History of the Norman Invasion of Ireland

The Plantagenets Part 1

• William the Conqueror (1066-87) ruled England, followed by William Rufus (1087-1100)
• Henry I (1100-1135), disputed succession between Stephen (Henry's nephew) and Matilda.
• Anarchy during the reign of Stephen de Blois (1135-1154)
• Henry II (1154-1189), the son of Matilda & Geoffrey Plantagenet.
• A 12th-century portrayal of Henry II and his mother Matilda

The Early Plantagenets (House of Anjou): Henry II

• Henry II: French, from Anjou (central France)
• Married to Eleanor of Aquitane.
• Gained vast territories through the marriage.
• Ruled England and western France up to the Pyrenees.
• England was his largest province.

The Early Plantagenets: Henry II - Changes

• Knights were no longer called out to feudal military service (only 40 days).
• "Shield-money" and mercenaries were introduced.
• Some knights became mercenaries.
• Other knights transitioned to agriculture.

The Early Plantagenets: Henry II - Further Changes

• Primogeniture adopted for land (eldest son inherited everything).
• Younger sons were sent to Europe for fortunes.
• Growth of a leisured class.
• Lords' wealth increased enabling them to improve manor houses, arts and minstrelsy.
• The rise of towns and a middle class (manufacture, trade).

The Early Plantagenets: Henry II - Rivalry

• Henry II's conflict with Thomas Beckett
• The Constitutions of Clarendon (1164) aimed to subject churchmen to royal courts, prohibit church excommunication without king's permission, and prohibit the clergy from appealing to Rome.
• Henry appointed Thomas Beckett Archbishop of Canterbury to better control the church (through him).
• Beckett refused the Constitutions and excommunicated the king's anti-Rome supporters.

Murder in Canterbury Cathedral

• Thomas Beckett's murder on 29 December 1170.

The Early Plantagenets: Henry II - Legacy

• Re-confirmation of Rome's power.
• Legal reform:
  • The establishment of Common Law (not Roman Law).
  • Abolition of barbaric trial methods (e.g., compurgation, trial by ordeal).
  • Introduction of trial by jury.
• Development of a strong monarchy.
• Consolidation of feudalism (primogeniture).

The Crusades

• Religious wars fought by Christians to free the Holy Land from Muslims (11th-13th centuries).
• Pope Urban II proclaimed the First Crusade in 1095, leading thousands to attempt to recover Jerusalem.
• 14th-century miniature from William of Tyre's history depicting a battle during the Second Crusade (National Library of France).

The First Crusade (1095-1099)

• Geographic map of Europe showing the religious conflicts.

The Second Crusade (1147-1149)

• Geographic map of Europe showing the Second Crusade efforts

The Third Crusade (1189-1192)

• Richard Coeur de Lion (1157-1199), reigned 1189-1199.
• Known as "the Lionheart".
• Legend portrays him as a model of chivalry (Scott's Ivanhoe).

The Crusades - Richard Coeur de Lion

• Not a successful king, characterized by neglect, absence, and heavy taxation.
• Fought in the Holy Land (1190-92), but imprisoned near Vienna and ransomed.
• Returned to England wounded, then died a short time later.

John King of England (1199-1216)

• Richard's brother, John, succeeded him.
• Unsuccessful king and reign marked by resistance from nobles.

John Lackland

• War with the French king Philip II.
• Loss of Normandy by 1206.
• Channel Islands were the only remaining Norman possession.
• Unsuccessful attempts to defend French lands led to increased taxes

King John: Magna Carta

• 1215: Barons and bishops forced King John to sign the Magna Carta.
• Magna Carta Libertatum (Great Charter of Liberties).
• First document of the constitution, giving freedom to the church for electing bishops.
• Barons and towns granted participation in fixing taxes.
• No freeman could be imprisoned without trial by peers.
• A council of 25 barons to ensure the charter's obedience

Henry III - Provisions of Oxford

• King John was succeeded by Henry III.
• Period of civil war.
• 1258: the barons led by Simon de Montfort forced Henry III into a new form of government.
• Power placed in the hands of a council of 15 members.
• Supervised ministerial appointments.
• Local administration and custody of royal castles.
• Parliament to meet three times a year to monitor performance of this council.

The Provisions of Oxford - Continued

• Written in French ,Latin and English
• The treaty agreement was broken in 1261.
• Simon de Montfort led his army successfully at the Battle of Lewes in 1264.
• He became the leader of the Parliament in 1265, summoning representatives from other social classes (beginning of the concept of the Commons).
• Simon was killed in Battle of Evesham in 1265; his Parliament dissolved.

The House of Plantagenet

• Henry II: First of the Plantagenet Kings; the murder of Thomas Beckett.
• Richard I: Richard Coeur de Lion, the Crusader King.
• John Lackland: Magna Carta, 1215
• Henry III: Provisions of Oxford 1258; Civil War
• Edward I, Edward II, Edward III

Edwardian Times

• Edward I (1272-1307, b.1229), Edward II, Edward III
• Four new institutions:
  • Parliament
  • Universities
  • Orders of friars (travelling monks)
  • Lawyers incorporated in the Inns of Court

Parliament

• Gradual development of English Parliament.
• Three Edwards: Henry III, Edward I and another Edward
• Treated gatherings as the basis of government.
• Required representative knights of the shire and burgesses from towns to give consent to taxation.

Parliament (Continued)

• Around 1295 - Edward I accepted "the complete image of the nation".
• Barons, bishops, and two knights/citizens from each county/city.
• Motto: "no taxation without representation".
• Purposes: collection of money for wars, checking local officials

Universities

• The church was influential in early middle ages education.
• Later: universities (Bologna - 1088; Paris -1150; Padua - 1222; Cracow - 1364).
• Universities spread through Europe in the 12th and 13th centuries.
• English students were forbidden to study at the University of Paris (1167), leading to the establishment of Oxford University (date unknown)

Universities (Continued)

• Oxford and Cambridge were not for upper classes (knights and barons).
• Typical students: middle-class, yeomen, craftsmen, tradesmen.
• Studied from age 14 to 21.
• Prepared for positions in church, administration, medicine, architecture, and law.
• Universities organized around colleges

Friars

• Came from Europe in the 13th Century
• Two main orders: Dominicans and Franciscans
• Religious revival among the poor.
• Religion before the friars was more focused for well-off people such as for sacraments
• In theory, friars weren’t allowed to own property
• Still, gained considerable wealth and were seen as enemies by parish churches

Attitudes towards the Jews

• Jews migrated to England after the Norman conquest.
• The king and barons borrowed money from Jews (usury).
• This practice was forbidden by the Christian Church and prejudicial.
• Edward I (1275) created laws forbidding Jews from usury, later forced them out of England in 1290.

Legal Reform

• Edward I's establishment of legal reform
• The English Justinian'
• Civil Legislation Amended Common Law.
• Passed statutes (laws) through Parliament.
• Defined law courts.
• Emergence of Law as a profession.
• Common law courts operated by secular people educated at universities.
• The development of university colleges for lawyers to better serve the government.

Ireland

• Introduction to Ireland's history
• Christianity, monasticism & Viking/Danes invasions.
• The invasions of the Vikings & the Danes (from around 790s).
• Conquering of some lands, development of ports (Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford, Wexford)

Ireland (Continued)

• Viking invasions interrupted a golden age of Christian Irish culture and began two hundred years of intermittent warfare.
• Christian propaganda emerged in England depicting the Irish as savages (1155).
• The Norman invasion of Ireland (1169)
• Henry II led a large fleet to Ireland in 1171.

Ireland (Continued)

• Anglo-Norman rule (1171-13th century) and the building of castles.
• During Henry II's reign, Ireland's conquest was slow and steady.
• 13th-century Ireland: The native Irish were weak and divided, existing in tribes.
• The English kings aimed to weaken the power of the Norman Lords in Ireland.

Ireland (Continued, 1348)

• The Black Death in 1348
• English and Norman inhabitants of Ireland suffered extensively from the Black Death.
• A significant shrinkage of English-controlled territory.
• 15th-century Ireland: Unsuccessful attempts by the Irish to form an independent government.

Wales

• Not conquered by the Anglo-Saxons
• "Marcher Lords": Norman-English barons held lands on the Welsh borders.
• Formed a barrier between Norman England and the Welsh
• Wales had its own armies.

Wales (continued)

• Anglo-Norman Marcher Lords marked their territories in red on the maps (as progress of an expansion of power, permanent houses and market-towns were built).
• Remains of Welsh people were tribal and pastoral peoples.
• Welsh had distinct language, customs and laws

Wales (continued)

• Early 13th century: Welsh national revival.
• Territories reconquered from Marcher Lords (by the Llewelyn princes).
• Edward I defeated the Welsh in 1284, granting his son the title of Prince of Wales (Principality created).
• Part of Wales which retained Welsh customs

Wales (continued)

• 14th and 15th Century: Tribal feuds, war to reconquer Wales by the Welsh.
• Wars between Marcher Lords.
• Wales became a full part of the Kingdom of England (Henry VIII: Acts of Union, 1536-43)
• Introduction of English legal system and administration, English became official language.

Scotland

• Before the 10th century, Scotland was a Celtic kingdom.
• Celtic kingdom bordered Anglo-Saxon England.
• One state formed by the union of Picts and Scots under Kenneth MacAlpin (844).

Scotland (continued)

• Lothian (northern Saxon, south of Edinburgh) merged with Scotland due to Northumbria dissolving (1018) - became fertile agricultural land with rock fortresses (Edinburgh).
• Development of Anglo-Norman feudal system in Scotland (adoption of English language).

Scotland (continued)

• Malcolm III and Margaret (1058-93) - time of English influence following the Battle of Hastings.
• David I - Norman feudal monarchy, disputed territories on the border with England.
• 12th and 13th centuries: Development of the church and flourishing of architecture.
• Decline of the old Celtic tribal organization (restricted to northern highlands).

Scotland (continued)

• Late 13th century: dispute over the Scottish throne (death of Alexander III)
• 1296 - Edward I proclaimed himself King of Scotland
• Stone of Scone removed to Westminster Abbey.
• 1297: the uprising led by William Wallace included Scottish aristocrats
• Support for Wallace also came from peasants and the lower gentry.
• Guerrilla war fought.

Scotland (continued)

• Mel Gibson's Braveheart depicts William Wallace's struggle against King Edward I.
• Robert the Bruce, King of Scots (1306-1329)
• Victory at Bannockburn (1314) - finalized Scotland's independence, a poor country of feudal anarchy, private wars, corrupt Church.

The Hundred Years' War (1337-1453)

• England rising in power after Norman Conquest, powerful monarchy.
• English possessions in France.
• John Lackland's loss of French lands except the Channel Islands.
• Edward III declared war on France (1337) to regain lost territories.

The Hundred Years' War (continued)

• Reasons for war:
  • Genealogical: France supported Scotland's resistance to Edward III and his claim.
  • Economic: English merchants preferred richer France over poorer Scotland.
  • English Parliament supported involvement in France

The Hundred Years' War (continued)

• England’s advantage:
  • Social organization
  • Strong leadership/royal figures like Edward the Black Prince.
  • Large number of free men for army

The Hundred Years' War (continued)

• Age of the longbow as a weapon (14th century).
• English use of longboats/archers.
• Edward III's ban on other sports (handball, football, hockey).

The Hundred Years' War (continued)

• French defeats (1346 Crécy; 1356 Poitiers), both led by the English and Edward III's son, the Black Prince.

The Black Death (1347-51)

• Outbreak of the plague in England impacted population from ~4 million to ~2.5 million in 16 months.
• War in France was not stopped, despite the devastation in England.
• Map of Europe's plague routes

The Black Death (continued)

• Economic consequences:
• Rise in the value of labor.
• Free laborers demanded more for their work.
• Villeins demanded freedom.
• No people available to work the land.
• Parliament passed the Statute of Labourers (1351) setting maximum wages to pre-Black Death levels.

Richard II (1377-99)

• Born in 1367 - King at the age of 10, following Edward the Black Prince's death.
• Government was in the hands of a series of councils
• Influence of Richard’s uncle John of Gaunt was strong.
• 1399: Henry of Bolingbroke (Richard’s cousin), deposed Richard and crowned himself as Henry IV.

The Peasants' Revolt (1381)

• Result of social tension after the Black Death.
• First great popular rebellion in English history.
• Direct cause: Heavy poll tax to fund France wars.
• Villeins left their land, resulting in free laborers striking.
• Key leaders: John Ball (priest) and Wat Tyler

The Peasants' Revolt (continued)

• Peasants formed an army and marched on London.
• King Richard II and the Mayor of London promised relief.
• Wat Tyler treacherously killed.
• Promises were broken following dispersal of the rebels, and participants were persecuted.

Wat Tyler's death

• Depicted in a scene showing Richard II observing the execution of Wat Tyler.

Emancipation of the villeins

• Important for later emancipation of villeins
• Most villeins bought their freedom
• Process took place in the 15th century and completed during the Tudor period.
• Villeins became small farmers
• The social status of yeomen emerged
• Basis for modern economy growth (trade, manufacturing and colonization)

Situation in the Church

• Loss of moral and intellectual leadership of the Church.
• Unfair distribution of ecclesiastical wealth among priests.
• Favoring Pope's favorites (often foreign).
• Sale of pardons and relics.
• Church’s lack of ability to reform itself due to reporting to Rome.

John Wycliffe

• Dissatisfaction with the Church, started a movement called Lollardy.
• Provided a theoretical basis to deny the Papal authority (theory of dominion).
• Wycliffe's philosophy: the Pope was equivalent to Antichrist.
• Involved in politics, supporting the state against the church.
• Translated the Bible into English (1382)

Lollardy (Continued)

• Wycliffe accused of heresy
• Consider a precursor to the Protestant Reformation
• 1401: First English statute for the burning of heretics
• Lollard revival began around 1500, facilitating the spread of Protestantism

The Tudors: Henry VII and Henry VIII

• Henry hired chroniclers to positively present his reign.
• The Battle of Bosworth was depicted as the start of a new age.
• Shakespeare's play Richard III (a horse... a a horse... my kingdom for a horse!).
• Henry married Elizabeth of York, Edward IV’s daughter.

The Tudors: Henry VII

• Made England wealthy after the War of the Roses.
• Kept England out of wars.
• Preserved medieval institutions (King’s Council, Parliament, Common Law, Justices of the Peace).
• No standing army.
• Re-established royal power

The Tudors: Henry VII (continued)

• King's Council (Privy Council): new power center, with middle class clergy and new civil servants.
• The Star Chamber: Henry VII’s instrument to control illegal riots and similar activities

The Tudors: Henry VII (continued)

• Limited role of aristocracy
• Henry VII's favoring of the new class of merchants and gentleman farmers over the old ideas of kingship.
• Medieval society breaking up, resulting in rise of trade, manufacture and agriculture

The Tudors

• Revival of Lollardy (pre-Protestant religious movement).
• Started by John Wycliffe and emphasized Bible-reading.
• Opposition to the Catholic Church's authority.

Renaissance in England

• Interest in Greek and Roman literature and culture.
• Changing of medieval attitude toward learning.
• English Renaissance more religious focused than Italian or French.

Renaissance in England (Continued)

• Roots of the Renaissance changes in 14th and 15th centuries:
• Dissolving fabric of medieval society in England (emancipation of villeins, rise of London, educated classes, spread of cloth manufacture, rise and increased importance of Parliament, and English gaining use by educated classes).

Renaissance in England (Continued, 1476)

• Invention of the printing press (Johannes Gutenberg).
• Shattering churchmen's monopoly on learning.
• William Caxton's creation of England's first printing press.
• First book: Edition of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales

Renaissance in England (Continued, 1492)

• Discovery of ocean trade routes and America (the New World).
• Christopher Columbus landed in Bahamas (San Salvador).

Renaissance in England (Continued)

• Age of sea voyages (Columbus, Magellan, Amerigo Vespucci).

Renaissance in England (Continued)

• Cabots (John and Sebastian Cabot) sailed to Labrador, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia during Henry VII's reign.

The Tudors: Henry VIII

• Henry VIII created an effective fleet of Royal Navy ships (Royal Navy).
• Established Trinity House.

Henry VIII (1491-1547)

• Became king (1509) after his older brother, Arthur’s death
• Married Catherine of Aragon (his brother’s widow)

Henry VIII (continued)

• Break of the Church with Rome.
• Seen as corrupt, worldly, more interested in comfort & fortune than in God.
• Immensely rich, paid taxes and allegiance to Rome, not the King

Henry VIII (continued)

• Critiqued Luther’s views, but still wanted English church to obey him.
• Created a theological work (The Defence of the Seven Sacraments, 1521) defending religious sacraments, the Pope, and accused Martin Luther of heresy

Henry VIII (continued)

• Given the title "Fidei defensor" (Defender of the Faith) by Pope Leo X (1521).
• Title later revoked by Pope Paul III (1530) upon excommunication of Henry.

Henry VIII (continued)

• Personal reasons for the break with Rome:
• Catherine of Aragon’s lack of a male heir (only surviving child was Princess Mary)
• Driven by a desire to marry Anne Boleyn

Henry VIII (continued)

• Legal basis for divorce: marriage with Catherine based on Pope's dispensation to marry his brother’s widow— seen as illegitimate
• Henry declared the Pope’s decision as illegitimate

Henry VIII (continued)

• Cardinal Wolsey:
• Lord Chancellor to Henry VIII, gave up his Palace (Hampton Court) to the monarchy, arrested and died before execution

Henry VIII (continued)

• Reformation
• The clergy accepted authority of the King (retained most privileges).
• Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy in 1534 (making Henry VIII supreme head of Church of England).
• Obeying the Pope was an act of treason.
• Reformation was not a cause of religious war.
• Henry VIII was free to marry Anne Boleyn.

Henry VIII (continued)

• Catholicism remained popular with ordinary people.
• Henry VIII remained loyal to his old faith.
• Beginnings of English Reformation (under Henry VIII)—meant Catholicism without a Pope.

The Dissolution of the Monasteries

• In 1534 Henry authorized Thomas Cromwell to visit monasteries.
• To assess their wealth; resulted in statements that monks were sinful, scandalous lives—reason for monastery dissolution (1536-40).
• Henry VIII needed money.

Henry VIII's religious reforms

• Monarch became supreme Head of the Church of England
• Relic worship forbidden.
• Pilgrimages discouraged; shrine and cult of Thomas Beckett suppressed.
• Many superstitious practices were stopped.
• Bible in English circulated freely ordered for every parish.
• Ten Commandments taught in English

Henry VIII and his six wives

• Catherine of Aragon: one surviving daughter (Mary I), divorced (marriage declared invalid).
• Anne Boleyn: one surviving daughter (Elizabeth I), accused of adultery and beheaded.
• Jane Seymour: one surviving son (Edward VI).
• Anne of Cleves: Marriage annulled due to lack of attraction.
• Catherine Howard: accused of adultery—beheaded
• Catherine Parr: helped reconcile Henry with his daughters - survived.

Henry VIII (continued)

• Died in 1547 at age 55
• First English king with modern humanist education.
• Read English, French, Latin.
• Large library
• Collector of musical instruments.
• Composer (reputed to have written Greensleeves)

Henry VIII's legitimate children

• With Catherine of Aragon, daughter Mary I
• With Anne Boleyn, daughter Elizabeth I
• With Jane Seymour, son Edward VI

Edward VI (1547-53)

• King at 9 years old.
• Protector (uncle Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset).
• Ruled the state.
• Protestant Council (new nobility created by Henry VIII)

Edward VI (continued)

• Archbishop Cranmer prepared The Book of Common Prayer (1549/52) based on his translations from Latin to English - Anti-clerical revolution - Emphasized the English king as head of the English church

Edward VI (continued)

• Protector (Seymour) did not persecute Catholics
• Allowed free discussions of religious differences.
• Reformist who pushed for Protestant changes (in the Church of England)
• Not all English people were Protestant, though they disliked Catholic worldliness and wealth,

Edward VI (continued)

• John Dudley (Duke of Northumberland) replaced Seymour.
• Gave more impetus to the Reformation.
• Returned to some of Henry VIII's strict laws against Catholics.
• Unpopular as a ruler

Lady Jane Grey

• Dudley planned to exclude Henry’s daughters.
• Put his daughter in law Lady Jane Grey on the throne.
• Edward VI died in 1553 at the age of 15.

The Nine Days’ Queen

• Lady Jane Grey’s brief reign.

Mary I (1553-58)

• Daughter of Catherine of Aragon.
• Brought up Catholic
• Became queen in 1553 at age 37.
• Supported by many common English people.
• Protestant beliefs viewed as violent by some (robbing churches, destroying monasteries).
• Many protests, violence

Mary I (continued)

• Decided to marry her cousin Philip II of Spain.
• Asked Parliament for their view of the marriage (condition = Philip only to be king during her reign)
• Protests in England (Thomas Wyatt’s Rebellion)

Mary I (continued)

• Philip of Spain persuaded Mary to join Spain in war vs. France
• Result: Calais fell to France (1558) - increased unpopularity.

Bloody Mary

• Religious zeal: Mary revived the jurisdiction of the Pope over England
• Almost 300 Protestants burned during her reign
• Actions made Catholic religion appear cruel, unpatriotic and foreign
• Attitudes created a more Protestant England

Bloody Mary (continued)

• A Martyr's Memorial commemorates the Oxford Martyrs (Hugh Latimer, Nicholas Ridley and Thomas Cranmer), burned as heretics in the 16th century

Mary I (continued)

• Mary’s ill health, died at 42.
• Left England in a bad state (ill-governed, without arms/leaders, and lacking unity and spirit)
• England fell to the Spanish empire.

Elizabeth I (1558-1603)

• Daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.
• Brought up Protestant
• Illegitimate or Bastard child by many.

Elizabeth I (Continued)

• Became queen in 1558 after Edward VI and Mary's reigns.
• Third in line to the throne
• Phillip of Spain protected Elizabeth because his rival in the English throne, Mary Stuart Queen of Scots, was Catholic and married to the Dauphin of France..
• Reinstated English independence due to the rivalry between France and Spain.

Elizabeth I (continued)

• Queen of England and Ireland from 1558-1603 (called "The Virgin Queen" or "Gloriana").
• Last monarch of the Tudor dynasty