Pre-feudal Society

• First men that came to GB were cavemen– Severed landbridge– Iberians– Gaels– Britons

• Roman Occupation(55 B.C.-410 A.D.)• Anglo-Saxon Times(410-871)

– Angles, Saxons, and Jutes• Old English or Anglo-Saxon

• After time, the distinctions between the 3 tribes lost significance and were “the nation of the English”– Divided into 7 kingdoms, fought for supremacy

• 829 Wessex gain supremacy– “King of the English”– Danish Viking raids and marriage alliances unite the

kingdoms• Late 6th century, Christianity was introduced into

England, within a hundred years, England was united under one Church– Renewed relations with Rome and the rest of Europe

• Invasion of Vikings and the Danish Rule– Vikings threatened to take over England,

ended in a agreement that the Danes would rule the North and the English the South

• Clan system->Village system->Feudalism

• Danish kings rule England until 1042

The Growth of Feudalism

• William the Conqueror defeats Harold (The Battle of Hastings) and William is the first Norman King of England

• “Doomsday Book”: general survey of the land• 1215: the “Magna Carta”/ “Great Charter”

1. Kings cannot exact extra payments from feudal vassals with consent

2. Laws cannot be changed by arbitrary action of the King

3. If the King were to free himself from the law, the vassals had the right to force the King to obey it

The Beginning of Parliament

• First originated in the Great council-advisory assembly of the king’s chief feudal vassals– Consent for taxation– 2 knights from each shire to join Parliament– 2 citizens from each burough to join Parliament

• 1265-Parliament was known as the “All Estates Parliament”->”Beginning of parliament”

• 1295-Edward summoned the “All estates Parliament” which included more than 400 members, this became the model for the future was has been known as the “Model Parliament”– Upper House->House of Lords– Lower House-> House of Commons

Feudalism• Tiered class system of medieval Europe in

which land owned by someone of higher status was lived on and worked by someone of lower status in return for loyal service. The monarch was at the top of the pyramid, the peasants at the bottom.

Serfs

The Hundred Years’ War

• The 100 Years' War was a series of conflicts between France and England that began in 1337 and ended in 1453. It began with Edward III claiming to be not only King of England but King of France as well. It ended with the English in possession only of the town of Calais.

The War of the Roses

• (1455–1487) is the name generally given to the intermittent civil war fought over the throne of England between adherents of the House of Lancaster and the House of York. The name Wars of the Roses was not used at the time, but has its origins in the badges chosen by the two royal houses, the Red Rose of Lancaster and the White Rose of York.

Importance of the War of Roses

• Nobility of Medieval England destroyed itself– Made it possible for the House of Tudor to

rule– Beginning of the formation of the English

Nation

The Black Death/Plague

• the epidemic form of bubonic plague experienced during the Middle Ages when it killed nearly 1/3 Europe’s people

Effects of the Black Death

• With the population so low, wages and prices rose

• Yeoman Class- “rich peasant”• Lack of labor changes from labor services and

dues to money rents• Rise of the woolen industry-less labor-intensive

– Cloth industry becomes England’s main source of wealthleads to the Enclosure Movement

Enclosure Movement and Enclosure Acts

• Enclosure Movement: the consolidation of many small farms into one large farm, which created a labor force as many people lost their homes

• Enclosure Acts: designed to fence and hedge in land in order to allow sheep to pasture– Dispossessed people migrate to the cities

• Riots and civil disobedience