History Flashcards
(58 cards)
1
Q
The Druids
A
- powerful and influential priests
- responsible for keeping the calender and fixing the four festivals around which the agricultural year was organized
- was more important than the chief
- means knowledge of the oak tree \ Celts were nature worshippers
- also administrators of justice and teachers
2
Q
Iberians
A
-reached Britain between 3000 BC and 2000 BC
-came from Spain
-settled in the area of Salisbury where their most important remains have been found
-left long earth barrows or burying places and impressive stone circles the most important of which is Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain
-the terraces cut into the chalky land let us know that they practised agriculture
they traded tin, copper, lead
3
Q
Beaker people
A
- 2300 BC
- origins have been traced to low countries and the middle-Rhine
- round skulls
- name derives from the custom of burying their dead in individual graves with decorated bell shaped pottery beakers
4
Q
Celts
A
- first arrived in 700 BC from Eastern Europe and southern Russia
- second wave settled in the fourth century BC
- the Gaels arrived from northern Germany
- the Brythons and the Belgae from northern Gaul
5
Q
Tribal society of the Celts
A
- basic unit of the tribe is the kinship, or family group
- kinships combined to form larger groups that practised communal agriculture, introducing the cultivation of corn
- highly aristocratic in form and its politics were dominated by warrior elites
- the Celts were very quarrelsome by nature and a unified policy of common action was almost impossible to achieve because of infighting
6
Q
Celts art and religion
A
- attach great importance to decoration and also to personal display
- craftsmen developed very beautiful artefacts, from gold and silver jewelry to inlaid swords
- Celtic religion was directed towards placating and controlling the forces of nature
- religious ceremonies took place in forest sanctuaries
- they believed in another world after death, an underground world or an island
7
Q
Romans and Celts
A
- first Roman invasion took place under Caesar in 55-54 BC and it was mainly to verify the stories he had heard, he only stayed a short time
- real invasion took place under the emperor Claudius in AD 43, the only real opposition came from Boadicea, queen of the Iceni tribe
- the development of Britain must be viewed within the context of an alien occupation
- over 10% of the Roman army was based in Britain
- Romans carried out a policy of urbanization: their streets continued to be used after their departure, London was originally set up in AD 45
- the Romans tolerated the Celtic religion in the spirit of interpretatio romana: a Roman practice consisting of identifying a deity with one of their own
- to inspire loyalty towards to the empire the imperial cult was introduced, which consisted of the emperors being venerated along with other deities
8
Q
Angles, Saxons, Jutes
A
- they were backward and primitive and they came from northern Germany and southern Denmark around the middle of the fifth century
- according to the Venerable Bede the first began to raid and then settled in the country in the fifth century
- the only written testimony of their destructive arrival comes from the monk Gildas
- Britons fled and sought refuge in Wales and Scotland
- they divided the country into seven kingdoms: Kent, Sussex, Wessex, Essex, Mercia, Northumbria, East Anglia
- two or more kingdoms sometimes united under one king but we can not speak of England as a nation
9
Q
597 AD
A
Pope Gregory the Great sent the monk Augustine to convert the English to Christianity
10
Q
Ethelbert of Kent
A
- first to be converted by Augustine
- allowed Augustine to found a monastery and a Cathedral at Canterbury
11
Q
Redwald of East Anglia
A
The Sutton Hoo Ship Burial, which is the most important of Anglo Saxon finds, is believed to be Redwald
12
Q
Edwin of Northumbria
A
- converted in York where he built a church which became York Minster
- ruled over English and Britons alike
13
Q
Offa the Mighty of Mercia
A
- 757-796
- most visible product of his reign is Offa’s Dyke, which separates Mercia and the Welsh
- first person to claim to be king of the English
- during his reign the Danes began to ravish England
14
Q
Alfred the Great
A
849-899
- keen and enlightened administrator
- he fought bravely against the Danes and made peace with their leader Guthrum in 879
- he brought scholars to Wessex and founded schools
15
Q
Edgar the Peaceable
A
he united the English and the Danes by giving the latter equal social advantages
16
Q
Edward the Martyr
A
he was murdered
17
Q
Ethelred the Unready
A
he would take no advice and during his reign England was conquered by the Danish
18
Q
Canute
A
- ruled over both Scandinavia and England as an English king
- severe but just ruler
- devout Christian
- succeeded by Harold the first and then by Hardicanute
19
Q
Edward the Confessor
A
- called from Normandy by Hardicanute in 1040
- put many Normans in influential positions in church and state
- when he died the Witan chose Harold II to succeed him but William of Normandy decided to conquer England
20
Q
Battle of Hastings
A
1066
21
Q
William I the Conqueror
A
1066-1087
- he introduced the feudal system in England
- made a survey to see who and what could be taxed and who was getting too rich and powerful
- survey was written in the Domesday Book, which records the amount of land held by each vassal
- separated the fields of clerical and lay justice, and religious cases were tried by a special ecclesiastical court
22
Q
William II
A
1087-1100
- also called William Rufus
- dies in a hunting accident
23
Q
Henry I
A
1100-1135
- established a uniform system of justice, called the Lion of Justice
- he had no male heir and so his daughter Matilda was supposed to succeed him but when he died his son Stephen decided to try to take the crown. a bloody civil war ensued which ended in a compromise: Stephen would rule, but Matilda’s son would succeed him
24
Q
Stephen
A
1135-1154
25
Henry II
1154-1189
- first Plantagenet king
- reduced the barons power using mercenaries, knights could pay a sum of money called scutage instead of giving service which was then used to hire mercenaries
- common law
- also wanted to reduce power of the church, he named Thomas Beckett Archbishop of Canterbury but Thomas's religious morals were too strong and he refused to comply with the Constitutions of Clarendon, although he was murdered in 1170
26
Common Law
- instituted by Henry II
- law administered by travelling judges
- it was not based on the Civil Law of the Roman Empire nor on the Canon Law of the Church
- based on custom, comparisons, previous cases and decisions
- trial by jury replaces trial by ordeal
27
Constitutions of Clarendon
1164
- the king would have the power to invest bishops
- clergymen who committed serious crimes were to be tried by a civil court as well as by a religious one
28
Richard I
1189-1199
- Henry's son, also called Richard Lionheart
- sets out immediately for the Third Crusade
29
John Lackland
1199-1216
- Richard's brother
- levied taxes in order to wage wars to defend his French possessions
- in 1215 when he returned from an unsuccessful campaign he was forced to sign the Magna Carta
30
Magna Carta
- 1215
- also called the Great Charter of Liberties
- no tax shall be levied without the consent of the great court
- no free man shall be arrester or harmed in any way unless he has been judged by his equals (although it must be noted that freemen were privileged people)
- it was the first step towards a constitutional monarchy
31
Henry III
1216-1272
- became king at 9 years old so a group of barons ruled until he grew up
- Parliament began during his reign thanks to the action of Simon de Monfort in 1265
32
Edward I
1272-1307
-in 1295 he held Model Parliament which included representatives of the barons, of the clergy and two knights from each county and two citizens from each town
33
Edward II
1307-1327
| -he was a terrible king and was deposed and probably murdered
34
Edward III
1327-1377
- introduced the idea of chivalry, a set of values (bravery, honesty, loyalty, glory) that the perfect knight had to have
- he laid claim to the throne of France and began the Hundred Years' War in 1337
- during his reign the Black Death devastated the country in 1348
35
Hundred Years' War
1337-1453
- Edward III pretended it was a dispute over the crown of France but it was actually because French pirates were threatening England's wool trade with Flanders
- it is considered the first national war in European history, England also began to develop its national unity
- 1346 the English win the Battle of Crècy thanks to their archers
- because of the war the upper classes began to speak French less and less and so the East Midland's dialect became the origin of the English that we speak now
36
Black Death
1348
- called so because the body becomes black after death
- it was brought by fleas living on rats on ships
- it killed more than a third of England's population
- it caused great social unrest because there were fewer labourers and the price of labour doubled so more and more villeins wanted to be free to work instead of working for lords but they didn't want to pay more nor free the villeins
- it culminated in the Peasant's Revolt
37
Richard II
1377-1399
- became king when he was ten and so a council of noblemen ruled until he came of age
- introduced the poll-tax
- in 1381 he crushed the Peasant's Revolt
- he began to act strangely and people thought he was mad
- Henry Bolingbroke, who he had exiled, returned, gathered the support of many powerful families and overthrew him
38
Poll-tax
tax levied on each person older than fourteen which was used to fund the war in France
39
Peasant's Revolt
1381
- the country already had social unrest because of the Black Death and so when Richard III levied the poll-tax violence broke out
- it was led by Wat Tyler
- Richard III placated the rebels with false promises and once he had the situation under control he executed all the leaders
- it caused the decline of the feudal system
40
Henry IV
1399-1413
- even though he was accepted by Parliament he was always considered an usurper
- succeeded by his eldest son
41
Henry V
1413-1422
- he renewed the Hundred Years' War partly to keep his rebellious barons busy, partly because the situation in France was favourable
- 1415 he lands in France and captures the town on Harfleur
- he won the Battle of Agincourt thanks to English bowmen
- 1420 he signed the Treaty of Troyes which said he would marry Catherine, daughter of the King of France, and then become heir to the throne
- since the Dauphin was excluded from the Treaty the fighting began again
42
Henry VI
1422-1461
- he was an infant when his dad died so a council of nine ruled, and John Plantagenet was to govern Normandy and Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester was to be the protector of the realm
- he was too weak to rule and his wife completely ruled over him as she fought to keep the throne for the House of Lancaster
- the Hundred Years' War ends during his reign, and at the end the only English possession in France was the port of Calais
- the War of Roses begins during his reign
43
Edward IV
1461-1483
- he was of the House of York
- after his death the civil war began again
- he left his nephew as heir
44
War of the Roses
1455-1485
- it is a civil war that broke out because all the military force employed in the Hundred Years' War were now at in England in the service of the politically ambitious powerful families
- House of Lancaster (red rose) vs House of York (white rose)
45
Richard III
1483-1485
- he was the heir's uncle and he took the crown for himself and locked his nephew in the Tower of London
- he was well received in the beginning but slowly he lost the support of the people
- Henry Tudor, who had been in exile, returned and defeated him at Bosworth Field
46
Henry VII
1485-1509
- he was the first of the Tudor dynasty and he was a good candidate for the throne because all the other nobles had been killed in the War of Roses
- to stop the civil war, as he was a member of the House of Lancaster, married a member of the House of York
- he chose his advisors based on skill instead of nobility for two reasons: they were more loyal and cheaper
- he limited the nobles' power and gave it to small landowners
47
Henry VIII
1509-1547
- out-going, courageous, chivalrous
- immediately married his brother's widow, Catherine of Aragon
- exercised control through ministers: Thomas Wolsey, Thomas More, Thomas Cromwell
- he developed the Reformation of the Church
- he dies in 1547 and leaves 3 heirs: Edward VI, Mary and Elizabeth
48
Thomas Wolsey
- rose rapidly through the church and gained a great wealth which turned him into an enemy for many of the nobles
- in 1529 he fell out of the king's favour when he got caught between the king's demands for a divorce and the Pope's refusal
- in 1530 he dies
49
Thomas More
- he was appointed Lord Chancellor
- the king had underestimated his strong moral and religious principles and More refused to support the king's claims to being Supreme Head of the Church
- he was executed
50
Reformation of the Church
-happened during Henry VIII's reign
-began because the Church had too much money and the Pope was becoming more and more a political opponent
-1534 Act of Supremacy Henry persuaded the English Bishops to make him head of the Church of England
-he then divorced Catherine and married Anne Boleyn
1536-1539 the dissolution of the monasteries, with the help of Thomas Cromwell closed monasteries and confiscated their riches
51
Edward VI
- he was too young to rule and so a council ruled
- the council was composed of Catholics and members of the new nobility created by the Tudors who were in favour of the Protestant reform
- Duke of Somerset was greedy and an extreme Protestant and tried to prevent the Catholic Mary from succeeding
52
Bloody Mary
1553-1558
- she became queen at the age of sixteen
- she and extreme catholic and burnt hundreds of Protestants at the stake
53
Elizabeth I
1558-1603
-she was a force of peace and reconciliation
-she revoked Mary Tudor's catholic legislation and was protestant but she was no fanatic
-1559 Act of Settlement which enforced the Protestant religion and made the celebration of mass illegal
-kept Mary of Scots imprisoned for twenty years
-1587 Philip of Spain tried to conquer England
building the Spanish armada but was defeated
-she also secretly encouraged the looting of Spanish ships by the sea dogs
-she encouraged the creation of colonies abroad
54
Sir Francis Drake
1541-1596
- English admiral who circumnavigated the world
- famous for the damage he caused to the Spanish
55
Sir John Hawkins
1532-1595
- naval administrator and the first slave trader
- abilities contributed to winning against the Spanish armada
56
Sir Walter Raleigh
1552-1618
- an adventurer and early colonizer in America
- led expeditions to Guyana
- wrote A History of the World
57
The Renaissance: definition
The great flowering of art, architecture, politics and the study of literature, usually seen as the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the modern world which came under the influence of Greek and Roman models. It began in Italy in the late 14th century, culminated in the High Renaissance in the early 16th century (the period of Michelangelo and Machiavelli) and spread to the rest of Europe in the 15th century and afterwards. Its emphasis was humanist - that is on regarding the human figure and reason without a necessary relating of it to the superhuman, but which of its energy also comes from the Neoplatonic tradition in writers such as Pico della Mirandola. The word Renaissance has been applied in the 20th century to earlier periods which manifested a new interest in the classics, but the Italian Renaissance is still seen as a watershed in the development of civilization.
58
Renaissance
- 16th century held a spur of creative energy and there are two theories:
1) England's prosperity: questioned because only some classes prospered and usually the decline of society produces stimulating literature
2) Humanism: this does have an influence but can't be considered the main cause
- complete shift in human thought and the return to the classics is a symptom
- eclectic age with a sense of duality: empiricism and Neoplatonism
