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Edward the Confessor died without an obvious heir but he had strong connexions with Normandy
Harold Godwinson, a Saxon, was designed to succeed him but William the duke of Normandy challenged him so Harold was attacked on 2 fronts: the Normans in the SE and the Norwegian Vikings in the NE
William landed near Hastings, he was crowned as William I on Christmas Day 1066 -
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The Normans are the descendants of Vikings who settled in France
William was forced to act as a colonizer
The land of Anglo-Saxon landlords was confiscated and given to Norman landlords: 4000 Saxon landlords were replaced by 200 Normans
They built a lot of cathedrals and castles -
The basis of feudal society = possession of land looked after by vassals in exchange for services
There is a promise of loyalty between a lord and a vassal
Basic principles: every man has a lord and every lord has a land
When a lord died his son had to pay tax on his land to the king
William needed to know how much land he owned and had a survey made: Domesday Book -
There were no capital of the kingdom: Westminster and Winchester
They established an efficient administrative system and a regular tax system -
The population multiplied by 3
Markets and trade developed (Wool was England's most profitable business)
The growth of the role of money and a market economy marked the start of the decline of feudalism
Religious: from 50 monasteries in 1066 to 900 in the early 14th century, monks learnt to write and read
Learning increased, Oxford and Cambridge were established in the 1220s -
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Henry I standardized justice. He introduced circuit judges
La jurisprudence was instaured, this law became known as "Common law"
He passed his crown to his daugther Matilda who was married to Geoffrey Plantagenet, Duke of Anjou -
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Henry II introduced trial by jury
He started the Plantagenet dynasty
His dominions were very large after his marriage with Eleanor of Aquitaine (from Scotland to the Pyrenees)
He was succeeded by Richard I "the Lionheart", he fought in the Crusades and was arrested by the Duke of Austria who asked a large ransom -
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Ireland was conquered by the Anglo-Normans in 1169
Henry II tried to force the Irish leaders to submit to his authority
He made Dublin the capital of his colony but he failed to control Ireland outside of Pale ( a small/medium size land around Dublin) -
Built by Henry II in the 1180s
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Richard I fought in the Crusades and was arrested by the Duke of Austria who asked for a large ransom
He was succeeded by his brother John "Lackland" -
John's nickname was "Lackland", he made himself unpopular
In 1204 he lost his father's land in France
In 1209 he had a conflict with Pope Innocent III over the next Archbishop of Canterbury
He was excommunicated for 5 years
In 1215 he was forced to sign Magna Carta -
By the 11th Century, there was only 1 King of Scots: Duncan I (1034-1040: killed by Macbeth)
In 1290, a crisis of succession after the death of Alexander III and his grand-daughter
Edward I invaded Scotland In 1296, he stole the Stone of Destiny
The rebellion was first led by William Wallace but he was captured and excecuted
Robert Bruce took up the fight, Edward II tried to intervene but he was defeated at Bannockburn in 1314
In 1320, Scottish clergy wrote the Petition of Arbroath -
A new ruling class developed after the Norman invasion
They did not speak English
A rebellion was organized by Llewelyn II ap Gruffydd (1225-1282)
Edward I (1239-1307) wanted to rule over all Wales and had him captured and executed, he decided the eldest son of all English kings would become the Prince of Wales -
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Over the next Archbishop of Canterbury so he was excommunicated fro 5 years
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John was forced to sign Magna Carta at Runnymede.
The Magna Carta is one of Britain's earliest constitutional documents and a symbol of political freedom
It stresses that no one is above the law not even the king who had abused feudal rights
By limiting royal rights, it marked a clear stage in the decline of English feudalism. It condemned abuses of feudal rights not feudal rights themselves.
John didn't keep his promises. -
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An early Gothic cathedral built between 1220 and 1258
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