To what extent did the role of feudalism in the military organisation show continuity throughout the period of 1066?
'To what extent did the role of feudalism in the military organisation show continuity throughout the period of 1066 - 1216' In Anglo-Saxon England the king could call on the population to raise an army known as the fyrd. These men were not necessarily trained or experienced soldiers, but were subject to conscription. Such forces were raised to fight the two invasions of 1066. Along with these men would have been the Housecarls, who were trained soldiers that were part of the someone like the King's Household. The Norman kings, like William II, Henry I and Stephen all used this system to raise an army during their reigns. The system was already well-established and therefore the Norman Kings only had to built on and add elements in order to make it more efficient and organised. After 1066, William I established the principle of land in exchange for military service, this meant that the king's 'tenants-in-chiefs' were obliged to provide him with mounted knights to fight in the royal army. This was known as servitium debitum. The number of knights expected from lay tenants-in-chief was not properly systematized in the immediate aftermath of 1066, but would later on be developed and refined under later kings such as Henry I. It is important to note that feudalism was not the only method by which military service was obtained, William the Conqueror's invading army was made up
Why, in 1529, did the Church in England begin to come under attack?
Why, in 1529, did the Church in England begin to come under attack? In 1529, the Church in England came under attack from Henry VIII after Pope Clement VII refused to grant him an annulment for his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. It is conventionally believed that there were two main factors which led to the English Reformation: Henry's failure to receive a divorce, and general discontent amongst the laity towards the Church. Traditional historians have long believed that 'if one thing can be said of the English people early in the sixteenth century it is that they thought little of priests.' They also believe that, even without the divorce, the Church in England would have experienced some form of reformation, due to widespread anti-clericalism. 'The higher clergy were disliked because they were wealthy and ostentatious; Wolsey provided a suitable epitome of this alleged trait. The lesser clergy - parish priests and unbeneficed men - earned contempt and dislike by rapacity and pretensions with which their intellectual equipment, material means, and private morality too rarely kept pace.' No aspect of the Church was same from attack. These historians, such as Elton or A.G. Dickens, believe that there were several reasons why the laity had become so anti-clerical. The first of these was the wealth of the Church, which was concentrated mainly in the hands of the
Shakespeare has created a frivolous, sometimes disreputable Prince of Wales. In the early scenes of "Henry V", Shakespeare has to convince the audience that as a king, Henry will be a completely different person. How does he do this?
Carla Searle In the preceding plays of the tetrology, Shakespeare has created a frivolous, sometimes disreputable Prince of Wales. In the early scenes of "Henry V", Shakespeare has to convince the audience that as a king, Henry will be a completely different person. How does he do this? The two earlier plays in Shakespeare's tetrology; "Henry IV" parts one and two, the young Henry V (known as Hal) has been shown as an unlikable character. Through the dialogue of "Henry V" however, Shakespeare has needed to prove that Henry has become an amicable king. Henry's change in personality is shown to the audience in a number of ways during the early scenes of Shakespeare's "Henry V". "Henry V" is similar to many other Shakespearian plays in that it uses a Prologue to introduce the play. Unlike other actors in the play, the Prologue is not a character of the story. Instead, the main role of the Prologue is to introduce the play and explain to the audience at intervals, what is happening in the story. Therefore, as the Prologue has no effect on the storyline, he has no need to lie. The Prologue's description of Henry as "the warlike Harry" gives the audience the first clue that Henry has changed from being roguish, as he was in his youth, to a more regal and proper king. The second scene of the first act sees Henry in a consultation with, among others, the Archbishop of Canterbury
Edward I and Edward II
Kind Edward I and King Edward II displayed extremely different characteristics, personalities, and skill in the respective time as ruler of England. Even though they were father and son, the two had a hard time getting along in the castle due to Edward II's weak persona. Edward II was the fourth son of Edward I and his wife, Eleanor of Castile. Edward I presented Edward II as a newborn to the Welsh as their future native prince. The native princes of Welsh had allegedly asked King Edward I to give them a prince who spoke Welsh. The king responded that he would give them a prince who spoke no English. However, this was no large grant because the Plantagenet spoke Norman French instead of English. Even though Edward II was the fourth son, he became heir apparent at just a few months old, following the death of his older brother, Alphonso. Edward I had high hopes for Edward II. Edward I, a qualified and notable military leader, trained this heir in warfare and statecraft starting from a very young age. However, Edward I would face disappointments as Edward II showed interest in boating and craftwork, activities that were at the time recognized as being below the king. Yet, Edward I guided Edward II, at an older age, through many Scots campaigns. Nonetheless, Edward II's father's efforts could not stop Edward II from obtaining habits of frivolity and extravagance. Edward I
Examine the reasons why in 1485 Henry Tudor was easily able to overthrow Richard III.
c) Examine the reasons why in 1485 Henry Tudor was easily able to overthrow Richard III. The relative ease with which Henry seemed to overthrow Richard III at the battle of Bosworth was down to a combination of Henry's weaknesses and the military strength of Henry, who was an extremely determined character after many years languishing in exile having fled the Yorkist Kings. Years of conflict were to end in the final showdown between the Lancastrian and Yorkist houses at Bosworth. Firstly, Richard's position as King was becoming increasingly untenable. He had had the uncertainty and therefore controversy surrounding the missing princes throughout his short reign and also I think the fact that he was a usurper of the throne sparked some distrust amongst his subjects. Richard's over reliance on his northern subjects also provoked resentment amongst those in the south. Soon into his reign, Henry faced revolts, the first being led by Henry Stafford, the second Duke of Buckinham. This was a great blow to Henry's stability on the throne, as Stafford had until this point been a close and loyal friend and ally. The fact that Buckingham was descended directly from Thomas of Woodstock adds credence to the theory that Buckingham may have been attempting to secure the throne for himself, excluding the infamous Yorkist and Lancastrian houses. Richard managed to defeat Buckingham's ill
How far did British policies towards Germany changed between the years 1918-35?
How far did British policies towards Germany changed between the years 1918-35? Britain's position in world politics changed drastically between 1918-35. They started off as the world's policeman, adopting proactive policies, however, by the 1930s, it can be argued that Britain was no longer a dominating force and only seemed to react to other countries, mainly Germany. However, even though the attitude towards policies may have changed, aims of them may not. On one hand, one interpretation states that the policies stayed relatively the same, in terms of consistently avoiding commitment, supporting the empire and working hard to main peace. However, on the other hand, the policies can be seen as different, such as the change of attitudes to the Treaty of Versailles. This essay will be focusing on what extent the policies towards Germany, in particular, changed between 1918 and 1935. Throughout the entire period, Germany was treated as an outcast to the rest of Europe, mostly because of the Treaty of Versailles which in a way condoned such behaviour, placing all blame on Germany. Although Germany regained some of its power and dignity in the late 1920s, many of the policies Britain composed stayed similar throughout the period. For example, the Dawes and Locarno Pact all revised the Treaty of Versailles and upheld the treaty as they didn't reduce reparation payments; they
The Life of Daniel Defoe.
Dec 3, 2002 The Life of Daniel Defoe Daniel Defoe was easily one of the most influential and accomplished English author/writer of all time. Not only is Daniel Defoe considered as the founder of the English novel along with Samuel Richardson, but he was also a critical figure in European journalism and political commentary. Defoe has produced as much as 200 works of non fiction and 2,000 short essays in various periodical publications. In addition to over half a dozen full length novels such as Robinson Crusoe, a tale of a shipwrecked sailor stranded on a remote island. Defoe has done more than anyone else in his lifetime; he was a merchant, business owner, soldier, editor, journalist, and writer. Much of his life he was oppressed because of his religion, beliefs, and political and social ideals, because of his opposition to the church and state he was jailed and imprisoned many times. Defoe's writing reflected the fast growth of the English Middle class with new business opportunities in 1600-1700. Daniel Foe was born in London sometime in 1660 to an English butcher and candle merchant James Foe. He later changed his surname to Defoe, probably to return to his old foreign family name. His father was a Dissenter, a Presbyterian protestant who was not a part of the established Anglican Church. Defoe's mother died when he was 10, and his father sent him to boarding school. At
How effective and successful was Parnell as an Irish Nationalist Leader??
How effective and successful was Parnell as an Irish Nationalist Leader?? Parnell was a very influential leader and had campaigned for many different causes but most noticeably he campaigned for land reform within Ireland, this was one of his most noticeable achievements as an Irish Nationalist Leader. Parnell was helped to power by the Land League. This was where the end of the Great Famine within Ireland meant that farmer's incomes fell by a large extent and they demanded the reduction of rents due to this. They demanded this because many farmers could not pay the rents so this meant that landlords evicted them. Davitt saw this as an opportunity to place the land question at the centre of Irish politics and so he did this by forming the Irish National Land League. He encouraged Parnell to support the agitation and when he did he was made the president of the Irish National Land League. The main objectives of the League were to provide tenants with a fair rent, fixed tenure and free sale. The long term aim was that farmers would own the land (peasant proprietorship). The Land League became a hugely popular movement overnight. The Land League taught the Irish farmers to stand on their own feet and assert their rights. Gladstone became Prime Minister for the second time in April 1880 and hoped to pass an emergency Land Bill through parliament that summer to resolve the
Disraeli's second ministry deserves the title a great reforming ministry Discuss how far you agree with this view in relation to Gladstone first Ministry.
"Disraeli's second ministry deserves the title a great reforming ministry" Discuss how far you agree with this view in relation to Gladstone first Ministry. A great reforming ministry is a government which manages to radically alter the political and social scene, aiming to deal with the most pressing problems and creating a long term legacy whereby later ministries aim to protect and improve what has been achieved instead of trying to alter radically. This is why it becomes clear that Gladstone ministry and not Disraeli's should be considered a great reforming ministry. The aims of both ministries were radically different. Gladstone's aims for his ministry when he came into power in 1867 were to try and create a more efficient and meritocratic society which removed privileges and advocated individualistic self-reliance. This ideology of beliefs were formed due to Gladstone long held religious beliefs which drove him and in the liberal ideas of equality of opportunity, tolerance and individualism he saw the best system to try and create a society based on Christian morals. Throughout all his legislation Gladstone aimed for the fair and just decision explaining his desire to try and pacify Ireland. This is in contrast to Disraeli's aims as Prime Minister from 1874. Disraeli had managed to finally get the conservatives elected after being out of power for over ten years,
How far did Henry VIII pursue new policies during the period 1509-1514?
Tulsi Voralia Monday 31st October 2005 How far did Henry VIII pursue new policies during the period 1509-1514? Henry VIII became king in 1509. His policies were completely different to his fathers', Henry VII. Henry VII was a wise and calculating man, who would think through his actions before he would take them, he would consider the long term and short term advantages and disadvantages of his actions. However Henry VIII was quite the opposite and he was emotional and took decisions straight away without analyzing them unlike his father. These differences caused Henry VIII to purse new policies and abolish the traditional ones which had been used by his father. When Henry VIII took the throne in 1509, at the age of 17, he made it very clear that he had no intention of continuing to rule as his father did. Archbishop Warham and Bishop Fox were however eager to continue the policies that had been followed during Henry VII's reign. Where the aim had been to avoid war and its expenses. They didn't like Henry VIII at all and had negative views of his very quickly. Henry didn't know how to avoid Archbishop Warham and Bishop Fox. They had tricked him into renewing the Treaty of Etaples, which said that England and France would never go to war and would not support each others enemies. Although Henry
