Chaucer

= **The Medieval period - a brief historical overview** =

At the beginning of the 14th century, the Avignonese Papacy began. Starting from 1309, all the popes of the Roman Catholic Church resided in Avignon, France until 1378. In 1314, the Battle of Bannockburn took place in Scotland. The Scottish defeated the English and insured Scotland’s independence for the next three centuries. There was a great European famine for the next three years after 1314. This famine affected all of Northern Europe. In 1326, King Edward II’s England was invaded by his French wife, Isabelle. In 1337, the Hundred Year War began. Philip VI fought against the English claim to Normandy and other northern provinces. In 1340, the French navy was destroyed in the Battle of Sluis, giving England naval supremacy in the English Channel. In the same year, Edward III’s British army defeated Philip VI’s French army. From 1347 to 1353, the period of the Black Death, approximately 19 to 35 million people died throughout Europe. In 1356,Black Prince of Wales Edward defeated the French in the Battle of Poitiers. In 1360, the first phase of the Hundred Years’ War ended. Peace existed between the two nations until 9 years later, in 1369, the war resumed following an outbreak of the plague. Chaucer at that time joined the army in France. By 1372, Britain suffered major defeats and lost many lands they had won during the last phase of the war. In 1378, the papacy was split into two because of a disagreement between the papacy in Rome and France. Rome elected its own pope while France elected its own “antipope”. In 1399, the King of England was overthrown and a rebellion from Wales followed.

//Key Events:// == //1066 Norman Conquest of England 1086 The Domesday Book compiled 1096 Crusades began 1170 Murder of Thomas a Becket 1215 The Magna Carta written 1265 The first parliament 1337 - 1453 The Hundred Years' War 1348 - 1350 First outbreak of Black Death 1381 The Peasants' Revolt 1386 Chaucer began 'The Canterbury Tales' 1455 - 1485 The wars of the Roses 1476 Caxton's printing press invented// ==

The Magna Carta
MJ and Chris

The Magna Carta, or “Great Charter” in English, is one of the most iconic documents in all of English history, and provided a code of law that regulated the customs and the justice system of the feudal, medieval society at that time. The document was written in 1215 and signed by King John. This was the first grant by a King that set limits upon the extent of royal authority, and although the principles defined within were never intended to last as long as they did, it did indefinitely prevent the king from abusing his power in arbitrary ways and made it clear that the he too was subject to law. The most important clause of the Magna Carta that still remains enacted today provides protection to free men against imprisonment and seizure of property without proper cause by the king. Unfortunately, like in //The Canterbury Tales//, the population of England in the 13th and 14th centuries was composed of only a small proportion of free men. However, as is also evident in Chaucer’s stories, society was beginning to evolve as urban populations and commercial activity expanded, validating the need for more complex legal systems and structures for urban administration, which the Magna Carta provided.

"The Basics." //Treasures in full: Magna Carta//. British Library, n.d. Web. 27 Sep 2010. .

"Magna Carta." //National Trust Runnymede Magna Carta//. National Trust, n.d. Web. 25 Sep 2010. .

Whipps, Heather. "How the Magna Carta Changed the World." //How the Magna Carta Changed the World LiveScience//. LiveScience, 21 04 2008. Web. 25 Sep 2010. .

**Religion and Pilgrimages in the Middle Ages.**
In Medieval Europe, the dominant religion of the time was Christianity, specifically Catholicism. Religion played an omnipresent role in medieval society by directing the way of life of people from all social classes. Furthermore, religion was the one, single thing that all citizens of the time shared together. No matter what position you held, whether that be knight, king, or peasant, everyone adhered strictly to the traditions and values of Catholicism. Chaucer’s //Canterbury Tales// exemplifies this idea when the group of pilgrims is introduced. The pilgrims consist of people from various social and work positions, from peasants to nuns to knights to clerics. Although they’re all from different walks of society, they come together for they share one thing in common: religion. One major and popular tradition of Catholicism in the Middle Ages was the journey of pilgrimages. Pilgrimages were made for various reasons: spirituality, good fortune, and even penance for sins. People embarked on pilgrimages quite spontaneously and often back then, for mortality rates were high due to disease and war. Always, pilgrims journeyed to a site that contained holy traces. For example, such a site could mark the supposed grave of a saint, or could simply contain a religious object or artifact. In fact, the two holiest places one could journey to were Rome and Jerusalem due to their religious importance (Rome was the location of the main Catholic church while Jerusalem has draws its importance from the Bible). When the pilgrims arrived at the site, they usually prayed and wished for a cure, a better life, or penance. Also, they may perform certain specific actions at the site. For example, at the shrine of Thomas a Beckett, pilgrims drank the water there for it was said to contain traces of the late Saint's "blood". In Chaucer’s //Canterbury Tales// the pilgrims are traveling to the grave of Saint Thomas a Becket located in Canterbury. Although the book itself is a fictitious collection of stories shared by the pilgrims, the location does hold religious and historical significance, for it is a real site of pilgrimage. Furthermore, the //Canterbury Tales// delves deeply into the topic of religion as it sometimes satirizes the idea of religion itself as well criticizing the corruption of those most intimately involved with religion.

Works Cited:

Alchin, Linda. "Christian Religion History." //Medieval Life and Times//. N.p., 20 Dec 2008. Web. 9 Oct 2010. <[|http://www.medieval-life-and-times.info/medieval- religion/christian-religion-history.htm]>.

Alchin, Linda. "Pilgrimage." //Medieval Life and Times//. N.p., 20 Dec 2008. Web. 9 Oct 2010. .

Bellerby, Rachel. "The Medieval Pilgrimage." //Suite101.com//. Suite101, 10 Mar 2008. Web. 9 Oct 2010. . "Medieval Religion." //AllSands//. AllSands, n.d. Web. 9 Oct 2010. .

"The Church." //EMuseum//. Minnesota State University, n.d. Web. 9 Oct 2010. .

Added by Ms Kemsley:
Pilgrimages in Medieval times were considered to be an important element of everyone's life style. People from all different social classes went on pilgrimages as penance for sin; the more serious the crime, the longer the penance. They would also go on the trip to fulfill a vow or to seek cure for illness. The poor pilgrims would walk and the rich would ride horses. As pilgrimages became part of everybody’s life, there were “companies” that normally initiated by cleric who would plan out the trip for a fair price. People would then gather for the trip along with armed soldiers as body guards, since some of the trips were dangerous. There were many pilgrimage centers in Medieval England including that of St. Thomas a Becket in Canterbury, however, people also went abroad to the Holy Land, Santiago de Compostela in Spain, and Rome, including the tomb of St. Francis of Assisi. Usually, the pilgrims would pray for several days near the saint’s tomb or the altar that kept the holy relic and if possible, they would touch it. At Canterbury, pilgrims would drink water that was said to contain drops of Becket’s blood; pilgrims would also take water or dust scraped from the shrine for future use. It was normal to make offerings at shrines. Sometimes the pilgrims would bend a silver coin when they vowed to be a pilgrim and give it on arrival. It was also common that one would measure the height of the sick person or the injured limb with thread and use it as the wick for a candle to be burnt at the shrine. Bibliography

 "Pilgrimage." __A Dictionary of English Folklore__. Oxford University Press, 2000, 2003. //Answers.com// 05 Oct. 2008. []  "Pilgrimage." __Britannica Concise Encyclopedia__. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2006. //Answers.com// 05 Oct. 2008. []  Hatley, Ray, ed. "Medieval Pilgrims." __History.UK.com__. 5 Oct. 2008 [].

Also added by Ms Kemsley: //In Western Europe during this time there was a homogeneous society with a common culture and common set of beliefs. The single institute that did most to promote this unity was the medieval church. Latin, the language of the church, baceme the language of all educated persons. The Church was the dominant force in preserving and transmitting culture - it was Europe's chief publisher, librarian, and teacher. Abbeys and monasteries were the main centres of learning - they were also immense farms and places where all manner of handicrafts were practised. Of course this much power also led to a lot of corruption in the Church - not everyone involved was necessarily moral!//

The Black Death
The Black Death, one of the world’s deadliest natural disasters, reached Europe in 1348 and took 25 million to 45 million lives, one third of European population – in just five years. It was an outbreak of the bubonic plague caused by Yersinia pestis, a bacterium that was carried through rodents. Fleas in contact with those rodents transmitted the disease simply by attaching themselves to humans. The disease was also be spread by inhaling air exhaled by the victim and through the blood system. The first symptom was growth of buboes on groins, necks and armpits, followed by a fever and vomiting blood. Most contaminated people died within seven days after the infection because there was no cure. This outbreak brought serious disorder to societies. Death, illness, and isolation of the leaders, ministers, and executors of the laws led the societies into chaos and anarchy, allowing people act as they please. Eventually, “Brother abandoned brother” ( TheBlackDeath,1348), neighbors avoided each other and relatives rarely visited each other. Terrified by the plague, even parents refused to see their children as if their children were not theirs. The consequences of people staying home and avoiding all contact were severe. Having faced starvation in result of untended crops and animals, societies eventually encountered inflation. Once the outbreak diminished, the lords were desperately in need of labor, thus encouraged peasants to work for them and refused to let them return to their village. The lords’ tyranny after the outbreak eventually led to Peasants Revolt of 1381.

//**Added by Ms K:** The plague later returned to England two or three more times in the 14th century, and didn't disappear altogether until after the Great Plague that devastated London in 1665. The population of England did not fully return to its pre-plague level until the 17th century. This decimation of the population had enormous economic and social consequences, and directly contributed to the downfall of the feudal system, under which labourers were treated very unfairly. This is because there was suddenly plenty of food, so the landlords couldn't charge too much for it, and not enough labour, so the laboureres had to be paid better.// Works Cited "The Black Death, 1348." //EyeWitness to History - History through the Eyes of Those Who Lived It//. Web. 27 Sept. 2010. . "The Black Death: Bubonic Plague." //Middle Ages - Medieval Resources//. Web. 27 Sept. 2010. <http://www.themiddleages.net/plague.html>. <span style="background-color: white; color: black; line-height: 24pt; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in;">"The Black Death of 1348 to 1350." //History Learning Site//. Web. 27 Sept. 2010. <http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/black_death_of_1348_to_1350.htm>. <span style="background-color: white; color: black; line-height: 24pt; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in;">Ibeji, Mike. "BBC - History - British History in Depth: Black Death: Political and Social Changes." //BBC - Homepage//. 5 Nov. 2009. Web. 27 Sept. 2010. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/middle_ages/blacksocial_01.shtml>. <span style="background-color: white; color: #2a2a2a; line-height: 24pt; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in;"> "历史上的大灾难-黑死病 Great Historic Disasters - The Black Death." Docin.com. Web. 27 Sept. 2010. < http://www.docin.com/p-49807149.html  >.

**Thomas A Becket**
**Nafisah and Amy** Thomas A Becket was born in 1118 in Normandy and was son to a wealthy English Merchant. He spent many years studying in Paris and then later joined the household of Theobold (the Archbishop of Canterbury). In 1154, Becket befriended King Henry II. Henry named Becket his Chancellor. When Theobold died in 1161, Henry made Becket archbishop, thinking that Becket would be some sort of inside man and would pull strings within the church to favour the king. Becket no longer acted as a courtier, but more as a serious, simply dressed cleric after being named archbishop. After a while of working for the king in the church Becket realized that what he was doing was wrong and wasn’t helping the church. Becket decided to no longer tend to the King's bidding. Becket chose to actually work for the church's benefit and only stood up for the Church. Because of this King Henry and the archbishop’s friendship was put under strain. In 1164 Becket went into exile in France, because he was on bad terms with the King, and remained in exile for 6 years. After returning to Canterbury the King wanted Becket to be killed because he was getting in the way of the King’s hand on the Church. King ordered four knights to “take care” of the situation in the Canterbury Cathedral on December 29th 1170. Three years after his murder Becket was made a saint and his shrine in Canterbury Cathedral became one of the most important destinations for pilgrimages.

**The Hundred Year's War, Crusades & Chivalry**
By: Bubba Yee, Emily Hsu, and of course, William Chen

The Hundred Year’s war refers to a series of related battles fought between the Kingdom of England and France during 1337 and 1453. It all began when King Philip IV of France tried to confiscate English territory in 1337, thus King Edward III of England responded and invaded France. The significance of this war showed changes in the condition of warfare including the type of weapons and military tactics men used, the definition of war, and the structure of medieval society. The war ended with France claiming victory. The war casted strong influences on medieval chivalry by appealing to men with the concept of fighting and dying chivalrously are great honors. The Crusades were a series of military campaigns based on religious purposes. The two rival sides were the Christians and the Muslims; in 1076, the Muslims had invaded and captured Jerusalem- the holy land for Christianity. Thus an everlasting war between the two religions broke out. There were 10 crusade battles in total, including the Children’s crusades. After a series of conflicts, the Christians lost four major battles during The Crusades and eventually gave away the Holy Land to the Muslims. The Crusades lasted for almost 200 years and had established itself to be the most important single series of events in the Middle Ages. Apparently, the //Canterbury Tales// was written during a time when transformation and change in society had just made major advancements due to the previous wars.

Added by Ms Kemsley 1: Probably the most important outcome of the war was the change of French and English people; the English monarchy were driven from France. After the war the house of Plantagenet protected its footing in England while the House of Valois controlled the mainland of France and created two distinct nationalities. Joan of Arc, a significant person during the wars, became very important during the Lancastrian war. She led the House of Valois in order to defeat the House of Plantagenet. Although she was captured by Burgundy, she was so important that in the end, because of her, the House of Plantagenet lost the war.

Added by Ms Kemsley 2: <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">The Crusades were religious wars against the enemies of the pope. Christians fought against many groups including Muslims, Jews, Slavs and many others. The original goal of the Crusades was to take the Holy Land back into Christian European rule. There were many Crusades in the middle ages. The earliest started in 1095 and the latest was in the 17th century. The Knights Hospitaller, Crusaders, even fought until their Defeat in 1798. There are mixed views about the crusades. In Western Europe, people saw the Crusades as heroic, chivalrous and adventurous but others saw the Crusades as barbaric and even somewhat hypocritical. Christians believe that they should not hate or fight their enemies so the Crusades seemed like a direct contradiction to these values. <span style="color: black; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> Christianity and courtly love influenced and expanded the code of chivalry to include religious goodness and refined social graces and manners. Knights were expected to treat other knights with respect and benevolence. When in battle, knights would not attack their enemies if they were not armed. Chivalry is used to describe courteous, respectful behavior. It is sometimes used to describe men's attitude to women.

The 10 Commandments of the Code of Chivalry:


 * 1) Thou shalt believe all that the Church teaches, and shalt observe all its directions.
 * 2) Thou shalt defend the Church.
 * 3) Thou shalt respect all weaknesses, and shalt constitute thyself the defender of them.
 * 4) Thou shalt love the country in the which thou wast born.
 * 5) Thou shalt not recoil before thine enemy.
 * 6) Thou shalt make war against the Infidel without cessation, and without mercy.
 * 7) Thou shalt perform scrupulously thy feudal duties, if they be not contrary to the laws of God.
 * 8) Thou shalt never lie, and shall remain faithful to thy pledged word.
 * 9) Thou shalt be generous, and give largess to everyone.
 * 10) Thou shalt be everywhere and always the champion of the Right and the Good against Injustice and Evil.

Bibliography (for further reading) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Braudel, Fernand, The Perspective of the World, vol III of Civilization and Capitalism 1984 (in French 1979). <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> "Effects of the Crusades." Middle Ages. Web. 27 Sept. 2010. < [] >.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> "The Christian Crusades: 1095-1291." Global Ministries - General Board of Global Ministries, United Methodist Church. Web. 27 Sept. 2010. < [] >.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> "The Crusades." History Learning Site. History Learning Site, 2010. Web. 27 Sept. 2010. < [] >.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> 1327, By. "The Hundred Years War." History Learning Site. History Learning Site, 2010. Web. 27 Sept. 2010. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> < [] >.

Feudal System and the Peasant’s Revolt
By Shao-Yan and Alberto

During the fourteenth century, there was a system of feudalism, established during the 11th century by William the conqueror in order to better govern the country. William divided up his lands between nobles he knew he could trust, since he reasoned that if they were willing to die in battle for him, they would also stay loyal to him. These barons and nobles were known as tenants-in-chief, who were the most important people under the king, and were tasked with collecting taxes and supplying soldiers to the king in times of need. These nobles divided their land even further, to Norman knights, who had also proved their valor through battle. Similarly, these knights, known collectively as sub-tenants, were also tasked with collecting taxes and supplying soldiers for their respective baron. Finally, at the bottom of the system were the peasants and commoners, ordinary people who had to comply with their lords’ demands or suffer punishment. Due to the fact that the peasants were often mistreated and bullied, they were constantly displeased with their disposition, and more importantly with the ruling of their society. Their displeasure was mostly due to the poll tax laws and the labor shortage problems, and thus caused the infamous Peasants’ Revolt of 1381. Led by John Ball of Blackheath, Wat Tyler of Kent and Jack Straw of Essex, the peasants arrived in London, and while one group discussed laws with the young King Richard II, another group of rebels invaded the Tower of London and killed many of the government officials hiding there. Though aided by nobles, notably William Tonge, the king reneged on their peaceful promise, and executed and disposed of the leaders, and subsequently the other protesting peasants, bringing the revolt to an end.

A little more detail on how it ended, added by Ms Kemsley: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-indent: 17.95pt;">//As a result, Richard ll agreed to meet the rebels at Mile End the following day. Once there, he made some tactical concessions and granted collective charters of pardon and freedom from serfdom to the men of Essex and Hertforshire - **charters revoked** on the collapse of the revolt a fortnight later. . . .On the 15th, the final meeting between Tyler and Richard occurred at Smithfield. Troops loyal to the King were concealed nearby and following the **fatal stabbing of Tyler**, probably by London's Mayor Walworth, the troops appeared and surrounded the rebels. **This was the end of the revolt in London**, although further risings continued throughout the South East."// <span style="background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; padding-right: 10px; text-indent: 17.95pt;"> [|//http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/voices/voices_revolt.shtml//]

Bilbliography: <span style="background-color: white; display: block; line-height: 24pt; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.5in;"> "Feudalism." //History Learning Site//. Web. 28 Sept. 2010. <http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/feudalism.htm>. <span style="background-color: white; display: block; line-height: 24pt; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.5in;"> 1381, By. "Peasants Revolt." //History Learning Site//. Web. 28 Sept. 2010. <http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/peasants_revolt.htm>. <span style="background-color: white; display: block; line-height: 24pt; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.5in;"> <span style="background-color: white; display: block; line-height: 24pt; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.5in;">