Yr10 MOCK LEGIT EDITION Flashcards
Royal government and finances: the use of justiciars in Richard’s absence including Hubert Walter and William Longchamp
He provided his brother John and half-brother Geoffrey with lands and titles, and banned them from England for three years (see page 18).
Richard then needed to appoint trustworthy officials who could manage the government in his absence. Richard chose a loyal, royal servant, William Longchamp, to be his chancellor. As chancellor, it was Longchamp’s duty to manage the government by the use of charters* and writs, which outlined the decisions of the king and enabled the chancellor to rule on the king’s behalf when he was absent. Longchamp was also made a justiciar. Justiciars were responsible for justice and they travelled from shire to shire hearing cases in the courts and giving royal judgement.
After three months, Richard had settled the government of his kingdom and he departed on crusade.
Richard appointed Hubert Walter, the Archbishop of Canterbury, as justiciar. After three months, Richard departed for the continent and did not return to England again. Walter established an effective system of justice by selecting four knights in every hundred* to take charge of the system of justice in their area. England was governed peacefully until Richard’s death in 1199.
The cost of royal adventures overseas and how this was financed
1194-1198 Richard had an annual income of about £25,000John’s income was usually between £22,000 and £25,000 but sometimes he was able to gather huge incomes; accounts for 1211 suggest he collected £83,291.
Richard needed money to fund his crusade.
*
Richard needed money to be ransomed from captivity in 1194 (see pages 56-58).
* Both Richard and John needed huge sums to pay for their wars against France.
The sums of money that the king could collect from his lands and through taxes might seem small by modern standards, but at that time, the English kings were amongst the wealthiest monarchs in Europe.
Heavy taxes were imposed to pay Richard’s ransom, and also to pay for John’s campaigns in France.
Heavy taxes were imposed to pay Richard’s ransom, and also to pay for John’s campaigns in France.
At around £49,000, his average annual income between 1207 and 1212 was double that of his brother and father even before the money he raised from taxation. In addition, John was able to raise vast amounts from the Church.
Royal revenue from the royal demesne
Royal Revenue: A revenue is an income of money. A royal revenue is the monarchy’s income, which was from a number of sources.
The royal demesne
The land that was held directly by the king was known as the royal demesne. This land provided the king with the money from rent to pay his expenses in times of peace. The royal demesne was made up of royal hunting forests, royal manor estates (with their attached villages) and towns. The ownership of towns was very profitable for the king. He could charge rents to those living in the towns and collect taxes from those who sold goods in them
wardship fines
Wardship fines
One of the most profitable feudal incidents was the wardship fine. If a baron died while his heir was under age (a minor), his land returned to the king, and the heir, along with his siblings, became wards of the king. The king was responsible for the wards until the baron’s heir became an adult. The king decided where the wards would live, as well as the education and training they received. This is known as wardship. In return, the king kept the revenues from the baron’s land until the heir reached adulthood. The lands would then be returned to the heir on payment of a fine, known as a wardship fine. Under John, the amount charged for wardship fines increased by 300% compared to the fine charged by henry II
forest fines
role of the sheriffs
Forest fines
Areas of land could be designated as ‘forest’. This land was under the protection of the king. The king could claim forest fines for those living, working, hunting and foraging on forest land. These fines affected peasants, knights and barons. John increased forest fines in
his reign and these fines fell most heavily upon the northern barons.
The taxes from the royal demesne were collected by an official called a sheriff*. In the time of King Richard, the system of collection was based on a method known as tax farming. The sheriff was set a fixed sum of tax to collect and he could keep any money that he collected in addition to that sum. This meant that sheriffs could become very wealthy, which helps to explain why Richard was able to raise a lot of money for his crusade by selling sheriff offices. The tax farming system continued under John and became increasingly
Summary
oppressive as sheriffs demanded more and more money. However, John would not allow sheriffs to become rich at his expense. He inspected the records of tax collection and insisted that he got the greatest share of the sums collected.
Income from feudal rights over barons including scutage, reliefs & John’s exploitation of these rights
Richard and John needed high taxes to pay for their wars. In particular, John exploited his feudal rights to raise as much money as he could, which angered the barons.
What was given in return for land?
Homage and military service was offered to the king in return for land. Homage was the act of swearing loyalty to the king when a new tenant succeeded to the land. Military service was offered in the form of giving knights to the king for use in his royal army. Both land owned by lords and church land were expected to give this. In some cases, barons could pay ‘scutage’, or shield money, instead, which was a fixed rate according to the number of fiefs (lands held from the king by the tenant-in-chief) they had.
What happened when a baron died?
A baron’s land could only be passed on by royal approval. The new tenant would need to pay homage and a considerable sum of money, and a relief when they inherited or gained an estate. If the heir was underage, the king had rights of wardship and would withhold the land until they came of age, or would pass this right to someone else.
The lord also expected money payments in the form of a relief when the knight inherited land.
relief, in European feudalism, in a form of succession duty paid to an overlord by the heir of a deceased vassal.
John’s introduction of new taxes including new income tax of 1207
John was also unpopular because of the cruel methods he used in collecting the taxes. In 1210, a Jew from Bristol refused to pay his tallage. John ordered that he should lose a tooth for every day he refused to pay. On the seventh day he paid his tax.
John raised taxes to finance expeditions to France in 1206 and 1214 – his financial policies were extremely unpopular
John introduced a one-off tax for everyone called the ‘Thirteenth’ in 1207. Everyone paid 1/13 of rent & moveables. He also increased fines for anyone who broke the law. John’s officials became unpopular as they raided people’s houses to find extra goods to prove they had not paid enough tax.
the concept of Crusading stemming from the First Crusade
What caused the first crusade? Who was the crusade fought against? Who launched this crusade?
The first crusade was launched by Pope Urban II in 1095, because he claimed that Christians were being persecuted by the Seljuk Turks, a group of Muslims, and stopping them from visiting the holy city of Jerusalem (important to Christians because it is where they believe Christ was crucified).
How many joined to fight in the crusade for the Christians?
50,000-100,000 christians
Where did this crusade take place and what was the aim?
The aim was to reclaim Jerusalem
What happened when the Christians reached the Holy Land?
They claimed Jerusalem in 1099 and massacred many inhabitants of the city, burning Jews in their synagogue and torturing Muslims. Christians rampaged through the city, taking gold, silver, horses and other possessions. Historians dispute how many Muslims were killed, but numbers range from 3,000 to 10,000.
What motivated so many Christians to join the crusade?
Pope Urban II promised that anyone who fought for Christianity, fighting the enemies of the Church to reclaim the holy land, would have all their sins forgiven, known as Full Indulgence. This was strongly desired by every Christian, so that your soul could pass straight to Heaven without having to wait in Purgatory.
The nature of crusading, the concept of crusading and muslims
For the first half of the 12th century, crusaders controlled Jerusalem and a thin strip of land along the coast, making them vulnerable to attack.
Crusaders fought to expand their control of land so they controlled one large area by Jerusalem.
The Muslims were too divided to pose a serious threat – there were divisions between Sunni Muslims (like the Seljuk Turks) and the Shi’ite Muslims (like the ruling family in Egypt at the time).
The Shi’ite Muslims wanted more land – even if it meant fighting the Sunni Muslims for it!
Many crusaders settled in Jerusalem and adapted to the climate and learnt new ways of life such as house building and medicine from their Muslim neighbours.
On behalf of the Muslims, who recaptured lands around Edessa from crusaders and when?
Imad ad-Din Zengi in 1144
What was this man’s reputation like?
As a fearsome and ruthless warrior
How did his actions lead to a Second Crusade?
He massacred and captured many Christians who lived in the lands around Edessa, leading them to ask for help from the West.
Which monarchs joined the Second Crusade?
Conrad II of Germany and Louis VII of France
What was the outcome of the Second Crusade?
The second crusade had the Europeans fail to recapture Jerusalem, their armies suffering terrible losses, and Edessa was destroyed by the time they arrived.
Describe what happened to Syria and the crusading states after the Second Crusade.
In the second half of the twelfth century, Syria was regained by Sengi’s son, Nur ad-Din. This united the muslims in the area.
Who was Saladin?
Nur ad-Din’s replacement after he died, who reconquered large areas of lands that had been taken by crusaders.
The nature of crusading,
equipment
skills
the4RS
training and motivation
Equipment
Stirrups on horses
Chainmail with padding and plate armour
Shield made of wood or metal
Helmet, sometimes with hinged visor
Skills
Knights took part in tournaments to keep their military skills sharp like jousting
Siege warfare was very common
Sometimes, restless knights would break orders to make money from looting and when they got bored of siege warfare
Training
At around age 7, a young boy would become a page, going to work in a nobleman’s household
At around age 14, he would become a squire and would learn how to use a lance and ride a horse, and could even accompany knights into battle
At around age 21, they might become knighted
Some knights would become religious knights like knights templar, knights hospitaller or knights teutonic
Rewards
There were considerable financial rewards for those who signed up to the crusade.
Successful soldiers could expect to take spoils of war ie. they could steal from those they defeated
Debts would be postponed until they returned from fighting which tempted people with debts
You could avoid paying crusading tax, known as Saladin Tithe. It was a very large tax
Revenge
Many Christians were shocked and outraged at the loss of Jerusalem, fed into by propaganda, like the rumour that Saladin’s forces had pulled down the cross on the church at the hospital in Jerusalem and dragged it through the city dung heap. This anger made many have the desire to reclaim the holy land.
Respect
Going on crusade could be an opportunity for young knights to make a name for themselves and honour their family, as well as respect from local community members if they were successful.
Religion
Joining a crusade was a religious act as well as a great military adventure.
What every Christian wanted was a full indulgence n In 1095 Pope Urban II promised, as God’s representative on Earth, that going on a crusade and fighting would bring full indulgences
Launch of third crusade its leaders
Frederick I
King of Germany:
Most experienced of the three had ruled germany for 36 years. He had brought the barons of germany under control conquering a vast area of land. This made him more powerful than richard and henry and more wealthy.
Fred had taken part in the 2nd crusade and now in his late sixties was setting out to the holy land again. He had a large and well equip army
Richard I:
he was confident in his own military ability and had experience in leadership after being the duke of aquitaine. He used his lands in the angevin empire to obtain wealth for the crusade aswell as introducing a special tax to pay the crusade with known as saladin tithe. He gained enormous wealth and resources from this aswell as selling vast amounts of land and property. All of this meant that richards army was large wealthy and had lots of resources .
Philip II:
Was a strong and experienced leader who had already ruled france for ten years. However he wasn’t keen on taking part in the crusade but was guilted into it when he was sent gifts of wool and distaff which likened him to being a coward and likened to a woman.
Attitudes in England of the crusaders & the view of contemporaries that the Crusade was the highest duty a king could perform
There was a lot of interest and enthusiasm and thousands of men from England were shocked and then they were determined to recapture the land so they rushed to join the crusade.most supported their king’s call for crusade
-it was seen as the highest duty that a king could perform many respected Richard for keeping his promise of crusading
-many were horrified that Jerusalem was under Muslim control and felt it was their Christian duty to support the crusade and recapture it
The impact of the failure to regain Normandy in 1214: the impact of John’s serious failure in Normandy, for example Philip II’s victory at Bouvines in
1214 and John’s return to England, discredited, having wasted his huge war chest of £130,000.
Summarise how the battle was fought (6-7 bullet points)
-John’s allies in the north faced a decisive battle. It was perhaps the most significant moment in John’s life and he was not there
The Battle was fought on 27th July outside the village of Bouvines on the border between Flanders and France.
Philip had around 1,400 knights and 6,000 infantry but John’s allies had 1,400 knights and 7,500 infantry.
John was not at the battle, despite it being the probably the most important battle in his life. He was instead 400 miles away.
The allied commanders decided to target Philip who was on the battlefield. German foot soldiers managed to pull Philip head first off of his horse and were about to kill him when he was rescued by a knight called Pierre Tristan who jumped from his horse and held off the attackers so Philip could get back on his horse and escape.
The French then began a counter attack, Otto IV of Germany and his forces were pushed back and Otto had to flee the battlefield. The Count of Flanders had lost his horse and fought on foot until he got exhausted and wounded and surrendered. On the other side of the army, the Earl of Salisbury and Count of Boulogne were taken prisoner by the French.
What was the outcome of the battle? (3-4 bullet points)
The outcome was that the French won the battle and kept their leading power.
Otto was forced to abdicate in 1215 to Frederick who was an ally of Philip’s.
The Count of Flanders had to sign a peace agreement that left Philip in charge of most of Flanders.
What were the consequences of the outcome for John? (4-5 bullet points)
Had John won, he would have been the dominant power of western Europe, got a better relationship with his barons as any who owned land in Normandy would get it back and he would have had justification and something to give back from the huge sums he had raised from the barons.
But as John didn’t win, he was instead greeted by rebellion.
The rebel barons formed links with John’s enemies in Wales, Scotland and France. They demanded that John agree to upholding laws and freedoms written in Henry I’s coronation charter.
John did not respond and the barons moved into rebellion.
The plot of 1212: The debt of many northern barons and their plot to oust John in 1212.
-The debt/individual reasons of northern barons
Eustace de Vesci
Is a good example of John being unfair he is used by john in negotiations with the scots because he married the illegitimate daughter of william the lion of scotland . Rumoured that john made advances on his wife
Richard de Percy
Owed money to the crown and pressure was put on him to pay back his debts and the rate was set at £400 per year
Geoffrey
de Mandeville
After the death of his first wife daughter of robert fitzwalter (and it was rumoured that John had tried to seduce her ) geofrey agreed to pay 13,300 to marry isabella of gloucestshire . geofrey was told to pay the money in 10 months. one account states that mandeville entered the marriage unwillingly and that john had promised him the earl of essex as part of the agreement threatening him with the whole mandeville inheritance if he did not agree.
Geoffrey was never granted the title and, in February 1214 his lands in gloucesteshire were seized.
In the summer 1212 john was launcing a new campaign when to his complete surprise he learned of an assassination plot to kill him
- Immediately he called the exped off
- The plot was led by robert fitzwalter and eustace de vesci both ranked among the most powerful men in England. The Barons involved in the plot had planned to murder John in Wales or desert him and let the Welsh do their work for them. They then intended to elect a new king .
-John acted quickly, dismissing teh baronial army and bringing in foreign mercenaries to protect himself. John then marched north. Within ten days, John’s forces had taken de vescis castle at alnwick
What were the consequences of the 1212 assassination plot? (4-5 bullet points)
John became fullt aware of threat posed by his barons. He had never really trusted them and the plot seemed to confirm his suspicions. John came to rely more and more on favourites and mercenaries
