Richard And John Flashcards
What was the role of the king in the feudal system
Extremely powerful
Owned all land in England
Duty to protect his people
What was the role of tenants-in-chief in the feudal system
Vassals of the king
Barons / archbishops / bishops
Provided knight service to king
Advised king
Granted land to under-tenants
What was the role of knights / under-tenants in the feudal system
Vassals to tenants-in-chief
Fought on horseback in king’s army
Usually lords of manorial estates
What was the role of peasants in the feudal system
Provided labour service to lord in return for protection, shelter and land
Couldn’t leave without permission
The king kept __% of land for himself - this was known as ____
20%
Demesne
What was a fief
Land held by a vassal in return for service to a lord
How could a vassal be punished if he broke his oath of loyalty?
Forfeiture or death
What were the 3 types of peasant
Villeins
Cottars
Freemen
What was a villein
Property of their lord
Worked on certain days of week (week-work) and harvest (boon-work)
What was a cottar
Held cottage with small piece of land in return for labour services
Worked 1 day a week on lord’s land
What was a freeman
Paid rent for their land
Free to move as they liked
Didn’t have to work on lord’s land
The quota of knights that tenants-in-chief owed to the king depended on…
How much land they’d been given
The quota of knights owed by a tenant-in-chief was known as…
The servitium debitum
Number of knights owed by a tenant-in-chief ranged from…
A handful to 50 or 60 knights
Knights swore loyalty to ____ and ____ before being given land
Their overlord
God
Rent from peasants supported the knight’s family, but…
They weren’t necessarily rich
What did knight service entail?
Up to 40 days’ service guarding lord’s castle and training
At least 2 months in king’s army at his own expense
Helping raise money to pay ransom of his lord if captured in battle
What was homage
Public demonstration of loyalty
What was fealty
A feudal tenant’s or vassal’s sworn loyalty to a lord
How much power did the feudal system give the king?
Most powerful person in country
Had military service, money, sources of patronage
Social and political control
What could the king do to his vassals that other lords couldn’t?
Controlled marriages of widows of tenants-in-chief
And those of heirs / heiresses when they were his wards
Describe two features of feudalism in the years 1189-1216 (4)
What points would you make for this Q?
King at top of feudal system, complete power, provided land in return for army and labour service
Peasants worked lord’s land, freemen paid rent instead and could move around whereas villeins belonged to lord
Describe two features of landholding in the years 1189-1216 (4)
What points would you make?
Villeins and cottars held land in exchange for labour services (1), for instance villeins had to work on lord’s land on certain days of week (1)
Knights held land in exchange for military service (1), for instance had to serve in king’s army for 2 months and guard service for 40 days (1)
What was the Anarchy and when did it take place?
Civil war
1135-53
Between Matilda and Stephen of Blois
What were Matilda and Stephen’s claims to the throne
Matilda = daughter of Henry I
Stephen = nephew of Henry I
Where were Matilda’s and Stephen’s power bases
Matilda in South West
Stephen in South East
When did the nobles promise to support Matilda?
1127
How did the Anarchy weaken the power of the crown by the time Henry II came to the throne
Royal revenue down by 2/3
Royal lands had been granted away
Control over church shaken
Far north of England now ruled by king of Scots
How did Henry II’s qualities make him a successful ruler?
Restored royal authority to England
He was passionate and intelligent
Destroyed rebel castles, went back to landholdings as they’d been under Henry I, strengthened legal system
What compromise did Henry II have to make about his position in the feudal system?
Became a vassal of the French king
Henry II married ____, expanding his ___ and ___
Eleanor of Aquitaine
Land
Power
What was the crisis of Henry II?
1172-74
Reputation damaged by murder of Thomas Becket
Rebellion by Henry the Young King, Eleanor, William of Scotland
Henry II win but had to exploit Royal rights a lot —> resentments
How did Richard secure power?
Didn’t have competitors but needed to establish himself
Rewarded barons who’d been loyal to his father
Replaced many of Henry’s men
Kept brothers quiet, released mother from prison
Honoured agreements with Philip II
Philip II wanted to reassert ____ against the Angevin rulers
Power of France
Philip II had been waiting a long time for marriage between ______ and _____
He came to hate Richard personally because of actions in ____ and ____
His sister
Richard
France
On crusade
Henry II reformed the legal system to…
Make law function independently of him and make the crown lots of money
Henry II took responsibilities very seriously - “…”
He was passionate and ___
He moved around quickly - good at….
“Crucified with anxiety”
Intelligent
Itinerant kingship
What was Richard like as a person?
“Superhuman” at best, could be unpleasant and inhumane
Generous, imaginative, risk taker
“Inspired fear and respect”
Great warrior, ideal medieval king
How did Richard impact the crown?
Regarded as the model of a medieval king
Went on crusade - doing his duty
Influenced by code of chivalry
Succeeded because he was surviving legitimate son of Henry - very certain
What was John like as a person?
“Inspired fear and loathing”
Cruel, mean and paranoid
Not good in crisis
Short temper, rash behaviour
Worst medieval king
Not chivalric - murdered nephew
How did John impact the crown?
Showed religious devotion - visited shrines
Showed good judgement by appointing loyal baton to protect N England
Made peace treaty with king of France
Intelligent, capable military leader
Damaged rep by murdering Arthur
What was the king’s primary role?
Governing the kingdom and enforcing justice
How were new kings chosen?
Nominated by previous king or chosen by leading barons
What were the king’s duties?
Keeping peace
Protecting people
Maintaining justice
Showing fairness + mercy
Defending country w military force
How were rituals and display important to kingship?
Needed to be seen by subjects in order to reinforce his authority
At coronation anointed w holy oils - seen as God’s representative
Crown-earrings at Easter, Christmas and Witsun (7th Sunday after Easter)
Describe two features of kingship at the end of the 12th century (4)
What points would you make?
Kings expected to maintain justice (1), this meant had to travel around, hearing cases and making judgements (1)
Rituals and displays of kingship v important to show authority (1), to achieve this there were several public ceremonies eg crown wearings (1)
What problems might have arisen from Richard not being in the kingdom long?
Someone might try to take over
He wouldn’t be aware of situation in England / wouldn’t be able to help
Was Longchamp a good choice to govern England in Richard’s absence?
No - he had little knowledge of English government
He was arrogant towards barons (replaced many of them)
What was the Church’s influence in society?
Widespread belief in Christian teachings
Pope seen as God’s representative
What was the Church’s influence in economy?
Controlled 20% of land
Wealth from land and wool trade
What was the Church’s influence in government?
Clergy were educated
Worked in barons’ households as clerks
Chancellor always clergyman so had influence on king’s decisions
How did finances preserve the system of royal government?
No clear separation between king’s household + treasury
English kings among wealthiest in Europe
Only supposed to use taxes rarely
Money from feudal rents/payments, selling land, land taxes
England was an ____ society
Agrarian
The main unit of organisation was…
The manorial estate
The special status of towns gave many inhabitants ___
Privileges
In towns lived groups that were distant from mainstream society, such as…
Jews
Foreign merchants
Mendicant friars
What were mendicant friars?
Monks reliant on charity
Towns were required in times of war to…
Make extra contributions in feudal dues
___ of all kinds founded towns, ___ them and invested in ___ ___
Lords
Promoted
Urban property
Leicester showed ___ to its lords (the earls of Lancaster) by greeting them with ___ when they visited - they regarded them as ___ as well as ___
Deference
Gifts
Patrons
Overlords
Lords and the feudal system were able to ___ well with towns
Coexist
Towns represented ___ and provided an appropriate setting for ___ and ___
Civilisation
Castles
Cathedrals
The ___ and ___ originally looked down on traders and urban inhabitants
Aristocracy
Church
How did religious thinkers change their teachings about wealth to fit with the growth of towns?
Traditionally taught that personal wealth was sinful
Now taught that moderate wealth was okay if accompanied by charitable giving
The urban sector didn’t ___ with feudal society but formed ___
Compete
Part of it
Urbanisation was linked to…?
A more numerous + wealthy aristocracy
A peasantry involved in the market
Who had the right to keep and graze animals in the common land and forest?
Peasants could keep animals such as cows + sheep
Pigs driven into woods to eat acorns + bark
Freemen had right, villeins had to pay
Who lived in a manorial estate and what rights did they claim over others?
Lord of the manor or his bailiff
Lord kept some land, rest was divided among peasants for them to farm
What were guilds?
Groups of individuals working in the same trade - members paid entrance fee
Membership of a guild meant…
A tradesman had an unrestricted right to trade in the town
Why were towns such an important source of revenue?
Tolls paid on sales + purchases
Tolls on certain roads and bridges
Rent for market tables
Trade boosted income
Port towns enabled foreign trade
Who governed towns and how was town government linked to royal government?
Many towns established by royal charter
This granted citizens freedom from certain taxes
Richard and John granted charters in return for large sums of money
Town had a law court and form of self-govt
How did royal demesne give the king money?
It was made up of royal hunting forests, manorial estates and towns
Money from rent
Taxes from people in towns
What was tallage?
A type of land tax
Who had to pay tallage?
Tenants of the royal demesne
Why was tallage unpopular?
Only paid by lower classes
There was no fixed sum so amounts were seen as unreasonably high
How could the king make money from courts?
Cases usually started by payment of a fee for a writ, which went to the king
Some kings gave favourable judgements if they were paid
What were the feudal incidents kings could claim?
Payments made by vassals - forest fines, wardship fines, money paid when heir inherited land, dowry for king’s eldest daughter, ransom if king captured
When would you have to pay a wardship fine?
If baron died while heir underage, heir became king’s ward
When they reached adulthood they paid a fine in return for getting their lands back
What were forest fines?
Forest land was under king’s protection so he claimed fines for those living / working / hunting / foraging there
Why were forest fines increasingly resented?
They affected everyone and John increased them in his reign
What was scutage?
A payment made by the holders of a knight’s fee in return for not having to fight
What did kings use scutage to pay for?
Engineers, foot soldiers and bowmen
Why was scutage becoming resented during John’s reign?
He demanded 11 scutages in 16 years
How were jobs different in the countryside vs towns?
Country - all farmers
Towns - many different jobs, apprenticeships started at 14, children didn’t have to follow parents’ professions
In towns, women were sometimes allowed to…
And many women supported their husbands through…
Join guilds and work in professions
Working in bakeries or taverns
Living conditions in towns were ___ and ___
Cramped
Dirty
Jews had been in England since ___
Most were ___ and ___, some became wealthy like ___
1066
Poor and marginalised
Aaron of Lincoln - richest man in England
How did Jews have a complex legal status?
Allowed to travel freely and trade
Not allowed to join guilds
“King’s property”
Could be taxed without limits
Had their estates seized when they died
Christians were forbidden to charge ___ on loans, this was called ___
Therefore it was ___ who made profits from ___ ___
Interest
Usury
Jews
Lending money
As moneylenders, Jews were resented for…
They were often disliked by…
Profiteering from Christian work
Powerful members of society, who owed them money
Jewish people spoke a different ___ and lived in separate ___
Language
Areas of towns
Jews lived in high concentrations in certain towns - these came to be known as…
Ghettoes
Events such as deaths of children were blamed on ___, who were seen as ___ with ___ religious practices
Jews
Outsiders
Corrupt
How were Jews seen in the context of the Crusades?
Seen as “other” and a potential threat to society from within
Many in Germany killed by Crusaders
What religious reason did medieval Christians have for rejecting Jews?
Believed they had killed Jesus - not true but was taught in church
By 1200, how many Jews lived in England?
5000
What is a pogrom?
Riot against a particular group of people
The pogroms of 1189-90 involved…
Setting Jews’ homes on fire, stealing their property, attacking and killing them
What were the long term reasons for the pogroms?
Widespread antisemitism in society
Jews seen as Christ’s killers and outsiders, hated for charging interest and blamed for bad events
What triggered the pogroms?
Jews tried to attend Richard’s coronation and give him a gift, some Christians saw it as an insult and attacked them
There was a lot of “crusading spirit” as Richard was preparing for a crusade
How did Richard react to the pogroms beginning?
He was furious, hanged the ringleaders and ordered people to leave Jews in peace
However, violence spread anyway
What specifically happened to Jews in York?
150 of them took refuge in Clifford’s Tower but had no way out, so they set the tower on fire and killed themselves
How did the Pope convince people to go on Crusade?
Promised forgiveness of sins / ensured passage to Heaven
Portrayed Saladin in negative light - threat to Christians
