Feudalism

Feudalism was introduced in England in 1066 following the Battle of Hastings and the Norman Conquest. William the Conqueror who was crowned King William I of England .

Became a way of life in Medieval England and remained for many centuries.

All land was owned by the King.

The feudal system was a way of government based on obligations between the lord or king and vassal.

The knights served the barons and the peasants served the knights.

King = had complete control in the feudal system, he owned land and leased them out to Lords.

Barons : They were known as the Lord of the Manor and were in complete control of this land

They had to serve on the royal council, pay rent and provide the King with Knights for military service when he demanded it.

Knights were given land by a Baron in return for military service when demanded by the King. They also had to protect the Baron and his family, as well as the Manor, from attack. The Knights kept as much of the land as they wished for their own personal use and distributed the rest to villeins (serfs). Although not as rich as the Barons, Knights were quite wealthy.

The knights divided their land up and gave it to the peasants who had to pay taxes.

The land in England was claimed and divided : (about 20% ), the church (about 25%) and the remainder of English land was given to Norman soldiers and nobles (barons)

Medieval Serfs worked for his lord's land and paid him certain dues in return for the use of land, the possession (not the ownership) of which was heritable. When the land changed owners the peasants were obliged to work for the new owners - the Normans.

The Peasants or Serfs:

They were given land by Knights. They had to provide the Knight with free labour, food and service whenever it was demanded. They had no rights,were not allowed to leave the Manor and had to ask their Lord's permission before they could marry, they were poor.

Everything they owned, their food, homes, and animals all belonged to the lord of the manor
To gain freedom a peasant had to save money for his own land or marry a free person.

Taxes were not paid in money.

They were paid in products and services. At harvest time, the vassals gave shares of their crops to the lords.

When animals were killed for food, part of the meat was given to the lords. The lords promised to give protection, peace, and safety to their vassals.

The Decline of Feudalism

From the 12th century onward feudalism came under attack from various rival forces.

The Crusades and travel during the Middle Ages opened new trade options to England.

The Black Death - this reduced the population of England by one third.

The Peasants Revolt - Peasants realised their worth and demanded changes. For the first time peasants had joined together in order to achieve political change.

The towns, growing in economic power and even forming their own militias, was able to a large extent to impose their own concepts about society against those of the knights.

More trade saw the growth of more towns

Finally, the manorial system, the material basis of the knightly class, in the 12th and 13th centuries underwent a deep economic crisis.

Peasants moved away from the country into towns they were eventually allowed to buy their freedom.

Land was rented and the rights of lords over labour decreased

rich nobles were allowed to pay for soldiers rather than to fight themselves.

Life changed and Mercenaries were hired from all over Europe.

The Mercenaries had few allegiances, except to money, and these paid fighting men were feared throughout Europe.

At the end of the Middle Ages King Henry VIII clashed with the Pope and England subsequently broke with the Catholic church of Rome and the power of the Pope

THE TUDORS

The Tudor was a family dynasty which ruled England from 14851603. During its period under the rule of the House of Tudor, England underwent a substantial number of political, economic, social, and religious reforms which dramatically altered the future of the country and its people. Two of England's most well-known monarchs were members of the Tudor Dynasty: Henry VIII and his daughter Elizabeth I.

HENRY VII

He was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor.

HENRY VIII
He was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France. Henry was the second monarch of the Tudor dynasty, succeeding his father, Henry VII.

ELIZABETH I

Elizabeth I (known simply as "Elizabeth" until the accession of Elizabeth II; 7 September 1533 24 March 1603) was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called "The Virgin Queen", "Gloriana" or "Good Queen Bess", Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty.