Middle Ages

Question 1

What is the Middle Ages?

Answer 1

The period after the Norman Conquest up until about 1485 is called the Middle Ages (or the medieval period). It was a time of almost constant war.
The English kings fought with the Welsh, Scottish and Irish noblemen for control of their lands. In Wales, the English were able to establish their rule.

Question 2

What is the Statute of Rhuddlan?

Answer 2

In 1284 King Edward I of England introduced the Statute of Rhuddlan, which added Wales to the Crown of England.

Question 3

What are Conwy and Caernarvon?

Answer 3

Huge castles (among many) built to maintain the power of the Statute of Rhuddlan

Question 4

When were English laws and the English language introduced to Wales?

Answer 4

By the middle of the 15th century - when the last Welsh rebellions had been defeated.

Question 5

How successful were the English Kings in defeating Scotland?
And what is the Battle of Bannockburn?

Answer 5

In Scotland, the English kings were less successful.
In 1314 the Scottish, led by Robert the Bruce, defeated the English at the Battle of Bannockburn, and Scotland remained unconquered by the English.

Question 6

Why did the English first go into Ireland?

Answer 6

At the beginning of the Middle Ages, Ireland was an independent country.
The English first went to Ireland as troops to help the Irish king and remained to build their own settlements.

Question 7

What is the Pale?

Answer 7

By 1200, the English ruled an area of Ireland known as the Pale, around Dublin.
Some of the important lords in other parts of Ireland accepted the authority of the English king.

Question 8

What are the Crusades?

Answer 8

During the Middle Ages, the English kings fought a number of wars abroad including the Crusades - in which the European Christians fought for control of the Holy Land (many knights participated)

Question 9

What is the the Hundred Years War?

Answer 9

English kings fought a long war with France, called the Hundred Years War (even though it lasted 116 years).

Question 10

What is the Battle of Agincourt and when did it occur?

Answer 10

Battle of Agincourt was one of the most famous battles of the Hundred Years War that occurred in 1415.
King Henry V’s vastly outnumbered English army defeated the French.

Question 11

What is feudalism?

Answer 11

A system of land ownership used by the Normans in England and southern Scotland.
The king gave land to his lords in return for help in war. Landowners had to send certain numbers of men to serve in the army.

Question 12

Who were serfs?

Answer 12

Serfs were peasants who had a small area of their lord’s land where they could grow food. In return, they had to work for their lord and could not move away.

Question 13

What system of land ownership developed in northern Scotland and Ireland?

Answer 13

In the north of Scotland and Ireland, land was owned by members of the ‘clans’ (prominent families).

Question 14

What was the Black Death and when did it occur?

Answer 14

In 1348, a disease, probably a form of plague, came to Britain. This was known as the Black Death.

Question 15

Why was the Black Death known as one of the worst disasters to ever strike Britain?

Answer 15

One third of the population of England died and a similar proportion in Scotland and Wales.
Following the Black Death, the smaller population meant there was less need to grow cereal crops. There were labour shortages and peasants began to demand higher wages. New social classes appeared and people left the countryside to live in the towns.

Question 16

How did the social classes change after the Black Death?

Answer 16

New social classes appeared, including gentry - owners of large areas of land. People left the countryside to live in the towns.
In the towns, growing wealth led to the development of a strong middle class.

Question 17

What happened in Ireland during The Black Death?

Answer 17

In Ireland, the Black Death killed many in the Pale and, for a time, the area controlled by the English became smaller.

Question 18

What are the origins of the Parliament?

Answer 18

In the Middle Ages, Parliament began to develop into the institution it is today.
Its origins can be traced to the king’s council of advisers, which included important noblemen and the leaders of the Church.

Question 19

What was the Magna Carta (which means the Great Charter)?

Answer 19

In 1215, King John was forced by his noblemen to agree to a number of demands which resulted in the creation of a charter of rights called the Magna Carta.
This established the idea that even the king was subject to the law. It protected the rights of the nobility and restricted the king’s power to collect taxes or to make or change laws. In future, the king would need to involve his noblemen in decisions.

Question 20

Why were the Houses established in the Parliament?

Answer 20

As the king was called to consult his nobles (particularly when needing to raise money), the number of ppl attending the Parliament increased and two separate parts, known as Houses, were established.

Question 21

What were the 2 types of Houses that developed in the Parliaments in England?

Answer 21

House of Lords - consisted of the nobility, great landowners and bishops.

House of Commons - Knights, who were usually smaller landowners, and wealthy people from towns/cities were elected to sit in this House.
Only a small part of the population was able to join in electing the members of the Commons.

Question 22

What were the Estates that developed in Scotland’s medieval Parliament?

Answer 22

The Parliament that developed in Scotland had three Houses, called Estates: the lords, the commons and the clergy.

Question 23

What are the three houses in the Scottish Parliament called?

Answer 23

A similar Parliament to England’s Parliament developed in Scotland. It had three Houses, called Estates: the lords, the commons and the clergy.

Question 24

What happened during the time of development in the legal system?

Answer 24

The principle that judges are independent of the government began to be established.

Question 25

What is the Common Law?

Answer 25

In England, judges developed ‘common law’ by a process of precedence (that is, following previous decisions) and tradition. In Scotland, the legal system developed slightly differently and laws were ‘codified’ (written down).

Question 26

What language(s) were spoken in Britain after the Norman Conquest?

Answer 26

After the Norman Conquest, the king and his noblemen had spoken Norman French and the peasants had continued to speak Anglo-Saxon. Gradually these two languages combined to become one English language.

Question 27

What development occurred in the legal system during the medieval period?

Answer 27

• It was established that judges are independent of the government
• In England, judges developed ‘common law’ by a process of precedence - which means following previous decisions and tradition.
• In Scotland, the legal system developed slightly differently and laws were ‘codified’ (that is, written down).

Question 28

What languages were spoken in England after the Norman Conquest?

Answer 28

King and his noblemen spoke Norman French

Peasants continued to speak Anglo-Saxon

Question 29

How did English language form during the Middle ages?

Answer 29

Gradually the two languages - Norman French and Anglo-Saxon combined to become one English language.
By 1400, in England, official documents were being written in English, and English had become the preferred language of the royal court and Parliament.

Question 30

Who is Geoffrey Chaucer?

Answer 30

In the years leading up to 1400, he wrote ‘The Canterbury Tales’ - a series of poems in English about a group of people going to Canterbury on a pilgrimage and the stories they told for amusement.

Question 31

Who is William Caxton?

Answer 31

First person in England to print books using a printing press; one of the first books he printed was ‘The Canterbury Tales’.

Question 32

How did language develop in Scotland?

Answer 32

In Scotland, many people continued to speak Gaelic and the Scots language also developed.
A number of poets began to write in the Scots language.

Question 33

Who is John Barbour?

Answer 33

Poet who wrote in the Scots language

He wrote ‘The Bruce’ about the Battle of Bannockburn

Question 34

What is the significance of Windsor and Edinburgh castles?

Answer 34

During the middle ages, many castles were built in Britain and Ireland, partly for defence.
Today many are in ruins, although some, such as Windsor and Edinburgh, are still in use.

Question 35

What is the significance of Lincoln Cathedral and the stained-glass in York minister?

Answer 35

Great cathedrals, like Lincoln Cathedral, were built during medieval period and many of these are still used for worship.
Several of the cathedrals had windows of stained glass, telling stories about the Bible and Christian saints. The glass in York Minster is a famous example.

Question 36

What was an important export of England during the middle ages?

Answer 36

English wool

Question 37

What skills did the ppl from the following countries bring with them:

• France
• Germany
• Italy
• Holland

Answer 37

France - weavers
Germany - engineers
Italy - glass manufacturers
Holland - canal builders

Question 38

What was the ‘Wars of the Roses’ and when did it begin?

Answer 38

In 1455, a civil war was begun between the House of Lancaster and the House of York to decide who should be king of England.

Question 39

What were the symbols of the two Houses - Lancaster and York?

Answer 39

Symbol of Lancaster was a red rose and the symbol of York was a white rose

(This is why the civil war between the 2 houses was called the Wars of the Roses)

Question 40

What was the Battle of Bosworth Field?

Answer 40

1485 battle which ended the Wars of the Roses.
King Richard III (of the House of York) was killed and Henry Tudor (leader of the House of Lancaster) became King Henry VII.

Question 41

How were the Houses of York and Lancaster united?

Answer 41

King Henry VII married King Richard III’s niece, Elizabeth of York and united the two families under the House of Tudor.
Henry was the first king of the House of Tudor.

Question 42

What symbol signified the alliance between the Houses of York and Lancaster?

Answer 42

The symbol of the House of Tudor was a red rose with a white rose inside it as a sign that the Houses of York and Lancaster were now allies.