Medieval realms Flashcards
What is a fyrd?
A fyrd is a normal person with no training called to fight for the king
What is a housecarl?
A full time fully trained soldier. Armed with a heavy battle axe.
What is a rebellion?
An attempt to overthrow someone in power.
Shield wall?
A wall of shields held together to form a wall
What happened in the battle of Stamford bridge?
300 longboats carried Harald Hardrada’s men to England. On September the 25th, Harold and his army surprised the Vikings with and attack. The. I kings didn’t expect him to be here so early, and they were caught napping. They were unprepared and The battle of Stamford bridge began. There was one brave Viking who guarded Stamford bridge alone, and he killed lots of Saxon men. The Saxons, unable to get past him, had to get rid of him. He was finally killed when a Saxon floated down the river in a barrel and stabbed him from under the bridge. After, Harold’s army charged in to fight Hardrada and Tostig’s men ( Tostig was Harold’s brother who supported hardrada’s claim to the throne.) Finally, Hardrada was killed and so was Tostig, and Harold won this round.
What happened in the battle of Hastings?
On the 14th of October, 1066, the battle of Hastings took place. The Normans had landed in Pevensey and took over Hastings, to provoke Harold to come down and fight. Harold, after fighting Hardrada at the North, had to march down immediately from the north. The two armies met in senlac hill, the hill named “lake of blood” after the battle of Hastings. The Saxons settled themselves at the top of the hill, in which the not,and settled at the bottom. This was an advantage for the Saxons as they had height advantage. As well as that, they formed a tight shield wall the deflect arrows and other things. During the battle, it was thought that William had died, but when the Normans started getting downhearted, William pulled off his helmet and shouted words of encouragement. At first, William couldn’t possibly break through the shield wall, but later, he thought of a cunning plan to break through. He ordered his men to pretend retreat.the Saxons, thinking they had won, chased after them. The Normans then turned around and killed the Saxons. The Saxons were slowly wiped out one by one, as the Normans kept repeating the same trick. At last, Harold was killed after a wound in his eye and William won the battle of Hastings. Most of the housecarls fought till the end, but many fyrds ran away.
When was William crowned?
Christmas Day, December, 1066.
What were William’s 4 problems after the battle?
- The possibility that Vikings will invade from the north.
- The possibility that London is taken over
- A fort near Dover is filled with angry soldiers and William must prevent them from rebelling.
- William’s army is tired.
What caused the harrying in the north?
William gave Northumberland to Robert. The english didn’t like the idea and rebelled against him.
What did the English do during the harrying of the north?
The English went and killed Robert and his men.
What did William do in the harrying of the north?
Angry, he ordered his army to kill the English but the Vikings turned up and killed his army. Therefore, William himself marched up to fight the Vikings, killed them and burnt the crops in the north to starve the people as a punishment.
Why did William burn his crops?
William burnt the crops to cause famine. This sent a message to the English- if you mess with William, you die. 100,000 people died of starvation.
Define motte:
Mound of earth where the small look out fort was located.
Bailey?
A large yard with storerooms, kitchens, stables and guard rooms.
Keep?
A tower which was the highest and safest place in the castle.
Ditch?
A hole around the castle. If filed with water called a moat
Drawbridge?
A bridge that could be lowered down to allow people to cross the ditch.
Palisade?
The wooden fence surrounding the Bailey.
What was the doomsday book? Why was it made?
It was made to let the new king know more about his new country. It filled two books at contained every single detail of what each person possessed. It contained more or less 2 million words and ensured that the king knew how much he could tax people and how much his country was worth.
How did the feudal system work?
The king owned all the land, and he shares them out between his barons. In return, the barons had to do homage, pay tax and provide knights for the king. The barons then shared their land between Knights, where the Knights had to swear loyalty to them, pay for land and fight for them if needed. The Knights then lent land to the peasants who worked the land and in return had to farm the land and pay tax. Anyone who was above you in this system was called your Lord.
Why did William build castles?
To defend himself because of rebellions.
What was wrong with square towers?
They could be undermined and they would collapse.
What was a shell keep?
Stone towers were called shell keeps. The shell keeps were often too heavy for the motte to support it.
What was a round tower?
Towers made of stone which were round. This could not be undermined and collapsed because it had no edges to fall on.
What were curtain walls and machicolations?
Curtain walls were more walls built around the castle to defend the way in. Machicolations were stone paparets with gaps between them.
What was a concentric castle and how was it introduced?
Concentric castles were castle with many rings of walls. This idea was introduced when the crusaders returned from the Middle East and brought this idea with them
What was a Barbican?
A Barbican was a round or D shaped tower meant to defend gates.
What happened during the siege of Rochester castle? What caused this?
The barons rebelled against the king in 1216 because king John was a lousy king, taxed too much to pay for his wars and even lost all of his battles. The barons attacked Rochester castle as it was a important castle. They took over the castle but John came back to take it back. John tried to defeat them using the latest weapons, like mangonels and trebuchets, but failed and had to lay siege. Reinforcements were coming to help the barons and if John didn’t do something, he would die. Finally, he thought of a plan: he ordered the sappers to dig down the castle and hold the tunnel up with wooden props. He ordered 40 fat pigs to be burnt down there. This caused the castle to collapse and John won. The barons were taxed heavily as a punishment and one baron had his hands and feet cut off for betraying the king during the battle.
What was a Sapper?
A special soldier who could fill in a moat with logs to pass and dog under a wall or tower to collapse it.
Greek Fire?
Mixture of tar, oil and sulphur. Could only be put out by urine.
Latrine?
The bathroom. Could be climbed up from and used to infiltrate the castle.
Siege?
When an attacking army waits outside the castle to starve people out it is called a siege.
Name all the attack methods (4) and explain them.
Battering ram- a tree trunk hanging from a wooden frame and used to break down doors.
Mangonels and trebuchets- a machine that could fire rocks, quicklime or even rotting corpses into castles. Could be used to break down castle walls.
Siege towers- large wooden tower with animal skin roof to protect soldiers underneath it. They were also used to climb up walls.
Crossbow- an advanced kind of bow that was more like firing a bullet than an arrow. It took a long time to reload.
What about cannons?
Cannons were introduced in the late Middle Ages. They easily broke through castles so castles were not as well defended. However, there was much less fighting by then and castles were turned into country houses.
What made king John unpopular?
State 5 reasons:
Taxed a lot Didn't consult barons Lost all his battles Argued with the pope Pulled Irish beards Wasn't brave Was weak Murdered Arthur (accused) Plotted against the previous king Spent a lot on food and lifestyle Stole someone else's marriage Stubborn
What was the Magna Carta and what happened?
The Magna Carta was a document written to limit king John’s power and preventing the king to abuse his power. It was presented to the king on the 15th of July, 1215 at Runnymede, a water meadow close to the king’s castle (Windsor). The barons threatened the king with a rising rebellion and the king had no choice but to seal it. The Magna Carta granted many things for the freemen, and just a few for the peasants. It is very well known right now and is included in the English law and the universal declaration of human rights.
What does the baron do?
Owns castle and land around it
Owns peasants living on land
Spends money on lifestyle and food.
Barons wife?
Looks after children
Can sew, play instruments and impress important visitors.
Steward?
Responsible for all servants in castle
Gong farmer?
Job is to clean out all the garderobes and toilets
Constable
Safety of castle is his responsibility
Marshall?
Looks after horses, carts, blacksmiths, carpenters and stonemasons
Chamberlain?
Looks after Lord and lady’s room, their belongings, money and servants who clean the lord’s clothes.
Oubliette?
He stole from the baron and his body is on display to warn others.
Servants?
Cook, clean, wash, serve, tidy, fetch and carry
Jester?
Entertain everyone
Sherif?
Arrest criminals, collect tax and make sure people abide laws.
Knight?
Job is to protect the Lord for forty days each year because the Lord gave him some land.
Soldiers?
Defend the castle and protect the Lord when he is travelling.
What was a villein?
Villein were not free men and they worked on their lord’s land. In return, they were given land for themselves to work on. They had to pay for everything they did and could not make decisions for themselves.
What was a freeman?
A person who is free to make his own decisions but had to pay rent for land and pay for everything they did. Also had to do boon- work for Lord.
What did people eat at medieval times?
Black bread, ale, cheese, fish, pottage, egg
What is crop rotation?
It was a way of growing crops in medieval times. There were three strips of land for each farmer and they planted different things in them each year. One strip planted barley, one strip planted wheat and the other left to fallow. Each year the crops grown on it changes to make sure the soil remains fertile.
Who was the Hayward?
He looked after the cattle and prevented them from going to the fields before the hay was cut.
Who was the shepherd?
The shepherd guarded the sheep from sheep stealers and wild animals.
Who was a swineherd?
Phew took pigs out in autumn to eat acorns from the oak woods.
What is a claimant?
A claimant is a person who believes and claims something to keep for himself.
