Medieval period, Ballads, and King Arthur Flashcards
Who did the Saxon council chose to be king when Edward the Confessor died in 1066?
Harold II
Who had been living in France and said he had been promised the throne?
William, Duke of Normandy
What did William do to defeat the Saxons in 1066?
He raised an army and crossed the English Channel to defeat them in the Battle of Hastings
When and where was William crowned the first true King of England?
December 25th, 1066 at Windsor Castle
What did William I build?
Tower of London and Windsor Castle
What were the characteristics of the Normans
They were from normandy which is in northwestern France, they descended from the Vikings, they spoke French, and they had great abilities in law and government
What is the system of government based on tenancy, not ownership of the land?
Feudalism
Who owned all of the land?
William I
William I gave land to his supporters in exchange for what?
Service
What did each group in Feudalism have
A title (Lords, Dukes, Counts, Barons, Knights, Vassals)
who were the slaves that farmed the land?
The serfs (anglo saxons)
what is the Domesday Book and why was it written?
It was used as extensive listing of who owned what and was used for purposes of taxation to solve land disputes
What religion spread throughout Europe?
The Roman Catholic Church
who was Henry II?
The current king
who was Thomas Becket?
The Archbishop of Canterbury
what did Henry II and Thomas Becket fight over?
Power
What happened to Thomas Becket?
He was assassinated by four barons who were sent by Henry II
What was the result of Thomas Beckets assasination?
Henry II lost power and the church gained power
What happened to the Catholic church during this time?
It became corrupted
Where did King Richard “the Lionhearted” spend most of his time?
In the Holy Lands fighting in the Crusades
Who took over the throne and raised taxes?
Prince John who was King Richards evil brother
What marked the beginning of constitutional government?
The signing of the Magna Carta (Great Charter)
How and when was the Magna Carta signed?
A group of angry barons forced Prince John to sign the agreement in 1215
What became the largest trading center in England?
London
What was London’s principal export?
Wool
what struck England in 1348?
The Black Death that was the first of a series of plagues
How much of England’s population did the Black Death kill?
A third
What ended feudalism?
The scarcity of labor from the plagues
What were the Crusades?
A series of wars to rescue the Holy Lands from the Turks
What were the Hundred Years Wars?
Wars between England and France because England was trying to hold on to Normandy
What were the Wars of the Roses?
Civil wars between the House of York, whose emblem was the white rose, and the House of Lancaster, symbolized by a red rose
Who ended the War of the Roses and how?
Henry VII when he united the feuding families through marriage and founded the Tudor dynasty
How and when was the medieval period end?
Henry’s accession in 1485
What was the code of conduct that the knights lived by?
The Code of Chivalry
What did the Code of Chivalry include?
Allegiance to the king, service to the church, respect toward women, and morals such as being honorable and truthful
What was the language of the church and universities?
Latin
What was the language of the government?
French
What was the language of the people?
Anglish
What were the universities in England?
Oxford and Cambridge
What was the type of architecture during the medieval period?
Gothic
What was the literature during the medieval period?
King Arthur, The Canterbury Tales, and ballads
What is King Arthur
Literature classified as a romance with tales of chivalry and an added love interest
What is a ballad?
A short story in song or verse that is simple in plot and divided into stanzas
Where does the word ballad come from?
the french word “balar” which means to dance
what is a ballad called if it has an unknown author?
A folk ballad
What is a ballad called when it has a known author?
A literary ballad
What are characteristics of a ballad?
they involve common, everyday people, they usually deal with physical courage or tragic love, they contain little characterization or description, they contain dialogue which moves the action along, much of the story is told indirectly; you have to fill in the gaps, they contain four line stanzas called quatrains, and they contain a refrain
What is a refrain?
A phrase or line repeated at the end of the stanza
Who did Guinevere fall in love with that caused the downfall of Camelot in King Arthur?
Lancelot
What is the name of Arthur’s sword?
Excalibur
Who is the famous magician in King Arthur?
Merlin
What is the translation of Le Morte d’Arthur?
The death of Arthur
The What was the family crest called that was put on the shields?
Code of arm
