THE HIGH MIDDLE AGES: 1000 to 1300

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THE HIGH MIDDLE AGES 1000 to 1300

• The Norman Conquest
• 1066 William the Conqueror invaded England.
• He was the most powerful man in France.
• He was the Duke of Normandy, so this is called
  the Norman Invasion.
• He defeated the Anglo-Saxons at the Battle of
  Hastings and became the King of England.

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William the Conqueror

• Being a foreigner, how did he make the English
  nobility loyal to him?
• He made them all swear allegiance directly to
  him!

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France and England

• Thanks to William the Conqueror, England became
  the most powerful feudal state in Europe.
• Kings in England and France began building strong
  central governments.
• The King of England was powerful and controlled
  the nobles

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Henry II

• In 1154, Henry II became the King of England.
• He was the great-grandson of William the
  Conqueror.
• He was the most powerful man in Europe
• 1. He was the King of England.
• 2. He ruled most of France. (Because he married
  Eleanor of Aquitaine.)
• 3. His rebellious son (Bad King John) later broke
  all the laws of England.

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The English legal system

• 1175 As King of England, Henry II set up the
  English legal system
• 1. Common Law - Judges made law.
• Common Law is based on precedent What past
  judges have ruled.
• 2. Circuit courts - Judges held trials. They rode
  on horseback from town to town. Dealt with major
  crimes.
• 3. Trial by jury - At first, the testimony of
  jurors helped the judge decide the case.
• 4. Habeas Corpus - The Magna Carta gave judges
  the power to overrule the king A judge decides
  whether a man should have been arrested.
• It guarantees the individual a right against
  arbitrary arrest and imprisonment.

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Common Law

• Roman law was used throughout Europe,
  especially France and Italy.
• Henry II rejected it in England and decided to
  use Anglo-Saxon tradition - Common Law - as the
  law of the land.
• Common law is a body of rulings made by judges
  based on community traditions and previous court
  decisions.

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Common Law

• When making a decision, a judge consults past
  precedent - what past judges have ruled in a
  similar situation.
• Example An English judge, based on local
  standards, ruled that the killing a person in
  self-defense is not murder.
• That set a precedent Ever after, judges in that
  community followed that precedent.

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Common Law

• American law is based on English Common Law.
• This is why lawyers have law books They bring up
  past cases to convince the judge.

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Summing it up

• 1066 William the Conqueror set the tone We
  will follow English law and traditions.
• 1154 Henry II (WTCs great-grandson) We will
  follow English law and traditions. I call it
  Common Law.
• 1215 King John (Henrys rebellious son) Nope.
  I ignore the law and do whatever I please.

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Magna Carta

• Less than 200 years after the reign of William
  the Conqueror, one of his descendants, King John,
  sat
• upon the throne of England.
• He was an exceedingly bad ruler. He stole, he
  told lies, and he put innocent people in prison.
  If he wanted money, he simply demanded it of any
  persons who had it, and if they refused to give
  it, he did not hesitate to torture them

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Magna Carta

• King John of England broke every law in the book!
• Church law - He confiscated church property.
• Feudal law - He confiscated barons property.
• Common law - He ignored centuries of law.
• The English barons made war on him.
• They defeated him and forced him to sign the
  Magna Carta.
• As a result, the Kings power was limited.
• This was the basis for Englands constitution.

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• He signed the parchment, either in
• the meadow or on an island in the river, and then
  went back to his palace. It was said by some that
  he gnashed
• his teeth, and shrieked, and rolled on the floor
  like a madman but the barons were hard at work
  seeing to it that
• many copies of this parchment were made and sent
  over the land to be read aloud in the churches.
• This parchment was the famous Magna Carta, or
  Great Charter, signed in 1215. The barons were
  then
• the most powerful men of the kingdom, and they
  saw to it that as long as he lived the king kept
  his word. After
• 50 years later, not only the barons but
  representatives of the towns were admitted to the
  council. This was the
• beginning of the English Parliament and now, if
  a king ruled unjustly, he must account, not only
  to the barons,
• but to the whole people.

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7 Basic Principles of the Magna Carta

• 1. Limited Government -The King cannot do
  anything he pleases. There are limits on the
  King. The King is limited by the law - and now
  this piece of paper known as the Magna Carta.
• 2. The Rule of Law -There is a body of law that
  has evolved over centuries. Everyone must obey
  the law. Even the king.
• 3. Balance of Power -If a King breaks the law,
  who removes him from power? His vassals, the
  barons had the right to get rid of him.
• 4. Power of the Purse The King cannot raise
  taxes on his own. Before the King can raise
  taxes, he must consult the barons.
• 5. Private Property - The King cannot seize a
  mans property. Every free man is entitled to
  three absolute rights Life, liberty, property.
• 6. Due Process - An accused person is entitled
  to a hearing and trial.
• 7. Judgment by Your Peers - When put on trial, a
  man has the right to a jury. The King cannot
  choose the jury. The jury must consist of his
  peers - his social equals.

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Hundred Years War

• England and France battled each other for over a
  century as to who had the right to the French
  Throne. In 1420 they signed a treaty in which
  Henry V would inherit the crown after the French
  king Charles VI. However both Henry V and
  Charles VI died within 2 years of each other and
  the battle as to who should get the crown
  continued.

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Charles v. Henry

• English Henry VI
• French Charles VII
• Charles VII declared himself kinghowever
  declaring oneself king and actually being king
  were not the same. his people would not recognize
  him as king until he was crowned in the
  traditional manner and place. French coronations
  always took place at the Cathedral in Rheims.
• But ... Rheims was controlled by the English.

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Key Characters

• Joan of Arc
• Charles VII
• Henry VI
• Eyewitness to visions (Joans sister or father)