Medieval England

Introduction

The Middle Ages encompass one of the most exciting periods in English History. England and the English, or at least their rulers, have been the dominant power in the British isles for a long time. We recognize this every time we use the phrase "Queen of England." There is no title "Queen of England" today - Elizabeth is Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. But England has absorbed the other cultures of the British islands, and the mix of institutions, language, and ideas we call British has a predominant English element. If we want to understand the British heritage in the English-speaking countries of the world, we must understand England first.

Another reason to study medieval England:   it gives us an opportunity to study some of the developments of the European Middle Ages within the limits of a single country.   England is not a "typical" European country - which one is? - but is an important one.   If you understand how the Middle Ages affected it, you have a good start to understanding the Middle Ages in Europe as a whole[1].

The one thousand year span of time between the fall of the ancient world and the beginning of the modern era, the middle age, is, in English, commonly referred to as the Middle Ages. English-speaking scholars break this long period of time into three distinct phases: the early Middle Ages, the high Middle Ages, and the late Middle Ages.

Scholars of the early Middle Ages concern themselves primarily with the transition away from the characteristic cultural, social, and institutional systems of Greece and Rome. They begin with the Germanic migrations, formerly referred to as the barbarian invasions. The arrival of new peoples in the domain of the old Roman empire meant radical changes to the fabric of European civilization. In the past, scholars viewed the loss of Roman ways as a great tragedy, one that would only be corrected one thousand years later when ancient culture was "reborn" in the Renaissance. This way of thinking gave birth to the somewhat derogatory term the Dark Age. Today, however, we appreciate much more that the ancient ways of the Romans did not disappear but, rather, were transformed. They were infused with new ways of doing things and new ways of thinking. Although many Roman traditions and institutions were lost or decayed, others continued on or were transformed. One great link between the ancient world and the early Middle Ages, of course, was Latin. Latin remained the lingua franca, the common tongue, of the educated in Europe. Another great link between ancient Rome and early medieval Europe, of course, was the Catholic church. During the early Middle Ages, the church succeeded in converting most of Europe to Christianity. So, the study of the early Middle Ages is concerned with examining the transformation of Roman Europe into something new and exciting.

The high Middle Ages, from roughly about the turn of the millennium to about 1300, saw the flourishing of medieval culture. During this era many of the institutions typically associated with medieval Europe peaked and began to decline. Knighthood and chivalry, the Crusades, the Roman Catholic papacy, and monasticism are just some major examples. In the high Middle Ages, as populations settled and the great migrations of the prior era ended, kingdoms began to take shape. As a result, it is during this time that Europeans laid the foundations for their modern nation-states. The artistic climate of this time fostered great innovations. The survival of the great gothic cathedrals is a testimony to this fact. At the same time, the rediscovery of Aristotle, lost in the West for hundreds of years, sparked major innovations, too. Kings and princes competed to establish the first universities whose students and masters articulated new ways of thinking and ordering knowledge. In the south of Europe, the reconstitution of Roman law allowed civil and ecclesiastical jurists to reassess and redevelop their systems of justice.

By the late Middle Ages, the west stood on the threshold of a new world. Between 1300 and 1500, everything Europeans knew to be true changed. The beginning of the fourteenth century saw the arrival in Europe of the Great Famine with its ensuing demographic crisis. Hundreds of thousands starved to death after 1315. Two generations later, and linked to that climatic event, the first wave of plague hit Europe. Although scholars no longer accept without reservation that this was Bubonic plague, the impact of the Black Death is incontrovertible. In the following years, some one-third of Europeans died suddenly. While all of this happened, the major super powers of the day, England and France, battled each other in the Hundred Years War. The papacy, chased out of Italy, relocated to the city of Avignon, which is today in southern France. Although the popes eventually returned to Rome, a split in the church resulted in not one but two, and, eventually, three, popes. Challenges to Catholicism continued in the fourteenth century and, unlike earlier perceived heresies, the church was unable to silence them effectively. From England to Bohemia Europeans expressed their discontent with the broken church. Meanwhile, one the great symbolic remnants of chivalric idealism, the Knights Templar, were disgraced. The king of France burned the Grand Master of the Templars while the pope, the knight's protector, stood by. Throughout all of these crises new economic powers were stirring. In urban centres everywhere a growing class of merchants and artisans flexed their economic muscles and demanded a political voice. These transformations continued until, at the end of the fifteenth century, Europe appeared very different. The hegemony of the Catholic church was broken. The discovery of the New World greatly expanded the boundaries of European expansion. New technologies, such as the importation of gunpowder from China, and improvements to ship building, changed the face of warfare. The solidification of national monarchies led to the development of international relations on a state level. These and other factors signalled the end of the middle age and the start of something new and different.

Medieval Studies is not simply about studying the past for its own sake. In that light, the study of western society between the fall of the Roman Empire and the discovery of the New World may even appear, to some, outmoded, Euro-centric, or irrelevant. In fact, however, such study is essential in helping us to interpret the world around us.

A few examples illustrate. In a post 9/11 world it is essential to understand the historical inter-connectedness and mutual evolution between Islam and Christianity or Europe and the Near East[2]. It is equally vital, as Europe moves toward ever greater legal, economic, and political union, and as regional resentments toward such a move increase, to understand European hegemony prior to the rise of nation-states and nationalism. Further, the lessons of past empires are instructive as super powers topple opposing regimes and are then met with forceful resistance. More concretely, when first-world countries seek to develop the third-world, medieval peasants provide successful agricultural strategies and technologies. Parliament, religion, universities: all have medieval structures as do our sexual values, our gender norms, and many of our cultural priorities and biases. So, if you want to understand where we are, you need to understand where how we got here. Medieval Studies gives students the tools necessary to interpret the world around them at the most fundamental level.

Part I

This British nation has a monarchy founded by the Kings of Wessex over eleven hundred years ago, a Parliament and universities formed over seven hundred years ago, a language with its roots in the mists of time, and the richest vocabulary in the world. This is no recent historical invention: it is the cherished creation of generations, and as we work to build a new and better Europe, we must never forget the traditions and inheritance of our past. I never leave Britain without the spirit sinking just a little, and it always lifts the heart to set foot here once again.[3]

Albeit in less strident form, these rather idiosyncratic comments of Mr Major echo those made by Lady Thatcher in Paris at the bicentennial of the French Revolution, when she spoke with more force than accuracy about Magna Carta and 1688.[4] Taken together, their remarks suggest that when it comes to producing a contemporary account of Britain’s past, the most unreconstructed and uncompromising form of Whig history which survives today is that preached from 10 Downing Street by Tory Prime Ministers.

1) Short observe of the timeline of Middle age

England in the Middle Ages concerns the history of England during the Medieval period — from the end of Roman rule in Britain through to the Early Modern period. It is in this formative period that England emerged as a unified and political entity, and transformed over several centuries from a diverse, warring and fractious land of petty kingdoms, into one of Europe's most centralised, powerful and richest states.

Early Medieval England corresponds to Anglo-Saxon England, which began with the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons in southern Britain. In this period, the Brythonic kingdoms whose territories lay within the area of modern England were conquered by Jutes, Angles and Saxons Germanic tribes, from the contemporary Angeln and Jutland areas of Northern Germany and mainland Denmark. Political takeover of other areas of England proceeded piecemeal and was not completed until the 10th century.

Similarly, the end of the medieval period is usually dated by the rise of what is often referred to as the English Renaissance in the reign of Henry VIII, and the Reformation in Scotland, or else to the establishment of a centralised, bureaucratic monarchy by Henry VII. From a political point of view, the Norman conquest of England divides medieval England into two distinct phases of cultural and political history. From a linguistic point of view the Norman Conquest had only a limited effect, Old English evolving into Middle English, although the Anglo Norman language would remain the language of those that ruled for two centuries at least, before mingling with Middle English.

At the height of pre-Norman medieval English power, a single English king ruled to the borders with Scotland and Wales. After the Norman Conquest, Anglo-Norman power intruded into Wales with increasing vigour. Southern England had closer relationships with Normandy, Flanders and Brittany, owing to relative proximity, than had the other regions.

The emergence of Manorialism in England is described including sections on Manorialism, Manors, the Lord of the Manor, the Lady of the Manor and a full description of a Manor House in England during the Medival times. Facts and interesting information about the people who lived under the system of feudalism and manorialism. The land owned by the lord of the manor varied in size but were typically between 1200 - 1800 acres. The land belonging to the 'Lord of the Manor' in England was called his "demesne," or domain which he required to support himself and his retinue. The lady of the manor in England had to take over the running of the manor when her husband was absent. She was a figure of authority. And her word was literally law when her husband was absent. The lives and times of the following people who lived in England - the Vassals and the Oath of Fealty, the Fief, Serfs, Peasants and the Villein. What free time did the people of England get? The Religious Festivals provided some relief from the day to day drudge of everyday life with Medival Holidays in England. The methods of Farming in England was dictated by the Feudalism and the Manor system or Manorialism. A fief was a vassal's source of income, granted to him by his lord in exchange for his services.

2)Medieval Architecture

Art in the Middle ages was inseparable from religion. It was infused with spiritual symbolism and meaning. The purpose of art was to awe and inspire the viewer with the grandeur of God. It also served to symbolize what people believed. Pope Gregory the Great, he of the Gregorian chants, said, "painting can do for the illiterate what writing does for those who read." He might have added that sculpture could serve the same purpose.
 

The mission of the sculptor, whose work was seen almost exclusively adorning church buildings, was to educate as well as decorate. He brought Biblical tales and moral lessons to life in stone. Carvings were not just religious, however. Everywhere you look there is evidence of pre-Christian symbology in church sculpture; animals real and fanciful, scenes of everyday life, and the pagan "Green man" peering out from amongst carefully wrought leaves and vines of stone. Sculpture burst forth gloriously in the Romanesque era, with little regard for classical conventions of proportion of figures.

At the beginning of the Norman era the style of architecture that was in vogue was known as Romanesque, because it copied the pattern and proportion of the architecture of the Roman Empire. The chief characteristics of the Romanesque style were barrel vaults, round arches, thick piers, and few windows.

The easiest point to look for is the rounded arch, seen in door openings and windows. In general the Romanesque churches were heavy and solid, carrying about them an air of solemnity and gloom.

These early Norman churches were not always so stark as they seem today, however. In their heyday the church walls were hung with tapestries or painted richly. The statues of the saints were gilded (on some you can still see traces of the paint if you look closely), and the service books were inlaid with gold, jewels, and ivory. Chalices and reliquaries were encrusted with gems.

Beginning in 12th century France a new style of architecture and decoration emerged. At the time it was called simply "The French Style", but later Renaissance critics, appalled at the abandonment of classical line and proportion, derisively called it "Gothic". This was a reference to the imagined lack of culture of the barbarian tribes, including the Goths, which had ransacked Rome in the twilight of the Roman Empire.

Gothic architecture is light, spacious, and graceful. Advances in architectural technique learned from contacts with the Arab world during the Crusades led to innovations such as the pointed arch, ribbed vault, and the buttress. Heavy Romanesque piers were replaced by slender clusters of columns. Window sizes grew enormously, as did the height of vaults and spires.

Sculpture became free standing rather than being incorporated in columns. The new expanse of window space was filled with gloriously rich coloured glass. The easiest point of reference to look for in a Gothic church is the pointed arch, seen in window openings and doors. Also, the later Gothic churches had very elaborate decoration, especially the "tracery", or stonework supporting the stained glass windows.

Churches were a point of civic pride, and towns vied to outdo each other in the glory of their churches. Money for the church was raised by the sale of indulgences, fund raising caravans of relics, parish contributions, and donations from nobles. Many times a guild would pay for a stained glass window depicting their trade. Often people would volunteer their labour to the construction, though much of the work was carried on by skilled workmen under the watchful eye of the head mason and the architect.

Churches were often sited on pre-Christian sites of spiritual importance, taking advantage of peoples' existing devotion to a particular place. Worship was carried on in the same place, just with a Christian orientation. Speaking of orientation, churches are nearly always oriented so that the main altar is at the east end of the church, facing Jerusalem and, not coincidentally, the rising sun. Even if the altar end of the church is not literally in the east, that end is still referred to as the east end. In theory, then, the east end of an English church could face west.

3)Medieval Monasticism

As heroes of medieval Europe, the monks exerted a very powerful influence over all facets of society. The were know to possess outstanding agricultural skills and because Benedict specific that their lives include routine stints of manual labor, they restored a dignity to human labor that the Romans and the barbarians had denied. Furthermore, as managers of large estates they were able to set an example of sound farming practice from which everyone could conceivably benefit.

Over time, powerful medieval families began to construct monasteries on their own estates. Whether their motivations were spiritual or not, it is clear that having a monastery on one's estate was a sure sign of grace. The abbots were frequently related to these powerful families and so it happened that the monastic estates were managed in the interests of these powerful families. In this way, monasteries very quickly became integrated into the power relations of medieval society.

From a cultural perspective, the monasteries housed perhaps the most literate of all members of medieval society. After all, it was assumed that all monks could read and write. Monasteries also contained libraries and scriptoria, or writing rooms, in which manuscripts were copied. These manuscripts were often decorated or illuminated. But why did monks spend so much time and energy illuminating manuscripts. Since their lives were dedicated to the Word and preserving the Word for others, what better way to demonstrate the Word than by giving it the lavish attention it deserved?

The monks became the heroes of early medieval Europe for a number of reasons. They had clearly dedicated their lives to the devotion of God. Their lives served as examples for others. They also provided a sense of security in a world that always seemed on the brink of tumult and catastrophe. They founded an organization, the monastery, which allowed them to live communally - some monks worked the earth, some copied and illuminated manuscripts, while still others read and studied. And, of course, because of their asceticism, the monks became the vehicles of economic and cultural change - they helped teach medieval Europe to save and invest for the future. Of course, what the monks and their monasteries meant for Europe in, say, 800, meant something vastly different more than 700 years later when the Christian humanist, Erasmus, could write of the monks that "they are so detested that it is considered bad luck if one crosses your path."

Medieval Churches and Monasteries

Apart from the manor, the church was the main focus of community life. Church parishes were usually the manor villages.

The parish priest was appointed by the lord of the manor and was given a house. He was obliged to carry money for alms with him, keep up the church, and provide hospitality to travellers.

Priestly Duties. The priest was usually a commoner by birth, though serfs were tied to the land and were not allowed to become priests. The priest officiated at church services, weddings, baptisms, funerals, and visited the ill. He earned his living from the income for parish lands, fees for services, and tithe money.

Tithing. Tithing was a system whereby each person was expected to give 1/10 of their earnings to support the church. The tithe income was divided up evenly between the parish priest, the church maintenance fund, the poor, and the bishop.

Uses of the Church. The chancel (where the altar is) belonged to the lord. The nave and the tower belonged to the people of the parish. Manor courts were often held in the nave, and tenants came there to pay their rent, or scot. A free meal was given to those who paid their scot, hence our term, "scot free".

The church tower occasionally served double duty as the priest's residence and often was built to be defended in times of trouble. School was held in the church porch or in a room over it. The church's role went far beyond religion; it was the centre of village community life.

Gifts of barley to the church were common. The church reeve would hare the barley brewed into ale and sold to raise money for the upkeep of the church. The term "church ale" is still used today to describe fund-raising for the church.

Church Services and Plays. Originally, people stood in the nave to hear the church service. Pews were not introduced until the 15th century. Because few could read, Biblical stories were often acted out for the congregation in the form of miracle plays. These plays evolved into cycles or collections, beginning with the Creation and ending with the Last Judgement.

The plays were performed in the churchyard or porch. In the 15th century morality plays appeared, in which moral ideas combatted (e.g. Virtue vs. Vice).

Church Markets. In the 12th and 13th centuries markets were often held in the churchyard, though this practice was officially banned in 1285. A special hut, or Tolbooth, housed a court which regulated the affairs of the market. In time the Tolbooth became a permanent fixture of the Town Hall.

Monasteries. Monasteries were the other main form of church presence. They were self-contained enclaves where monks or nuns chose to live a simple life of prayer and work. At least that was the theory. In practice monks at least were often criticized for their laxity and concern with worldly affairs.

The first monasteries adhered to the Benedictine Rule, established by St. Benedict in the 6th century. In the early 12th century the Cistercians, under St.Bernard of Clairvaux, advocated a return to simplicity and a rededication to simplicity in monastic life and in the architecture of the church buildings themselves. Cistercian monasteries were established in remote areas to emphasize this ideal. Today they are the among the most interesting and evocative ruins of the Middle Ages.

Monks and Books. At Gloucester Cathedral, which was originally a Benedictine monastery church, can be seen the carrells, or individual study nooks, built into the cloister. There the monks would study their precious books. As the numbers of books increased with the advent of the printing press, special library rooms were built, usually over the cloister walk. These were long narrow halls with booths for reading set at right angles to frequent windows. Books were chained to the desks for safety.

Friars. Friars first appeared in the 13th century. They were clergy not attached to any particular parish, and indeed had no visible means of support. They rejected the monastic ideal of seclusion, and went to live among townspeople and survived by begging. These mendicant friars were enormously popular, much more so than priests or monks, who were often seen as rich and indolent. The main orders of mendicant friars were the Dominicans and the Franciscans.

4)Medieval Schools & Universities

Education. There were many different kinds of schools in medieval England, though few children received their sometimes dubious benefit. There were small, informal schools held in the parish church, song schools at cathedrals, almonry schools attached to monasteries, chantry schools, guild schools, preparatory grammar schools, and full grammar schools. The curriculum of theses schools was limited to basics such as learning the alphabet, psalters, and religious rites and lessons such as the Ten Commandments and the Seven Deadly Sins. The grammar schools added to this Latin grammar, composition, and translation.

Schools. In addition to the schools listed above there were also privately endowed schools like Winchester and Eton. The most famous public school, Eton, was founded by Henry VI in 1440.

The term "public school" can be misleading. It refers to the fact that the school drew its students from all over the country rather than just the local area. In reality "public schools" are anything but public. They were, and still are, elite boarding schools for the rich or ambitious.

School Life. Most schools had no books and the students were taught by rote and the skill of individual masters. Most masters were minor clergy, who themselves were often indifferently educated. Classes at some of the larger schools could be as large as 100 or more boys (no girls, though they were accepted at some of the small local schools), and the school day lasted as long as 13 hours with breaks for meals. And to top it off students could expect to be beaten regularly with a birch rod.

Oxford University. Legend has it that Oxford University was founded by King Alfred in 872. A more likely scenario is that it grew out of efforts begun by Alfred to encourage education and establish schools throughout his territory. There may have been a grammar school there in the 9th century. A grammar school was exactly what it sounds like; a place for teaching Latin grammar. The University as we know it actually began in the 12th century as gatherings of students around popular masters. The university consisted of people, not buildings. The buildings came later as a recognition of something that already existed. In a way, Oxford was never founded; it grew. Cambridge University was founded by students fleeing from Oxford after one of the many episodes of violence between the university and the town of Oxford.

Students. University students chose their own course of studies, hired their own professors, and picked their own hours of study. They were free to leave one professor if they tired of him, and join another, attending several lectures before deciding whether to pay him or not. The only books were the professors, and students wrote notes on parchment or, more commonly, on wax tablets.

5)Medieval England - daily life in medieval towns

A new class emerged during the Middle Ages; the merchant. The growth of trade and the merchant middle class went hand in hand with the growth in towns. Town populations swelled during this period, particularly after the Black Death. Trade routes grew, though roads remained poor and dangerous, so most goods were transported by water.

Towns were built on trade, and the elite of towns were the merchants. Merchant guilds controlled town government, though they often clashed with craft guilds for power. Merchants needed stability for trade, so they supported the king and the establishment of a strong central government against the rule of individual nobles. The king, for his part, encouraged the growth of towns and trade. Town charters became a major source of royal revenue. Eventually the growth of towns and guilds led to the breakdown of the manor-centred feudal society.

Guilds controlled the trade in a town. Merchant guilds regulated prices, quality, weights and measures, and business practices. The power of the guilds was absolute in their domain, and to be expelled from a guild made it impossible to earn a living. Each guild had a patron saint, celebrated religious festivals together, put on religious plays, and looked after the health and welfare of the members and their families.

Separate from the merchant guilds were the craft guilds, which regulated the quality, working hours and conditions of its members. There were three levels of craftsmen; masters, journeymen, and apprentices. Parents paid a fee to place a boy with a master craftsman as an apprentice. There he received food, lodging (often sleeping under the counter in the shop itself), clothes, and instruction in the craft.