1066: Norman kings: William I, II (Rufus), Henry I, Stephen (anarchy, civil war), House of Anjou-Plantagenet
1154-89: Henry II, overlord of all Britains, Ireland, and the West of France, murder of Thomas Becket
Richard I, crusader – was taken in prison in Austria
Feudal system: Domesday Book – a survey of England.
Three languages: French (king, nobility and the ruling classes), Middle English (by the citizens and the serfs), Latin (clergy). Almost no English literature, jury system was introduced in the reign of Henry II.
John I. (“Lackland”)
1215: Great Charter
Henry III. wanted to break the Great Charter
Simon de Montfort summons Parliament
Edward I. Summons the Model Parliament
Edward III. began the One-Hundred-Years War against France in 1337. The common man (archer) decided the battles of Crecy and Poitiers
Richard II. Peasant’s Revolt. He was deposed by the Duke of Lancaster (Henry IV) in 1399.
The French and Middle-English language began to mix. Mystery Plays (Bible Stories) and Miracle Plays (The life of Christ and the saints) by town guilds.
The English Language was restored as the official language.
J. Wyclif: First complete English version of the Bible.
Geoffrey Chaucer: Canterbury tales
ordeal (Gottesurteil)
John Wyclif protested against the papal viceregency of Christ and accepted only the teachings that were based on the Bible. His followers were called Lollards.
1399: Hose of Lancaster. Henry IV. Henry defeated the French in the Battle of Agincourt (1415). He married a French princess. Henry IV. was crowned King of England and France (1422)
Jean d’Arc relieved Orleans and was burnt at the stake (1431). All French territories were lost except Calais (1453)
1455: Rivalry of the Houses York and Lancaster. The Wars of the Roses (1455-85)
House of York: Edward IV – murdered in the Tower, probably by Richard III: stain in the Battle of Bosworth against Henry Tudor (Henry VII).
Performances of Mysterial and Miracle Plays continued. New Plays: Moralities (e.g. Everyman) allegorical plays preaching a moral. Barren age in literature
The first printing press was set up by William Caxton: 1476. From now on English spelling remained almost unchanged, whereas the pronounciation changed: “Historic spelling”
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