England+and+France+Develop

England and France Develop

Key Words:
 * 1) William the Conqueror- The invader was William, duke of Normandy, who became known as William the Conqueror . Normandy is a region in the north of France that had been conquered by the Vikings.
 * 2) Henry II- The English king added to these holdings by marrying Eleanor of Aquitaine from France.
 * 3) Common law- Over the centuries, case by case, the rulings of England’s royal judges formed a unified body of law that became known as common law . Today the principles of English common law are the basis for law in many English-speaking countries, including the United States.
 * 4) Magne Carta- On June 15, 1215, they forced John to agree to the most celebrated document in English history, the Magna Carta . This document, drawn up by English nobles and reluctantly approved by King John, guaranteed certain basic political rights.
 * 5) Parliament- Legislative group. In November 1295, knights, burgesses, bishops, and lords met together at Westminster in London. This is now called the Model Parliament because its new makeup served as a model for later kings.
 * 6) Hugh Capet- Undistinguished duke from the middle of France, succeeded him. The Capet family ruled only a small territory, but at its heart stood Paris. Hugh Capet began the Capetian dynasty of French kings that ruled France from 987 to 1328.
 * 7) Philip II- One of the most powerful Capetians was Philip II, called Philip Augustus, who ruled from 1180 to 1223. As a child, Philip had watched his father lose land to King Henry II of England. When Philip became king at the age of 15, he set out to weaken the power of the English kings in France.
 * 8) Estates-General: The commoners, wealthy landholders or mer- chants, that Philip invited to participate in the council became known as the Third Estate. The whole meeting was called the Estates-General.

Key People: Philip II Hugh Capet Henry II Eleanor of Aquitaine William the Conquerer Canute

Ideas/Events:

ENGLAND ABSORBS WAVES OF INVADERS:
 * The Angles and the Saxons stayed, bringing their own ways and creating an Anglo-Saxon culture.
 * Only Alfred the Great, Anglo- Saxon king from 871 to 899, managed to turn back the Viking invaders. Gradually he and his successors united the kingdom under one rule, calling it England, “land of the Angles.”
 * In 1016, the Danish king Canute conquered England, molding Anglo-Saxons and Vikings into one people. In 1042, King Edward the Confessor, a descendant of Alfred the Great, took the throne.
 * The Normans were descended from the Vikings, but they were French in language and in culture. As King Edward’s cousin, William claimed the English crown and invaded England with a Norman army.
 * Anglo-Saxons fought the battle that changed the course of English history, the Battle of Hastings. After Harold was killed by an arrow that pierced his eye, the Normans won a decisive victory.
 * William kept about one-fifth of England for himself. The English lords who supported Harold lost their lands.

ENGLAND'S EVOLVING GOVERNMENT:


 * English kings tried to achieve two goals. First, they wanted to hold and add to their French lands. Second, they wanted to strengthen their own power over the nobles and the Church.
 * The marriage brought Henry a large territory in France called Aquitaine. He added Aquitaine to the lands in Normandy he had already inherited from William the Conqueror. Because Henry held lands in France, he was a vas- sal to the French king.
 * They collected taxes, settled lawsuits, and punished crimes. Henry also introduced the use of the jury in English courts. A jury in medieval England was a group of loyal people—usually 12 neighbors of the accused—who answered a royal judge’s questions about the facts of a case.
 * Henry was succeeded first by his son Richard the Lion- Hearted, hero of the Third Crusade. When Richard died, his younger brother John took the throne. John ruled from 1199 to 1216.
 * Some of John’s problems stemmed from his own personality. He was cruel to his subjects and tried to squeeze money out of them. He alienated the Church and threatened to take away town charters guaranteeing self-government. John raised taxes to an all-time high to finance his wars. His nobles revolted.
 * English people of all classes argued that certain clauses in the Magna Carta applied to every citizen. Guaranteed rights included no taxation with- out representation, a jury trial, and the protection of the law.
 * Another important step toward democratic government came during the rule of the next English king, Edward I. Edward needed to raise taxes for a war against the French, the Welsh, and the Scots.
 * Over the next century, from 1300 to 1400, the king called the knights and burgesses whenever a new tax was needed. In Parliament, these two groups gradually formed an assembly of their own called the House of Commons. Nobles and bishops met separately as the House of Lords.

CAPETIAN DYNASTY FULES FRANCE:


 * The kings of France, like those of England, looked for ways to increase their power. After the breakup of Charlemagne’s empire, French counts and dukes ruled their lands independently under the feudal sys- tem. By the year 1000, France was divided into about 47 feudal territories.
 * For 300 years, Capetian kings tightened their grip on this strategic area. The power of the king gradually spread outward from Paris. Eventually, the growth of royal power would unite France.
 * When Philip became king at the age of 15, he set out to weaken the power of the English kings in France. Philip was crafty, unprincipled, and willing to do whatever was necessary to achieve his goals.
 * Philip had little success against Henry II or Henry’s son, Richard the Lion- Hearted. However, when King John, Richard’s brother, gained the English throne, it was another matter.
 * Philip II not only wanted more land, he also wanted a stronger central govern- ment. He established royal officials called bailiffs.
 * France’s central government became even stronger during the reign of Philip’s grandson, Louis IX, who ruled from 1226 to 1270. Unlike his grandfather, Louis was pious and saintly.
 * After his death, he was made a saint by the Catholic Church. Louis created a French appeals court, which could overturn the decisions of local courts. These royal courts of France strengthened the monarchy while weakening feudal ties.
 * In 1302, Philip IV, who ruled France from 1285 to 1314, was involved in a quarrel with the pope. The pope refused to allow priests to pay taxes to the king. Philip disputed the right of the pope to control Church affairs in his kingdom. As in England, the French king usually called a meeting of his lords and bishops when he needed support for his policies.
 * The Church leaders were known as the First Estate, and the great lords as the Second Estate.
 * Unlike Parliament, however, the Estates- General never became an independent force that limited the king’s power. However, centuries later, the Third Estate would play a key role in overthrowing the French monarchy during the French Revolution.
 * England and France were just beginning to establish a democratic tradition. This tradition rested on setting up a centralized government that would be able to govern widespread lands.