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Medieval England: A Captivating Guide to English History in the Middle Ages, Including Events Such as the Norman Conquest, Black Death, and Hundred Years' War
Medieval England A Captivating Guide to English History in the Middle Ages Including Events Such as the Norman Conquest Black Death and Hundred Years' War
Author: Captivating History
ISBN-13: 9781647486242
ISBN-10: 1647486246
Publication Date: 2/23/2020
Pages: 128
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4 stars, based on 1 rating
Publisher: Captivating History
Book Type: Paperback
Members Wishing: 1
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jjares avatar reviewed Medieval England: A Captivating Guide to English History in the Middle Ages, Including Events Such as the Norman Conquest, Black Death, and Hundred Years' War on + 3242 more book reviews
After the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century, Medieval England changed with the influx of new peoples, specifically the Germanic tribes, the Angles, Saxons, and later, the Danes. Another revolutionary change in the country occurred when these Germanic immigrants became Christian and created monasteries and churches. The invading Vikings, seeking riches (not lands), plundered these monasteries repeatedly.

This book makes the point that under the Anglo-Saxons, the king was considered to be divine. Because the church leaders were about the only ones literate, they became the administrators in the government. The Church organized the country into one whole organization. Now I can see how the Church gained so much power.

Norman Conquest -- In 1066, the Anglo-Saxon elites were totally replaced by the Normans and William the Conqueror. I thought the chapter, "The Consequences of Norman Conquest," to be a particularly fine summation of how things changed and did-not-change in England after the Norman Conquest. In fact, I thought it was the most interesting chapter in the whole book. It talked about language, laws, taxes, military service, how the English vs. Normans dressed, built castles, and the importance of religion. It was a nice respite from the constant wars and the changing litany of rulers, that constituted most of the chapters.

"The Viking settlers in France formed a new political entity. They were Norsemen, but, in French, this work took a slightly different form: Normans." (p. 46) What an amazing bit of (important) trivia!

Thank you for the clear explanation of King Stephen's fight with Matilda. Most books talk about the civil war without explaining the how-and-why of the controversy. I also thought the story of Thomas Becket's fight with King Henry II was clear in this book. A surprise in this section was the large number of civil wars in England during these years.

Black Death -- During the Black Death of 1347-1351, England lost 1/2 of its population, which put its economy in turmoil. It took 200 years for Europe to recover their numbers. The 1300s were a turbulent time in England because of the Great Famine (1315-17), which had already reduced the population.

Hundred Years' War -- When English kings claimed the French crown, this led to 100 years of wars between the two powers. England's Plantagenets were fighting the French royal House of Valois. Unbelievably, this war was ongoing during the Black Death, essentially (a total of 116 years) from 1337 to 1453.

This book takes the time to briefly cover Joan of Arc, the heroine of the Lancastrian phase of the Hundred Years War. Amazingly, the War of the Roses was yet another civil war in England. One side was the White Rose of the House of York and the Red Rose of the House of Landcaster. When Henry VII won, from the House of Tudor, he combined the roses, to symbolize the unification of the two houses, to the Tudor Rose. This book indicates that the Middle Ages ended for England with the victory of Henry VII in 1485.


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