The civil war began when Matilda and her forces landed as Arundel. Stephan new of her arrival but didn’t imprison him, she meet her half brother, Robert of Gloucester, in Bristol. A force of Matilda's supporters, led by Robert of Gloucester and Ranulf, Earl of Chester, defeated and captured Stephen while he was laying siege to Lincoln castle. Stephen was imprisoned in the city of Bristol. She took the title, Lady of the English. There was a power struggle after she inherited the throne, this therefore affected Old Sarum, and Old Sarum was a major political and ecclesiastical settlement because of the church. Old Sarum and Bishop Roger supported Matilda. Therefore Old Sarum was under the power of the crown rather then the church. Subsequently, this caused a bad period of bad relations between the clergy and the castellans (soldiers).
Stephen's Queen, Matilda of Boulogne, had raised an army for her husband. They now marched to London and were joined by large numbers of Londoners who disliked Matilda. The 'Lady of the English' was driven out. At the battle of Winchester, Stephens queen, managed to encircle the town which forced Matilda to withdraw. Robert of Gloucester was captured and Matilda was forced to release Stephen in exchange. Civil war between Matilda and Stephen continued with neither side making headway. The war was conducted through a series of sieges which were generally won by the defenders. Disheartened by her failure to win the civil war and by the death of Robert of Gloucester, Matilda left England, never to return.
Old Sarum might have been abandoned in the 13th century as it is transparently clear that the economics of the Knew site were better for farming and trade, this therefore back the abandonment of Old Sarum. The church is able to make money. There is access to trade routes. The European trade had increased substantially since 1066; the Norman Empire had become a European trade. England had significant trade within Europe. Domestic trade had increased and the church was a profit making organization. The royal character gave the market license a chance to cash in on some trade. The building of a cathedral would bring “cosmopolitan” consumers to the new site.
The Magna Carta signed in June of 1215 between the barons of medieval England and King John. Magna Carta translated from Latin means “great charter.” The Magna Carta was one of the most important documents of medieval England. It was signed between the barons and Jonh Runnymede near Windsor Castle. The document was a series of written promises between the king and his subjects that he, the king, would govern England and deal with its people according to the customs of feudal law. The Magna Carta was an attempt by the barons to stop a king - in this case John - abusing his power with the people of England. This gave the barons rights over taxes, imprisonment etc. It states that everyone shall have access to courts and that costs and money should not be an issue if someone wanted to take a problem to the law courts. It also states that no freeman will be imprisoned or punished without first going through the proper legal system. In future years the word "freeman" was replaced by "no one" to include everybody. The last few sections deal with how the Magna Carta would be enforced in England. Twenty five barons were given the responsibility of making sure the king carried out what was stated in the Magna Carta - the document clearly states that they could use force if they felt it was necessary. To give the Magna Carta an impact, the royal seal of King John was put on it to show people that it had his royal support. The king had been defeated by his most loyal subjects, the barons!
Hence, by 1220 when Henry 3rd became king and the clergy applied to leave Old Sarum. The Political situation was to there advantage, it was perfect. Henry 3rd didn’t want another political battle, with the church this was a good TIME, for the move to take place. If he had of refused the move of Old Sarum, he would have become unpopular in the first few weeks of reign. He had to let the site of Old Sarum move as he followed a weak king which meant he was already at a disadvantage.
The king had a lot of power and control. In 1201 the Pope wanted Stephan Langton to be Archbishop of Canterbury. King John refused. The Pope placed England under a Papel INTERDICT. Churches were closed down, marriages; burials were infrequent as priests were on strike. This resulted in people becoming very unhappy with the king as religion was very important. Buy, by 1215, John ACCEPTED Langton’s appointment and the King had been defeated by the Pope.
Another reason for the abandonment of Old Sarum was because Bishop Poore had a vision from god telling him that the cathedral should be moved. God told him that he should fire an arrow and where ever the arrow landed is where the new cathedral should be built. So a bowman shot an arrow through the air, which hit happened to hit a deer in the rump (backside). The deer was in shocked and ran but collapsed from loss of blood and died. Where the deer collapsed was to be where the, alter of the cathedral was built. The vision was god’s method of instruction to leading churchmen. Ordinary people were Not keen to move and they had to be persuaded that god had jolessed the move. This was a cynical attempt by the clergy to persuade people or was this a genuine vision. I doubt this was a genuine vision, the church new how this would affect they commercial status and the building of a cathedral and planned city would boost not only the money in their pockets but the population of Salisbury would grow rapidly.
Old Sarum was unlike the massive and exquisite cathedrals buildings like Wells, Exeter. This was another attraction for the new site of Salisbury, apart from having suffient water supplies, meadows and plenty of farmland. The commercial side of the site meant the church could make profits. Social trends meant the decline of Feudalism and the growth. of towns. A cathedral very much linked to a bishop’s reputation. A bigger cathedra and the better it is the more power he will therefore have. Salisbury has the tallest spire in England and the 2nd tallest in Europe. We cannot forget that Salisbury would have amazed and blown away most medieval people whose houses were still being built from wood not stone. The cathedral of Wells, Exeter and Salisbury were all built on 150 years of each other.
One important and crucial aspect for the abandonment of Old Sarum was the decline of feudalism. In feudalism the society was divided along the federal line. The feudal system is based on LAND and PATRONAGE. The king dispenses land and rewards. Other levels of society repay with military services and taxes. A system based primarily on land, feudalism involved a hierarchy of authority, rights, and power that extended from the monarchy downwards. At the head of the system the crown owned all the land. Beneath the crown, an intricate network of duties and obligations linked royalty, tenants-in-chief (such as the barons), under-tenants (knights), and villains (peasants). Feudalism was reinforced by personal oaths of allegiance and a complex legal system and supported by the Christian medieval church. A system based primarily on land, feudalism involved a hierarchy of authority, rights, and power that extended from the monarchy downwards. At the head of the system the crown owned all the land. Beneath the crown, an intricate network of duties and obligations linked royalty, tenants-in-chief (such as the barons), under-tenants (knights), and villeins (serfs). Feudalism was reinforced by personal oaths of allegiance and a complex legal system and supported by the Christian medieval church.
By the 13th century feudalism was in decline. Peasants were leaving the land and taking other forms of employment. Towns and cities were growing consequently English society was becoming more diverse. For example there was a different type of trade and places to live. The creation of Salisbury as a planned town is therefore part of a European trend towards the growth of cities. It is extremely unlikely that anything as ambitious and grand as Salisbury could have happened, say, 100 years earlier.
The power of bishops and the age of the cathedral building was another vital reason for the abandonment of Old Sarum as Medieval bishops were powerful and political figure. Many 2ND and 3RD sons of noblemen became priests and went into the church as a career. Bishops therefore did not think of the religious side of being a priest but all the money they could make. The Bishop of Durham could make his own coins and have his own army. Bishops associated their power and wealth with their cathedral (cathedral= bishops throne). Bishops Poore’s ambitious project was part of his desire to become an important leader. Wells and Exeter Cathedral were all built in similar chronological period to Salisbury. The bishops and clergy wanted to establish an religious church and a market centre.
In conclusion, I would say that the reasons for the abandonment of Old Sarum in the 13th century was because defense was no longer need and the Norman people did not need to stay on top of a cold and windy hill with a dreadful supply of water. The economic side to the abandonment of Old Sarum backed the move up, as not only would the residents of Old Sarum been happy, the church was able to make money. Therefore I would say the economic, comfort and geographical location side of Old Sarum was the key aspects for the abandonment in the 13th century.