Medieval England

• Medieval England in the 9th century was one of the wealthiest countries in northern Europe. It was an inviting prospect for raiders, invaders, and settlers.
• The Nature of Medieval England and English Society in the 9th century


  England had rich mineral deposits of lead and iron, copper, tin, and silver. These were used to construct buildings and to make tools, weapons jewelry, and other objects.
• The Nature of Medieval England and English Society in the 9th century


  Fertile land, especially in the east and south, meant crops grew well. Sheep produced high-quality wool essential for cloth-making. There were plentiful supplies of salt to preserve meat for the winter, and the rivers and seas were full of fish.
• The Nature of Medieval England and English Society in the 9th century


  Trade routes inland with Europe were well established. Anglo-Saxon merchants traded in large quantities of various goods. For example, they had exported cheese, wool, cloth and minerals, and imported glass, wine, silks and spices.
• The Nature of Medieval England and English Society in the 9th century


  Most people lived in villages, but fortified towns (called burhs or burgs) grew in number and developed as trading centres, especially those that were on the coast or navigable rivers.
• The Nature of Medieval England and English Society in the 9th century


  Many monasteries and abbeys were extremely wealthy, owning hundreds of gold and silver objects, precious jewels and beautifully illustrated manuscripts.
• Christianity


  In the early medieval period, England gradually adopted Christianity. By 1066, it was a Christian country. Monasteries that were branches of European monastic orders were built. Scholars and clergy moved freely between England and Europe as England became part of Christendom.
• The Church and Christendom 


  Christianity was brought to England by the Romans. When the Roman Army left Britain in 410, Christianity was still simply one religion among many. Then change came.
• The Church and Christendom

  • 563: Irish Christian missionaries
  • 597: The pope sent Augustine
  • 635: Christian missionaries from Iona
• The Church and Christendom

  • 563: Irish Christian missionaries founded an abbey on the Island of Iona, in Scotland.
• The Church and Christendom

  • 597: The pope sent Augustine, a Christian missionary, from Rome to England. This increased the spread of Christianity.
• The Church and Christendom

  • 635: Christian missionaries from Iona founded an abbey in Lindisfarne, on Holy Island, off the coast of Northumbria.
• Government


  Anglo-Saxon people were originally divided into many small kingdoms. Gradually, after much fighting, larger kingdoms emerged.
• Government


  The most important kingdoms in the 9th century were: Northumbria, Mercia, Wessex, Kent, and East Anglia.
• Government


  Kings had the ultimate authority in their own kingdoms. They were usually advised by groups of the most powerful men in their kingdom. These could be a mixture of land-owning nobles and churchmen.
• Government


  Money to run kingdoms was raised by taxation based on land ownership.
• Government


  Law and order were manipulated by local communities who were responsible for preventing crime and catching criminals.
• Government


  The lack of a central government meant that it was difficult to organise a defence against invaders.
• Government 


  Athelstan was the first king of all England. He reigned from 925 to 939.
• Vikings 


  From c789 to c865 Vikings raided England and Scotland, attacking villages and towns, monasteries and abbeys that were close to the coast. They did this because they wanted the treasure held in monasteries and abbeys; the goods stored in merchants' warehouses; the ransoms they could demand to return captured people.
• Vikings 


  In 865 the Viking Great Army landed in East Anglia. The Vikings now wanted to settle in England because they knew the fertile soils would provide the land they needed.
• Vikings 


  In 866 Vikings captured York and used it as a base for defeating Northumbria, East Anglia and Mercia.
• Vikings 


  In 878 Alfred of Wessex (the one remaining Saxon kingdom) and Guthrum, leader of the Vikings, agreed the Treaty of Wedmore. This established that the Viking migrants now controlled a large part of England and ran it using their own laws. This is called Danelaw.
• Normans


  The Normans, from Normandy in northern France, invaded England in 1066. They were led by Duke William and wanted to conquer and rule England.
• Reasons why the Normans wanted to conquer England:

  • William becoming king
  • The Pope's broken promises
  • England's wealth
• Reasons why the Normans wanted to conquer England:

  William becoming king: They believed that William had been promised the English Throne by both Edward the Confessor and Harold Godwinson. However, on Edward's death, Harold became king.
• Reasons why the Normans wanted to conquer England:

  The Pope's broken promises: They received the support of the Pope, who backed the invasion because of what he believed were broken promises.
• Reasons why the Normans wanted to conquer England:

  England's wealth: England's wealth, fertile soil and trading links made it an attractive place to settle.
• Normans


  In 1066, at the Battle of Hastings, William and his Norman Army defeated Harold Godwinson's Saxon Army. William was crowned king of England on Christmas Day 1066.
• Normans


  Norman nobles and merchants then migrated to England to gain land and to take advantage of the trade routes developed by the Saxons and the Vikings.
• Jews 


  William I's plans for England involved spending a great deal of money, mainly on building castles and cathedrals. Christians did not generally lend money because, under Church rules, they were not allowed to charge interest. Charging interest was called usury and was regarded as a sin by the Catholic Church.

  William turned to Jewish people in Normandy from whom he had previously borrowed money. Jews were allowed to charge interest on loans.
• Jews


  A group of merchants decided to lend William the money he wanted. In 1070, invited by William, they arrived in London, and were given 'special status' as 'the property of the king'. Their families soon followed and established a small community in the city.
• Skilled Workers from Europe


  The reasons they migrated:

  • The Hundred Years' war
  • The Black Death
  • Replacing Jewish moneylenders
• Skilled Workers from Europe

  The Hundred Years' War disrupted work and trade, especially in France. However, England was a stable country where workers with skills could do well.
• Skilled Workers from Europe

  The Black Death killed 30% to 40% of England's population in the years 1348-51. As a result, there was plenty of both skilled and unskilled work available in England as well as the chance to set up new businesses.
• Skilled Workers from Europe

  Henry III wanted to replace the Jewish moneylenders with Christians because anti-Semitic attitudes were becoming common. So he invited powerful Italian banking families to England. In the 1220s the Bardi and Ricciardi families moved to London to work as bankers under Royal Protection.
• The experience of the Vikings

  Most Vikings led settled lives in the Danelaw. They set up their own shops, markets and workshops, built their own houses and enjoyed their own forms of entertainment. Some grew rich because of their trading links developed with Europe.
• The experience of the Vikings

  Relations between the Vikings and the Saxons were generally good. However, for settled Vikings (danes) living near the boundary of the Danelaw, fighting Saxons was an everyday experience.
• The experience of the Vikings


  Relations became worse after the Danelaw was brought under Saxon control in 937. The Danes began raiding again and Viking settlers were sometimes attacked by Saxons.
• The experience of the Vikings


  Eventually, in 1016, Cnut became the first Danish king of England. Relations improved, at least partly because Cnut set up new earldoms, giving a few Saxon nobles very large areas of land.