England in the Middle Ages facts for kids
England in the Middle Ages covers the history of England during the medieval period, from the about the fall of Rome in 476 through the beginning of the Tudor dynasty 1485. When Rome fell, people left many English towns, and the economy suffered. Germanic tribes began to immigrate to England, and power struggles began. A rich artistic culture flourished under the Anglo-Saxons, producing epic poems such as Beowulf and complicated metalwork. The Anglo-Saxons converted to Christianity in the 7th century and a network (connected group) of monasteries and convents was built across England. In the 8th and 9th centuries, England faced fierce Viking attacks. The fighting lasted for many decades and Wessex became the most powerful kingdom in England.
The Norman invasion of England in 1066 brought Norman and French nobles and their supporters to England. William the Conqueror and his successors took over the existing state system, controlling local revolts and the population through a network of castles. The new rulers ruled England using a feudal approach. This got rid of the practice of slavery, but it created a larger number of unfree laborers called serfs. The position of women in society changed as laws about land and lordship changed. England's population more than doubled during the 12th and 13th centuries, which increased towns, cities, and trade. This growth was helped by warmer temperatures across Northern Europe at the time. Changes in theology led to arguments between kings and archpishops.
The Great Famine and the Black Death came to England in the 14th century. These catastrophic events killed around half of England's population, threw the economy into chaos, and threatened the way the people were ruled. The people became angry, and the Peasants' Revolt occurred in 1381. Nearly 1,500 villages were deserted by their inhabitants and many men and women looked for new opportunities in the towns and cities. New technologies were introduced, and England produced some of the great medieval philosophers and natural scientists. English kings in the 14th and 15th centuries claimed the French throne, which resulted in the Hundred Years' War. At times, England enjoyed military and economic success and at others, the military and economy of England struggled. The Wars of the Roses was a group of "civil wars" that were fought between ruling families in England over who would rule all of England. Henry VII's victory in 1485 was the end of the Middle Ages in England and the start of the Early Modern period.
Political History
Early Middle Ages (500–1066)
At the start of the Middle Ages, England was a part of Britannia, a former province of the Roman Empire. It already had established towns, roads, and villas. Because Rome fell in 476, Roman soldiers and rulers had left the area and Germanic immigrants began to arrive. They made small farms and settlements, and their language, Old English, quickly spread as more settlers arrived and they began to outnumber those who had not moved away. The Anglican culture in the East of England and the Saxon culture in the south was ruled by powerful families and individuals. They established kingdoms like Wessex, East Anglia, Essex, and Kent, and began collecting tribute from the surrounding regions.
In the 7th century, the kingdom of Mercia invaded the surrounding territories until it loosely controlled around 50 regiones. Mercia and the remaining kingdoms continued to compete for territory throughout the 8th century. Massive earthworks, such as the defensive dyke built by Offa of Mercia, helped to defend important frontiers and towns. In 789, however, the first Scandinavian raids on England began. These Viking attacks grew in number and size until in 865 the Danish Great Army invaded England, captured York and defeated the kingdom of East Anglia. Mercia and Northumbria fell in 875 and 876, and Alfred the Great of Wessex was driven into internal exile in 878.
However, in the same year, Alfred defeated the Danes at the Battle of Edington. He used the fear of more Vikings coming to invade to raise a large army to defend England. Alfred contained the Danish invaders within a region known as the Danelaw. Alfred's son, Edward the Elder, and his grandson, Æthelstan, were able to conquer more British land. York was finally permanently retaken from the Vikings and the West Saxon rulers became kings of all of England.
Æthelred took power in 978 following the murder of his brother Edward. England was then invaded by Sweyn Forkbeard, the son of a Danish king, who took the throne in 1013. Swein's son, Cnut, took power in 1016 and claimed Æthelred's wife as his own. Æthelred's son, Edward the Confessor, had survived in exile in Normandy after Cnut came to power and returned to claim the throne in 1042. Because Edward was childless, he had no successor. When Edward died in 1066, Harold Godwinson claimed the throne, defeating a Norweigan who thought he should be king, Harald Hardrada, at the Battle of Stamford Bridge.
High Middle Ages (1066–1272)
In 1066, William, the Duke of Normandy, took advantage of the English fight for the crown and began the Norman Conquest. With an army of Norman followers and mercenaries, he defeated Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings and quickly conquered the south of England. William held power and expanded his territories, giving lands to those who followed him. By the time of William's death in 1087, England formed the largest part of an Anglo-Norman empire, ruled over by a network of nobles who held land across England, Normandy, and Wales.
William II inherited the throne but faced revolts attempting to replace him with his older brother Robert or his cousin Stephen of Aumale. In 1100, William II died while hunting, and his younger brother Henry I immediately seized power. War broke out, and there were arguments over who should become king next. Henry's daughter, Empress Matilda had a son named Henry II, and he signed a peace settlement and became king in 1154.
Henry II's son Richard succeeded him to the throne in 1189. Richard spent his reign focused on protecting his possessions in France and fighting in the Third Crusade; his brother, John, inherited the throne of England in 1199 but lost Normandy and most of Aquitaine in southwestern France after several years of war with France. John fought many battles trying to regain his territory, but since wars are expensive, he forced his people to pay high taxes. In 1215 he was convinced to sign the Magna Carta, which restored peace and made sure that the king was not above the law of the land. Henry III became king after King John died.
Late Middle Ages (1272–1485)
Henry III's son Edward I brought back the power and importance of the monarchy. He restored important castles that were not being used, which helped him expand his territories. Edward fought against the Welsh and sent people to live in their territory. He also fought wars in Flanders and Aquitaine. Edward desired to rule Scotland as well and therefore fought battles in Scotland. He died before defeating Scotland and his son Edward II inherited the war with Scotland. Edward II was a weak ruler, however, and was overthrown by his French wife, Isabella, and a rebel baron, Roger Mortimer. Isabella and Mortimer's regime lasted only a few years before falling to a coup, led by Isabella's son Edward III, in 1330.
Like his grandfather Edward I, Edward III began to restore power to the royalty, but during the 1340s the Black Death arrived in England. The losses from the epidemic, and the continuing plagues that followed it, affected events in England for many years to come. Meanwhile, Edward, under pressure from France in Aquitaine, tried to take the French throne. England continued to try to rule France and fought many battles that became known as the Hundred Years' War. Even though it was difficult to pay for the war, Edward's battles brought wealth to England that had been stolen. Many members of the English elite, including Edward's son the Black Prince, were heavily involved in battling in France and managing the new continental territories.
Edward's grandson, the young Richard II, faced an uprising of the people, called the Peasants' Revolt, that broke out across the south of England in 1381. More rulers came and went during the Hundred Years' War. After Richard II's death, Henry of Bolingbroke (Henry IV) seized the throne. His son, Henry V began to have success in battles and died in 1422. Henry VI became king at the age of only nine months and both the English political system and the military situation in France began to unravel. Henry ruled for many years, but in 1453, Henry VI's mental illness left him unable to run the country. A powerful nobleman called Richard, Duke of York, persuaded the other nobles to make him "Lord Protector." This meant that he would run the country until the king recovered. He recovered in 1455 and wanted to rule the country, but the Lord Protector, Richard of York wanted to rule.
A series of bloody civil wars, later termed the Wars of the Roses, finally broke out in 1455, with the two ruling houses (Lancaster and York) fighting over who would rule England. Henry VII of the House of Lancaster defeated Richard III of the House of York. He told people that he was bringing the two houses together. To show this, he married Edward IV's daughter Elizabeth of York.
Government and society
Governance and social structures
Early Middle Ages (600–1066)
During the early middle ages, the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were organized by hierarchy in this order:
- King: The king was the supreme ruler; he was above many of the normal processes of Anglo-Saxon life. His household had special privileges and protection. The person who became king was elected at first, but soon primogeniture was practiced (the eldest son of the ruler inherited the throne). Kings adopted Christianity, which brought religious practices in line with the king's rule. Churches were constructed and the king began to consider himself "Christ's deputy." The king also controlled the mints so that high-quality currency was produced.
- Nobles (called "thegns" or "ealdormen"): The nobles possessed land and maintained their own courts. They were also in charge of the defense and taxation of the people. Because they owned so much land, they eventually held more power together than the king did alone. The title was later changed to "Earl."
- Freemen (called "churls"): The freemen owned land and ran businesses in the towns.
- Peasants (called "geburs"): The peasants worked on the land belonging to the nobles.
- Slaves: Slaves could be bought and sold; they had very few rights.
High Middle Ages (1066–1272)
- Further information: Social history of England#Late medieval society
Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.
After the Norman conquest of England, 8,000 Normans and French settled in England, but they kept the hierarchal system much as it was before William the Conqueror came to power. However, changes in other areas occurred. The new rulers built a system of loyalty by using the feudal system. The more powerful people would promise the less powerful people pieces of land in return for military support. The practice of slavery declined, but serfdom emerged to replace it. Peasants became villeins, or serfs, and were forbidden to leave the manor at which they worked or look for other jobs.
Kings appointed clergy to act as chancellors (in charge of the country's finances). The king had his military household, the "familia regis," who acted as bodyguards and military staff. By the 1180s, the basis for the future English common law had largely been established. Judges traveled to deliver justice around the country.
The kings gained more and more power over the people during this period. Many believed that land should be inherited by sons rather than given by the king. Norman nobility married into Anglo-Saxon families, bringing about arguments within families. The signing of the Magna Carta in 1215 limited the power of the king. An early version of Parliament was gathered in 1265.
Late Middle Ages (1272–1485)
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Edward I reestablished royal power and raised taxes. After Edward II came to power, the balance of power collapsed and civil wars broke out in the 1320s. Edward III restored order and organized the government. He used Parliament more than the rulers before him did. To unite support, he held elaborate chivalric events. The ideal of chivalry continued to develop throughout the 14th century and was shown in the growth of knightly orders (including the Order of the Garter), grand tournaments and round table events.
Because of the Great Famine and the Black Death, there were fewer people to pay rent to the landowners and fewer people to work for employers. This caused trouble in the economy because wages had to increase since employers had to compete for workers. Legislation was introduced (laws were made) to limit wages and to prevent the lower-class people from buying luxury goods. A poll tax was introduced in 1377 that spread the costs of the war in France more widely across the whole population. This angered many and a Peasants' Revolt began. The rulers retaliated by killing as many as 7,000 people. A new class of gentry arose, who rented land for money, and the legal system continued to grow.
By 1399 when Richard II was deposed, the power of the nobles had grown. Henry IV was able to contain them, but they controlled the country during the rule of Henry VI. By the 1430s and 1440s the English government was in major financial difficulties, leading to the crisis of 1450 and a popular revolt under the leadership of Jack Cade. Law and order faded and the crown (what the ruler was called) could not stop the fighting between the nobles and their followers. The Wars of the Roses began, and when Henry VII defeated Richard III, he married Edward IV's daughter, hoping to unite the warring groups.
Women in society
Though medieval England was a patriarchal society, women could be powerful.
- Queens could hold land and could help run the kingdom.
- Noblewomen were allowed to lead the defense of manors and towns if their husbands were gone or dead. They were privileged with the money that their husbands earned and the power that went with it.
- Most women worked on the land as part of the agricultural community, or as brewers, bakers, clothes makers, dairy farmers, or servants. Some free women, although they had the right to own property, were forced to remarry.
Identity
The Germanic immigrants and the Romano-British inhabitants of England interacted and were described as Angles and Saxons. By the 9th century, the term Angelcynn was being used to refer to a single English people group. This helped unite the people to resist the Danish invasions.
The Normans and the French who arrived after the Norman conquest saw themselves as different from the English. However, during the 12th century, as the English and Normans married each other, the cultures blended. French remained the language of the court and it began to be taught in England.
During the 12th and 13th centuries, the English began to consider themselves superior to the Welsh, Scots, Irish, and Bretons. They viewed themselves as civilized, economically prosperous, and properly Christian, while the Celtic fringe was considered lazy, barbarous, and backward. Italian and Baltic traders were considered aliens and were targets of violence when the economy struggled. Even within England, different identities abounded, each with their own sense of status and importance. People from certain parts of England and people with a higher social status considered themselves more important than others.
Jews
The Jewish community played an important role in England throughout much of the period. The first Jews arrived in England after the Norman invasion, when William the Conqueror brought over wealthy members of the Rouen community in Normandy to settle in London. The Jewish community grew richer by providing banking services allowing the king to use their riches. All major towns had Jewish centers, and even the smaller towns had traveling Jewish merchants. Toward the end of Henry II's reign, however, the king stopped borrowing money from the Jewish community and by the time King John came to power, he took money from them. Eventually, the Jews were forced to leave England in 1290 by Edward I and were replaced by foreign merchants.
Religion
Rise of Christianity
Christianity had been the official imperial religion of the Roman Empire, and the first churches were built in England in the second half of the 4th century. They were overseen by bishops and priests. Many existing pagan shrines were changed into Christian places of worship. At the end of the 5th century, when the Roman Empire fell, the Germanic immigrants brought their own polytheistic gods, including Woden, Thunor, and Tiw. Despite the renewal of paganism in England, Christian communities still survived in more western areas such as Gloucestershire and Somerset.
The conversion of the Franks in Northern France helped grow the movement toward Christianity in the late 6th and 7th centuries. Pope Gregory I sent a team of missionaries to convert King Æthelberht of Kent and his household, starting the process of converting Kent. Augustine became the first Archbishop of Canterbury and started to build new churches across the southeast, reusing the pagan shrines that were already there. This new Christianity began infiltrating the military culture of the Anglo-Saxons and kings saw it as their right to go to war against pagan nations.
The Viking invasions of the 8th and 9th centuries reintroduced paganism to northeast England. They brought their gods (which were very similar to the Germanic gods) Odin, Thor, and Ullr and a belief in a final, apocalyptic battle called Ragnarok. The Norse settlers were converted to Christianity and eventually the Norse in mainland Scandanavia began to convert to Christianity as well.
Religious institutions
With the conversion of much of England in the 6th and 7th centuries, there was an explosion of local church-building. Monasteries were formed and run by abbesses (nuns), monks, and married priests and their families. Cathedrals were built as well.
The 1066 Norman conquest changed how the monasteries were used. Norman and French churchmen were put into power. The monasteries were brought into the feudal system of power and were required to provide military support to the crown. The Normans adopted the Anglo-Saxon model of monastic cathedral communities, and within seventy years the majority of English cathedrals were controlled by monks; every English cathedral, however, was rebuilt to some extent by the new rulers. England's bishops remained powerful, holding castles across the country. By 1215, there were over 600 monastic communities in England. Knights became popular and fought for the honor of England.
Church, state, and heresy
The church and the government were closely related throughout the Middle Ages. The bishops and other leaders of the church were important parts of the king's council.
William the Conqueror gained the support of the church for the invasion of England by promising them change within the way the church was run. William encouraged clergymen to be unmarried and he gave the church's courts more power. He also made the church more accountable to the king rather than to Rome, as it had been before his rule. Kings and religious rulers began to have disagreements over who had more power in the country.
John Wycliffe, an English scholastic philosopher, theologian, Biblical translator, reformer, English priest, and seminary professor at the University of Oxford, challenged the belief that priests and other clergy were the best guides to understanding God's intentions. He believed that scripture was the best guide to understanding God's intentions. Religious leaders did not like to be challenged and called Wycliffe's teachings heresy.
Pilgrimages and Crusades
Pilgrimages were a popular religious practice throughout the Middle Ages in England, with the tradition dating back to the Roman period. Typically pilgrims would travel short distances to a shrine or a particular church, either to do penance for sin, or to seek relief from an illness or other condition. Some pilgrims traveled further.
During the Anglo-Saxon period, many shrines were built on former pagan sites. Pilgrims visited these sites and monasteries. Senior nobles or kings would travel to Rome. Gathering relics became important to pilgrimage destinations because the relics were believed to hold special powers and therefore made the site where they were located more important than others. By the 12th century, people were reporting that miracles were being performed by saints who were dead.
Participation in the Crusades was also seen as a form of pilgrimage. England participated greatly in the Second, Third, and Fifth Crusades. The idea of undertaking a pilgrimage to Jerusalem was not new in England.
Economy and technology
Geography
England's Fenlands of East Anglia or the heavily wooded Weald, through to the upland moors of Yorkshire made up part of its diverse geography. Medieval England formed two major zones divided by the rivers Exe and Tees. The south and east of England had lighter, richer soils, which was better for farming. The north and west of England had poorer soils and a colder climate and therefore raised livestock. This is called pastoral farming. The land had more trees than it currently does, and bears, beavers, and wolves lived wild in England. The road system that had been built by the Romans and rivers were used as transport routes.
For much of the Middle Ages, England's climate was different than its current climate. Between the 9th and 13th centuries, England went through the Medieval Warm Period, which was a long period of warmer temperatures. In the early 13th century, for example, summers were warmer than today and the climate was slightly drier. These warmer temperatures helped grapevines to be grown further north than was normal. The Warm Period was followed by several centuries of much cooler temperatures, termed the Little Ice Age. This cold end to the Middle Ages significantly affected English agriculture and living conditions.
Even at the start of the Middle Ages, the English landscape had been shaped by human occupation over many centuries. People did their best to care for the forest. Dykes were built to drain marshes and parks for hunting game were made.
Economy and demographics
The economy of England depended on growing crops such as wheat, barley, and oats on an open field system, and raising sheep, cattle, and pigs. In the late Anglo-Saxon period, many peasants came together to form larger villages and work around a manor. The landowner would manage the land while the peasants worked the fields. Around 6,000 watermills were built to grind flour, which freed more peasants to work the land. By the 11th century, a market economy was spreading across England and the eastern and southern towns could trade with other countries.
During the two centuries after the Norman invasion, the English economy grew and the population increased from around 1.5 million in 1086 to between 4 and 5 million in 1300. Forests had to be cut down to use the land for growing food to feed the growing number of people in England. New towns were built and trade increased. Guilds were created to support the growth in trade work. Mining increased in England, with a silver boom in the 12th century that helped to grow the money supply.
By the end of the 13th century, the population growth caught up with the economy in England. There simply wasn't enough land for everyone and the Great Famine caused a severe food shortage. The first outbreak of the Black Death in 1348 killed around half of the English population. Nearly 1,500 villages were deserted during this period.
The English cloth industry grew considerably at the start of the 15th century. International merchants increased as well, and fishing in the North Sea moved into deeper waters because it was paid for by the major merchants. Between 1440 and 1480, trade in England collapsed, driving down prices everywhere. By the end of the Middle Ages, the economy had begun to recover and improvements were being made in metalworking and shipbuilding.
Technology and science
Technology and science in England advanced with the help of the Greek and Islamic thinking that reached England from the 12th century onward. Many advances were made in scientific ideas, including the introduction of Arabic numerals and improvements in the units used for measuring time. Clocks were first built in England in the late 13th century, and the first mechanical clocks were being installed in cathedrals and abbeys by the 1320s. Astrology, magic, and palm reading were also considered important forms of knowledge in medieval England, although many did not believe they worked.
Some influential English scholars lived during the Middle Ages. Roger Bacon, a philosopher and Franciscan friar, wrote books on natural philosophy, astronomy, and alchemy. William of Ockham helped to blend Latin, Greek, and Islamic writing into a general theory of logic. Johannes de Sacrobosco estimated the circumference of the earth in the 13th century. Gilbertus Anglicus published the Compendium Medicinae, one of the longest medical works ever written in Latin. The universities of Oxford and Cambridge were established during the 11th and 12th centuries, following the example of the University of Paris.
Technological advances grew in a range of areas. Watermills to grind grain had existed during most of the Anglo-Saxon period, using horizontal mill designs. They were replaced by a new vertical mill design. Windmills, water-powered fulling mills (cloth mills), and powered hammers first appeared in the 12th century. The first blast furnace opened in 1496 and new mining methods were developed. A new way to brew beer using hops came about in the 14th century, and new ways to better preserve fish were invented. Stoneware replaced wooden pots, plates, and bowls by the 15th century. The printing press was used, and roads and docks were improved.
Warfare
Armies
War was normal in early Anglo-Saxon England. Groups of well-armed noblemen and their households formed the heart of the armies, supported by larger numbers of temporary troops brought from across the kingdom, called the fyrd. By the 9th century, armies of 20,000 men could be called up for campaigns, with another 28,000 men available to guard city defenses. The most common weapon was the spear, with swords used by the wealthier nobles. Cavalry was less common. The Viking attacks on England introduced new war tactics, including the use of shield walls in battle and housecarls, elite household soldiers who had the job of protecting the king.
In Anglo-Norman warfare, the commanders tried to raid enemy lands and seize castles to take control of territory. The armies were made up of mounted, armored knights, supported by infantry. More men used the crossbow and shortbow in the 12th century. The size of the armies changed under different kings. Mercenaries were employed as well, which made the cost of warfare rise. Archers began to carry the longbow under Edward III and cannons were first used by English forces at battles such as Crécy in 1346.
Naval forces played an important role during the rest of the Middle Ages. The first references to an English navy occur in 851 when historians described the ships of Wessex defeating a Viking fleet. English naval power became particularly important after the loss of Normandy in 1204, which turned the English Channel from a friendly transit route into a contested and critical border region. English fleets grew in size in the 10th century, showing the power of Wessex across the Irish Sea and the English Channel. In the 13th and 14th centuries, the fleets were made up of specialized vessels that could fight near land or in more open waters.
Fortifications
Many of the fortifications built by the Romans in England survived into the Middle Ages. The Normans quickly began to build wooden Motte-and-bailey castles to control their newly occupied territories. In the 12th century, they began to build more castles in stone. During the 13th century, defensive town walls were built across England. By the 14th century, castles were used for both defense and luxury. They included sophisticated living arrangements as well as landscaped gardens and parks. Fashionable castles at the end of the 14th century included gunports (a door for a large gun or cannon) for defense. Because castles became more expensive to maintain, many were not kept well and some were abandoned. During this time, tower houses were built in the north of England to protect them against any Scottish threat. By the late medieval period, town walls and grand gatehouses were a symbol of pride in the community rather than a military defense.
Arts
Art
Medieval England produced art in the form of paintings, carvings, books, fabrics, and many useful but beautiful objects. Anglo-Saxon artists created carved ivories, illuminated manuscripts, embroidered cloths, crosses, and stone sculptures. They produced a wide range of metalwork, often using gold and garnets with brooches, buckles, and sword hilts. Early designs used animals and geometric shapes as designs. Naturalistic designs became popular from the 7th century onward, showing people and nature.
The Norman conquest brought French artistic styles to England, especially illuminated manuscripts and murals. Some Anglo-Saxon forms of art held their popularity even after the change in culture. The famous Bayeux Tapestry is an example of this. English tapestry-making and embroidery in the early 14th century were of especially high quality. Stained glass became a specific form of English art during this later medieval period, although the colored glass for these works was almost entirely imported from Europe.
Literature, drama, and music
The Anglo-Saxons wrote extensive poetry in Old English. Beowulf, probably written between 650 and 750, is typical of these poems, telling a vivid, heroic tale, ending with the hero's death at the hands of a dragon, but still showing signs of the new Christian influences in England. Most of the poetry that has survived was written during the 10th and 11th centuries.
Poetry and stories written in French were popular after the Norman conquest, and by the 12th century, some works on English history began to be produced in French. Stories about the court of King Arthur became popular. Although English was used a little, most major works were written in Latin or French after the Norman conquest. The work of Geoffrey Chaucer from the 1370s onward, however, finishing with Canterbury Tales, was uniquely English in style.
Music and singing were important in England during the medieval period. They were used in religious ceremonies, court occasions, and plays. Singing techniques called "gymel" were introduced in England in the 13th century, accompanied by instruments such as the guitar, harp, pipes, and organ. Carols became an important form of music in the 15th century. Ballads were also popular from the late 14th century onward, including the Ballad of Chevy Chase and others describing the activities of Robin Hood. Miracle plays were performed to communicate the Bible in various locations. By the late 14th century, these had been extended into mystery plays which performed yearly over several days.
Architecture
In the century after the collapse of the Romano-British economy, many villas and towns were abandoned. The Germanic immigrants constructed small rectangular buildings from wood and occasionally grander halls. The conversion to Christianity in the 6th and 7th centuries caused masons to build rectangular stone churches that were low to the ground. By the 10th and 11th centuries, much larger churches and monastery buildings were being built, featuring square and circular towers after the current European fashion. The palaces constructed for the nobility centered on great timber halls, while manor houses began to appear in the countryside.
The Normans brought their own architectural styles to England, where simple stone churches were preferred. During the 12th century, the Anglo-Norman style became richer and more ornate, with pointed arches taken from French architecture; this style is termed Early English Gothic and continued, with small changes, throughout the rest of the Middle Ages. In the early 14th century the Perpendicular Gothic style was created in England. This style had tall sections with large windows. Fine wooden roofs, many in the hammerbeam style, were built in many English buildings. In the 15th century, the architectural focus turned away from cathedrals and monasteries and toward parish churches. These churches were often decorated with richly carved woodwork.
Meanwhile, the style of homes changed during the Middle Ages. The Normans built larger buildings in stone and wood. The style and size depended upon the wealth of the owner. Fashionable brick began to be used in some parts of the country, copying the French style. Not much is known about the houses of the peasants during this period.
Legacy
Historiography
The first history of medieval England was written by Bede in the 8th century. Many more accounts of history followed, usually termed chronicles. In the 16th century, the first academic histories began to be written. Edward Gibbon's 18th-century writings were important, showing the medieval period as a dark age between the glories of Rome and the rebirth of civilization in the Early Modern period. Late Victorian historians continued to use the chroniclers as sources, but also used documents such as the Domesday Book and the Magna Carta, along with newly discovered financial, legal, and commercial records. They wrote about the political and economic development in England. By the 20th century, people with neo-positivist, Marxist, econometric, and Post-modern views began to find ways to challenge the history of medieval England by presenting documentary, archaeological, and scientific evidence.
Popular representations
The period has also been used in a wide range of popular culture. William Shakespeare's plays on the lives of medieval kings have continued to be popular. The medieval mystery plays continue to be enacted in key English towns and cities. Film-makers have made movies set in the time of medieval England. Historical fiction set in England, particularly detective fiction, during the Middle Ages remains popular. J. R. R. Tolkien's stories of Middle-earth were inspired by the period. English medieval music was revived in the 1950s. Medieval living history events were first held during the 19th and early 20th centuries, and many people meet regularly to perform historical reenactments.
Interesting facts about England in the Middle Ages
- Roger Bacon predicted that the world would someday use automobiles and airplanes.
- Men considered long-toed shoes to be fashionable.
- During the Middle Ages, there were not very many bridges in England.
- "Mob Football" was banned in 1314 because it was so dangerous and violent.
- Edward III made it mandatory for all male subjects to practice archery for two hours every Sunday.
- Farm animals in England were small during the Middle Ages.
- Some animals could be taken to court for crimes, such as killing people or stealing part of a harvest.
- "Pygg" was a type of clay pot that was used for storing money. By the 18th century, they were known as "pig banks" or "piggy banks."
Images for kids
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The Ellesmere illuminated manuscript of the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, early 15th-century, showing the Knight (right)
