The Middle Ages1066 - 1485

KEY IDEASThe Monarchy

War and PlagueThree Social ForcesGeoffrey ChaucerMedieval RomanceKing Arthur

The MonarchyWilliam the Conqueror (ruled from 1066 until his death in 1087)• Powerful and extremely organized

leader• Brought many changes to England • The feudal system• The Domesday Book (an

extensive tax record of all owned property)Henry II

• One of medieval England’s most memorable rulers

• William the Conqueror’s great grandson

• Reformed England’s judicial system

War and Plague• The plague known as The

Black Death killed nearly a third of England’s population.

• The Hundred Years’ War between England and France began in 1337 and lasted more than 100 years.

• The Wars of the Roses ending in 1485 as Henry VII took the throne also ended the Middle Ages in England.

Three Social ForcesTHE FEUDAL SYSTEM

• A class system based on land ownership

• The king and the church are the two most powerful landowners

• Under William the Conqueror, the dominated Anglo-Saxons fell to the bottom of the system

THE CHURCH• Lead by the Pope in

Rome• Made its own laws ,

levied taxes, ran its own courts, and clashed with the monarchy

• When Thomas a Becket, an archbishop and friend of King Henry II, started to favor the church over the crown the king had Becket murdered.

CHIVALRY

• A code of honor governing the behavior of knights

• Knights were to battle evil and uphold good.• Improved the treatment of women without

improving the rights of women• Placed emphasis on honesty, generosity, and

bravery

Geoffrey ChaucerThe Father of English LiteratureChaucer’s masterpiece: The Canterbury Tales• Chaucer chose to write in

Middle English during a time when most notable writers chose to write in Latin, a scholarly language.

• This decision brought great respect to the English language.Literary Connection: THE FRAME STORY - a story

that has an outer story or “frame”; This frame typically contains many inner stories.The FRAME of the Canterbury Tales: Thirty pilgrims meet at an inn planning to take a pilgrimage to Thomas a Becket’s shrine in Canterbury. To pass the time, they plan to tell stories on their journey to and from the shrine.

Medieval Romance

• Medieval romances: stories of adventure, love, chivalry, and heroism

• These stories represent the social order and ideals of the Middle Ages.

• These stories are set in an ideal world that greatly contrast the reality of England.

• Stories of King Arthur are among the most popular medieval romances.

King Arthur

• Scholars who believe that Arthur was a real person tend to believe that he lived during the Anglo-Saxon era as either a king or a military leader.

• Myths based on his possible existence became popular during the Middle Ages.

• Arthurian legends surround Arthur’s sword Excalibur, Merlin the magician, Queen Guinevere, Sir Lancelot, and his Knights of the Round Table.

• The Star Wars movies are modern interpretations of Arthurian romance stories.