Political Developments in England

Political Developments
in England

Political Developments in England

There were many reasons for the decline of feudalism in Europe. In one country, England, political developments during the 12th and 13th centuries helped to weaken feudalism. The story begins with King Henry II, who reigned from 1154 to 1189.

​Henry II's Legal Reforms

​Henry made legal reform a central concern of his reign. For example, he insisted that a jury formally accuse a person of a serious crime. Cases were then tried before a royal judge. In theory, people could no longer simply be jailed or executed for no legal reason. There also had to be a court trial. These reforms strengthened the power of royal courts at the expense of feudal lords.

Multiple Choice

How did King Henry weaken the power of feudal lords?

• He did away with court trials.

• He put lords in charge of court cases.

• A jury must accuse a person then it went to court before a royal judge.

• People could be jailed or executed if the lords wanted.

Henry II's Legal Reforms (continued)

Henry’s effort to strengthen royal authority led to a serious conflict with the Catholic Church. In the year 1164, Henry issued the Constitution of Clarendon, a document that he said spelled out the king’s traditional rights. Among them was the right to try clergy accused of serious crimes in royal courts, rather than in Church courts. Henry’s action led to a long, bitter quarrel (argument) with his friend, Thomas Becket, the archbishop of Canterbury. In 1170, four knights, perhaps seeking the king’s favor, killed Becket in front of the main altar of Canterbury Cathedral. The cathedral and Becket’s tomb soon became a popular destination for pilgrimages (Holy voyages). In 1173, the Catholic Church proclaimed him a saint. Still, most of the Constitution of Clarendon remained in force.

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King ​

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challenged the ​

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Church by declaring the right to try ​

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in ​

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courts instead of ​

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courts.

​King John and the Magna Carta

King John and the Magna Carta

In 1199, Henry’s youngest son, John, became king of England. John soon made powerful enemies by losing most of the lands the English had controlled in France before the Hundred Years’ War. He also taxed his nobles heavily and ignored their traditional rights, arresting opponents at will. In addition, John quarreled (argued) with the Catholic Church and collected large amounts of money from its properties.
In June 1215, angry nobles forced a meeting with King John in a meadow called Runnymede, beside the River Thames, outside of London. There, they insisted that John put his seal on a document called the Magna Carta which means “Great Charter” in Latin.

Reorder

Put these events in the order they occurred.

• Henry's son, John becomes King.

• John loses land and mistreats nobles.

• Nobles force John to meet them at Runnymede.

• King John was forced to sign the Magna Carta

1

2

3

4

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4

Fill in the Blank

Magna Carta means "_____ _______" in Latin. (start each word with a capital letter)

King John and the Magna Carta

The Magna Carta was an agreement between the nobles and the monarch. The nobles agreed that the monarch could continue to rule. For his part, King John agreed to observe common law and the traditional rights of the nobles and the Church. For example, he promised to consult the nobles and the Church archbishops and bishops before raising or creating taxes. He also agreed that “no free man” could be jailed except by the lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land. This idea eventually developed into a key part of English common law known as habeas corpus.

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​

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- Overall, the Magna Carta gave the King less power.

The Hundred Years' War

The Hundred Years' War

Between 1337 and 1453, England and France fought a series of battles for control over lands in France. Known as the Hundred Years’ War this long conflict contributed to the destruction of feudalism in England and in France. English monarchs had long claimed lands in France. This was because earlier English kings had actually been feudal lords over these French fiefs. French kings now disputed these claims. When Philip VI of France declared that the French fiefs of England’s King Edward III were part of Philip’s own lands, war broke out in France.

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The Hundred Years' War was fought for control over lands in ​

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Early English Successes

Despite often being outnumbered, the English won most of the early battles of the war. What happened at the Battle of Crécy shows why. Two quite different armies faced each other at the French village of Crécy in 1346. The French had a feudal army that relied on horse-mounted knights. French knights wore heavy armor, and they could hardly move when they were not on horseback. Their weapons were swords and lances. Some of the infantry, or foot soldiers, used crossbows, which were effective only at short ranges.

Early English Successes

In contrast, the English army was made up of lightly armored knights, foot soldiers, and archers armed with longbows. Some soldiers were recruited from the common people and paid to fight. The longbow had many advantages over the crossbow. Larger arrows could be fired more quickly. The arrows flew farther, faster, and more accurately, and could pierce the heavy armor of knights. At Crécy, the longbow helped the English defeat the much larger French force.

Match

Match the following to show the differences between the French and English armies.

• Armor of the French Army

• Armor of the English Army

• Weapons of the French

• Weapons of the English

heavy

light

crossbows only good at short range

farther, faster, accurate longbows

• heavy

• light

• crossbows only good at short range

• farther, faster, accurate longbows

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The ​

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army had the advantage.

The French Fight Back

The French slowly chipped away at the territory the English had won in the early years of the war. In 1415, after a long truce, English King Henry V again invaded France. This time, the English met with stronger resistance. One reason was that the French were now using more modern tactics. The French king was recruiting his army from commoners, paying them with money collected by taxes, just as the English did. Another reason for increased French resistance was a new sense of national identity and unity. In part, the French were inspired by a 17-year-old peasant girl, known today as Joan of Arc. Joan claimed that she heard the voices of saints urging her to save France. Putting on a suit of armor, she went to fight.

Multiple Select

What made the French army stronger in 1415? (choose the 3 correct answers)

• modern tactics and a paid army

• Joan of Arc urged to fight by the voices of saints

• The English king had been killed so they lacked leadership

• a new sense of national pride and unity

​Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc Becomes a Saint

In 1429, Joan led a French army to victory in the Battle of Orléans. The next year, Joan the “Maid of Orléans” was captured by England. The English pushed certain Church leaders to accuse Joan of being a witch and a heretic and to burn her at the stake. Joan of Arc’s heroism changed the way many French men and women felt about their king and nation. Twenty-two years after Joan’s death, the French finally drove the English out of France. Almost 500 years later, the Roman Catholic Church made Joan a saint.

Drag and Drop

Pushed by the English, some Church leaders said Joan was a ​

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and had her ​

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Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

witch

burned at the stake.

hero

honored with a statue.

The Impact of the Hundred Years' War

The Hundred Years’ War contributed to the decline of feudalism by helping to shift power from feudal lords to monarchs and to common people. During the struggle, monarchs on both sides had collected taxes and raised large professional armies. As a result, kings no longer relied as much on nobles to supply knights for the army. In addition, changes in military technology made the nobles’ knights and castles less useful. The longbow proved to be an effective weapon against mounted knights. Castles also became less important as armies learned to use gunpowder to shoot iron balls from cannons and blast holes in castle walls. The new feeling of nationalism (Pride in one’s country) also shifted power away from lords. Previously, many English and French peasants felt more loyalty to their local lords than to their monarch. The war created a new sense of national unity and patriotism on both sides. In both France and England, commoners and peasants bore the heaviest burden of the war. They were forced to fight and to pay higher and more frequent taxes. Those who survived the war, however, were needed as soldiers and workers. For this reason, the common people emerged from the conflict with greater influence and power.

Open Ended

List 3 things that changed because of the Hundred Years' War.