Medieval rule and the Black Death

The lesson

The Wars of the Roses were fought between the House of York and the House of Lancaster from 1455 to 1485. Both families claimed the English throne. The conflict ended when Henry Tudor defeated Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485 and became Henry VII.

Medieval society was strongly hierarchical. Under feudal arrangements, land and loyalty linked kings, lords, and those who worked the land. Magna Carta, agreed in 1215, became an important statement that the king was subject to the law; Parliament developed over time.

The Black Death reached Britain in 1348. It killed about one-third of the population in England, with similar proportions in Scotland and Wales. The loss of so many people caused labour shortages and changed work and social relationships.

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In 1215, King John agreed to Magna Carta after pressure from the barons. It established that the king was subject to the law. Modern democracy developed over the following centuries; Parliament grew gradually from councils that advised the monarch.

Wales came under English royal control during the Middle Ages. In Scotland, Robert the Bruce defeated an English army at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. The Hundred Years War was fought between England and France; Henry V won the Battle of Agincourt in 1415.

The Black Death arrived in 1348, before Agincourt and the Wars of the Roses. It killed around one-third of the population in England, with similarly severe losses elsewhere. With fewer workers available, surviving labourers could demand better terms. The Wars of the Roses began in 1455 between the houses of Lancaster and York.

Edward I’s Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284 annexed Wales to the English Crown. Castles such as Conwy and Caernarfon helped secure English power. In Ireland, the Pale was the English-controlled area around Dublin. In Scotland Robert the Bruce won at Bannockburn in 1314. England and France fought the Hundred Years War for 116 years; Henry V’s victory at Agincourt came in 1415.

Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales in English about pilgrims travelling to Canterbury and telling stories. William Caxton introduced book printing with a press in England; The Canterbury Tales was among the early books he printed. In Scotland, John Barbour wrote The Bruce about Robert the Bruce and Bannockburn. English grew from Anglo-Saxon and Norman French and was used in official documents and the royal court by about 1400.

The English Parliament developed into two Houses: nobles and bishops in the Lords, and elected knights and wealthy townspeople in the Commons. Scotland’s Parliament had three Estates: lords, commons and clergy. English common law developed through earlier court decisions and tradition; Scottish law followed a different course, with codified rules. Wool was an important English export. Castles and cathedrals, including Windsor Castle, Lincoln Cathedral and York Minster, survive from this period.

Lancaster’s emblem was a red rose; York’s was white. After defeating Richard III at Bosworth in 1485, Henry VII married Elizabeth of York. The Tudor rose combined a white rose inside a red one, symbolising the union of the families.

William Caxton introduced printing with a press in England. Printed books became easier to reproduce than manuscripts copied by hand. One early book he printed was Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, which was already an important work of English literature.

John Barbour was a Scottish poet who wrote The Bruce. The poem celebrates Robert the Bruce, including his victory over the English at Bannockburn. It belongs to the development of a distinct Scottish literary tradition during the Middle Ages.

In the feudal system the king granted land to nobles in return for military support, and nobles divided estates among lesser landholders. Serfs worked land and owed labour or produce to their lord. Scotland’s clan system linked land, kinship and loyalty to a chief. After the Black Death, labour shortages helped some peasants demand better wages or move to towns. A gentry class of landowners and an urban middle class grew.

The Crusades were military campaigns by European Christians seeking control of the Holy Land. English kings and knights took part. Trade also connected Britain with other countries: wool was exported, while merchants and skilled workers came from Europe. Flemish weavers and German engineers were among the migrants who brought specialist skills. Medieval society therefore involved overseas trade and migration as well as warfare.