The Normans Flashcards
1066
Battle of Hastings, which marks the beggining of the so called Anglo Norman period
What happened in the Norman Conquest?
People coming from Normandy came as conquerors and established themselves as the new masters of the island
Why was the conquest easy?
Because the Normans had a very efficient system of organization amd discipline, which was evident in their army and cavalry.
The harrowing of the North
March of William the Conqueror to the northern part of England. Harrowing because of the devastation and scorching of all villages and areas where people tried to resist.
Two enterprises that made the Norman dominon evident
The construction of the Tower of London, a symbol of the new, unassailable royal power.
Doomsday Book, a general inquest on all the properties, in lamd or animals, existing in England.
Practical purpose of the Doomsday Book
To collect information for a more efficient administration of the kingdom and to know how much taxes, and to whom, could be imposed.
What does it mean that “The Normans hammered her into a nation”?
That the Normans forced on the island a sense of unity in which they, the Normans, were the indisputable masters.
Sense of unity and geography
Being an island, Britain was forced to acknowledge the limits of their nation.
Based on what characteristics was the notion of nationhood developed in Britain?
Laws and institutions
Oldest institution of England
The church
Second oldest institution of England
The monarchy
What importance does the king take after the Normans?
It becomes a sort of sacred person which has a kind of divine sanction
Abbey of Westminster
A symbol of the Church, where the kings take the crown
What does it mean that a king is anoited?
That he is marked with oil previously consecrated
Relation at the time between the church and the crown
They would support eachother
What period begins with the Norman Conquest?
The Medieval Period
Feudal System
The notion that all the land belonged to the king who devided it among his friends in feudums in trust.
A system of land tenure in which the lower orders had to fulfill several duties and obligations to their higher lords.
Feudal lords or barons
Had the land and were supposed to serve and be absolutely loyal to their lord, the king. They subdivided the land into their vassals
Vassals
They were bound to pay tributes to their lords and offer different kinds of services.
Serfs
Could not move from the place they were born and they were practically enslaved.
What role did the church play in the feudal system?
The system was guaranteed by the church, as all ranks had to take an oath in the presence of God, to respect their duties, obligations and superiors.
Distinctive feature of the feudal system in England
The king was the was the undisputable supreme authority of the land which reinforced the sense of unity of just one strong kingdom.
Characters from the Medieval period
William the Conqueror, Rufus, Lady Godiva, Henry II, Richard I “The Lion-Hearted”, John “Lackland”, the sheriff of Nottingham, Robin Hood, Edward I, and the Prince of Wales
Social structure changes after 1066
The Anglo Saxons lands were given to the Normanscaptains and Williams friends
Anglo Saxons remained as the lower sectors and vassals, artisans and serfs.
Norman church men were appointed bishops and abbots
Anglo Saxon priests remained as parsons of the parishes in towns and the countryside
Role of French
Language spoken at the courts of justice and by the nobility
Latin
Was spoken by the church people and scholars
English
Remained as the despised dialect spoken by the vassals and serfs
French mindset
Lively and enthusiastic vision of life. They enjoyed wine, love and music. The natural abundance in France allowed people to relish life more intensely.
Who amused the Normans?
The scops, minstrels, and trouvadors.
What was poetry and stories now about?
Christian traditions and legends, and stories of illicit love affairs.
The English Synthesis
The cultural outlook of a blending of the Nothern and Southern European influences in Britain
King in medieval England
The most important and undisputed authority in the country
King John the Lackland
In 1215 was forced by his barons to sign the Magna Carta
Importance of the Magna Carta
It stated that the King is under God and the law.
Curia Regis
A royal Council composed by five men, bishops and barons, who advised the king in different matters. Laws were dictated here.
General Assemblies
They were held in Christmas, Easter, and Yuletide/ Pentecost. More people could attend to present their cases.
1295
King Edward I called a meeting to “pour parler” the problem of taxes, as an increase in taxation was needed to cost the administration of the kingdom
Who attended to the meeting of Edward I?
Barons, bishops and burghers.
Importance of the meeting of 1295
Origin of the parliment, the mother of it, and the oldest one in the world.
What did Edward I say in 1295 that shows an idea of democracy?
What concerns all should be approved by all
Common Law
A body of legal procedures based on traditional customs .
What did Henry II and Thomas Becket do?
Established the same common law for all the country
Ordeals
Primitive procedures that mixed beliefs and religious assumptions
Trial by jury
Sustem established by Henry II where a man could not be punished for a crime if twelve sworn witnesses declared that was innocent
1171
Thomas Becket was stabbed to death by Henry II knights
1250s
Appearance of the first universities
Two first universities
Oxford and Cambridge
Guilds
Associations of carpenters, masons, blacksmiths in the middle ages. There, masters and disciples were in the same office and transmitted a specialized knowledge.
How were the first universities?
Rooms by the church where men aged 12-60 went to listen to the lessons of a master
Why did universities gain prestige?
Scholars were asked on several issues that the court or common people couldnt understand
Church and universities
The houses of study were under the protection and control of the church
Low education
Monks and friars educated people preaching gospels on moral and religion
High education
Happened at universities
English approach to knowledge
Practical
Scholasticism
Tried to reconcile faith and reason
Three philosophers from the 13th century who coincided on the idea that abstract Scholastic synthesis of faith and reason was not possible.
Empirical approach to learning
Bacon, Scouts, and Occa,
