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Britain in the Middle Ages

 
Britain in the Middle Ages

 
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Britain in the Middle Ages
 
 
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England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
 during the Middle Ages
Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
 (from the 5th century withdrawal of Roman forces from the province
Roman province

In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of the Italia ....
 of Britannia
Roman Britain

Roman Britain refers to those parts of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire between AD 43 and 410. The Romans referred to their province as Britannia....
 and the Germanic
Germanic peoples

File:Germanische-ratsversammlung 1-1250x715.jpgThe Germanic peoples are a historical Ethnolinguistics group, originating in Northern Europe and identified by their use of the Indo-European languages Germanic languages which diversified out of Common Germanic in the course of the Pre-Roman Iron Age....
 invasions, until the dawn of Early Modern Britain
Early Modern Britain

Early Modern Britain is the history of Great Britain, roughly corresponding to the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. Major historical events in Early Modern British history include the English Renaissance, the English Reformation and Scottish Reformation, the English Civil War, the Restoration of Charles II of England, the Glorious Revolution,...
) was fragmented into a number of independent kingdoms. By the High Middle Ages
High Middle Ages

The High Middle Ages was the periodization of history of Europe in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries . The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which by convention end around 1500....
, after the end of the Viking Age
Viking Age

Viking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the eighth to eleventh centuries....
 and the Norman Conquest, the kingdom of England
Kingdom of England

The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a state in North-West Europe. The Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and a number of smaller outlying islands?what is today the legal unit of England and Wales....
 comes to rule almost all of the area previously ruled by the Romans; what little territory of Roman Britain that did not fall under English rule came under the government of the Kingdom of Scotland
Kingdom of Scotland

The Kingdom of Scotland was a state in North-West Europe which existed from 843 until 1707. It occupied the northern third of the island of Great Britain and shared a Anglo-Scottish border to the south with the Kingdom of England, with which it was united to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, under the terms of the Acts of Union 1707, in 170...
, which would come into personal union shortly after the end of the Middle Ages.

The medieval period in England can be dated from the arrival in Kent
Kent

Kent is a Counties of England in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the River Thames estuary....
 of Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxons

Anglo-Saxons is the term usually used to describe the invading tribes in the south and east of Great Britain starting from the early 5th century AD, and their creation of the English nation, lasting until the Norman conquest of England of 1066....
 troops led by the legendary Hengest
Hengest

Hengest or Hengist was a semi-legendary ruler of Kingdom of Kent in southeast England. His name is common Germanic for "Stallion ". He is paired in the early sources with his brother Horsa ....
 and Horsa
Horsa

Horsa, according to tradition, was a fifth century warrior and brother of Hengest who took part in the invasion and conquest of Great Britain from its native Romano-British and Celtic inhabitants....
.






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England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
 during the Middle Ages
Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
 (from the 5th century withdrawal of Roman forces from the province
Roman province

In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of the Italia ....
 of Britannia
Roman Britain

Roman Britain refers to those parts of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire between AD 43 and 410. The Romans referred to their province as Britannia....
 and the Germanic
Germanic peoples

File:Germanische-ratsversammlung 1-1250x715.jpgThe Germanic peoples are a historical Ethnolinguistics group, originating in Northern Europe and identified by their use of the Indo-European languages Germanic languages which diversified out of Common Germanic in the course of the Pre-Roman Iron Age....
 invasions, until the dawn of Early Modern Britain
Early Modern Britain

Early Modern Britain is the history of Great Britain, roughly corresponding to the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. Major historical events in Early Modern British history include the English Renaissance, the English Reformation and Scottish Reformation, the English Civil War, the Restoration of Charles II of England, the Glorious Revolution,...
) was fragmented into a number of independent kingdoms. By the High Middle Ages
High Middle Ages

The High Middle Ages was the periodization of history of Europe in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries . The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which by convention end around 1500....
, after the end of the Viking Age
Viking Age

Viking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the eighth to eleventh centuries....
 and the Norman Conquest, the kingdom of England
Kingdom of England

The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a state in North-West Europe. The Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and a number of smaller outlying islands?what is today the legal unit of England and Wales....
 comes to rule almost all of the area previously ruled by the Romans; what little territory of Roman Britain that did not fall under English rule came under the government of the Kingdom of Scotland
Kingdom of Scotland

The Kingdom of Scotland was a state in North-West Europe which existed from 843 until 1707. It occupied the northern third of the island of Great Britain and shared a Anglo-Scottish border to the south with the Kingdom of England, with which it was united to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, under the terms of the Acts of Union 1707, in 170...
, which would come into personal union shortly after the end of the Middle Ages.

The medieval period in England can be dated from the arrival in Kent
Kent

Kent is a Counties of England in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the River Thames estuary....
 of Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxons

Anglo-Saxons is the term usually used to describe the invading tribes in the south and east of Great Britain starting from the early 5th century AD, and their creation of the English nation, lasting until the Norman conquest of England of 1066....
 troops led by the legendary Hengest
Hengest

Hengest or Hengist was a semi-legendary ruler of Kingdom of Kent in southeast England. His name is common Germanic for "Stallion ". He is paired in the early sources with his brother Horsa ....
 and Horsa
Horsa

Horsa, according to tradition, was a fifth century warrior and brother of Hengest who took part in the invasion and conquest of Great Britain from its native Romano-British and Celtic inhabitants....
. Subsequently the Brythonic, Celt
Celt

Celts , is a modern term used to describe any of the European peoples who spoke, or speak, a Celtic languages. The term is also used in a wider sense to describe the Modern Celts of those peoples, notably those who participate in a Celtic culture....
ic powers were conquered by Jutes
Jutes

The Jutes, Iuti, or Iutae were a Germanic people who, according to Bede, were one of the three most powerful Germanic peoples of the time....
, Angles
Angles

The Angles is a modern English language word for a Germanic languages people who took their name from the cultural ancestral region of Angeln, a modern district located in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany....
 and Saxons
Saxons

The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic peoples. Their modern-day descendants in Saxony are considered ethnic Germans; those in the eastern Netherlands are considered to be ethnic Dutch people; those in north eastern Belgium are considered to be ethnic Flemish people; and those in southern England ethnic English people ....
 Germanic tribes
Germanic peoples

File:Germanische-ratsversammlung 1-1250x715.jpgThe Germanic peoples are a historical Ethnolinguistics group, originating in Northern Europe and identified by their use of the Indo-European languages Germanic languages which diversified out of Common Germanic in the course of the Pre-Roman Iron Age....
, from the contemporary Angeln
Angeln

Modern Angeln, also known as Anglia , is a peninsula in Southern Schleswig in the northern Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, protruding into the Bay of Kiel....
 and Jutland
Jutland

File:Jutland peninsula 2.pngJutland , historically also called Cimbria, is a peninsula in Europe. Jutland forms the mainland part of Denmark as well as the northernmost part of Germany....
 areas of northern Germany and mainland Denmark
Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries....
. Political takeover of other areas of England proceeded piecemeal and was not completed until the tenth century.

Similarly, the end of the medieval period is usually dated by the rise of what is often referred to as the "English Renaissance
English Renaissance

The English Renaissance was a Cultural movement and Art movement in England dating from the early 16th century to the early 17th century. It is associated with the pan-European Renaissance that many cultural historians believe originated in northern Italy in the 14th century....
" in the reign of Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was also Lordship of Ireland and claimant to the Early Modern France. Henry was the second monarch of the House of Tudor, succeeding his father, Henry VII of England....
, and the Reformation in Scotland, or else to the establishment of a centralized, bureaucratic monarchy by Henry VII of England
Henry VII of England

Henry VII was the Kingdom of England and Lordship of Ireland from his usurpation of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the Tudor dynasty....
. From a political point of view, the Norman Conquest of England divides medieval Britain in two distinct phases of cultural and political history. From a linguistic point of view the Norman Conquest had only a limited effect, Old English evolving into Middle English
Middle English

Middle English is the name given by historical linguistics to the diverse forms of the English language spoken between the Norman conquest of England of 1066 and about 1470, when the #Chancery Standard, a form of London-based English, began to become widespread, a process aided by the introduction of the printing press into England by William...
, although the Anglo Norman language would remain the language of those that ruled for two centuries at least, before mingling with Middle English.

At the height of pre-Norman medieval English power, a single English king ruled from the border with Scotland to the border with Wales to the border with Cornwall
Cornwall

Cornwall , constitutional Duchy and palatine, is a metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England of England, United Kingdom, located at the tip of the south-western peninsula of Great Britain....
. After the Norman Conquest, English power intruded into Wales with increasing vigour, but the process of consolidation was continuous and is not just a medieval feature. The other problem with suggesting such a unity is that the various state
State

A state is a political Social contract with effective sovereignty over a geographic area and representing a population. These may be nation states, State or multinational states....
s had relations with Scandinavia
Scandinavia

Scandinavia is a historical and geographical subregion in northern Europe that includes the Scandinavian Peninsula. It consists of the kingdoms of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark; some authorities also include Finland and some might even include Iceland....
 and Continental Europe
Continental Europe

Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European islands and, at times, peninsulas....
 which are excluded by the concept. For example, northern Scotland often had closer ties with Norway
Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a constitutional monarchy in Northern Europe that occupies the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula....
 and France (see Auld Alliance
Auld Alliance

The Auld Alliance refers to a series of treaties, offensive and defensive in nature, between Scotland and France aimed specifically against England....
) than England or Wales in the medieval period, with Orkney and Shetland only becoming part of Scotland in 1471. Southern England, due to its proximity to Normandy
Normandy

Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is situated along the coast of France south of the English Channel between Brittany and Picardy and comprises territory in northern France and the Channel Islands....
, Flanders
Flanders

Flanders is a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. Over the course of history, the geographical territory that was called "Flanders" has varied....
 and Brittany
Brittany

Brittany is a former independent Celtic nations monarchy and duchy, now incorporated into France. It is also, more generally, the name of the cultural area whose limits correspond to the historic province and independent duchy....
, had closer relations with them than the other regions.

Periodisation

  • Sub-Roman Britain
    Sub-Roman Britain

    Sub-Roman Britain is a term derived from an archaeologists' label for the material culture of Great Britain in Late Antiquity. "Sub-Roman" was invented to describe the pottery sherds in sites of the 5th century and the 6th century, initially with an implication of decay of locally-made wares from a higher standard under the Roman Empire....
     (5th to 6th centuries)
  • Early Middle Ages
    Early Middle Ages

    The Early Middle Ages is a period in the history of Europe following the fall of the Western Roman Empire spanning roughly five centuries from AD 500 to 1000....
     (7th to 11th centuries): England, Scotland
    Scotland in the Early Middle Ages

    The Early Middle Ages, a period which corresponds in part with Early Historic Scotland and the Later Iron Age, is that era of Scottish pre-history and history which extends over the last three-quarters of the first millennium AD....
    , Wales
    Wales in the Early Middle Ages

    The history of Wales in the early Middle Ages is sketchy, as there is very little written history from the period. Nonetheless, some information may be gleaned from archaeological evidence and what documentary history does exist....
    • Anglo-Saxon England
    • Viking Age
      Viking Age

      Viking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the eighth to eleventh centuries....
  • High Middle Ages
    High Middle Ages

    The High Middle Ages was the periodization of history of Europe in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries . The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which by convention end around 1500....
     (11th to 15th centuries): England
    England in the High Middle Ages

    *History_of_England#Norman_England *House of Plantagenet** Henry II of England or Henry FitzEmpress, or Henry Curtmantle** Richard I of England or Richard the Lionheart/Lion-hearted, or C?ur de Lion...
    • Norman rule
      History of England

      The history of England did not begin until the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons, when the partition of Britain into several countries largely began. It was the history of Britain that began in the prehistoric during which time Stonehenge was erected....
       (1066-1154)
    • House of Plantagenet
      House of Plantagenet

      The House of Plantagenet was a royal house founded by Henry II of England, son of Geoffrey V of Anjou. The Plantagenet kings first ruled the Kingdom of England in the 12th century....
        (1154–1485)
  • Late Middle Ages
    Late Middle Ages

    The Late Middle Ages is a term used by historians to describe history of Europe in the periodization of the 14th and 15th centuries . The Late Middle Ages were preceded by the High Middle Ages, and followed by the Early modern Europe ....
     (14th and 15th centuries): England
    England in the Late Middle Ages

    *House of Plantagenet *House of Lancaster *House of York ...
    • House of Lancaster
      House of Lancaster

      The House of Lancaster was a branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. It was one of the opposing factions involved in the Wars of the Roses, an intermittent civil war which affected England and Wales during the 15th century....
       
      Lancashire Rose
      (1399–1471)
    • House of York
      House of York

      The House of York was a branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet, three of whom became List of monarchs of England in the late 15th century....
       
      Yorkshire Rose
      (1461–1485)
  • Transition to Early Modern Britain
    Early Modern Britain

    Early Modern Britain is the history of Great Britain, roughly corresponding to the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. Major historical events in Early Modern British history include the English Renaissance, the English Reformation and Scottish Reformation, the English Civil War, the Restoration of Charles II of England, the Glorious Revolution,...
    • House of Tudor (1485–1603)
      • Elizabethan era
        Elizabethan era

        The Elizabethan era is associated with Elizabeth I of England's reign and is often considered to be the Golden Age in History of England. It was the height of the English Renaissance and saw the flowering of English poetry and English literature....
         1558-1603
    • House of Stuart
      House of Stuart

      The House of Stuart, also known as the House of Stewart is an important European royal house. Founded by Robert II of Scotland, the Stewarts first became monarchs of the Kingdom of Scotland during the late 14th century....
        (1371-1707)


List of states

Britain 500 Ce

Early Middle Ages


Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon

Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a Germanic people inhabiting parts of England during the Dark Ages* Anglo-Saxon architecture* Anglo-Saxon economy ...
 states
See: Heptarchy
Heptarchy

Heptarchy is a collective name applied to the supposed seven Anglo-Saxons kingdoms of south, east, and central Great Britain during late antiquity and the early Middle Ages which eventually unified into England ....

Celtic states

Viking Age

High Middle Ages

post-1066
Norman conquest of England

The Norman conquest of England began in 1066 AD with the invasion of the Kingdom of England by the troops of William I of England, Duke of Normandy , and his victory at the Battle of Hastings....
 states
  • Norman England
    History of England

    The history of England did not begin until the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons, when the partition of Britain into several countries largely began. It was the history of Britain that began in the prehistoric during which time Stonehenge was erected....
     (1066-1154)
  • House of Plantagenet
    House of Plantagenet

    The House of Plantagenet was a royal house founded by Henry II of England, son of Geoffrey V of Anjou. The Plantagenet kings first ruled the Kingdom of England in the 12th century....
      (1154–1485)


Late Middle Ages


  • House of Lancaster
    House of Lancaster

    The House of Lancaster was a branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. It was one of the opposing factions involved in the Wars of the Roses, an intermittent civil war which affected England and Wales during the 15th century....
     
    Lancashire Rose
    (1399–1471)
  • House of York
    House of York

    The House of York was a branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet, three of whom became List of monarchs of England in the late 15th century....
     
    Yorkshire Rose
    (1461–1485)
  • House of Tudor (1485–1603)
  • House of Stuart
    House of Stuart

    The House of Stuart, also known as the House of Stewart is an important European royal house. Founded by Robert II of Scotland, the Stewarts first became monarchs of the Kingdom of Scotland during the late 14th century....
      (1371-1707)


See also


  • Groans of the Britons
    Groans of the Britons

    The Groans of the Britons is the name of the final appeal made by the post-Roman Romano-British population of Sub-Roman Britain for assistance against foreign invasion....
  • Celtic Christianity
    Celtic Christianity

    Celtic Christianity, or Insular Christianity broadly refers to the Early Middle Ages Christian practice that developed in Britain and Ireland before and during the post-Roman period, when Germanic invasions sharply reduced contact between the broadly Celts populations of Britons and Irish with Christians on the Continent until their s...
  • Anglo-Norman
    Anglo-Norman

    The Anglo-Normans were mainly the descendants of the Normans who ruled England following the conquest by William I of England in 1066, although a few Normans were already in England before the conquest....
  • English historians in the Middle Ages
    English historians in the Middle Ages

    English historians in the Middle Ages helped to lay the groundwork for modern historical historiography, providing vital accounts of the early history of England, Wales and Normandy, its cultures, and revelations about the historians themselves....
     Important English historians and historical works from the Middle Ages.
  • List of English chronicles
    List of English chronicles

    This is a list of the most important Chronicles relevant to the kingdom of England in the period from the Norman Conquest of England to the beginning of the Tudor dynasty ....
  • History of Anglo-Saxon England
    History of Anglo-Saxon England

    The history of Anglo-Saxon England covers the history of early medieval England from the end of Roman Britain and the establishment of Anglo-Saxons kingdoms in the fifth century until the Norman Conquest of England in 1066....
    —England between the 5th century and the Norman Conquest.
  • History of England
    History of England

    The history of England did not begin until the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons, when the partition of Britain into several countries largely began. It was the history of Britain that began in the prehistoric during which time Stonehenge was erected....
    —England after the Norman Conquest.
  • Scotland in the High Middle Ages
    Scotland in the High Middle Ages

    The history of Scotland in the High Middle Ages covers Scotland in the era between the death of Donald II of Scotland in 900 AD and the death of king Alexander III of Scotland in 1286, which led indirectly to the Scottish Wars of Independence....
  • Scotland in the Late Middle Ages
    Scotland in the Late Middle Ages

    The history of Scotland in the Late Middle Ages might be said to be dominated by the twin themes: crisis and transition. The Late Middle Ages was a period where the boundaries were set by the death of kings-that of Alexander III of Scotland in 1286 and James IV of Scotland in 1513, one by accident and the other by war; both different and yet...
  • History of Scotland
    History of Scotland

    The history of Scotland begins around 10,000 years ago, when humans first began to inhabit what is now Scotland after the end of the Wisconsin glaciation, the last ice age....
  • History of Wales
    History of Wales

    The country of Wales, or Cymru in Welsh, has been inhabited by modern humans for at least 29,000 years, though continuous human habitation dates from the period after the end of the last Ice age, around 9,000 BC....
  • Medieval France


External links