Breakdown Of The Feudal System Flashcards
(6 cards)
Why was their a civil war between Stephen and Matilda 1135-54?
King Henry 1 died in 1135 he had no legitimate son, so he persuaded his barons to accept his daughter Matilda as queen, but when he died matilda was away in France so her cousin Stephen, the richest baron in England seized the throne.
The war went back and forth over the years in a constant stalemate eventually the barons forced them to make a deal that put Stephen on the throne until his death when he would be succeeded by Matilda’s son Henry II.
Why did the feudal system fail during the anarchy?
1: Failure of the monarchy,
Both Stephen and Matilda seemed more concerned with fighting each other than ruling the country, so law and order broke down and many barons took advantage of this and many lords stopped accepting Stephens orders. Stephen had tried to win the barons loyalty at the start of the war but he relaxed too many of Henry’s restrictions and gave the barons too much power.
2: Barons fault,
Many local lords and barons took advantage of the lack of true royal authority during this period and built up their own power, lands and castles. Many also took control of their local sheriffs.
One example of an ambitious baron is Geoffrey of Mandeville whose fathers lands had been confiscated and held by the king during Henry’s reign. So in 1140 Geoffrey declared his support of Stephen in return he got most of his fathers valuable lands back. In 1141 when Stephen was captured Geoffrey immediately declared his support for Matilda in return for the cancellation of his fathers debts to the crown. When Stephen escaped Geoffrey switched sides again but in 1143 the pair fell out and Stephen besieged him.
How did Henry 2 regain control in England?
Henry II was crowned king in 1154 and proved that the feudal system could work under a strong king.
Throughout the the 1150’s he seized over 40 castles from the barons keeping 30 for himself and rewarding loyal barons with the others. He also forced the barons to provide detailed information on their wealth and lands and taxed them based off that information, he was also careful not to overtax them to prevent discontent.
He also forgave barons who accepted his authority and earned his barons loyalty so when he clashed with Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas becket most barons stayed loyal to the king.
When he died in 1189 the throne was passed to his son(Richard the lion heart)
What where king johns problems?
1: Richard lion hearts expensive and ongoing wars,
John inherited many wars from his brother Richard who spent most of his reign on crusade or protecting his land in France and while he was a skilled commander when he died in 1199 he left John with many financial issues.
2: Johns failings as a war leader,
In 1204 John lost Normandy to king Phillip which was his most valuable remaining land. He repeatedly failed as a war leader.
3: Johns character and behaviour,
He was a suspicious and treacherous man and was cruel and mean in victory much unlike his brother Richard. He harshly punished anyone who stood up to him for example he imprisoned Matilda de braose and demanded £25000 and when she refused it he left her and her son to starve to death. He didn’t trust many of his barons and forced them to pay heavy taxes for wars overseas in Normandy, this lost his support from the church and his barons.
4: Let down by his barons
He was a poor war leader as it was but his complete lack of support from his barons led to many losses as they were unwilling to risk their soldiers in his battles.
Why was the Magna Carta set up in 1215?
Tensions between John and his barons reached a climax in 1215 and they met to see if a compromise could be reached, this failed. The rebel barons took up arms against him for 2 months and had the support of the Archbishop of Canterbury Stephen Langton.
The war divided families and civilians and went back and forth it’s also probably why John accepted the Magna Carta.
What was the impact of the Magna Carta?
The Magna Carta put the king below the law for the first time.
At the time it was seen as a peace treaty which put a stop to the battles and poor treatment from John.
But John overturned the Magna Carta almost immediately and the war began again, rebel barons invited son of French king Phillip II to take throne and many sieges and battles followed but Dover castle held out.
In October 1215 John besieged Rochester castle to stop French forces joining the barons, the castle fell in 1216 and alliances began to shift as he was persuaded not to hang all rebels.
But within a year John died and most of the rebels pledged loyalty to his 9 year old son Henry especially as highly respected William marshal was ruling on his behalf.
