History - Cold war

• Feudal system

  Organised society into a hierarchy
• Feudal hierarchy


  • King
  • Tenants-in-chief
  • Knights
  • Peasants
• King

  • Top of feudal system; most powerful, all land belonged to him
  • Demanded obedience in return for safety
  • All land belonged to him
• Tenants-in-chief

  • King divided up his land in the kingdom and granted to them
  • Held land in return for services to king, i.e knights
  • Barons also gave advice
• Knights

  • Also known as under-tenants
  • Held land for Tenants-in-chief and in return fought in king's army
• Knight service


  1. Serve in king's army for 2 months at own expense

  2. 40 days guarding lord's castle and in training

  3. Pay random of lord if captured/imprisoned
• Ceremony of knighthood

  • Knights are dubbed and have to promise their service to Overlord and God
  • In return, receive land
  • They rented these lands to peasants
• Peasants


  • Villeins
  • Cottars
  • Freemen
• Villeins


  Work on lord's land certain days of the week, also on harvest days
• Cottars


  One day a week on lord's land
• Freemen

  Paid rent, didn't work
• Forfeiture

  Helped feudal system to function properly; if vassal didn't perform his service, lord could take land away
• Feudal ceremonies


  1. Homage

  2. Oath of fealty
• Fiefs


  King's land was divided into fiefs; fief granted to landholder
• Royal demesne


  King kept some lands for himself
• Tenants-in-chief


  • Remaining lands divided up among them - fiefs scattered along England
  • Barons kept some land for themselves and gave some to knights who also divided their land up amongst peasants
• The Church

  • Responsible for England's spiritual health
  • Religion was a major factor in English people's lives
  • Majority Catholic
  • Wealth: Many people left money/land to church in wills after death
  • Political Power: Churchmen were educated so often ended up as clerks, advisors, and the king's chancellor
• Primogeniture

  Right of succession; eldest legitimate son inherits father's title and all his lands
• Richard I

  • Eldest Legit Son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine
  • Reputation of outstanding warrior and king
  • Excellent claim to throne
• Richard I securing power

  1. Made peace with men he fought against with dad

  2. Appointed William Longchamp as chancellor to manage kingdom

  3. Appointed Geoffrey as Archbishop of York

  4. Made John Count of Mortain in Normandy and gave lands in England but no control of castles

  5. Banned Geoffrey and John from England for 3 years
• John

  • Last Son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine
  • Reputation of worst king
  • Claim to Crown: 5th and last son of Henry and Eleanor, known as 'Lackland'
  • Preferred candidate for English and Norman barons
  • Opposition: Elder bro Geoffrey's son Arthur, supported by Philip II
• John securing power


  1. 27th May 1199 - Coronation

  2. 4 weeks later left for France to secure Angevin Empire

  3. Left govt. of England in hands of trusted men

  4. May 1200 - met Philip II; Treaty of Le Goulet - Peace
• Murder of Prince Arthur damaged John's reputation greatly
• John's Character

  • Regarded as best candidate for throne in 1199
  • Short temper, cruelty, rash behaviour
  • Didn't trust many, suspicious nature = little loyalty from subjects
• Royal government and finances

  Focused on maintaining law and order and providing taxes to help king defend his kingdom
• Richard and John demanded vast amounts of money from subjects for crusades and wars in France
• Prince John's Rebellion - 1191


  1. John set up his own court and started collecting taxes on his own behalf

  2. Seized control of Nottingham and Tickhill castles

  3. Helped in rebellion by barons who despised William Longchamp

  4. Barons decided John should be regent while Richard was absent
• Government of England 1194-1999


  1. Heavy taxes imposed to pay Richard's ransom and John's campaign in France

  2. John announced Richard was dead and he was the next legit. king

  3. Richard appointed Hubert Walter as justiciar
• England's Governing Under King John, 1199-1216


  1. First six years: main focus on defending his lands in France

  2. 1204: John lost control of Normandy; chose 'new men' rather than barons to advise him, closed down Court of the King's Bench, cruel punishments
• New men


  • Advised King John, angered barons, exploited positions for large rewards
• John closed down Court of the King's Bench


  1. Ended practice of sending royal justices to hear cases in shires

  2. Made rulings himself

  3. Blamed by barons when judgements went against them
• John was cruel in his punishments of those who displeased him
• John was interested in the way govt. worked and record keeping but difficult to do because medieval govt. relied on king working with barons to control the kingdom, but John failed to do this because didn't trust them
• Royal Demesne

  Land held directly by king; provided him with rent to pay expenses in time of peace
• Royal Demesne

  • Royal hunting forests
  • Royal major estates
  • Towns
• Tallage

  Compulsory land tax paid by tenants of royal demesne; mark of inferior status as only paid by lower classes
• Feudal Incidents

  • Payments to ransom king from captivity
  • Payment to knight the king's eldest son
  • Payment to provide dowry for king's eldest daughter
  • Payment of a fine to the king when an heir inherited the feudal lands from his father
  • Wardship fines
  • Forest fines
• Wardship

  If a baron died when his heir was minor, land returned to king and heir along with siblings became wards of king. King responsible for the wards until baron's heir became an adult.
• Forest fines

  Areas of land can be designated forest and under protection of king; could claim forest fines for those living/working/hunting/foraging on forest land
• Profits of Justice

  Justice wasn't free, and King could enjoy considerable profits from it