and poems, such as Sir Lancelot

6. Social Status of Women Women: Had no political rights and was always subservient to the man. The amount of respect she received was dependant on husband or father. Peasant women had a very hard life, while upper-class women were childbearing and ran the household

7. Crusades The Crusades were a series of wars waged by European Christians against the Muslims with the Holy Land as a prize Though Europe lost the war, what did it gain? Exposure to math, astronomy, architecture, and crafts This lead to the rich and varied life we found in Chaucer

8. Manga Carta In the Magna Carta, signed in 1215, English Barons forced King John to limit Papal Power. This sets the basis for English Constitutional Law and the sepration of Church and State.

9. Growth of Cities With the rise of population more people start living in cities and towns This means they are free from the obligations of land or knighthood and began to develop their own tastes and societal boundaries

10. Bubonic Plague Also called The Black Death The bubonic plague in 1348-1349 was the beginning of the end of Feudalism It was spread by fleas from infected rats It decreased the population by a THIRD! The lower classes began to have more power because there was such a shortage of labor which, in turn, leads to serf�s freedom and the end of Feudalism