MB UNIUD

Medieval Period (from late 4^th century to 1485)

 

»Angles, Saxons and Jutes invaded Britain which was inhabited by Celtic. They came from the north of Europe.

»In the 410 a.D. Roman left the Britain because they fought on other frontiers.

»Celtic was defeated and they escaped to Wales, Scotland and Cornwall. Today in this country the people who lived there speak English and also some dialects that comes from their Celtic culture.

»Anglo-Saxons brought whit them a variety of Germanic dialects. Mixture of this dialect was called Old English.

»The Anglo-Saxons society was based on the family which branched out to the clan, the tribes and the kingdom. The most important value were courage, loyalty of the followers to the ruler and generosity of the ruler to them.

»In the end of 6^th century St Augustine’s mission arrived in England and Christianity began to spread throughout the country. The Canterbury’s Cathedral was founded.

»The Church gave a driving force to unite the kingdom. It introduced classical culture and  writing in documents. Anglo-Saxons culture was based on oral tradition.

»The most important king of Anglo-Saxons was Alfred the Great. He reunited the Anglo-Saxons under one flag to defeat the Vikings.

»Thanks to Venerable Bede  (died 735 a.D.) and his book “Ecclesiastical History of the English People” and archaeology that found more information in Anglo-Saxons’ cemeteries today we know their history.

»1066 the Battle of Hastings. William the Conqueror duke of Normandy defeated Saxons.

»The Normans introduced the feudal system.

»Under William England grew a prosperous and peaceful country

»The Church controlled money, people and supported the crusader.

»The struggle between the Church and the state reached its climax under Henry II

»In 1215 nobles obliged king John to sign Magna Carta

»The following year saw the foundation of Parliament

»In 1381 poor were oppressed by a heavy taxation. This led to the Peasants’ Revolt.

»War between France and England was called “Hundred Years War” (1337-1453). It ended with the defeated of English but contributed to the birth of a national spirit.

»The “War of Rose” between the House of Lancaster and the house of York saw the union of the families and the foundation of the Tudor line.

»Anglo-Norman society was based upon rank. At first step was the nobility followed by the knights. At the last step were villains, slaver at the service of lord. In the middle were merchants, traders and craftsmen.

»Four century after 1066 in England were spoken three languages French, English and Latin.

»Romances of chivalry and love were imported from France.

»The old pagan values of valour and physical strength were replaced by more refined and elaborate ideals such as true courtesy, honour, generosity, truth.

»The monasteries were centre of culture.