Life in Medieval England Flashcards
Number of sheep in 1300
12 million
Name 4 jobs involved in the wool trade
Shepherds
Shearers
Clerks
Sailors
Why did towns develop?
-Growing markets
-A hub of craftsmen was created
-Edward created may towns as they were profitable as he could implement taxes and tolls on them
Number of sacks of wool exported from England per year
40,000
How did the wool trade benefit Edward?
The wool trade was important because it not only helped provide money and food for the people and meant that England was more stable, but meant it made enough money that Edward I could also tax the wool trade and this provided a steady income to help him fund his wars in Wales and Scotland.
Wool customs duty 1275
7s 4d
Wool customs duty 1293
40s
Example of resistance to the increased customs duty on wool
1297: one of the barons physically blocked the collection of taxes at the Exchequer
By ___ Edward had borrowed __ from the Riccardi
1294
&
£390,000
What did towns need to legally hold markets?
Royal charters
How did re-coinage benefit Edward?
-Encouraged trade as it lowered inflation and foreign merchants would accept their coins
-More trade duties paid
-Higher income for the Edmeister
When was coin clipping made punishable by death?
1275
When was the England/France war?
Effect on Riccardi bankers
1294
Their money was in France but Edward demanded more
French king stopped them from accessing the money
The Riccardi were ruined
Who replaced the Riccardi?
The Frescobaldi
When were the coins replaced?
1279
Edward’s profit from re-coinage
£25,000
Jews executed in the coin clipping crisis
273
Aaron of Lincoln loans
Jews £60,000
Christians £70,000
Aaron of Lincoln debtors
Kings of England and Scotland
Earls
Sheriffs
Archbishop of Canterbury
Statute of Jewry
1275
-Usury was banned
-Debts owed to Jews were redirected to Edward
-Jews over 7 had to wear a yellow badge
-Jews over 12 had to pay an annual threepence tax
How did expelling Jews benefit Edward?
Edward freed many nobles from debt making them more likely to support him in war
Antisemitism as a political tool and he could define himself as a ‘protector’ of Christians
Could make a lot of money from Jews’ debtors
Edict of Expulsion
July 1290
Jews had to leave or face execution
Why were Jews ‘less important’ to Edward’s reign than to Henry III’s reign?
Edward didn’t rely on the as much as he used Italian bankers greatly as well.
What did Jews lend money for?
Purchase of land
Facilitating pilgrimage
Violence and discrimination against Jews
-Mobs sought loan records to destroy
-Didn’t attend church so were seen as different
-Blamed for Christ’s crucifixion and dangerous myths spread about them such as ‘blood libel’
-‘Blood libel’ was the rumour of Jews murdering Christians to use their blood in rituals.
% Land owned by Church
Over 30%
Places for pilgrimage abroad
Holy Land (Israel/Palestine)
Rome
Tomb of St James the Apostle, Spain
Places for pilgrimage, England
-Canterbury: Tomb of Thomas Becket
-Walsingham
Impact of the friars
-Preached lively sermons in public in English -> accessible
-Invented Christmas carols
When were Oxford and Cambridge Universities founded?
Oxford: 1096
Cambridge: 1209
Roger Bacon
-Franciscan friar
-Studied at Oxford
-Studied science and alchemy
-Didn’t respect reputations and found errors in Aristotle’s teachings
-Unpopular and revolutionary ideas got him thrown out of the Franciscans and into prison
Duns Scotus
-Franciscan
-Studied at Oxford
-Theologian known as the ‘Marian Dr’
-Controversial ideas
What was a tithing?
Smallest unit of law enforcement that was made up of men and boy over 12. Their job was to produce a criminal for court.
Seeking sanctuary
-Can seek sanctuary in a church for 40 days and nights if accused of a crime. After, criminals could go and leave the country by port.
Only serious criminals could be extracted from sanctuary.
How did Edward develop General Eyre?
General Eyre: Accused people were imprisoned for months awaiting trial
Assizes: Introduced 1294, made sure that judges visited areas regularly to give faster trials
Development of Royal Courts
King’s bench heard criminal cases and appeals from lower courts
E.g. Court of Common Pleas at Westminster dealt with property rights.
These were used more as the 13th Century progressed, showing that they were a valued development.
What change did Edward make to the Parliament? (2)
Gave people the right to petition grievances to Parliament
Any member of the House of Lords had the right to trial by peers.
Hue and Cry
An alarm that was raised in villages which meant that a criminal around and every man had to work to catch him.
Statute of Gloucester
1278
-Land disputes
-Royal justices sent round the country to hear cases
-Laws regarding manslaughter were clarified
Statute of Winchester
1285
-Said that each town and borough was to have night watchmen at each gate
-Hue and cry
-Everyone in a hundred was to be collectively responsible for criminal activity
What did the implementation of the SoW suggest?
That there was an increase in crime
The church and the law
-Canon courts separate from secular courts that had a reputation for lesser punishment
-Criminals could claim Benefit of Clergy by reciting Psalm 51
How was Edward concerned with the Church’s role in the legal system?
He wanted to close legal loopholes such as Benefit of Clergy and wanted all citizens to be tried equally in courts.
Legal reform was important for him securing England and centralising his own authority after the loss of power during Henry III’s reign.
