The Emergence and Growth of European Kingdoms
1000-1300
In this time period, the nobles began to gain the most power that they had ever had. The kings also found better ways to demonstrate their power. Because of the feudal system, the king did have obligations, so he didn't have absolute power. If he did not do what he was supposed to, then the vassals could eventually rebel and undermine his power. The kings whose people rebelled were eventually replaced. The kings had some power, though, that gained them respect, such as the fact that they were anointed with oil, which made their authority seem to be allowed by divine authority. They also used allies in war and marriage to their benefit, as well as conquering people that were powerful so they could use them. They focused greatly on power, and to increase it, they used many ways such as trade and an increase in city construction and commerce.
England in the High Middle Ages
Scandinavians had taken over much of the Anglo-Saxon part of England at the start of the 11th century because of their King Canute. Canute did keep the English ways the same in terms of law, teaching, and religion. His reign didn't last very long, and in 1042, the Anglo-Saxon kings took control again. Edward the Confessor became the king, only to die in 1066 and be replaced by Harold Godwinson. Another man, William of Normandy, however, came across into England and took the throne for himself. The forces of Harold and William met at the Battle of Hastings on October 14, 1066. The Anglo-Saxons were almost all foot soldiers, and the Normans were archers and knights. Because of the previous battles that the Anglo-Saxons had fought against the Scandinavians, they were very tired and worn down, and eventually gave way to William and his army. After the battle, William marched to London and took the kingship at Christmas.
William of Normandy
William made England his prize, and had a book created to see who owned land in England, and then took about 1/5 of the land for himself. He then granted the rest of the land to noblemen or the church. These landowners then had to provide him with knights for the army. He let the noblemen have vassals of their own, but created the Oath of Salisbury Plain to make sure that these sub vassals were loyal to the kingship. Before the Normans, many people owned land, and were loosely loyal to the king, but now the king gave the land as fiefs, and demanded loyalty from everyone. This change allowed for a stronger and more powerful monarchy. Eventually, the Anglo-Saxons and the Normans blended together and fused their languages and lives together to make a new England. The administrative ways of the Anglo-Saxons were kept, with sheriffs in charge of the shires, making sure that everyone followed the rules. William did put Normans in charge instead of Anglo-Saxons though. He also made some reforms to the tax system and the royal courts. Because William was a vassal in France, he also had many ties with French affairs, and he was much more powerful than his lord back in France.
A New Dynasty
William's son Henry I expanded what his father had already began working on. He created a group of advisors to help him benefit as much as possible from the tax system as well as the court. Then the country began a civil war, and out of it emerged the Plantagenet dynasty. The 1st ruler in this dynasty was Henry II who made the monarchial power even greater. He used the idea of the exchequer to get even more money by having a group of people who would collect taxes and put them in a royal treasury. They kept track of the money by giving the sheriffs receipts and writing the deposits on pieces of rolled up paper. He also got money from the court by allowing more cases to be tried in the royal court, and even moving unnecessary cases from local courts to the royal court. Because many cases were now tried in the royal court, there had to be a common law that everyone followed. The king got into a fight with Thomas a Becket, who said that clerics could only be tried by the church, and so the king asked, "Who will free me of this priest?" Four knights took him seriously and went and killed Thomas a Becket while he was in the middle of a church service. Henry then had to allow allow the church to try clerics, otherwise he would have risked rebellion from the people.
King John and Magna Carta
When Henry's son John became king, the people rebelled because of their frustration of the immense power of the monarchy. He was therefore forced to sign the Magna Carta in 1215, meaning that the king had more of an obligation to the people in feudal terms. This meant the king had to change the way he related to the vassals and the church. This document basically ensured that the king had a limited monarchy, and not absolute power.
Edward I and the Emergence of Parliament
When Edward I became king in 1272, he set out to unite the lands under British control into one large nation. He was not able to conquer Scotland, and this ended up starting constant fighting between England and Scotland for years to come. He then began to form the English Parliament. He invited 2 knights from each county, and 2 citizens from each city to come and meet with the existing Great Council to talk about tax policies. He then added barons and ecclesiastical lords, and Parliament grew even more. These people then split into The House of Lords: the barons and church lords, and The House of Commons: the knights and citizens of burgesses. This Parliament created and discussed new taxes, laws, and judicial matters. This changed the way England was ruled from just the king, to the king and his group of advisors and representatives from the different counties and cities. This began to change England into a national monarchy.