15TH CENTURY

*Known as the McFarlane century (1)

-because most scolars from this era are his pupils or grandpupils(they) all acknowledge his influence and all cite his work
*Bastard Feudalism, the bond between lord and retainer (2)

(3)

*BASTARD fEUDALISM WAS ABOVE ALL A VOLUTARY BUSINESS

RELATIONSHIP WITH PATRONAGE AND SERVICE AS unenforceable
contractual obligations;
-Richard II was deserted by his northerners because their
relationship was only out of self interest

IDEALISM

(41)

RICHARD III FAMILY LINE

Richard Wydeville I had to build his fortune more or less from scratch.
His life was spent in the service of the Lancastrian kings and royal
dukes. (210)

*Richard II eARL Rivers inherited 4 manors and 3 shires, gaining his a

minor role among the local gentry (210)
- married the widowed Duchess of Bedford Jacquetta of
Luxemberg gaining much wealth. (210)

* R2 and Jacq had 13 kids! (211)

*ruled for only 26 months the shortest reighn of any adult king since
the Norman Conquest (248)
*Lots of external military threats throughout his reign (248)

He was Duke of Gloucester before he was king (249)

http://www.r3.org/richard-iii/15th-century-life/15th-century-lifearticles/delights-of-life-in-fifteenth-century-england/

Delights of Life in FifteenthCentury England

A. Compton Reeves
Professor of History
Ohio University

Keynote Address
Annual General Meeting
Richard III Society, Inc.
American Branch
7 October 1989
Published by: Richard III Society, Inc.

15th century life

15TH Century Englad was in a time of famine and plague individuals
tried to stay physically strong.
-ball games were very popular (camp-call was the most popular
played by men and women

1.

Teresa McLean,

The English at Play in the Middle Ages

(Windsor

Forest: Kensal Press, 1983), pp.1-2, 5-6.

-balls were made of a pigs bladder filled with dried peas

- the term football was coined in the 15th century
Ibid., pp.11-15.
1.
-archery = national sport (military overtones)
Dueling among royalty was popular The Scales-Bastard contest might
suggest that English tournaments in the fifteenth century tended more
toward ritualized athletic entertainment than martial mayhem, but
tournaments were taken very seriously as training for war and they could
be highly dangerous.
14

-They were often accompanied with pagentry

2. Malcolm Vale, War and Chivalry (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1981),
pp. 63, 76-78, 80.

3.
Pageantry was a source of delight for many observers, and incorporated a
powerful element of drama. The great and the wealthy of the kingdom
moved about at all times surrounded by followers and presented a display
of magnificence which exemplified their power, but sometimes the
pageantry was meant to convey a message more sophisticated than just
wealth and power. Consider the entry of Henry VI into London in 1432 on
his return from his coronation in Paris as king of France.
4

1.

Richard Osberg, The Jesse Tree in the 1432 London Entry of Henry VI: Messianic Kingship and
the Rule of Justice,

Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies 16

(1986): 213-32; Robert Withington,

English Pageantry (2 vols., Cambridge: Harvard

University Press, 1918-20) 1: 141-47.

Chess was a popular board game started with aristocracy but was
soon played by all classes
- reflected real world strategy in politics

universally held that monarchy was instituted by God for the benefit
of His people
king ruled by the grace of god his rule should be God-like in quality:
rewarding the good and protecting the weak, punishing sinners, but
showing mercy towards the repentant (13)
Kings subjects:
1st Teir closely known members of his court and household
2nd Tier political society in town knights, esquires, gentlemen and
burgesses (carried out royal commands)
3rd Tier yeoman, husbandmen, small freeholders, copyholders, waged
laborers, poorer clergy, artisans and shopkeepers. (the people) (15)
Nobility was not a uniform body
1st group: those of the blood royal - immediate family of king/queen
2nd group: those who had rised through royal favor families of
Hastings, Herbert, Howard
3rd group:those whose families were of ancient lineage Neville, Percy,
Stafford, Courtenay

(all pg 151)
Dukes
Earls & Barons
Knights
Landowners & Gentlement
Peasants
Yeoman (wealthy villagers who owned up to 40 acres of land)
Husbandmen (peasants owning 10-40 acres)
Smallholders, Labourers & domestic servants (lower ranks)
The idea of service
- everyone was in service to someone higher up
- - a scullion washing dishes was performing service, but so
was a nobleman carrying part of the regalia in the kings
coronation (63)
Honourable vs Menial service
Menial servant has no independent standing aside from the
performance of his task
Honourble servant does have independent standing (63)
Hierarchy of Law
1) The law of God (divine word and law)
2) The law of nature (mans deduced law based on Gods word)
3) The law of England (positive laws of human societies)
4) The customs of the realm
(30)

3 basic points fundamental to 15th century attitudes to law and

justice: law was of divine origin, it had to be in accordance with reason,
and justice entailed giving each man his due (31)
Law was a mirror of the social order (41)
ex. bribery the epitome of corruption from 20th century viewpoint, is
less easy to condemn in a society where legal officials were
inadequately paid and gift-giving was an essential courtesy (41)
URBAN SOCIETY
2 Largest towns
London pop. 40,000-50,000
York 15,000(133)

Many countryfolk came regularly to town (134)

Most larger cities had acquired self-government by 1400
(134)
2 major classes = Merchants and Gentry (140)
Lots of guilds and fraternities and social groups formed in urban
settings (143)
Aristocracy
- the whole idea of a heritable aristocratic ascendeny depends
on the belief that noble qualities are natural, inborn (59)
- they were a more cohesive unit than many led to believe
th
= 15 cs most dominant social group (60)

EDUCATION
High infant mortality rates (80)
Children started learning skills in the home around the age of 8 by
mimicking parents and fulfilling household chores (80)
By the age of 10 at most, most children had the die cast for their life
(81)
Sons were given a few more years of schooling if it could be afforded.
(82)
- Learning the language of Latin & French and some
accounting skills (82)
SCIENCE
*No great advancements in science (97)

*Alchemy was forbidden by law w/o a license (99)

WOMEN
Women in 15th century England could hold land, bring
lawsuits, make wills, be admitted to the franchise, engage in
trade in their own right, take apprentices, hold guild office,
run households, manage estates andadminister the
sacraments. Most did not. (112)

The principal authority upon which thought about women

was based was scripture. The patriarchal order was thus a
divinely sanctioned order and womens questioning of that
order was consequently an affront to God (112)
o Man was made in Gods image. Woman was made of
mans image to be his helper. (112)
In regards to the 4 humors, women were thought to be
colder and moister leaving men to be hotter, dryer and
more active. leaving the worldview of women as the
weaker vessel (114) in cite 3

Women were most time exempt from an act of 1363 confining

artificers to a single craft. Womens work identities were thus
very fluid. They fulfilled many tasks around the house and
family. (116)

A vital part of a womans education was the virtuous things

of the scripture (129)

RURAL SOCIETY
landlords and peasants were too general of terms to identify
the many classes among the rural community (150)
RELIGION
Parish Catholic church was a part of everyones lives (although many
may have had differing views about religion) Everyone attended mass.
(183)
Images and bells were worn around the necks of men and women
(184)
Churches were well kept, and greatly and often refurnished and
renovated (184)

DEATH

Dying was an art, a guide to living (202)

a good life was premised on the correct orientation towards
the certainties of death, and a good death could redeem the
sins of a bad life (202)
Fears of the afterlife promoted daily morality (202)
Images of death and the dead littered the daily lives of the
citizens (204)
- bodies of traitors were posted as warning
advertisements (204)