LECTURE OUTLINE FOR HISTORY 204

                                                                       Prof. Martha Carlin

                                                                         Week 8: Tuesday
 

                                                        NORMAN ENGLAND, 1066-1154

                      The Norman Conquest:                     

                      The back-story (according to the Normans):  Edward the Confessor, King of England, is elderly and childless.  He decides to name his maternal                        cousin William, Duke of  Normandy, as his heir.  Edward sends his brother-in-law, Harold Godwinson, Earl of Wessex, the most powerful noble                            in England, on a diplomatic visit to Normandy.  He is shipwrecked, arrested, and delivered to Duke William as a prisoner.  William offers to                                    release Harold unharmed if Harold will swear an oath to support William's claim to be the heir to Edward's throne.  Harold swears and returns to                            England.  There is another claimant waiting to claim the throne England: Harald Hardrada, King of Norway.

1066            January: Death of Edward "the Confessor" and accession of his brother-in-law Harold Godwinson as King of England
                     Spring:   Halley's Comet is seen as a fearsome omen
                    September: invasion of Harald of Norway, who is defeated by Harold Godwinson at Stamford Bridge
                    October: invasion of William, duke of Normandy, who defeats Harold Godwinson at the battle of  Hastings
1066-1087   Reign of William I "the Conqueror"  (click here for a map of William's dominions)
    1086          Domesday Book    (click here for an online glossary to Domesday Book)

1087-1100    William II "Rufus"

1100-1135    Henry I "Beauclerk"
                        Establishment of Itinerant Justices and Exchequer

1135-1154    Stephen: anarchy (struggle for crown vs. Henry I's daughter Matilda, widow of Emperor Henry V, and wife of Geoffrey, Count of Anjou)
 

Online readings:

  The Bayeux Tapestry, c. 1070s
 Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: Domesday Book and William I
  Domesday Book (1086): Instructions and entry
 Henry, archdeacon of Huntingdon (c. 1080-1160), Chronicle: Stephen’s reign


                                                                                 Thursday:
 

                                                              NORMAN ENGLAND, 1154-1307
 

   1154-1189    Henry II Plantagenet, son of Empress Matilda and Geoffrey, count of Anjou
                        marries Eleanor, duchess of Aquitaine (d. 1204; former wife of Louis VII of France)
                        (click here for map of his "Angevin empire" )   
                        expands royal justice, leading to development of common law of England
                        attempts to  bring clergy under royal justice, leading to clash with Thomas Becket,
                            chancellor and archbishop of Canterbury (murdered 1170)
                        invades and partly conquers Ireland
                        clashes with wife and sons, and with Philip II "Augustus" of France

1189-1199    Richard I "the Lionheart"
                        spends only 6 months of reign in England; goes on 3rd Crusade and on return
                            is captured and held to ransom by Germans, while Philip II "Augustus" of
                            France attempts to conquer English possessions in France

1199-1216    John
    1204            Loses  French possessions to Philip II "Augustus" of France (including Richard I's famous castle,
                             Château Gaillard), except Gascony and parts of  Aquitaine: see map of France c. 1200 and map of France in 1223
    1207-14       Interdict by Pope Innocent III forces John to grant England to pope as papal fief, which John then holds as papal vassal
    1214            Defeated at Bouvines
    1215            Baronial revolt forces John to agree to Magna Carta (the "Great Charter").
                        Provisions of Magna Carta include:
                              King and other lords may not arbitrarily tax tenants or vassals
                              Under-age heirs shall not have their estates despoiled by their guardians
                              Aristocratic widows shall not be forced to re-marry against their will
                               The freedoms of the Church and of London and other towns to be upheld
                               Defendants at law are entitled to trial by a jury of their peers
                               King shall not sell, deny, or delay justice
                               Baronial council of 25 shall oversee fulfilment of the terms of this Charter
                         Main concept of Magna Carta:
                               The king is not above the law; he himself is subject to the laws of the land

1216-1272    Henry III
    1258            Provisions of Oxford: curtail king's expenditures; require thrice-yearly Great Councils
                            ("Parliaments"); and establish baronial Council of Fifteen to oversee government
    1264-5        Simon de Montfort's rebellion; first representative Parliament summoned (barons, prelates,
                            two knights from every shire, and two burgesses from every borough)

1272-1307    Edward I "Longshanks"
                        Conquest of Wales; attempted conquest of Scotland; war with Philip IV ("the Fair") of  France; development of
                            Parliament; expulsion of all Jews from England

Online readings:

  Peter of Blois: Description of Henry II, 1177
  Edward Grim: The Murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket, 29 Dec. 1170
  Peter of Blois: Letter to Queen Eleanor, 1173
  Magna Carta, 1215: complete text
  Matthew of Westminster: Simon de Montfort's rebellion, 1264-5
  Three summonses to Parliament, 1295