Chapter 13Section 4

The Struggle for Power in

England and France

Chapter Review Who in the church did most people have contact

with? The regular clergy was made up of who? The system where a fief could be inherited by the

vassal’s eldest son On Christmas Day of the year 800 what did Pope Leo

III declare Charlemagne? What were the schools that Charlemagne established

based on? To become a knight a boy had to belong to what social

class? a code of behavior for knights called _______

Anglo-Saxon England

Following the withdraw of Roman forces in Britain in 450, Germanic tribes moved into the area. The culture that emerged was the Anglo-Saxons

Over time Anglo-Saxons formed several independent kingdoms. Northumbria- now northern England and southern Scotland. Mercia- central England & Wessex in southern England

These kingdoms became governmental districts known as shires.

A shire was governed by a Shire-reeve which became the word sheriff.

Alfred the Great and Danish Rule

Viking raiders, called Danes by the English, invaded and overran most of England

In 871 Alfred the Great took the throne of Wessex determined to drive away the Danes

In 876 Alfred attacked the Danes and by 886 the exhausted Danes petitioned for peace

However the Danes began to attack again and by 1013 they controlled the entire country

By 1042 the Danish line died out and Anglo-Saxon nobles chose Edward the Confessor as their new king

Alfred the Great & Edward the Confessor

The Norman Conquest

Edward the Confessor was part Anglo-Saxon and part Norman (French) when he died without an heir his relative Duke William of Normandy took over

Anglo-Saxons refused to acknowledge him. So William crossed the English Channel with an army of knights and won England

William, today known as William the Conqueror was crowned King William I. He had a great influence to Anglo-Saxon culture by introducing Norman French language and customs to the country

King William I (William the Conqueror)

The Conqueror and his successors William brought feudalism from France to

England He also sent out men to every English shire

to count the people, assess landholdings, and measure value of property, to develop a more accurate taxing system

That record became known as the Domesday Henry I, one of Williams sons, ruled from

1100 to 1135. He improved upon England’s finances and legal system

Reforms under William’s Successors Henry II, who ruled from 1154 to 1189, also had a

positive effect on England {He created an army paid by the king directly,

organized the legal system and gained new land in France}

Henry wished to increase his courts power at the expense of the church. Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, refused to allow his clergy to be tried in royal courts. Four of the kings knights murdered Becket in his cathedral.

The last years of Henry’s rule was rocky. His sons were plotting against him and his marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine was unstable and caused conflict with the French

The assassination of Thomas Beckett

King John and the Magna Carta

{One of Henry’s sons, King John, was forced to accept a document called the Magna Carta by rebellious nobles}

The Magna Carta protected liberties of the nobles and limited the rights of the ordinary people

King John also had to promise not to impose any new taxes without the consent of the Great Council

He promised not to sell, refuse or delay justice And promised that any accused person by allowed a jury

of their peers Moreover, the Magna Carta stated that the king- like his

subjects- had to heed the laws as well or face overthrow

Parliament and Common Law

In the years following the Magna Carta, Parliament grew. {Parliament is a governmental body that contains the

Great Council and middle-class citizens} : four knights from every shire and two leading citizens from every major town

Parliament was divided into two groups: one was the House of Lords (the nobles) and the other was the House of Commons (the knights & citizens)

{Parliament had the power to refuse new taxes} sought by the king, but their main job was to advise the king

The Structure of Parliament

Continued….

King Edward I ruled England from 1272 to 1307. He divided the kings royal court into 3 branches

The Court of Exchequer- kept track of the kingdoms financial and tried tax cases

The Court of Common Pleas- cases between ordinary citizens

The Court of the Kings Bench- cases that concerned the king or the government

The decisions made by the new courts were collected and used as the basis for future court verdicts. This collection of decisions became known as common law

Rise of Capetian Kings in France

In 987 a group of nobles chose Hugh Capet to be King of France. He and his decedents became known as the Capetians.

{Under the Capetians, the French regained territory from the English}

{the Capetians also improved French government} They also had power over the church by placing a tax on

the clergy. In 1328 the last of the Capetian rulers, Charles IV, died

leaving no heirs. Thus a new line of French kings-the Valois-came into

power

Hugh Capet

Chapter Review Henry II created an army paid by Who? He also

gained new land in ______ One of Henry’s sons, King John, was forced to

accept a document called the _____ _____ by rebellious nobles

What is the governmental body that contains the Great Council and middle-class citizens

Parliament had the power to refuse ___ _____ Under the Capetians, the French regained territory

from who? The Capetians also improved what countries

government

Tell me that’s not just a little creepy!!!Oh yea, please don’t try this.