England in the High Middle Ages

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All figures are crowned, seated, and holding a miniature depiction of a church. Henry the Young King, in the centre of the page, is likewise crowned.
Depiction of 11th and 12th century English kings in the Chronica Majora by Matthew Paris: (from top to bottom, left to right) Henry II, Richard I, John and Henry III. Henry the Young King appears in the centre of the page.

In the

feudal system of landholding. By the time of William's death in 1087, England formed the largest part of an Anglo-Norman empire, ruled by nobles with landholdings across England, Normandy and Wales. William's sons disputed succession to his lands, with William II emerging as ruler of England and much of Normandy. On his death in 1100 his younger brother claimed the throne as Henry I and defeated his brother Robert to reunite England and Normandy. Henry was a ruthless yet effective king, but after the death of his only male heir William Adelin, he persuaded his barons to recognise his daughter Matilda as heir. When Henry died in 1135 her cousin Stephen of Blois had himself proclaimed king, leading to a civil war known as The Anarchy. Eventually Stephen recognised Matilda's son Henry
as his heir and when Stephen died in 1154, he succeeded as Henry II.

Henry had extensive holdings in France and asserted his authority over Wales, Scotland and Ireland. He clashed with his appointee to the

Plantagenet dynasty
.

The Normans adopted many Anglo-Saxon governmental institutions, but the feudal system concentrated more power in the hands of the monarch and a small elite. The rights and roles of women became more sharply defined. Noblewomen remained significant cultural and religious patrons and played an important part in political and military events. During the twelfth century divisions between conquerors and the English began to dissolve and they began to consider themselves superior to their Celtic neighbours. The conquest brought Norman and French churchmen to power. New reformed religious and military orders were introduced into England. By the early thirteenth century the church had largely won its argument for independence from the state, answering almost entirely to Rome. Pilgrimages were a popular religious practice and accumulating relics became important for ambitious institutions. England played a prominent role in the Second, Third and Fifth Crusades.

Between the ninth and thirteenth centuries England experienced the

motte and bailey and ringwork castles in large numbers, which were replaced by stone buildings from the twelfth century. The period has been used in a wide range of popular culture, including William Shakespeare
's plays.

Periods in English history
 
Prehistoric Britainuntil c. 43 AD
Roman Britainc. 43–410
Sub-Roman Britain410-c. 449
Anglo-Saxonc. 449–1066
Norman/Angevin1066–1216
Plantagenet1216–1485
Tudor1485–1603
Elizabethan1558–1603
Stuart1603–1714
Jacobean1603–1625
Caroline1625–1649
(Interregnum)1649–1660
Restoration1660–1714
Georgian era1714–1837
Regency era1811–1820
Victorian era1837–1901
Edwardian era1901–1914
First World War1914–1918
Interwar Britain1919–1939
Second World War1939–1945
Post-war Britain (political)1945–1979
Post-war Britain (social)1945–1979
See also
Timeline

Political history

Further information: Government in Norman and Angevin England

Normans

Further information: House of Normandy

Norman conquest

Main article:
Norman conquest
Tapestry depicting a scene from a battle. From left to right: soldier with shield, soldier with shield and weapon, and a rider on a horse, trampling another soldier armed with an axe. The inscription at the top reads HAROLD REX, signifying that one of the figures is a representation of King Harold Godwinson.
Section of the Bayeux Tapestry showing the final stages of the battle of Hastings

In 1002 King Æthelred II of England married Emma, the sister of Richard II, Duke of Normandy.[1] Their son Edward the Confessor, who spent many years in exile in Normandy, succeeded to the English throne in 1042.[2] This led to the establishment of a powerful Norman interest in English politics, as Edward drew heavily on his former hosts for support, bringing in Norman courtiers, soldiers, and clerics and appointing them to positions of power, particularly in the Church. Childless and embroiled in conflict with the formidable Godwin, Earl of Wessex, and his sons, Edward may also have encouraged Duke William of Normandy's ambitions for the English throne.[3]

When King Edward died at the beginning of 1066, the lack of a clear heir led to a disputed succession in which several contenders laid claim to the throne of England.

Morcar and the desertion of most of his followers he threw his lot in with Harald Hardrada, who invaded northern England in early September.[9] Harold defeated and killed Hardrada and Tostig at the battle of Stamford Bridge.[10] William invaded with an army of Norman followers and mercenaries. Harold marched south to meet him, but was defeated and killed at the battle of Hastings on 14 October and William's forces rapidly occupied the south of England.[11]

William I (1066–87)

Main article:
William I of England
View of the Tower of London
The Tower of London, originally constructed by William the Conqueror to control London[12]

Major revolts followed, which William suppressed before intervening in the north-east of England, establishing Norman control of York and

feudal tenure in return for military service.[17] A Norman lord typically had properties located in a piecemeal fashion throughout England and Normandy, and not in a single geographic block.[19]

Map, colored in various shades of pink and purple, displaying the divisions of England at the time of the Domesday Survey.
England in 1086 during the Domesday Survey

To find the lands to compensate his Norman followers, William initially confiscated the estates of all the English lords who had fought and died with Harold and redistributed part of their lands.

Marcher territories.[24] By the time of William's death in 1087, England formed the largest part of an Anglo-Norman empire, ruled over by a network of nobles with landholdings across England, Normandy, and Wales.[25] England's growing wealth was critical in allowing the Norman kings to project power across the region, including funding campaigns along the frontiers of Normandy.[26]

At Christmas 1085, William ordered the compilation of a survey of the landholdings held by himself and by his vassals throughout the kingdom, organised by counties, a work now known as the Domesday Book. The listing for each county gives the holdings of each landholder, grouped by owners. The listings describe the holding, who owned the land before the Conquest, its value, what the tax assessment was, and usually the number of peasants, ploughs, and any other resources the holding had. Towns were listed separately. All the English counties south of the River Tees and River Ribble are included, and the whole work seems to have been mostly completed by 1 August 1086, when the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that William received the results and that all the chief magnates swore the Salisbury Oath, a renewal of their oaths of allegiance.[27]

William II (1087–1100)

Main article: William II of England
Seal of William II. The front (left) shows the seated King, crowned and holding aa sceptre and orb. The other side (right) shows a rider on a horse.
Great Seal of William II

At the death of William the Conqueror in 1087 his lands were divided into two parts. His Norman lands went to the eldest son

Gregorian reforms in the Church. Eventually Anselm went into exile and Pope Urban II, involved in a major conflict with the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV, came to a concordat with William, whereby William recognised Urban as pope, and Urban gave sanction to the Anglo-Norman ecclesiastical status quo. Anselm remained in exile, and William was able to claim the revenues of the archbishop of Canterbury to the end of his reign.[29] William died while hunting in 1100.[30]

Henry I (1100–35)

Main article: Henry I of England
Imagining of the White Ship incident. The ship, in ocean waves, carries four figures dressed in blue and red.
Early fourteenth-century depiction of the sinking of the White Ship on 25 November 1120

Despite Robert's rival claims, his younger brother Henry immediately seized power in England.[31] Robert, who invaded in 1101, disputed Henry's control of England. This military campaign ended in a negotiated settlement that confirmed Henry as king. The peace was short-lived, and Henry invaded the Duchy of Normandy in 1105 and 1106, finally defeating Robert at the Battle of Tinchebray. Henry kept Robert imprisoned for the rest of his life. Henry's control of Normandy was challenged by Louis VI of France, Baldwin of Flanders and Fulk of Anjou, who promoted the rival claims of Robert's son, William Clito, and supported a major rebellion in the Duchy between 1116 and 1119. Following Henry's victory at the Battle of Brémule, a favourable peace settlement was agreed with Louis in 1120.[32]

Considered by contemporaries to be a harsh but effective ruler, Henry skilfully manipulated the barons in England and Normandy. In England, he drew on the existing Anglo-Saxon system of justice, local government and taxation, but also strengthened it with additional institutions, including the royal

Cluniac order and played a major role in the selection of the senior clergy in England and Normandy.[37]

Stephen, Matilda and the Anarchy (1135–54)

Main articles: The Anarchy and Stephen, King of England

Henry's only legitimate son, William, died aboard the White Ship in the disaster of 1120, sparking a fresh succession crisis. Henry named his daughter Matilda as his heir,[38] but on Henry's death in 1135 her cousin Stephen of Blois had himself proclaimed king.[39] Matilda's husband Geoffrey, Count of Anjou showed little interest in England, but he supported Matilda by entering Normandy to claim her inheritance.[40] Matilda landed in England to challenge Stephen and was declared "Lady of the English",[41] which resulted in a civil war called the Anarchy. Stephen was defeated and captured at the Battle of Lincoln (1141) and Matilda was the effective ruler. When Matilda was forced to release Stephen in a hostage exchange for her half-brother Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester, Stephen was re-crowned. The conflict in England continued inconclusively. However, Geoffrey secured the Duchy of Normandy. Matilda's son, Henry II, by his marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine had acquired the Duchy of Aquitaine and was now immensely rich. With skilful negotiation with the war-weary barons of England and King Stephen, he agreed to the Treaty of Wallingford and was recognised as Stephen's heir.[42]

Angevins

Main article: Angevin kings of England

Henry II (1154–89)

Main article: Henry II of England
Eleanor and Henry, crowned and seated, surrounded by two other figures.
Twelfth-century depiction of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine holding court

After Stephen's death in 1154 Henry succeeded as the first Angevin king of England, so-called because he was also the Count of Anjou in Northern France, adding it to his extensive holdings in Normandy and Aquitaine.[43] England became a key part of a loose-knit assemblage of lands spread across Western Europe, later termed the Angevin Empire.[44]

Henry asserted his authority over Brittany, even reorganising the Duchy into eight administrative districts and introducing Angevin legal reforms.[45] He pursued an aggressive policy in Wales, reclaiming lands lost by Anglo-Norman princes and conducting four punitive campaigns against Welsh princes that resulted in their submission to his authority. This underlined his overlordship, but he did not attempt a direct conquest. When the Scottish king William the Lion joined the rebellion of Henry's sons and was captured, it allowed Henry to extract homage from the Scottish king under the Treaty of Falaise (1174), which he did not pursue directly, but which would provide a justification for later interventions in Scottish kingship.[46]

In the mid-twelfth century Ireland was ruled by local

kings, although their authority was more limited than their counterparts in the rest of western Europe.[47] The deposed King of Leinster, Diarmait Mac Murchada, turned to Henry for assistance in 1167; Henry allowed Diarmait to recruit mercenaries within his empire.[48] Diarmait put together a force of Anglo-Norman and Flemish mercenaries drawn from the Welsh Marches, including Richard de Clare, known as Strongbow.[49] With his new supporters, he reclaimed Leinster but died shortly afterwards in 1171; de Clare then claimed Leinster for himself.[50] Henry took this opportunity to intervene personally in Ireland, landing in October 1171.[51] Henry's timing was influenced by several factors, including encouragement from Pope Alexander, who saw the opportunity to establish papal authority over the Irish church.[52] Henry's intervention was initially successful, with both the Irish and Anglo-Normans in the south and east of Ireland accepting his rule.[53] However, the Treaty of Windsor in 1175, under which Rory O'Connor would be recognised as the High King of Ireland, giving homage to Henry and maintaining stability on the ground on his behalf,[54] meant that he had little direct control.[55]

Map of the Angevin Empire. England, parts of Ireland and half of France are fully yellow, signifying fully Angevin posessesions; Scotland, much of Ireland and parts of Wales are checked yellow, signifying Angevin hegemony.
The extent of the Angevin Empire around 1172; solid yellow shows Angevin possessions, checked yellow Angevin hegemony

Henry saw an opportunity to re-establish what he saw as his rights over the Church in England by reasserting the privileges held by Henry I when

coregent of Henry's son by the Archbishop of York as a challenge to his authority and excommunicated those who had offended him. On hearing the news Henry uttered the infamous phrase "what miserable drones and traitors have I nurtured and promoted in my household who let their lord be treated with such shameful contempt by a low born clerk".[56] In response to please Henry three of his men murdered Becket in Canterbury Cathedral, probably by misadventure after Becket resisted a botched arrest attempt.[57] In Christian Europe Henry was considered complicit in this crime, making him a pariah, and he was forced to make a dramatic exhibition of penance, publicly walking barefoot into the cathedral and allowing monks to scourge him.[39]

When Henry II attempted to give his land-less youngest son, John, a wedding gift of three castles it prompted his three eldest sons and wife to rebel in the revolt of 1173–1174. Louis VII encouraged the three elder sons to destabilise his mightiest subject and not to wait for their inheritances. It was only after eighteen months of conflict that Henry II was able to force the rebels to submit to his authority.[58] In Le Mans in 1182 Henry II gathered his children to plan for partible inheritance in which his eldest son, also called Henry, would inherit England, Normandy and Anjou; Richard the Duchy of Aquitaine; Geoffrey Brittany and John would receive Ireland. This broke down into further conflict and the younger Henry rebelled again, but died of dysentery. In 1186 Geoffrey died as a result of a tournament accident but Henry was still reluctant to have a sole heir[59] so, in 1189, Richard and Philip II of France took advantage of a sickening Henry II with more success. Henry II was forced to accept humiliating peace terms, including naming Richard as sole heir. When Henry II died shortly afterwards his last words to Richard were allegedly "God grant that I may not die until I have my revenge on you".[60]

Richard I (1189–99)

Main article: Richard I of England
Funerary effigy of Richard I, who is rested and crowned.
The effigy of Richard I at Fontevraud Abbey, Anjou

On the day of Richard's coronation there was a mass slaughter of the Jews, described by

Messina on 4 October 1190 and using it to force Tancred into a peace agreement.[62] When his sister and his fiancée Berengaria along with several other ships, including the treasure ship were seized by the island's despot Isaac Komnenos, Richard conquered the island, which became a western feudal and Christian base in the Mediterranean.[63]

Opinions of Richard amongst his contemporaries were mixed. He had rejected and humiliated the king of France's sister; insulted and refused spoils of the

third crusade to nobles like Leopold V, Duke of Austria, and was rumoured to have arranged the assassination of Conrad of Montferrat. His cruelty was demonstrated by his massacre of 2,600 prisoners in Acre.[64] However, Richard was respected for his military leadership and courtly manners. He achieved victories in the Third Crusade but failed to capture Jerusalem, retreating from the Holy Land with a small band of followers.[65]

Richard was captured by Leopold on his return journey in 1192. Custody was passed to Henry the Lion and a tax of 25 per cent of movables and income was required in England to pay the ransom of 100,000 marks, with a promise of 50,000 more, before Richard was released in 1194. In his absence Philip II of France had overrun much of Normandy, while John of England controlled much of the remainder of Richard's lands. On his return to England, Richard forgave John and re-established his control. Leaving England in 1194 never to return, Richard battled Phillip for the next five years for the return of the holdings seized during his incarceration. Close to total victory he was injured by an arrow during the siege of Château de Châlus-Chabrol and died after lingering injured for ten days.[66]

John (1199–1216)

Main article: John, King of England
An illuminated picture of two armies of mounted knights fighting; the French side are on the left, the Imperial on the right.
The French victory at the battle of Bouvines doomed John's plan to retake Normandy in 1214 and led to the First Barons' War

Richard's failure in his duty to provide an heir caused a succession crisis. Anjou, Brittany, Maine and Touraine chose Richard's nephew and nominated heir, Arthur, while John succeeded in England and Normandy. Yet again Philip II of France took the opportunity to destabilise the Plantagenet territories on the European mainland, supporting his vassal Arthur's claim to the English crown. When Arthur's forces threatened his mother, John won a significant victory, capturing the entire rebel leadership at the Battle of Mirebeau.[67] Arthur was murdered, it was rumoured by John's own hands, and his sister Eleanor would spend the rest of her life in captivity. John's behaviour drove numerous French barons to side with Phillip. The resulting rebellions by the Norman and Angevin barons broke John's control of the continental possessions, leading to the de facto end of the Angevin Empire, even though Henry III would maintain the claim until 1259.[68]

After re-establishing his authority in England, John planned to retake Normandy and Anjou. The strategy was to draw the French from Paris while another army, under Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor, attacked from the north. However, his allies were defeated at the Battle of Bouvines in one of the most decisive and symbolic battles in French history.[69] The battle had both important and high-profile consequences.[70] John's nephew Otto retreated and was soon overthrown while King John agreed to a five-year truce. Philip's decisive victory was crucial in ordering politics in both England and France. The battle was instrumental in forming the absolute monarchy in France.[71]

John's defeats in France weakened his position in England. The rebellion of his English vassals resulted in the treaty called

Dover in 1217, leading to the Treaty of Lambeth by which Louis renounced his claims.[74] In victory, the Marshal Protectorate reissued Magna Carta as a basis for future government.[75]

Government

Main article: Government in medieval England
Circular artwork depicting carvings of soldiers presenting a sheep to a figure seated on a throne.
Anglo-Norman twelfth-century gaming piece, illustrating soldiers presenting a sheep to a figure seated on a throne

Within twenty years of the Norman conquest, the Anglo-Saxon elite had been replaced by a new class of Norman nobility.[76] The new earls (successors to the ealdermen), sheriffs and senior clergy were all drawn from their ranks.[77] In many areas of society there was continuity, as the Normans adopted many of the Anglo-Saxon governmental institutions, including the tax system, mints and the centralisation of law-making and some judicial matters; initially sheriffs and the hundred courts continued to function as before.[78]

The method of government after the conquest can be described as a

serfs, forbidden to leave their manor or seek alternative employment.[84]

At the centre of power, the kings employed a succession of clergy as

Common Bench—and travelling judges conducting eyres around the country. King John extended the royal role in delivering justice, and the extent of appropriate royal intervention was one of the issues addressed in Magna Carta of 1215.[88]

Many tensions existed within the system of government.[89] Royal landowning and wealth stretched across England, and placed the king in a privileged position above even the most powerful of the noble elite.[90] Successive kings still needed more resources to pay for military campaigns, conduct building programmes, or to reward their followers, and this meant exercising their feudal rights to interfere in the land-holdings of nobles.[91] This was contentious and a frequent issue of complaint, as there was a growing belief that land should be held by hereditary right, not through the favour of the king.[92] Property and wealth became increasingly focused in the hands of a subset of the nobility, the great magnates, at the expense of the wider baronage, encouraging the breakdown of some aspects of local feudalism.[93] As time went by, the Norman nobility intermarried with many of the great Anglo-Saxon families, and the links with the Duchy began to weaken.[94] By the late twelfth century, mobilising the English barons to fight on the continent was proving difficult, and John's attempts to do so ended in civil war.[95]

Society

Women in society

Main articles:
Anglo-Saxon women
Woman, wearing red and with a white headdress, using a spindle and distaff. She is also caring for a child.
A depiction of an English woman c. 1170 using a spindle and distaff, while caring for a young child

Medieval England was a patriarchal society and the lives of women were heavily influenced by contemporary beliefs about gender and authority.[96] However, the position of women varied according to factors including their social class; whether they were unmarried, married, widowed or remarried; and in which part of the country they lived.[97] Significant gender inequities persisted throughout the period, as women typically had more limited life-choices, access to employment and trade, and legal rights than men.[98] After the Norman Conquest, the position of women in society changed. The rights and roles of women became more sharply defined, in part as a result of the development of the feudal system and the expansion of the English legal system; some women benefited from this, while others lost out.[99] The rights of widows were formally laid down in law by the end of the twelfth century, clarifying the right of free women to own property, but this did not necessarily prevent women from being forcibly remarried against their wishes.[100]

The growth of governmental institutions under a succession of bishops reduced the role of queens and their households in formal government. Married or widowed noblewomen remained significant cultural and religious patrons and played an important part in political and military events, even if chroniclers were uncertain if this was appropriate behaviour.

ploughing and managing the fields defined as men's work, for example, and dairy production becoming dominated by women.[102]

Identity

Main article: English national identity

The Normans and French who arrived after the conquest saw themselves as different from the English. They had close family and economic links to the Duchy of Normandy, spoke

Celtic fringe was considered lazy, barbarous and backward.[108] Following the invasion of Ireland in the late twelfth century, similar feelings were expressed about the Irish.[109]

Religion

Main article: Religion in Medieval England

Ecclesiastical structures and orders

A photograph of a ruined abbey; a river passes by in the lower left hand of the picture, overhung with dark trees. A ruined abbey building in stone makes up the midground of the right side of the photograph.
Fountains Abbey, one of the new Cistercian monasteries built in the twelfth century

The 1066 Norman conquest brought a new set of Norman and French churchmen to power; some adopted and embraced aspects of the former Anglo-Saxon religious system, while others introduced practices from Normandy.[110] Extensive English lands were granted to monasteries in Normandy, allowing them to create daughter priories and monastic cells across the kingdom.[111] The monasteries were brought firmly into the web of feudal relations, with their holding of land linked to the provision of military support to the crown.[112] The Normans adopted the Anglo-Saxon model of monastic cathedral communities, and within seventy years the majority of English cathedrals were controlled by monks; every English cathedral, however, was rebuilt to some extent by the new rulers.[113] England's bishops remained powerful temporal figures, and in the early twelfth-century raised armies against Scottish invaders and built up extensive holdings of castles across the country.[114]

New orders began to be introduced into England. As ties to Normandy waned, the French

Teutonic Knights and Hospitallers, acquired possessions in England.[118]

Church and state

Main article: Church and state in medieval Europe
A kneeling Thomas Becket is attacked by the soldiers armed with swords. An onlooker in the background, another religious figure, looks on with alarm.
Mid-thirteenth-century depiction of the death of Archbishop Thomas Becket

William the Conqueror acquired the support of the Church for the invasion of England by promising ecclesiastical reform.

reforming movement of Pope Gregory VII, which advocated greater autonomy from royal authority for the clergy, condemned the practice of simony and promoted greater influence for the papacy in church matters.[121] Despite the bishops continuing to play a major part in royal government, tensions emerged between the kings of England and key leaders within the English Church. Kings and archbishops clashed over rights of appointment and religious policy, and successive archbishops including Anselm, Theobald of Bec, Thomas Becket and Stephen Langton were variously forced into exile, arrested by royal knights or even killed.[122] By the early thirteenth century, however, the church had largely won its argument for independence, answering almost entirely to Rome.[123]

Pilgrimages

Pilgrimages were a popular religious practice throughout the Middle Ages in England, with the tradition dating back to the Roman period.[124] Typically pilgrims would travel short distances to a shrine or a particular church, either to do penance for a perceived sin, or to seek relief from an illness or other condition.[125] Some pilgrims travelled further, either to more distant sites within Britain or, in a few cases, on to the continent.[126] Under the Normans, religious institutions with important shrines, such as Glastonbury, Canterbury and Winchester, promoted themselves as pilgrimage destinations, maximising the value of the historic miracles associated with the sites.[127] Accumulating relics became an important task for ambitious institutions, as these were believed to hold curative powers and lent status to the site.[128] By the twelfth century reports of posthumous miracles by local saints were becoming increasingly common in England, adding to the attractiveness of pilgrimages to prominent relics.[129]

Crusades

The idea of undertaking a pilgrimage to

the Levant during the intervening years.[131] Many of those who took up the Cross to go on a Crusade never actually left, often because the individual lacked sufficient funds to undertake the journey.[132] Raising funds to travel typically involved crusaders selling or mortgaging their lands and possessions, which affected their families and, at times, the economy as a whole was considerably affected.[133]

Geography

Main article: Geography of England
Detail from a medieval illustrated manuscript, showing a bearded peasant in long red robes digging with a spade; a stylised tree makes up the right hand side of the image.
An English serf at work digging, c. 1170

England had a diverse geography in the medieval period, from the

wolves lived wild in England, bears being hunted to extinction by the eleventh century and beavers by the twelfth.[136]

Of the 10,000 miles of roads that had been built by the Romans, many remained in use and four were of particular strategic importance—the Icknield Way, the Fosse Way, Ermine Street and Watling Street—which criss-crossed the entire country.[137] The road system was adequate for the needs of the period, although it was significantly cheaper to transport goods by water.[138] The major river networks formed key transport routes, while many English towns formed navigable inland ports.[139]

For much of the Middle Ages, England's climate differed from that in the twenty-first century. Between the ninth and thirteenth centuries England went through the

grapevines to be cultivated relatively far north.[141]

Economy and demography

Main articles: Economy of England in the Middle Ages and Demographics of England

The English economy was fundamentally

open field system, and husbanding sheep, cattle and pigs.[142] Agricultural land became typically organised around manors, and was divided between some fields that the landowner would manage directly, called demesne land, and the majority of the fields that would be cultivated by local peasants.[143] These peasants would pay rent to the landowner either through agricultural labour on the lord's demesne fields or through rent in the form of cash and produce.[143] By the eleventh century, a market economy was flourishing across much of England, while the eastern and southern towns were heavily involved in international trade.[144] Around 6,000 watermills were built to grind flour, freeing up labour for other more productive agricultural tasks.[145]

Although the Norman invasion caused some damage as soldiers looted the countryside and land was confiscated for castle building, the English economy was not greatly affected.[146] Taxes were increased, however, and the Normans established extensive forests that were exploited for their natural resources and protected by royal laws.[147] The next two centuries saw huge growth in the English economy, driven in part by the increase in the population from around 1.5 million in 1086 to between 4 and 5 million in 1300.[148] More land, much of it at the expense of the royal forests, was brought into production to feed the growing population and to produce wool for export to Europe.[149] Many hundreds of new towns, some of them planned communities, were built across England, supporting the creation of guilds, charter fairs and other medieval institutions which governed the growing trade.[150] Jewish financiers played a significant role in funding the growing economy, along with the new Cistercian and Augustinian religious orders that emerged as major players in the wool trade of the north.[151] Mining increased in England, with a silver boom in the twelfth century helping to fuel the expansion of the money supply.[152]

Warfare

Main article: Medieval warfare
Historia Anglorum

Anglo-Norman warfare was characterised by

shortbow.[154] At the heart of these armies was the familia regis, the permanent military household of the king, which was supported in war by feudal levies, drawn up by local nobles for a limited period of service during a campaign.[155] Mercenaries were increasingly employed, driving up the cost of warfare, and adequate supplies of ready cash became essential for the success of campaigns.[156]

Naval forces played an important role during the Middle Ages, enabling the transportation of troops and supplies, raids into hostile territory and attacks on enemy fleets.[157] English naval power became particularly important after the loss of Normandy in 1204, which turned the English Channel from a friendly transit route into a contested and critical border region.[158]

Although a small number of castles had been built in England during the 1050s, after the conquest the Normans began to build timber

motte and bailey and ringwork castles in large numbers to control their newly occupied territories.[159] During the twelfth century the Normans began to build more castles in stone, with characteristic square keeps that supported both military and political functions.[160] Royal castles were used to control key towns and forests, whilst baronial castles were used by the Norman lords to control their widespread estates; a feudal system called the castle-guard was sometimes used to provide garrisons.[161] Castles and sieges continued to grow in military sophistication during the twelfth century.[162]

Culture

Art

Main article: Medieval art
Interior of a church building with Romanesque paintings on the walls.
Romanesque paintings in St Botolph's Church, Hardham

The Norman conquest introduced northern French artistic styles, particular in illuminated manuscripts and murals, and reduced the demand for carvings.[163] In other artistic areas, including embroidery, the Anglo-Saxon influence remained evident into the twelfth century, and the famous Bayeux Tapestry is an example of older styles being reemployed under the new regime.[164] Stained glass had been introduced into Anglo-Saxon England. Very few examples of glass survive from the Norman period, but there are a few examples that survive from minor monasteries and parish churches. The largest collections of twelfth-century stained glass at the Cathedrals of York and Canterbury.[165]

Literature and music

Main articles: Anglo-Norman literature, Middle English literature, Music in Medieval England, and Medieval theatre

Poetry and stories written in French were popular after the Norman conquest, and by the twelfth century some works on English history began to be produced in French verse.

plainchant was superseded, as elsewhere in Europe, by standardised Gregorian chant.[170]

Architecture

Main article: English Gothic architecture
Early English style

The Normans brought with them architectural styles from their own duchy, where austere stone churches were preferred. Under the early Norman kings this style was adapted to produce large, plain cathedrals with ribbed vaulting.[171] During the twelfth century the Anglo-Norman style became richer and more ornate, with pointed arches derived from French architecture replacing the curved Romanesque designs; this style is termed Early English Gothic and continued, with variation, throughout the rest of the Middle Ages.[172] In domestic architecture, the Normans, having first occupied the older Anglo-Saxon dwellings, rapidly beginning to build larger buildings in stone and timber. The elite preferred houses with large, ground-floor halls but the less wealthy constructed simpler houses with the halls on the first floor; master and servants frequently lived in the same spaces.[173] Wealthier town-houses were also built using stone, and incorporated business and domestic arrangements into a single functional design.[174]

Popular representations

Main article: Middle Ages in popular culture

The period has been used in a wide range of popular culture.

Ellis Peters's The Cadfael Chronicles set in the Anarchy,[178] which is also the location of much of Ken Follett's best-selling The Pillars of the Earth (1989).[179] Film-makers have drawn extensively on the medieval period, often taking themes from Shakespeare or the Robin Hood ballads for inspiration and adapting historical romantic novels as Ivanhoe (1952).[180][181] More recent revivals of these genres include Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) and Kingdom of Heaven (2005).[182]

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ Williams 2003, p. 54
  2. ^ Huscroft 2005, p. 3
  3. ^ Stafford 1989, pp. 86–99
  4. ^ a b Higham 2000, pp. 167–181
  5. ^ Walker 2000, pp. 136–138
  6. ^ Bates 2001, pp. 73–77
  7. ^ Higham 2000, pp. 188–190
  8. ^ Huscroft 2005, pp. 12–14
  9. ^ Thomas 2007, pp. 33–34
  10. ^ Walker 2000, pp. 158–165
  11. ^ Carpenter 2004, pp. 72–74
  12. ^ Douglas 1964, p. 216
  13. ^ Carpenter 2004, p. 76
  14. ^ Stafford 1989, pp. 102–105
  15. ^ Carpenter 2004, pp. 82–83
  16. ^ Carpenter 2004, pp. 79–80
  17. ^ a b c Carpenter 2004, p. 84
  18. ^ a b c Krieger, Neill & Jantzen 1992, p. 233
  19. ^ Carpenter 2004, pp. 83–84
  20. ^ Carpenter 2004, pp. 75–76
  21. ^ Chibnall 1986, pp. 11–13
  22. ^ Kaufman and Kaufman 2001, p. 110
  23. ^ Carpenter 2004, p. 89
  24. ^ Carpenter 2004, pp. 110–112
  25. ^ Carpenter 2004, pp. 125–126
  26. ^ Prestwich 1992, pp. 70–71 and 74
  27. ^ Bates 2001, pp. 198–202
  28. ^ Carpenter 2004, p. 129
  29. ^ Carpenter 2004, p. 132
  30. ^ Barlow 2000, pp. 402–406
  31. ^ Carpenter 2004, pp. 134–135
  32. ^ Huscroft 2009, pp. 65, 69–71; Carpenter 2004, pp. 124, 138–140
  33. ^ Hollister 2003, pp. 356–357 and 358–359
  34. ^ Green 2009, pp. 242–243
  35. ^ Green 2009, p. 255
  36. ^ Green 2009, p. 273
  37. ^ Green 2009, p. 278
  38. ^ Hooper 1996, p. 50
  39. ^ a b Schama 2000, p. 117
  40. ^ Grant 2005, p. 7
  41. ^ Carpenter 2004, p. 171
  42. ^ Ashley 2003, p. 73
  43. ^ Carpenter 2004, p. 191
  44. ^ Carpenter 2004, p. 191; Aurell 2003, p. 15
  45. ^ Davies 1990, p. 67
  46. ^ Davies 1990, p. 76
  47. ^ Warren 2000, pp. 187–188
  48. ^ Warren 2000, p. 192
  49. ^ Warren 2000, pp. 192–193
  50. ^ Warren 2000, p. 194
  51. ^ Carpenter 2004, p. 215
  52. ^ Bull 2007, p. 124; Warren 2000, p. 197
  53. ^ Warren 2000, p. 200
  54. ^ Warren 2000, p. 203
  55. ^ Warren 2000, p. 203; Davies 1990, pp. 64–65 and 78
  56. ^ Barlow 1986, pp. 234–235
  57. ^ Schama 2000, p. 142
  58. ^ Jones 2012, pp. 82–92
  59. ^ Jones 2012, p. 86
  60. ^ Jones 2012, p. 109
  61. ^ Ackroyd 2000, p. 54
  62. ^ Flori 1999, p. 116
  63. ^ Flori 1999, p. 132
  64. ^ Jones 2012, p. 128
  65. ^ Carlton 2003, p. 42
  66. ^ Jones 2012, p. 146
  67. ^ Turner 1994, pp. 100
  68. ^ Jones 2012, pp. 161–169
  69. ^ Favier 1993, p. 176
  70. ^ Contamine 1992, p. 83
  71. ^ Smedley 1836, p. 72
  72. ^ Jones 2012, p. 217.
  73. ^ Hamilton 2010, p. 1
  74. ^ Jones 2012, pp. 221–222.
  75. ^ Danziger and Gillingham 2003, p. 271
  76. ^ Carpenter 2004, p. 4; Davies 1990, p. 20; Huscroft 2005, p. 81
  77. ^ Burton 1994, p. 21; Barlow 1999, p. 87
  78. ^ Huscroft 2005, pp. 78–79
  79. ^ Carpenter 2004, pp. 84–85; Barlow 1999, pp. 88–89
  80. ^ Carpenter 2004, pp. 84–85 and 94; Huscroft 2005, p. 104
  81. ^ Carpenter 2004, p. 87
  82. ^ Danziger and Gillingham 2003, p. 40
  83. ^ Carpenter 2004, p. 52
  84. ^ Douglas 1964, p. 312
  85. ^ Huscroft 2005, p. 85
  86. ^ Bartlett 2002, pp. 395–402
  87. ^ Krieger, Neill & Jantzen 1992, p. 234
  88. ^ Carpenter 2004, pp. 290–292
  89. ^ Huscroft 2005, p. 104
  90. ^ Huscroft 2005, p. 95
  91. ^ Barlow 1999, p. 320
  92. ^ Carpenter 2004, p. 87; Barlow 1999, p. 320; Dyer 2009, pp. 108–109
  93. ^ Pounds 1994, pp. 146–147; Carpenter 2004, pp. 399–401 and 410
  94. ^ Barlow 1999, pp. 308–309
  95. ^ Carpenter 2004, pp. 369–70; Stenton 1976, pp. 56–57
  96. ^ Mate 2006, pp. 6–7, 97–99
  97. ^ Mate 2006, pp. 2–3; Johns 2003, p. 14
  98. ^ Mate 2006, pp. 98–99
  99. ^ Johns 2003, pp. 25, and 195–196; Mate 2006, pp. 20–21
  100. ^ Mate 2006, pp. 21–23
  101. ^ Johns 2003, pp. 22–25, 30 and 69; Mate 2006, p. 25
  102. ^ Mate 2006, p. 26
  103. ^ Carpenter 2004, p. 3
  104. ^ Carpenter 2004, pp. 6–7
  105. ^ Carpenter 2004, p. 6
  106. ^ Carpenter 2004, pp. 3–4 and 8
  107. ^ Davies 1990, pp. 18–20; Carpenter 2004, p. 9; Danziger and Gillingham 2003, p. 219
  108. ^ Davies 1990, pp. 20–22
  109. ^ Rubin 2006, p. 106
  110. ^ Burton 1994, pp. 23–24.
  111. ^ Burton 1994, pp. 29–30
  112. ^ Burton 1994, p. 28
  113. ^ Burton 1994, pp. 28–29; Nilson 2001, p. 70
  114. ^ Huscroft 2005, pp. 126–127; Bradbury 2009, p. 36; Pounds 1994, pp. 142–143
  115. ^ Burton 1994, pp. 36–38
  116. ^ Carpenter 2004, pp. 444–445
  117. ^ Carpenter 2004, p. 446; Danziger and Gillingham 2003, p. 208
  118. ^ Forey 1992, pp. 98–99 and 106–107
  119. ^ Burton 1994, p. 21; Barlow 1999, p. 75
  120. ^ Barlow 1999, pp. 98 and 103–104
  121. ^ Barlow 1999, p. 104; Duggan 1965, p. 67
  122. ^ Hollister 2003, p. 168; Alexander 1970, pp. 2–3 and 10; Barlow 1986, pp. 83–84 and 88–89
  123. ^ Barlow 1999, p. 361
  124. ^ Webb 2000, p. 1
  125. ^ Webb 2000, pp. xiii and xvi
  126. ^ Webb 2000, pp. xvi–xvii
  127. ^ Webb 2000, pp. 19–21
  128. ^ Webb 2000, pp. 24–27
  129. ^ Webb 2000, pp. 35–38
  130. ^ Tyerman 1996, pp. 11 and 13
  131. ^ Carpenter 2004, p. 445
  132. ^ Carpenter 2004, p. 456
  133. ^ Carpenter 2004, p. 458; Tyerman 1996, pp. 16–17
  134. ^ Cantor 1982, p. 22
  135. ^ Cantor 1982, pp. 22–23
  136. ^ Dyer 2009, p. 13
  137. ^ Danziger and Gillingham 2003, pp. 48–49
  138. ^ Dyer 2000, pp. 261–263
  139. ^ Prior 2006, p. 83; Creighton 2005, pp. 41–42
  140. ^ Danziger and Gillingham 2003, p. 33; Hughes and Diaz 1997, p. 111
  141. ^ Danziger and Gillingham 2003, p. 33
  142. ^ Dyer 2009, p. 14
  143. ^ a b Bartlett 2002, p. 313
  144. ^ Bartlett 2002, p. 313; Dyer 2009, p. 14
  145. ^ Dyer 2009, p. 26
  146. ^ Douglas 1964, p. 310; Dyer 2009, pp. 87–88
  147. ^ Dyer 2009, p. 89; Barlow 1999, p. 98
  148. ^ Cantor 1982, p. 18
  149. ^ Bailey 1996, p. 41; Bartlett 2002, p. 321; Cantor 1982, p. 19
  150. ^ Hodgett 2006, p. 57; Bailey 1996, p. 47; Pounds 2005, p. 15
  151. ^ Hillaby 2003, p. 16; Dyer 2009, p. 115
  152. ^ Blanchard 2002, p. 29
  153. ^ Bradbury 2009, p. 71
  154. ^ Bradbury 2009, p. 74
  155. ^ Morillo1994, p. 52; Prestwich 1992, pp. 97–99
  156. ^ Stringer 1993, pp. 24–25; Morillo1994, pp. 16–17 and 52
  157. ^ Rose 2002, p. 57
  158. ^ Warren 1991, p. 123
  159. ^ Liddiard 2005, pp. 22, 24 and 37; Brown 1962, p. 24
  160. ^ Hulme 2007, p. 213
  161. ^ Pounds 1994, pp. 44–45, 66 and 75–77
  162. ^ Pounds 1994, pp. 107–112; Turner 1971, pp. 23–25
  163. ^ Thomas 2003, pp. 368–369
  164. ^ Thomas 2003, pp. 372–373
  165. ^ Daniell 2013, pp. 212
  166. ^ Stenton 1976, pp. 274–275
  167. ^ Myers 1978, p. 275; Aurell 2007, p. 363
  168. ^ Myers 1978, pp. 96–98
  169. ^ Happé 2003, pp. 335–336; Danziger and Gillingham 2003, pp. 29–30
  170. ^ Hiley 1995, p. 483
  171. ^ Stenton 1976, pp. 268–269
  172. ^ Stenton 1976, pp. 270–271
  173. ^ Emery 2007, p. 24
  174. ^ Pantin 1963, pp. 205–206
  175. ^ Driver and Ray 2003, pp. 7–14
  176. ^ Tiwawi and Tiwawi 2007, p. 90; Barber 1997, p. 184
  177. ^ Rennison 2012
  178. ^ Ortenberg 2006, p. 175; D'haen 2004, pp. 336–337
  179. ^ Turner 1996, pp. 122–123
  180. ^ Umland and Umland 1996, p. 105
  181. ^ Airlie 2001, pp. 163–164, 177–179; Driver and Ray 2009, pp. 7–14
  182. ^ Haydock and Risden 2009, p. 187

Bibliography

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