1- Migration in the Middle Ages c1000-c1500 Flashcards
The Norman Conquest, Jews in the Middle Ages, England's immigrants in the Middle Ages
1000-1500 Groups
The Normans
Jews
Flemish Weavers (low countries)
Lombardy Bankers (Italy)
Hanseatic League (Germany)
Timeline overview
1066: Norman Conquest
1070: First written account of Jews in England
1189: First massacre of Jews in London
1265: Italian bankers allowed to charge interest
1270: Henry II ordered expulsion of all non-weavers
1290: Expulsion of Jews
1440-89: ‘Alien subsidies’-taxation of foreigners
What did the Normans do?
land ownership
daily life
religion
names
language
law and order
rebellion
Normans: land ownership
Seized most land from Anglo-Danish lords
Gave it to Norman lords
Normans: daily life
For most, it didn’t change
Most still had few rights and little or no land of their own
Around 70% were serfs, forced to work on the land and in constat conflict with the local landholders and the Law
Normans: religion
William took control of the Church, replacing Anglo-Danish bishops with Norman ones
Normans: names
William took control of the Church, replacing Anglo-Danish bishops with Norman ones
Normans: language
Introduced new language, a dialect of Old French, althought for some time only the conquerors would have understood it
There was one language fro the rulers and another for the ruled
Over time, Old English and Old French came together in one language
Normans: law and order
Introduced ‘murdrum’
Normans: rebellion
Raced rebellion in 1069 in York and Durham which resulted in the Harrying of the North
William’s reaction to the Norman rebellion
Violence:
Burned and destroyed land and crops: Harrying of the North
Deprived rebels of a livelihood and resulted in 100,000 deaths through starvation
Murdrum :
Special law dating from the time of the Danes
If Norman was assassinated, collective fine was imposed on all those living in the area unless the murder was caught within 5 days
Put pressure on the population
Invitation and settlement
1070s-1189
Jews were invited by William I
Jews were encouraged to become money lenders
Charter of Liberties
Views towards Jews changed
Blood Libel
rumors weren’t crushed
Jews invited by William I to settle in England
They could read, write and do accounts at a time when not even kings were literate
Need them to help control land he had seized
Jews were the only religious minority and lived in towns together called Jewries
Jews encouraged to be money lenders
Kings and bishops wanted to borrow money to build castles and cathedrals but Christians thought it was a sin to lend money
Laws were introduced that banned Jews from any other occupation
Some like Aaron in Lincoln and Licoricia in Oxford became very rich
Many poorer Jews worked in occupations like fishmonger, doctor, goldsmith, crossbow maker, artist, ladder-maker, cheese-maker
Charter of Liberties
Jews could use them to trade and mix freely
Monarchs protected them by allowing them access to castles if in danger
In return that had to pay higher taxes
This meant they had to charge high rates of interest and Christians felt Normans hated them
Ill feelings grew and all Jews were seen as ‘the other’ as they were not Christian
1095: Christians fought in Crusades to try to expel Jerusalem’s Muslim inhabitants
views towards Jews changed
Jews had to charge higher interest
The Crusades started
The Blood Libel 1144
Norwich, Good Friday: dead boy was murdered and local priest and boy’s family accused the Jews
Jews were given protection in castles by sheriff as townspeople turned on them
Local monk Thomas of Monmouth wrote a book full of hatred and attacking Jews
Claimed to have insider knowledge that Jews were planning to ritually murder a Christian child every Good Friday to commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus
Demanded the dead boy was a saint and Jews had bribed the sheriff
Church encouraged this rumor through propaganda and paintings of the boy as a saint or murdered by Jews were made
All over Europe, Jews were accused of child killings and were murdered
The government also spread propaganda
Rumors weren’t crushed
Jews are implicated in the death of Jesus
Churches and king borrowed money from the Jews so didn’t want to pay them back
post-blood libel key dates up to 1300s
1210: King John seized Jewish property, killing or torturing those who resisted
1218: Jews were made to wear a distinctive yellow cloth
1255: a new ‘Blood Libel’ when the body of a boy called High was found at the bottom of a well in Lincoln. All Jews were accused of planning ritual murder. Henry III arrested 90 Jews and hanged those who protested taking their property.
1264: 1000 Jews beaten to death in London
1275: Edward I made a law (the Statute of Jewry) that Jews were not allowed to collect interest. Most became so poor that they were forced to ‘clip’ the edges of coins and melt down the metal to sell.
1290: All Jews expelled from England-Edward I profited from the expulsion of the Jews by seizing their homes and taking their money
Flemish Weavers: when, why, what, help given, hostility
1331
refugees whose land was torn apart by war, skilled craftsmen and women who wanted better life/wages
Settles first in south-east then across country becoming local artisans, prospered and set up guild of Flemish weavers that reached agreement with local workers
King Edward III restricted wool exports in order to build cloth-making industry, Flemings had the skills to kick-start a manufacturing economy, they were welcomes and became wealthy
Growing hostility towards foreign migrants (threatening English jobs)
Hanseatic League: when, why, what, help given, hostility
1303
Edward I granted the League a Merchant’s Charter, giving it certain tax and customs privileges
Were here to make money, had significant impact on England’s economy, helping it become a rich manufacturing and trading nation, traded materials and food
Members were given special protection like the Bardis family from Florence
Great Rebellion (1381) and in 1492, London Steelyard was destroyed in anti-foreigner riots, people felt league negatively effected jobs and profits, hated their control of wool and cloth trade, felt League got special treatment. 1598: Queen Elizabeth I closed down the Steelyard
Lombardy Bankers
1220s
To make profit from growing wool trade, Pope ruled Italian banks could charge interest on loans so they offered to lend money to Henry III who was turning against Jewish money lenders
Set up business and London got richer and richer until Edward III’s debt crisis, they were invested in boosting England’s economy
Letters of protection
London merchants demanded controls and restrictions, foreigners were disliked, believed they would make money then leave
cultural migration
Muslims brought advanced ideas in science, medicine, mathematics, philosophy and astronomy
Important education centres were established where the English travelled to for latest ideas
Crusades over 200 years
Also brought new food, music and musical instruments
