The High and Late

Middle Ages: 1050-1450

Modern World History
Peltier rm. 229

Royal Power Grows

Nation-state: regions that share a government

and are independent from other states.

Monarchs, Nobles, and the Church

Early Middle Ages monarchs didnt have much

power.

About as much as nobles and the Church.

1000-1300 this power began to shift.

Monarchs began to centralize power.

Set up systems of justice
Set up bureaucracies
Developed tax systems
Raised their own armies

English Kings Strengthen Their Power

400-500s Anglo-Saxons conquered Britain.

1066 Edward died without an heir.
William, Duke of Normandy, who was a
descendent of the Vikings, began fighting with
the nobles of England because he thought he
should take the throne.
They went to war to decide.

William of Normandy Conquers England

Backed by the pope.

Sailed across English Channel.
Battle of Hastings, he beat Harold (the guy
who the Saxons wanted).
William the Conqueror, they named him.
became king of England on Christmas day
1066.
Saxon/French customs begin to combine.

Expanding Royal Power

Kept most of the land for himself.

Created a census in 1086 of the entire land he
ruled.
Domesday Book- this eventually helped him
build a good tax collection system.

Developing a Unified Legal System

1154 Henry II inherited the throne.

Enforced laws by sending out traveling
justices.
Common Law applied to everyone in
England.
Created an early jury system a group of men
sworn to speak the truth.

Later turned into 12 neighbors of the accused

person.

Conflict with the Church

Henry claimed the right to try clergy in royal

courts.
Thomas Becket, who was the archbishop of
Canterbury, completely opposed this.
1170 Henry was fed up and he asked for
peoples help.
4 knights murdered Becket in his cathedral.
Henry denied any part in the attack.
Becket was martyred and declared a saint.

Evolving Traditions of Government

English rulers continued to clash with nobles

and the Church.
Wanted to continue to raise taxes and impose
their authority over feudal rights.
This would impact the modern world.

King John Makes Powerful Enemies

Son of Henry II
Clever, cruel, and untrustworthy.
3 of his main enemies were:

King Philip II of France

Pope Innocent III
English nobles

1205- lost a battle with France and had to give

up land.
Battled with the Pope over next Archbishop of
Canterbury.

Gets excommunicated.
To stop this, he had to pay a fee to Rome every
year.

The Magna Carta

1215- group of rebellious nobles forced King John

to sign the Magna Carta.
Outlined that nobles had certain rights.

Then extended to all English citizens.

Made it clear that the king must obey the law.

Recognized legal rights of townspeople.
Included a clause protecting freemen from
unwarranted arrest, imprisonment.
Due process of law- all accused will have the right
to a trial by peers.
Habeas Corpus- cannot be held in jail without
being charged with specific crime.

The Development of Parliament

Evolved from the Great Council.

1295- Edward I called on Parliament to
approve the use of money in a war against
France.
Developed into a two-house body:

House of Lords- all nobles, and rich people.

House of Commons- knights, middle class, etc.

Gained the right to approve any new taxes.

Successful Monarchs in France

Did not rule over a unified kingdom.

Completely different than England.
Successors to Charlemagne had little power
over the nobles who ruled the territory.

The Capetian Kings

987- Hugh Capet elected by nobles to fill the

French throne.

Count of Paris.
Chosen because he was weak.
Didnt possess much land.

He made the throne hereditary (father to son).

Capetian dynasty lasted for over 300 years.
Added to their lands by playing nobles off of
each other.
Won support of the Church.
Built an effective bureaucracy.

Officials collected taxes, imposed royal law.

Philip Augustus Extends French Power

1179- Philip II became king.

He paid middle-class citizens to fill
government positions.
Granted charters to many towns.
Introduced a new national tax.
Took lands from the English.
Helped the pope in the South of France
suppress a group called the Albigensians.

Louis IX, King and Saint

1226- he becomes king.

Very religious; persecuted heretics (people
who thought differently from the Church).
Persecuted Jews and led knights in two
crusades against the Muslims.
Declared a saint after his death.
Outlawed private wars, ended serfdom,
listened to cases himself.
Created a strong national feelings.

Clashing with the Pope

Philip IV tried to collect taxes from the clergy.

Began to fight with Pope Boniface VIII.
Philip threatened to arrest the pope, but pope
escaped.
Pope ended up dying anyways, and a new
French pope was elected.

Moved the Papacy to Avignon.

Forming the Estates General

1302.
Had representatives from all three estates:
clergy, nobles, and townspeople.
Never gained control of the treasury.