THE NORMAN INVASION

● After the death of Edward the Confessor (who

had restored the royal house of Wessex to the
English throne in 1042 and died childless in
1066) William, Duke of Normandy, claimed the
throne on the basis of a promise made by king
Edward the Confessor.
● Harold of Wessex, Edward's brother-in-law,
then reaffirmed his right to the throne
th
●
On October 14 William attacked and defeated
him near Hastings---> this is the famous Battle
of Hastings
 The Normans
● For this reason Duke William of Normandy was
crowned on Christmas day of 1066 and became
King of England. He was later called William the
Conqueror.
● However, William had to resist rebellions and
his cruel reprisals cost the lives of many of his
Anglo-Saxon subjects.
● Many of the old Anglo-Danish aristocracy fell at
Hastings and by 1100 most of the country was
under the Norman control.
 The feudal system
● The importance of the Norman conquest was
enormous:
● The Normans were Vikings who had settled on the
north coast of France in the 9 th-10 th century. They
spoke French. On a linguistic level there was an
injection of romance languages into the vernacular,
pushing the Old English into retreat.
● They introduced the feudal system into England.
(feudal hierarchy: Barons, Knights, Peasants and the
Sheriffs: administrative officers)
● The feudal relation passed from father to son
 The Clash between the Crown and
the Church
● The Church was organised hierarchically (Pope-bishops-
priests)
● In the Middle Ages the Church had an inmmense power: in
a spiritual and temporal sense.
● Temporal power---> the Church owned a huge amount of
land and many buildings
● Under the reign of Henry II, the first Plantagenet king,
wanted that those “clerks” who had committed common
crimes were first tried in the King's court and only after
judged by Church Court.
● Thomas Becket,the Archbishop of Canterbury, strongly
opposed the king saying that the Church would be
deprived of her rights.
 The clash between the Crown and
the Church
● For this reason he spent six years in France in
exile.
● On his return to England he was killed by four
of the king's knights in Canterbury Cathedral.
● The Church made him a martyr and a saint.
 Richard the Lionheart
● After Henry II's death, England had a very
different monarch, Richard I (known as Coeur
de Lion or Lion Heart for his courage and
personal charme)
● He cared more for his personal glory as a
knight errant than for England's greatness.
● He left his kingdom to join the Third Crusade.
● To do that he entrusted the government of the
country to his brother John, who oppressed his
people with excessive taxes.
 John Lackland
● On returning from the crusade, Richard went to
France to defend his possession against Philip
II of France. He was killed in 1199.
● When John became king he continued his bad
policy of asking the barons and the people for
exorbitant contributions.
● The feudal nobility, the senior clergy and the
freemen resisted John's claims.
 Magna Carta or Great charter of
Liberties
● In 1215 King John was forced to sign and
grant the Magna Carta or Great Charter of
Liberties
● It is the foundation of all future rights and
freedoms of the English people
● It is made up of 63 clauses that deals with
specific complaints relating to King John's rule.
● It is a cornerstone of the British constitution
● It established for the first time the principle that
everybody, including the king, was subject to
the law.
 Magna Carta
● We should remember, however, that barons,
clergy, middle-class Londoners and freemen did
not represent the whole people but only a
priviledged part.
● The items of the Chart are to be interpreted in a
historical context.
 THE HOUSE OF COMMONS
● Henry III succeded John I in 1216.
● During his long reign which lasted until 1272 an
important political step was taken.
● At that time the Parliament (from the french
verb “parler”) was no more than a feudal
assembly only composed of noblemen and high
clergy.
● In 1264-65 two representatives from each
borough (district, province) were also called.
 THE HOUSE OF COMMONS
● The House of Commons was born: the branch
of Parliament made up of the “common people”,
the members were elected by the people of
different boroughs
● The House of Lords: the seats were hereditary
● However, only few people had the right to vote
and women were not among them.
 The Houses of Parliament
Questions:
● When was the parliament created for the first time?
● How was the modern one called?
● In which style was it built?
● What kind of buildings were built in the gothic style in England?
● In what did Parliament differ from nowadays until 1832?
● Who was Ignatius Sancho?
● What happened in 1908?
● What happened in 1919?
● Who was Nancy Astor? N. A. was the first British woman to be
elected in England in 1919. She took her seat in the House of
Commons.
 The Houses of Parliament
● What happened in 1941? In 1941 the Parliament burned down. It was
bombed by 14 German air raids.
● Why were the Houses of Parliament rebuilt exactly as they were?
Yes, they were. The reconstruction was conservative thaks to Sir
Winston Churchill who strongly argued that rebulding the Houses
exactly asthey were was a sign of respect for the sufferings and the
difficulties English people had to face during World War II.
● What have the Houses of Parliament become in the new millennium?
They became a symbol of Britain and a tourist site. It is also a logo for
dishes, tea cups, mats and the like.(e simili)
● What happened in 1999?In 1999 a separate Paliament for Scotland
and Senates for Northern Ireland and Wales were created.
 The French influence
● The Normans brought to England a refined
culture, the French language and the influence
of French literature
● There were several consequences for English
culture:
● The old Anglo-Saxon literature disapperead
● Old English was spoken by common people
● French and Latin were the languages used at a
literary level
 The French influence
● French was spoken by the upper classes
● Latin was the language of the Church, culture,
government and law.
● The anglo-saxon epic form died together with
its warlike ideals
● At the end of the 12 th century literature was
written in new genres and forms
● French and Italian had a great influence
● These new works were written in Middle
English
 The ideal of chilvalry
● The term Chilvalry comes from the old french
chevalerie, and the medieval latin word
caballerius
● The code of chilvalry dominated the social and
cultural life of medieval England
● The knightly system and its values of loyalty,
courage, love and devotion to a woman was of
crucial importance in medieval times.
● Love started to be considered the most
powerful and important of emotions.(good
manner, courtesy to women)