Guest Author - Alena K Shumway
Many consider the Norman invasion of Britain to be the birth of England, to be the most shaping influence on all we consider to be British for some time. In 1066 William the conqueror came from Normandy in France. He claimed the British throne did not belong to Harold, newly crowned king after the death of Edward the Confessor but to himself. After Harold defeated Harold Hardrada, the King of Norway--another invader in search of the crown--he was confronted with William and all his troops, dug in on a beach in southern England. Harold was killed and his armies defeated in the battle of Hastings and William claimed the English throne. In many ways the policies enacted by William the conqueror during his time on the throne shaped feudal Britain. He claimed all lands and handed out lordships and land to other nobles from Normandy to be held in trust until he (or his heirs) wanted them back. Under these new lords were all the people living in Britain at the time. This is feudalism as most are familiar with, with the king as supreme ruler over all people and lands. Odd that it was not achieved until the eleventh century when the Middle Ages was almost half over! William and his fellow Normans spoke French and tried to impose a culture on Britain, sweeping the previous mishmash of cultures away, but did not completely succeed. In an effort of organize his new kingdom he had the Doomsday book written. This was a survey of all the lands and people in Britain, an exemplary primary source for historians to come. Following William’s rule were centuries of kings and queens, that, while not necessarily peaceful, did have some degree of cultural regularity to them.
Late Medieval England has often been used to describe the whole history of medieval England. From the eleventh century onward we see castles being built all over the island, small towns start forming around those castles. This is the time of feasts and tournaments, pilgrimages and markets. The Hundred Years War, also the War of the Roses happened in this time. Most of Shakespeare’s historical plays are set in this time.
England emerged from the last of the Middle Ages and finally dragged itself into the Renaissance with the succession of the house of Tudor to the English throne in 1485. This time saw the beginnings of what we recognize as modern England. The rule of Henry VIII saw Britain emerge as a force to be reckoned with by the rest of Europe. Also shaping modern England is the break from the Catholic Church and the pope in Rome. Of even greater influence was the reign of his daughter, Queen Elizabeth I. During her reign we see the explosion of culture in the form of support of the arts, the popularization of the printing press, and massive amounts of sea travel. England was becoming the British Empire that shaped must of our world today.
Click here to learn about The Early Middle Ages.
Click here to learn about The Renaissance.
Good book on the history of Endgland:
