1.3A - Rise & Fall of the Feudal System

Question 1

What did the barons receive in return for making sure the law was obeyed and taxes were collected?

Answer 1

A share of the taxes collected but they did have to pay ‘feudal dues’.

= A way of making money for the crown as well as preventing certain barons from gaining too much land.

Question 2

What did local lords or knights do in return for land?

Answer 2

Provided a military service

Question 3

What did the peasants do?

Answer 3

Worked on the land belonging to the lords and knights in return for a small plot of land

Question 4

By what year were there 500 castles in England and Wales?

Answer 4

1086

Question 5

Why would a baron build a castle?

Answer 5

To control his lands

To house knights

Use as a residence

Question 6

Why were castles a vital part to the feudal system?

Answer 6

They were the most powerful weapon of the time period

Question 7

Why didn’t feudalism always work the way it was intended to?

Answer 7

There is evidence to suggest that whenever someone in a particular position showed signs of weakness, there was always someone one step below them ready to take advantage

Question 8

When was the anarchy?

Answer 8

The period of war between 1130s and 1150s

Question 9

When did Henry I die?

Answer 9

1135

Question 10

What did Henry I want to happen if he died?

Answer 10

He persuaded his barons to accept his daughter Matilda as queen.

Question 11

Why didn’t Matilda become queen when Henry I died?

What happened as a result?

Answer 11

Because she was in France and so her cousin Stephen of Blois (richest baron in engand) seized the throne for himself.

A civil war between Stephen and Matilda

Question 12

When and at which battle did Matilda beat Stephen?

Answer 12

Battle of Lincoln in 1141

Question 13

In what years was there a stalemate between Matilda and Stephan?

Answer 13

1143 to 1146

Question 14

What happened when there was a stalemate?

Answer 14

Neitherside was in control and royal authority broke down.

Question 15

What was the deal that the barons forced on Matilda and Stephan?

Answer 15

It involved Matilda leaving the country and allowing Stephan to rule until his death but he would be succeeded by Matilda’s son, the future Henry II

Question 16

What was the impact of the civil war between Matilda and Stephan?

Answer 16

Law and order broke down as Matilda and Stephan were too concerned with fighting one another than running the country

Question 17

What were the 2 reasons why the feudal system failed during the anarchy?

Answer 17

Failure of the monarchy

Barons fault

Question 18

Explain what the failure of the monarchy had to do with the failure of the feudal system.

Answer 18

Stephen was unable to enforce his authority.

He relaxed many of Henry I’s restrictions on the barons

Needed to fight a civil war for a lot of his reign

Question 19

Explain what the barons had to do with the failure of the feudal system

Answer 19

In some areas local lords and barons wanted stability so they ignored Matilda and Stephan therefore made their own peace agreements with rival lords.

In other parts of the country local lords took advantage of the lack of royal authority to build up their own power, seize land and strengthen their castles without royal permission.

Question 20

When was Henry II crowned King?

Answer 20

1154

Question 21

How did Henry II re-establish control?

Answer 21

He seized over 40 castles from the barons and in the 1160s he forced the barons to provide detailed information about the lands and other income they held.

He replaced 2/3rds of the local sheriffs with officials he approved himself.

Question 22

How was the loyalty between Henry II and the barons proven?

Answer 22

When Henry clashed with his Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, most barons remained loyal to the king.

Question 23

When did Henry II die?

Answer 23

1189

Question 24

Who was the thrown passed onto when Henry II died?

Answer 24

His son Richard I

Question 25

Who was Richard I brother?

Answer 25

John

Question 26

Why did John inherit major problems from his brother Richard I when he became king?

Answer 26

Because Richard I spent most of his reign on crusade or defending his family lands in France.

Question 27

When did Richard I die?

Answer 27

1199

Question 28

Give an example of Johns failings as a war leader

Answer 28

John attempted to continue the wars but in 1204 he lost Normandy to King Phillip.

For a feudal lord, nothing was worse than defeat in a war.

Question 29

Why did John’s character and behaviour contribute to his problems?

Answer 29

Because he was a suspicious, cruel and mean man who harshly punished anyone who stood up to him.

He didn’t trust most of the barons and refused to consult them on important issues so they also felt like the King didn’t trust them

Question 30

Why was being let down by the barons one of John’s problems?

Answer 30

He didn’t have much support by the barons.

They sent smaller groups of troop than were actually needed and were unwilling to risk their soldiers in big battles.

Question 31

What did taxes have to do with being one of Johns problems?

Answer 31

John spent the next 10 years increasing taxes to raise the money needed for a large campaign to win back Normandy.

In the process he fell out with the Church and the barons who were unhappy about the increase in taxes.

Question 32

When did the tensions between the barons and John reach a climax?

Answer 32

1215

Question 33

When did John accept the Magna Carta?

Answer 33

July 1215

Question 34

Why was the magna carta important?

2 reasons

Answer 34

• It was a written agreement, a formal contract
• It put the King under the law rather than above it. It effectively stated that even the King had to obey its laws which was a completely new idea at the time.

Question 35

What was the Magna carta seen as in 1215?

Answer 35

A peace treaty between the barons and John

Question 36

When did John overturn the Magna Carta and what did it result in?

Answer 36

Autumn 1215 and war was raging again

Question 37

What did the barons do when the Magna Carta was overturned by King John?

Answer 37

They invited the son of King Philip II of France to take the throne.

Question 38

What happened when John died?

Answer 38

The majority of the rebels pledged their loyalty to John’s 9 year old son, Henry III.