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Medieval England

Religion
1. Christianity
  1. The Catholic Church
    1. Incredibly powerful and wealthy - owned a lot of land and property - in most cases had more money than kings
    2. Was fully believed in by mostly everyone - it's teachings were rarely questioned during the Middle Ages
    3. People required to support the church by paying tithes to the church
      1. Tithe - 10% of a person's income - usually paid for in goods or grain
    4. Had both political and religious influence
    5. Taught people that they had to follow God's teaching's to get into Heaven
      1. (People were so scared of Hell that they would do anything to stay out of it!)
    6. Had 'indulgences' - money paid to the church, ensuring you to go to Heaven
    7. Kings + Emperors would consult church for advice
    8. The Pope also had the power of excommunication (cutting a person off from the church, and therefore Heaven)
  2. Christianity made official religion by Romans - 391AD
  3. Roman empire collapsed - Christianity remained and by the 1100's was the dominant religion in Europe
  4. Cathedrals
    1. Used Gothic arcitecture
      1. Flying buttresses, gargoyles
    2. Larger, fancy churches
    3. Were built to inspire awe - to show the power of not only God, but also of the church
    4. Took decades to build
    5. Were built in the shape of a cross
2. The Crusades
  1. Muslims controlled Jerusalem, but allowed Christians to live and build temples there
  2. 1095AD - Christians forced to leave Jerusalem
  3. Pope Urban II called for all Christians of Europe to rise up, take back Jerusalem (This was the first Crusade)
    1. The Pope promised a guarantee into Heaven for everyone that came on the journey
  4. Took the crusaders 2 years to get to Jerusalem
    1. During their journey, the crusaders ran out of supplies - Had to do many things to survive
      1. The crusaders had to:
        - Drink urine, blood, and sewage water, - Steal supplies from innocent civilians, - Eat dead animal carcasses (and in extreme measures, even dead humans)
        Disease was very common, many died
  5. Jerusalem was successfully captured
  6. The crusades didn't end there - 9 crusades in total - Christians never fully regained control over Jerusalem
  7. The first crusade - 1095AD
  8. The second crusade - 1147AD
  9. The third crusade - 1187AD
  10. The fourth crusade - 1202AD
  11. A peace treaty was signed after the third crusade, but the battles resumed after the two people that signed the treaty, Saladin and King Richard (the Lionheart), had both passed away
  12. The crusaders with enough money took boats to the Holy Land to fight
Medicine
1. The Black Death
  1. More commonly know as the bubonic or pneumonic plague
  2. 1 in 4 people would die from Black Death
  3. Name originated from a symptom of the disease, where lumps on patient's body turned dark purple/black
  4. Returned to England many times before finally leaving for good
  5. A religious procession known as flagellants would whip themselves to make up for their sins, in an attempt to stay safe from Black Death
  6. 'Ring a ring of rosies' originated from the patients of Black Death becoming sick and dying
  7. Killed around 1.5 million people just in England
  8. First known to be in England around 1348
2. Diseases believed to be punishments from God, as the patient had sinned
3. Not very advanced surgically - would turn to amputation - most would die from amputation
4. Most 'potions' made to heal wounds and diseases were actually completely useless, yet some were very effective, and are still used today
Crime and punishment/Law and order
1. Forms of torture
  1. - The rack, - Head Crusher, - Cats paw, - Knee splitter, - Scavengers daughter, - Judas Chair, - Spanish donkey, - Choke pear, - Lead sprinkler, - Iron maiden, - Crocodile shears
3. Ordeals
  1. When it is impossible to determine s person's guilt, suspect had to go through "trial by ordeal"
    1. Ordeal by fire - Suspect was to hold a hot iron bar and walk three paces or place hand into a pot of boiling water - if wound didn't heal within three days, suspect was found guilty
    2. Ordeal by water - Suspect thrown into river - if suspect sunk, they were innocent, and if suspect floated, they were guilty. (Most innocent drowned)
    3. Ordeal by combat - Two suspects put into battle - the losing suspect is guilty. (Richer suspects were able to pay soldiers to fight for them - resulted in guilty but rich suspects being left "innocent"
4. Those found guilty were punished in public to show humiliation and brutal punishment - Bodies of the executed were displayed outside towns in cages known as gibbets - This was done to discourage commiting crimes
5. Witchcraft
  1. Considered a serious crime punishable by death
  2. Witches believed to be followers of the devil - enemies of Christ
  3. Believed that they caused plagues, crops to fail, and animals to die
  4. People often thought to be witches were:
    1. The physically deformed
    2. The insane
    3. People disliked by their neighbours
    4. Those critical/insulting of the church
    5. People 'different' from others
    6. Those who actually practised witchcraft
6. Forms of crime and punishment
  1. Gossiping (Usually women) - Had to wear scolds bridle
  2. Nagging - Tied to dunking stool, dunked in river three times
  3. Not working hard enough - Chained to pole and flogged (whipped)
  4. Cheating/Drunkeness - Put into the stocks or pillory, could be fined
  5. Theft - Have hand/s cut off
  6. Heresy (Going against God/the church) - Banishment if repented (admitted being guilty) - Burnt at stake if they did not repent (Did not admit to being guilty) (known as auto de fay)
  7. Murder - Hanging or decapitation (beheading)
  8. Treason (trying to take out royalty/someone higher than you) - Were hanged, drawn and quartered
Social structure/Feudalism
1. Began around 900CE
2. An economic, political and social system - not an organised government
3. Pros of the Feudal system: - Ensured people protection from attack, supplies of food and clothing, and made people feel as if they were part of a big group, spreading a sense of community
4. Cons of the Feudal system: - Was found as a somewhat controlling system, some people believed it was restricting their freedom and controlling their lives
5. Social Structure:
  1. The King
    1. Provides land to the tenants-in-chief
  2. Tenants-in-chief
    1. Provide loyalty, soldiers and taxes to the King
  3. Knights
    1. Provide loyalty, soldiers and taxes to the tenants-in-chief
    2. Provide protection, lodgings and work to the serfs
  4. Serfs
    1. Provide loyalty, food, money and labour to the knights
Manorialism
1. Manor house - The Lord (knight or tenant-in-chief) lived
  1. Some Manor houses had walls that peasants could hide behind in times of danger
2. Three field system - fields belonging to the Lord took on the system - Two fields were to grow crops (usually wheat and barley), one field was left fallow (so the soil was fresh for when the soil in the other fields became unusable)
3. Fields divided into strips - the Lord kept 1/3rd of the land, the remaining strips were divided amongst the peasant families
4. Lord's mill - Peasants could use the Lord's mill to ground their grain into flour for baking - had to pay to use Lord's mill
5. Lord's oven - Peasants could use the Lord's oven to bake their goods - had to pay to use Lord's oven
6. Serfs lived in the village - Serfs' houses made of wattle (woven twigs) and daub (mud)
7. Manor Courts
  1. Many minor crimes dealt with by the Lord of the village (= the manor)
  2. Punishments for minor crimes included: Extra work, time in the stocks or pillories
Battle of Hastings
1. Also known as 'The Battle for England' - 1066AD
2. Three contenders for the new king were: Harold Godwineson, William of Normandy and Harald Hadrada of Norway
3. Edward the Confessor, the King of England, died on January 6, 1066 - The new king was undecided at this point
4. William of Normandy crowned king on Christmas Day 1066 at Westminster Abbey
5. With Harold Godwineson and Harald Hadrada of Norway dead, William of Normandy had won the battle
6. The Battle of Hastings consisted of two armies: The Normas (led by William) and the Anglo-Saxons (led by Harold)
7. The Anglo-Saxons were already weak from fighting and defeating Harald and Tostig's army, giving the Normans an advantage
8. The Battle of Stamford Bridge took place on the 25th of September, 1066 - Two armies fighting were the Anglo-Saxons and Harald and Tostig's army
9. After being crowned king, William had a tapestry made showing his way to royalty - The Bayeux Tapestry

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	Created by H M over 10 years ago