Storia dell'Inghilterra medievale, Appunti di Inglese

Scarica Storia dell'Inghilterra medievale e più Appunti in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! E w r C n e s n i r Edward the Confessor, a great king, died in 1066 with no children. He had 3 possible heirs: • Harold of Wessex • Harald Hardrada of Norway • William Duke of Normandy Harold of Wessex became king, elected by the Witenagemot (aka Witan). The Crown was awarded, not inherited. Harald of Norway attacked from the North, but King Harold defeated him. William of Normandy attacked from the South and he arrive din Hastings. King Harold marched to stop him and the 14 th October 1066 King Harold was killed in the Battle of Hastings. B T es It’s an embroidered cloth 1, it’s 70 m long and 50 cm high. It depicts the events leading to the Norman conquest of England; it’s composed of 50 scenes with titles in Latin. It was commissioned by Bishop Odo (William’s half-brother). It was made in England around 1070 and it was then moved to Bayeux Cathedral, in France. It isn’t technically a tapestry because it’s embroidered, not woven2! W i C n r He is Edward the Conqueror’s first cousin once removed3. Edward had promised him the throne and Harold had sworn to support his claim. He was a warrior king: • he confiscated all private land • he eliminated the old Anglo-Saxon aristocracy and replaced it with Norman lords (his friends) • he destroyed every city that opposed him William the Conqueror introduced the feudal system in England. Only God was above the King. NB: the Clergy4 didn’t depend on the King! Barons held lands from the King; knights5 held lands from Barons; Peasants or Villeins6 were bound7 to the land. D esd bo (1086) It’s the first survey of all landholders and their properties in England.8 It was done in order to collect taxes more efficiently. 1 tessuto ricamato 2 cucito 3 cugino di secondo grado 4 clero 5 cavalieri 6 contadini/uomini del popolo 7 erano legati (fisicamente) 8 il primo censimento di tutti i latifondisti e delle loro proprietà in Inghilterra W i ’ nas Stephen was crowned by the Barons, even if Henry had said Matilda was his legitimate heir. Matilda got married at 12 with the Emperor in Germany and, when Emperor died, she married the Duke of Anjou. She was an absolute monarch, so people didn’t like her. Matilda wanted to become the Queen of England and she started a civil war against Stephen, her cousin. During the years of the civil war Matilda and Stephen managed to seize the power in turns. In the end Stephen accepted to adopt Matilda’s son as his heir. Matilda’s son became king with the name of Henry II Plantagenet (1154). He was a king with a strong personality, he inherited a country in terrible conditions after the civil war. He was married to Eleanor of Aquitaine, who had been married to the King of France. She was one of the richest and most powerful women in Europe. She was the inspirer of courtly love ( l’amor cortese). Henry II started a series of reforms with the help of his best friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer: Thomas Becket. Thomas wasn’t noble but he was intelligent and educated and he loved to live splendidly. Pr : a is ra i us i Norman people who committed crimes went to the King’s court. Royal judges travelled across the country and performed trials9 following the Common law of the land. People who were part of the Church who committed crimes went to the Church Court. 160: C ns i u i n Cl nd Henry II stated that clerks10 who committed crimes had to be tried in the King’s Court before going to the Church Court, but the Church opposed this reform. So Henry appointed Thomas Becket Archbishop of Canterbury to help him (although his mother and wife were against it). Thomas Becket suddenly changed! He became very religious and the King’s greatest opponent. He said that the new law was inacceptable. The Church couldn’t be submitted to the Common law. This created a period of great tension and fights. Thomas was condemned to leave England or die, so he decided to go in exile to France. After some time they met and apparently they found an agreement, so that Thomas could go back to England, but he soon started to criticize Henry again. In 1170 four knights11 went to Canterbury, entered the Cathedral and murdered12 Thomas Becket while he was praying. They thought they were doing Henry’s will… But the King was terribly angry and sorry. Thomas Becket was immediately proclaimed saint and martyr. To show his grief13, Henry II abrogated the Constitutions of Clarendon. Eleanor, tired of Henry, left him and went back to France with their children. She educated her sons according to the rules of chivarly14 and King Arthur’s stories. 9 processi 10 chierici 11 cavalieri 12 assassinato 13 dolore 14 cavalleria Ri h r I He abandoned the war in France and therefore18 lost many territories. For this reason barons didn’t like him. He was scared people wanted to take his throne and he exiled John’s son, Henry Bolingbroke. Henry returned from exile, put the king in prison (where he was murdered) and took the Crown. He became king as Henry IV in 1399. He wasn’t the legitimate heir, but he was the most powerful man in England… he ruled through fear19. He started killing all opponents and even burnt heretics. In 1413 Henry V, Henry IV’s son, became king. He wanted to be popular, so he gave Richard II a proper burial20 and he resumed21 the war in France. France was in terrible conditions because the king, Charles VI, was mad22… In 1415 there was the Battle of Agincourt and the English controlled Paris; the French nobility was dramatically weakened23. Charles VI gave Henry V his daughter, Katherine de Valois, in marriage and accepted him as his heir on the throne of France. In 1422 Henry V died suddenly at the age of 35. Soon after the king of France diedHenry’s son, 10 months old, became king of England and France: Henry VI. Two Regents are appointed24, one to France and one to England. In the meantime in France things were starting to go badly for the English… In 1429 a young woman led the French army against the English and put Charles VI’s son back on the throne. This woman was Joan of Arc; she said God told her to fight the English. In 1431 the English captured Joan and burnt her at the stake25 as a witch. The war however was lost... In 1453 there was the Battle of Castillon and the English were finally defeated and lost all territories apart from Calais. It was the end of the Hundred Years’ War. H I He was a gentle, religious and studios man. He founded Eton, a very famous school in England. He wasn’t a military leader… The matter of legitimacy came up again. The Barons of the South supported the legitimate heir, Richard Duke of York. In 1453 Henry VI went mad and Richard Duke of York became Regent. For this reason there was a Civil War between the House of Lancaster and the House of York. 18 perciò 19 paura (perdona la mia ignoranza ahahaha) 20 corretta sepoltura 21 riprendere 22 pazzo 23 indebolita 24 nominare 25 rogo This war is known as the Wars of the Roses because these House had two roses as symbols. Lancaster had the red rose, York had the white rose. At first it was a war for the position of Regent, to have the power to control the King. • Richard Duke of York was killed in battle • In 1461 his son Edward IV took the throne (while Henry was still alive) • Edward IV died and his son became king as Edward V at the age of 12 • Edward IV said his brother Richard should be the new king’s Regent and Lord Protector • Richard imprisoned the king and his little brother in the Tower of London, a building used as a prison, and they never seen again… In 1483 Richard declared Edward IV’s marriage and his sons illegitimate and so became the new king: Richard III. Richard is probably one of the most unpopular kings in history… He was supported by his friends, the Barons of the North, but the Barons of the South preferred the last Lancaster, a boy called Henry Tudor who was in France in exile… Katherine de Valois had married Owen Tudor after Henry’s death. Owen had been killed by Edward IV during the wars of the Roses. Henry’s Tudor father had married a Lancaster, Margaret Beauford. The name Henry itself was a declaration of his potential status of heir… In 1485 there was the Battle of Bosworth. Richard III was defeated by Henry Tudor’s army and killed in battle. It’s the End of the Wars of the Roses. Henry became king as Henry VII. He understood that he needed support from the public opinion in order to rule, so they started propaganda! For this reason… • he married Elisabeth of York, Edward IV’s daughter • he transformed Richard III into a monster • he killed all other possible legitimate pretenders to the throne • he changed Tudor’s symbol