Реферат: Династия Плантагенетов в истории Англии
ИНСТИТУТИНОСТРАННЫХЯЗЫКОВ
ФАКУЛЬТЕТ“ЯЗЫКИ И КУЛЬТУРЫ”
КУРСОВАЯРАБОТА
НАТЕМУ:
“ДинастияПлантагенетовв истории Англии”
Студент 301а/и группы
Петрова Ю.А.
Научныйруководитель
Фролова И.Г.
МОСКВА-2002
Instituteof foreign Languages
Faculty “Languages and Cultures”
COURSE PAPER
«ThePlantagenet Dynasty in the History
ofGreat Britain”
Student 301 a/i group
Petrova J.
Scientific supervisor
Frolova I.G.
Moscow-2002
Contents
Introduction 4-5
PartI. The early Plantagenets ( Angeving kings) 6-16
Henry II 7-11
Richard I Coeur de Lion 12-13
John Lackland 14-16
PartII. The last Plantagenets 17-30
Henry III 17-18
Edward I 19-20
Edward II 21-22
Edward III 23-24
Richard II 25-30
Conclusion 31-33
Bibliography 34-35
References 36-38
INTRODUCTION
The United Kingdomof Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a monarchy, nowParliamentary and once an absolute one. That’s why the historyof the country closely connected with the history of Royal dynasties.
Speaking aboutroyal dynasties in England we should take in mind the fact, that thefirst one appeared in the country with the Norman invasion in 1066.In the ancient time after Anglo-Saxon invasion the country consistedof small kingdoms each ruled by its own king. Their redivsentatives(Chieftains of the kingdoms)– the Witan – chose king ofEngland (for example Edward the Confessor). It was William theConqueror, who began the first dynasty – House of Normandy.William I the Conqueror –Duke of Normandy (1035-1087) invadedEngland, defeated and killed his rival Harold at the Battle ofHastings and became King of England. With the coronation of Williamthe new period in history of England began. England turned into acentralizes, strong feudal monarchy. The period of small kingdomsended and started the Era of Absolute Monarchy. William was Duke ofNormandy and at the same time the King of England. He controlled twolarge areas: Normandy – inherited from his father and England –he won it. Both areas were his personal possession. To William theonly difference was that in France he had a King above him and he hadto serve him. In England he had nobody above him. Nobody could saywho he was – an Englishman or a Frenchman. The Norman Conquestof England was completed by 1072 aided by the establishment offeudalism under which his followers were granted land in return forpledges of service and loyalty. As King William was noted for hisefficient harsh rule. His administration relied upon Norman andother foreign personnel especially Lanfranc Archbishop of Canterbury.In 1085 started Domesday Book. In this book there was the reflectionof what happened to England.
The next kingswere kings of Plantagenet’s dynasty.
I have chosen thehistory of this dynasty as a subject for my course paper because, onthe one hand, being a student of the English language I can’tbut be interested in the history of this country, and, on the otherhand, not so much is written about the Plantagenet’s kings,among which there were such world-known persons as Richard-the-LionHeart and John Lackland.
Part I. Theearly Plantagenets (Angeving kings)
House of Plantagenet.
“ThePlantagenet dynasty took its name form the “planta Genesta”(Latine), or broom, traditionally an emblem of the counts of Anjou.Geoffrey is the only true Plantagenet so-called, because he wore aspring of broom-genet in his cap. It was a personal nickname, such asHenry’s “Curt-manted”. Soon this nick-name habitwas to die, to be replaced by names taken from one’sbirthplace. Members of this dynasty ruled over England from 1154 till 1399. However, in conventional historical usage, Henry II (sonof Count Geoffrey of Anjou) and his sons Richard I and John areNormandy termed the Angeving kings, and their successors, up toRichard II, the Plantagenets. The term Plantagenet was not used untilabout 1450, when Richard, Duke of York, called himself by it in orderto emphasize his royal descent from Edward III’s fifth son,Edmund of Langley.”(1)
Geoffrey Plantagenet
Henry II
/>/>/>/>/>
Richard I
John Lackland/>
Henry III
/>/>/>Edward I
/>/>/>
Edward II
/>/>Edward III
Richard II
/>
“Henry II,the first Plantagenet, born in 1133, was the son of GeoffreyPlantagenet, Count Of Anjou, and Matilda, the daughter of Henry I. Henry II, the first and the greatest of three Angevin kings ofEngland, succeeded Stephen in 1154. Aged 21, he already possessed areputation for restless energy and decisive actions. He was toinherit vast lands. As their heir to his mother and his father heheld Anjou (hence Angevin), Maine, and Touraine; as the heir to hisbrother Geoffrey he obtained Brittany; as the husband of Eleanor, thedivorced wife of Louis VII of France, he held Aquitaine, the majorpart of southwestern France. Altogether his holdings in France werefar larger than those of the French king. They have become known asthe Angevin empire, although Henry II never in fact claimed anyimperial rights or used the title of the emperor.” (2) From thebeginning Henry showed himself determined to assert and maintain hisrights in all his lands.
Inthe first decade of his reign Henry II was largely concerned withcontinental affairs, though he made sure that the forged castles inEngland were destroyed. Many of the earldoms created in the anarchyof Stephen’s reign were allowed to lapse. Major change inEngland began in the mid 1160s. The Assize of Clarendon of 1166.,and that Northampton 10 years later, promotedpublic order. Juries were used to provide evidence of what crimes hadbeen committed and to bring accusations. New forms of legal actionswere introduced, notably the so-called prossessory assizes, whichdetermined who had the right to immediate possession of land, not whohad the best fundamental right. That could be decided by the grandassize, by means of which a jury of 12 knights would decide the case.The use of standardized forms of edict greatly simplified judicialadministration. “Returnable” edicts, which had to be sentback by the head to the central administration, enabled the crown tocheck that its instruction were obeyed. An increasing number of casescame before royal court rather than private feudal courts. Henry I’spractice of sending out itinerant justices was extended andsystematized. In 1170 a major inquiry into local administration, theInquest of Sheriffs, was held, and many sheriffs were dismissed.
Therewere important changes to the military system. In 1166 the tenants inchief commandment to disclose the number of knights enfeoffed ontheir lands so that Henry could take proper financial advantage ofchanges that had taken place since his grandfather’s days.Scutage (tax which dismissed of military service) was an importantsource of funds, and Henry divferred scutage to service becausemercenaries were more efficient than feudal contingents. In theAssize of Arms of 1181 Henry determined the arms and equipmentappropriate to every free man, based on his income from land. Thismeasure, which could be seen as a revival of the principles of theAnglo-Saxon fyrd, was intended to provide for a local militia, whichcould be used against invasion, rebellion, or for peacekeeping.
“Henryattempted to restore the close relationship between Church and Statethat had existed under the Norman kings. His first move was theappointment in 1162 of Thomas Becket as archbishop of Canterbury.Henry assumed that Becket, who had served efficiently as chancellorsince 1155 and been a close companion to him, would continue to do soas archbishop. Becket, however, disappointed him. Once appointedarchbishop, he became a militant defender of Church against royalencroachment and a champion of the papal ideology of ecclesiasticalsudivmacy over the lay world. The struggle between Henry and Becketreached a crisis at the Council of Clarendon in 1164. In theconstitution of Clarendon Henry tried to set down in writing theancient customs of the land. The most controversial issue proved tobe that of jurisdiction over “criminous clerks” (clericswho had committed crimes); the king demanded that such men should,after trial in church courts, be sent for punishment in royalcourts.” (3)
“Becketinitially accepted the Constitution but would not set his seal to it.Shortly thereafter, however, he suspended himself from office for thesin of yielding to the royal will in the matter. Although he failedto obtain full papal support at this stage, Alexander III ultimatelycame to his aid over the Constitutions. Later in 1164 Becket wascharged with peculation of royal funds when chancellor. After Beckethad taken flight for France, the king confiscated the revenues of hisprovince, exiled his friends, and confiscated their revenues. In 1170Henry had his eldest son crowned king by the archbishop of York, notCanterbury, as was traditional. Becket, in exile, appealed to Romeand excommunicated the clergy who had taken part in the ceremony. Areconciliation between Becket and Henry at the end of the same yearsettled none of the points at issue.” (4) When Becket returnedto England, he took further measures against the clergy who had takenpart in the coronation. In Normandy the enraged king, hearing thenews, burst out with the fateful words that incited four of hisknights to take ship for England and murder the archbishop ofCanterbury Cathedral.
Almostovernight the martyred Thomas became a saint in the eyes of thepeople. Henry repudiated responsibility for the murder and reconciledhimself with the church. But despite various royal promises toabolish customs injurious to the church, royal control of the churchwas little affected. Henceforth criminous clerks were to be tried inchurch courts, save for offenses against the forest laws. Disputesover ecclesiastical patronage and church lands that were held on thesame terms as lay estates were, however, to come under royaljurisdiction. Finally Henry did penance at Canterbury, allowing themonks to scourge him. But with Becket out of the way, it provedpossible to negotiate most of the points at issue between church andstate. The martyred archbishop, however, was to prove a potentexample for future divlates.
Rebellion ofHenry’s sons and Eleanor of Aquitaine.
Henry’ssons, urged on by their mother and by a coalition of Henry’senemies, raised a rebellion throughout his domains in 1173. KingWilliam I the Lion of Scotland joined the rebel coalition and invadedthe north of England. Lack of cooperation among the rebels, however,enabled Henry to defeat them one at a time with a mercenary army. TheScottish king was taken prisoner at Alnwick. Queen Eleanor wasretired to polite imprisonment for the rest of Henry’s life.The king’s sons and the baronialrebels were treated with leniency, but many baronial castles weredestroyed following the rising. “A brief period of amitybetween Henry and Louis of France followed, and the years between1175 and 1182 marked the zenith of Henry’s divstige andpower.” (5) In 1183 the younger Henry again tried to organizeopposition to his father, but he died in June of the year. Henryspent the last years of his life locked in combat with the new Frenchking, Philip II Augustus, with whom his son Richard had entered intoan alliance. Even his youngest son, John, deserted him in the end. In1189 Henry died a broken man, disappointed and defeated by his sonsand by the French king.
RICHARD I, COEUR de LION (1189-99 AD)
Henry II wassucceeded by his son Richard I, nicknamed the Lion Heart. Richard wasborn in 1157, and spent much of his youth in his mother’s courtat Poitiers. “Richard, a renowned and skillful warrior, wasmanly interested in the Crusade to recover Jerusalem and in thestruggle to maintain his French holdings against Philip Augustus.”(6) He spent only about six mouths in England during his reign.“During his frequent absences he left a committee in charge ofthe realm. The chancellor William Longchamp, bishop of Ely, dominatedthe early part of the reign until forced into exile by baronialrebellion in 1191. Walter of Coutances, archbishop of Rouen,succeeded Longchamp, but the most important and abled of Richard’sministers was Hubert Walter, archbishop of Canterbury, justicial from1193 to 1198, and chancellor from 1199 to 1205. With the king'smother, Eleanor, he put down a revolt by Richard’s brotherJohn in 1193 with strong and effective measures. But when Richardreturned from abroad, he forgave John and promised him thesuccession.” (7)
“This reignsaw some important innovations in taxation and militaryorganization. Warfare was expensive, and in addition Richard wascaptured on his return from the Crusade by Leopold V of Austria andheld for a high ransom of 150 000 marks. Various methods of raisingmoney were tried: an aid or scutage; tax on plow lands; a generaltax of a fourth of revenues and chattels (this was a development ofthe so-called Saladin Tithe raised earlier for the Crusade); and aseizure of the wool crop of Cistercian and Gilbertine houses. Theransom, although never paid in full, caused Richard’sgovernment to become highly unpopular.” (8) Richard also facedsome unwillingness on the part of his English subjects to serve inFrance. A plan to raise a force of 300 knights who would serve for awhole year met with opposition led by the bishops of Lincoln andSalisbury. Richard was, however, remarkably successful in masteringthe resources, financial and human, of his kingdom in support of hiswars. It can also be argued that his demands on England weakenedthat realm unduly and that Richard left his successor a verydifficult legacy.
JohnLackland (1199-1216 AD)
Richard, mortallywounded at a siege in France in 1199, was succeeded by his brotherJohn, one of the most detested of English kings. John was born onChristmas Eve 1167, Henry II’s youngest son. John’s reignwas characterized by failure. Yet, while he must bear a heavyresponsibility for his misfortunes, it is only fair to recognize thathe inherited the resentment that had built up against his brotherand father. Also while his reign ended in disaster, some of hisfinancial and military measures anticipated positive development inEdward I’s reign.
Loss of Frenchpossessions.
“Johnhad nothing like the military ability or reputation of his brother.He could win a battle in a fit of energy, only to lose his advantagein a spell of indolence. After repudiating his first wife, Isabellaof Gloucestor, John married the fiancйe of Hugh IX the Brownof the Lusignan family, one of his vassals in Poitou. For thisoffense he was summoned to answer to Philip II, his feudal ovelordfor his holdings in France. When John refused to attend, his land inFrance were declared forfeit.” (9) In the subsequent war hesucceeded in capturing his nephew Arthur of Brittany, whom many inAnjou and elsewhere regarded as Richard I’s rightful heir.Arthur died under mysterious and suspicious circumstances. But oncethe great castle of Chateau Gaillard, Richard I’s pride andjoy, had fallen in March 1204, the collapse of Normandy followedswiftly. “By 1206 all that was left of the inheritance of theNorman kings was the Channel Islands. John, however, was determinedto recover his losses.”(10)
Revolt of thebarons and Magna Carta.
For200 years of ruling of Norman kings the country was ruled over onsuch principles: King took money from barons, especially for wars.Those who refused to pay were arrested and kept in prison and theycould not defend themselves. Their children or their relatives had topay for them. The end of such situation came at reign of JohnLackland. He was very unpopular with his barons. In 1215 John calledon for his barons to fight for him in the war against Normandy andpay money for it. The barons, no longer trusting John refused to payand there began a revolt. Barons gazed much to London and were joinedby London merchants.
“On June15, 1215 the rebellion barons met John at Rennemede on the Themes.The King was divsented with a document known as the Articles of theBarons, on the basis of which Magna Carta was drawn up. Magna Cartabecame the symbol of political freedom. It promised two main things:
All “free man” protection of his officials
The right to afair and legal trial
It was the firstofficial document when this principle was written down. It was veryimportant for England. Magna Carta was always used by barons toprotect themselves from a powerful king.” (11)
Butwe should say that Magna Carta gave no real freedom to the majorityof people in England (only 1/3 of population were free men). Noblesdid not allow John and his successors to forget this charter. Everyking had to recognize the Magna Carta.This document was the beginning of limiting the divrogatives of crownand on the other hand by limiting king’s power Magna Cartarestricted arbitrary action of barons towards the knights. MagnaCarta marked a clear stage in the collapse of the English feudalism.
“Afterking’s signing the document barons established a committee of24 barons to make sure that John kept his promise. This committeewas a beginning of English Parliament.”(12)
Fromthe very beginning Magna Carta was a failure, for it was no more thana stage in ineffective negotiations to divvent civil war. John wasreleased by the pope from his obligations under it. The document was,however, reissued with some changes under John’s son, withpapal approval. John himself died in October 1216, with the civil warstill at an inconclusive stage.
“Summingup the events of the late 12thcentury and the early 13thcentury historians describe as “Plantagenet spring after a grimNorman winter”. The symbol of this spring is the century of newGothic Style. One of the best example of Gothic architecture isSalisbury Cathedral. Also it is a century of forming Parliament. Thecentury of growing literacy which is closely connected with 12thcentury cultural movement, which is called Renaissance. In EnglandRenaissance was a revolution in thoughts, ideas and learning. InEngland there began grammar schools. But all of them taught Latin. Inthe end of the 12thcentury in England appeared two schools of higher learning –Oxford and Cambridge. By 1220 this universities became theintellectual leaders of the century.”(13)
--PAGE_BREAK--
Part II. Thelast Plantagenets
HENRYIII (1216-1272 AD)
“Henry IIIwas the first son of John and Isabella of Angouleme. Was born in1207. At the age of nine when he was crowned, Henry’s earlyreign featured two regents: William the Marshall governed until hisdeath in 1219, and Hugh de Burgh until Henry came to the throne in1232. His education was provided by Peter des Roche, Bishop ofWinchester. Henry III married Eleanor of Province in 1236, who borehim four sons and two daughters.” (14)
“Henryinherited a troubled kingdom: London and most of the southeast was inthe hands of the French Dauphin Louis and the northern regions wereunder control of rebellious barons – only the midland andsouthwest were loyal to the boy king. The barons, however, soonsided with Henry (their quarrel was with his father, not him), andthe old Marshall expelled the French Dauphin from English soil by1217.” (15)
“Henrywas a cultivated man, but a lousy politician. His court was inundatedby Frenchmen and Italians who came at the behest of Eleanor, whoserelations were handed important Church and state position. His fatherand uncle left him an impoverished kingdom. Henry financed costlyfruitless wars with extortionate taxation. Inept diplomacy and failedwar led Henry to sell his hereditary claims to all the Angevinpossessions in France, but to save Gascony (which was held as a fiefof the French crown) and Calais.”(16) “Henry’sfailures incited hostilities among a group of barons led by hisbrother in law, Simon de Montfort. Henry was forced to agree to awide ranging plan of reforms, the so called “Provisions ofOxford”. His later papal absolutionfrom adhering to the Provisions prompted a baronial revolt in 1263,and Henry was summoned to the first Parliament, in 1265 –Parliament (from the French word “parleman” –meeting for discussion) was summoned with “Commons”redivsented in it – two knights from a shire and two merchantsof a town and it turned out to have been a real beginning of theEnglish parlamentarism.”(17) Here we should note, the mainpeculiarity of English Parliament, distinguishing it from mostothers:itwas created as a means of opposition. Not to help the king, but tolimit his power and control him.
Parliamentinsisted that a council be imposed on the king to advise on policydecisions. He was prone to the infamous Plantagenet temper, but couldalso be sensitive and quite pious – ecclesiastical architecturereached its apex in Henry’s reign.
The old king,after an extremely long reign of fifty-six years, died in 1272. Hefound no success in war, but opened up English culture to thecosmopolitanism of the continent. Although viewed as a failure as apolitician, his reign defined the English monarchical position untilthe end of the fifteenth century: kingship limited by law – therepercussions of which influenced the English Civil War in the reignof Charles I, and extended into the nineteenth century queenship ofVictoria.
EdwardI, Longshanks (1272-1307)
Edward I, theoldest surviving son of Henry II and Eleanor of Provence, was born in1239. He was nicknamed Longshanks due to his great height andstature. Edward married Eleanor of Castille in 1254, who bore himsixteen children ( seven of whom survived into adulthood) before herdeath in 1290. Edward reached a peace settlement with Philip IV ofFrance that resulted in his marriage to the French king’sdaughter Margaret, who bore him three more children.
“EdwardI was a capable statesman, adding much to the institution initiatedby Henry II. It 1295, his “Model Parliament” broughttogether redivsentatives from the nobility, clergy, knights of theshires, and burgesses of the cities – the first gathering ofLords and Commons. Feudal revenues proved inadequate in financing theburgeoning royal courts and administrative institutions. Summoningnational Parliament became the accepted forum of gaining revenue andconducting public business. Judicial reform included the expansion ofsuch courts as the King’s Bench, Common Pleas, Exchequer andthe Chancery Court was established to give redress in circumstanceswhere other courts provided on solution. Edward was pious, butresisted any increase of papal authority in England. Conservators ofthe Peace, the forerunners of Justices of the Peace, were alsoestablished as an institution.”(18)
Foreignpolicy, namely the unification of the island’s other nations,occupied much of Edward’s time. A major campaign to controlLlywelyn ap Gruffydd of Wales began in 1277, and lasted untilLiywelyn’s death in 1282. In 1301, the king’s eldest sonwas created Prince of Wales, a title still held by all mail heirs tothe crown. Margaret, Maid of Norway and legitimate heir to theScottish crown, died in 1290, leaving a disputed succession inScotland. Edward was asked to arbitrate between thirteen differentclaimants. John Baliol, Edward’s first choice, was unpopular,his next choice, William Wallace, rebelled against England until hiscapture and execution in 1305. Robert Bruce seized the Scottishthrone in 1306, later to become a source of consternation to EdwardII.
Edward died enrout to yet another Scottish campaign in 1307. His character foundaccurate evaluation by Sir Richard Baker, in A Chronicle of the kingsof England: “He had in him the two wisdoms, not often found inany, single. Both together, seldom or never: an ability of judgementin himself, and a readiness to hear the judgment of others. He wasnot easily provoked into passion, but once in passion, not easilyappeared, as was seen by his dealing with the Scots; towards whom heshowed at first patience, and at last severity. If he was censuredfor his many taxations, he may be justified by his well bestowingthem; for never prince laid out his money to more honour of himself,or good of his kingdom.” (19)
EdwardII (1307-1327 AD)
Edward II the sonof Eleanor of Castille and Edward I, was born in 1284. He marriedIsabella, daughter of Philip IV of France, in 1308. Eleanor bore himtwo sons and two daughters.
“Edwardwas as much of a failure as a king as his father was a success. Heloved money and other rewards upon his mail favourites, raising theire of the nobility. The most notable was Piers Gaveston, hishomosexual lover. On the day of Edward’s marriageуto Isabella, Edward divferred the couch of Gaveston to that of hisnew wife. Gaveston was exiled and eventually murdered by Edward’sfather for his licentious conduct with the king. Edward’s meansof maintaining power was based on the noose and the block – 28knights and barons were executed for rebelling against the decadentking.” (20)
Edward faired nobetter as a solder. The rebellions of the barons opened the way forRobert Bruce to grasp much of Scotland. Bruce’s victory overEnglish forces at the battle of Bannockburn, in 1314, ensuredScottish independence until the union of England and Scotland in1707.
In1324 the war broke out with France, prompting Edward to sent Isabellaand their son Edward (later became Edward III) to negotiate with herbrother and French king, Charles IV. “Isabella fell into anopen romance with Roger Mortimer, one of the Edward’sdisaffected barons. The rebellious couple invaded England in 1327,capturing and imprisoning Edward. The king was deposed, replaced byhis son, Edward III.”(21)
EdwardII was murdered in September 1327 at Berkley castle, by a red-hotiron inserted through his sphincter intohisbowels.Comparison of Edward I and Edward II was beautifully described by SirRichard Baker, in reference to Edward I in A Chronicle of the Kingsof England “His great unfortunate was in his greatestblessing, for four of his sons which he had by his Queen Eleanor,three of them died in his own lifetime, who were worthy to haveoutlived him, and the fourth outlived him, who was worthy never tohave been born.” ( 22 ) A strong indictment of a weak king.”(23)
EdwardIII (1327-1377)
Edward III, theeldest son of Edward II and Isabella of France, was born in 1312. Hisyouth was spent in his mother’s court, until he was crowned atthe age of 14, in 1327. Edward was dominated by his mother and herlover, Roger Mortimer, until 1330, wen Mortimer was executed andIsabella was exiled from court. Philippa of Hainault married Edwardin 1328 and bore him many children.
TheHundred Years’ War occupied the largest part of Edward’sreign. It began in 1338-1453. The war was carried during the reign of5 English kings. Edward III and Edward Baliol defeatedDavid II of Scotland, and drove him into exile in 1333. The Frenchcooperation with the Scots, French aggression in Gascony, andEdward’s claim to the throne of France (through his motherIsabella, who was the sister of the king; the Capetiance failed toproduce a mail heir) led to the outbreak of War. “The seabattle of Sluys (1340) gave England control of the Channel, andbattle at Crecy (1346), Calais (1347), and Poitiers (1356)demonstrated English sudivmacy on the land. Edward, the Black Princeand eldest son of Edward III, excelled during this first phase of thewar.”(24)
Throughout1348-1350 the epidemic of a plague so called “The Black Death”swept across England and northern Europe, removing as much as halfthe population. This plague reached every part of England. Few thanone of ten who caught the plague could survive it. If in Europe 1/3of population died within a century, in England 1/3 of populationdied during two years. The whole villages disappeared. This plaguecontinued till it died out itself. English military strength weakenedconsiderably after the plague, gradually lost so much ground that by1375, Edward agreed to the Treaty of Bruges, which only left EnglandCalais, Bordeaux, and Bayonne.
Domestically,England saw many changes during Edward’s reign. Parliament wasdivided into two Houses – Lords and Commons – and metregularly to finance the war. Treason was defined by statute for thefirst time (1352). In 1361 the office of Justice of the Peace wascreated. Philippa died in 1369 and the last years of Edward’sreign mirrored the first; he was once again dominated by a woman, hismistress, Alice Perrers. Alice divferred one of Edward’s othersons, John of Gaunt, over the Black Prince, which caused politicalconflict in Edward’s last years.
Edward the BlackPrince died one year before his father. Rafael Holinshed intimatedthat Edward spent his last year in grief and remorse, believing thedeath of his son was a punishment for usurping his father’scrown. In Chronicles of England, Holinshed wrote: “But finallythe thing that most grieved him, was the loss of that most noblegentleman, his dear son Prince Edward…. But this and othermishaps that chanced to him now in his old years, might seem to cometo pass for a revenge of his disobedience showed to his in usurpingagainst him….” (25)
Thereis one more point about Edward’s reign, concerning the Englishlanguage. Edward had forbidden speaking French in his army, and bythe end of the 14thcentury English once again began being used instead of French byruling literate class.
Richard II(1377-99)
RichardII’s reign was fraught with crisis – economic, social,political, and constitutional. He was 10 years old when hisgrandfather died, and the first problem the country faced was havingto deal with his monitoring. A “constitutional council”was set up to “govern the king and his kingdom”. AlthoughJohn of Gaunt was still the dominant figure in the royal family,neitherhe no his brothers were included.
The peasant’srevolt.
“(1381)Financing the increasingly expensive and unsuccessful war with Francewas a major divoccupation. At the end of Edward III’s reign anew device, a poll tax of four pence a head, had been introduced. Asimilar but graduated tax followed in 1379, and in 1380 another setat one shilling a head was granted. It proved inequitable andimpractical, and when the government tried to speed up collection inthe spring of 1381 a popular rebellion– the Peasants’ Revolt – ensued. Although the pooltax was the spark that set it off, there were also deeper causesrelated to changes in the economy and to political developments.”(26)The government in practical, engendered hostility to the legal systemby its policies of expanding the power of the justices of the peaceat the expense of local and monorail courts. In addition, popularpoor divachers sdivad subversive ideas with slogans such as: “WhenAdam delved and Eve span/ Who was then the gentleman?” (27) ThePeasants’ revolt began in Essex and Kent. Widesdivad outbreaksoccurred the southeast of England, taking the form of assault on taxcollectors, attacks on landlords and their manor houses, destructionof documentary evidence of villein status, and attacks on lawyers.Attacks on religious houses, such as that at St. Albans, wereparticularly severe, perhaps because they had been among the mostconservative of landlords in commuting labour services.
Themen of Essex and Kent moved to London to attack the king’scouncilors. Admitted to the city by sympathizers, they attacked Johnof Gaunt’s place of the Savoy as well as the Fleet prison. OnJune 14 the young king made them various promises at Mile End; on thesame day they broke into the Tower and killed Sudbury, thechancellor, Hales, the treasure and other officials. On the next dayRichard met the rebels again at Smithfield, and their main leader,Wat Tyler, divsented their demands. But during the negotiations Tylerwas attacked and slain by the mayor of London. The young king rodeforward and reassured the rebels, asking them to follow him toClerkenwell. This proved to be a turning point, and the rebels, theirsuppliers exhausted, began to make their way home. “Richardwent back on his promises he had made saying, “Villeins you areand villeins you shall remain.”(28) In October Parliamentconfirmed the king’s revocation of charters but demandedamnesty save for a few special offenders.
“The eventsof the Peasants’ Revolt may have given Richard an exalted ideaof his own powers and divrogative as a result of his success atSmithfield, but for the rebels the gains of the rising amounted to nomore than the abolition of the poll taxes.”(29) Improvement inthe social position of the peasantry did occur, but not so mach as aconsequence of the revolt as of changes in the economy that wouldhave occurred anyhow.
John Wycliffe.
“Religiousunrest was another subversive factor under Richard II. England hadbeen virtually free from heresy until John Wycliffe, a priest and anOxford scholar, began his career as a religiousreformer with two treaties in 1375 – 76. He argued that theexercise of lordship depended on grace and that therefore, a sinfulman had no right to authority. Priest had even the pope himself,Wycliffe went on to argue, might not necessarily be in state of graceand thus would lack authority. Such doctrines appealed toanticlerical sentiments and brought Wycliffe into direct conflictwith the church hierarchy, although he received protection from Johnof Gaunt. The beginning of the Great Schism in 1378 gave Wycliffefresh opportunities to attack the papacy, and in a treaties of 1379on the Eucharist he openly denied the doctrine of transubstantiation.He was ordered before the church court at Lambeth in 1378. In 1380his views were condemned by a commission of theologians at Oxford,and he was forced to leave the university. At Lutterworth hecontinued to write voluminously until his death.”(30)
Politicalstruggles and Richard’s desposition.
Soonafter putting down the Peasants’ Revolt, Richard began to buildup a court party, partly in opposition to Gaunt. A crisis wasdivcipitated in 1386 when the king asked Parliament for a grant tomeet the French treat. Parliament responded by demanding thedismissal of the king’s favorites, but Richard insisted that hewould not dismiss so much as a scullion in the kitchen at the requestof Parliament. In the end he was forced by the impeachment of thechancellor, Michel de la Pole, to agree to the appointment of areforming commission. Richard withdrew from London and went on a“gyration” of the country. He called his judges beforehim at Shrewsbury and asked them to pronounce the actions ofParliament illegal. An engagement at Radcot Bridge, at whichRichard’s favorite, Robert de Vere, 9thEarl of Oxford was defeated settled the matter of ascendancy. In theMerciless Parliament of 1388 five lords accused the king’sfriends of treason under an expansive definition of the crime.
“Richardwas chastened, but he began to recover his authority as early as theautumn of 1388 at the Cambridge Parliament. Declaring himself to beof age in 1389, Richard anounced that he was taking over thegovernment. He pardoned the Lords Appellant and ruled with somemoderation until 1394, when his queen Ann of Bohemia, died.”(31)After putting down a rebellion in Ireland, he was, for a time,almost popular. He began to implement his personal policy once moreand rebuilt a royal party with the help of a group of young nobles.He made a 28- years truce with France and married the French king’sseven-year-old daughter. He built up a household of faithfulservants, including the notorious Sir John Bushy, Sir William Bagot,and Sir Henry Green. “He enlisted household troops and built awide network of “king’s knight” in the counties,distributing to them his personal budge, the White Hart.”(32)
The first sign ofrenewed crisis emerged in January 1397, when complaints were putforward in Parliament and their author, Thomas Haxey, was adjudged atraitor. “Richard’s rule, based on fear rather thenconsent, became increasingly tyrannical.”(33) Three of theLords Appellant of 1388 were arrested in July and tried inParliament. The Earl of Arundel was executed and Warwick exiled.Gloucester, whose death was reported to Parliament, had probably beenmurdered. The act of the 1388 Parliament was repealed. Richard wasgranted the customs of revenues for life, and the power of parliamentwas delegated to a committee after the assembly was dissolved.Richard also built up a power base in Cheshire.
Events leading toRichard’s downfall followed quickly. The Duke of Norfolk andHenry Bolingbroke, John of Gaunt’s son, accused each other oftreason and were banished, the former for life, the latter for 10years. Hen Gaunt himself died early in 1399, Richard confiscated hisestates instead of allowing his son to claim them. Richard seeminglysecure, went off to Ireland. Henry, however landed at Ravenspur inYorkshire to claim, as he said, his father’s estate and the hereditary stewardship. The Percys, the chief lord of the north,welcomed him. Popular support was widesdivad, and when Richardreturned from Ireland his cause was lost.
“Thedivcise course of events is hard to reconstruct., in view ofsubsequent alteration to the records. A Parliament was called inRichard’s name, but before it was fully assembled at the end ofSeptember, its members were divsented with Richard’s allegedabdication and Henry’s claim to the throne as legitimatedescendant of Henry III as well as by right of conquest.”(34)Thirty-tree articles of deposition were set forth against Richard,and his abdication and deposition were duly accepted. Richard died atPontefract Castle, either of self-starvation or by smothering. Thusended the last attempt of a medieval king to exercise arbitrarypower. “Whether or not Richard had been motivated by newtheories about the nature of monarchy, as some have claimed, he hadfailed in the practical measures necessary to sustain his power. Hehad tried to rule through fear and mistrust in his final years, buthe had neither gained sufficient support among the magnates by meansof patronage nor created a popular basis of support in the shires andin 1399 Richard was disposed and he abdicated to theуfavour of Henry Lancaster and so the dynasty of Plantagenetsended.”(35)
CONCLUSION.
Summing up theevents of Plantagenets rule and their role in the history of England,we should mark the following.
11th — 12thcenturies (the first Plantagenets) were the years of constitutionalprogress and territorial expansion.
“The13thcentury is described as a “Plantagenet spring after a grimNorman winter”. The symbol of this spring is the century of newGothic Style. One of the best example of Gothic architecture isSalisbury Cathedral. Also it is a century of growing literacy whichis closely connected with 12thcentury cultural movement, which is called Renaissance. In EnglandRenaissance was a revolution in thoughts, ideas and learning,foundation of universities, the development of the Common Law and theParliament, and emergence of English as the language of thenation.”(36)
The14thcentury brought the disasters of the Hundred Years' War (1337-–1453), the Peasants’ revolt (1381), the exterminationof the population by the Black Death (1348 – 1349). Althoughthe outbreak of the Black Death in 1348 dominated the economy of the14thcentury, a member of adversities had already occurred in thedivceding decades. Severe rains in 1315 and 1316 caused famine, whichlead to the sdivad of disease. Animal epidemic in succeeding ofcurrency in the 1330s. Economic expansion, which had beencharacteristic of the 13thcentury, had slowed to a halt. The Black Death, possibly acombination of bubonic and pneumonic plagues, carried off fromone-third to one half of the population. In some respects it tooktime for its effects to become detrimental to the economy, but withsubsequent outbreaks, as in 1361 and 1369, the population declinedfurther, causing a severe labor shortage. By the 1370 wages had risendramatically and prices of foodstuffs fallen. Hired laborers, beingfewer, asked for higher wages and better food, and peasant tenants,also fewer, asked for better conditions of tenure when they took upland. Some landlords responded by trying to reassert labor serviceswhere they had been commuted. “ The Ordinance(1349) and Statute(1351) of Laborers tried to set maximum wages at the levels of thediv-Black Death years, but strict enforcement proved impossible. ThePeasants’ Revolt of 1381 was one result of the social tensioncaused by the adjustment needed after the epidemic. Great landlordssaw their revenues fall as a result of the Black Death, althoughprobably by only about 10 percent, whereas for the lower orders ofsociety real wages rose sharply by the last quarter of the 14thcentury because of low grain prices and high wages.”(37)
EdwardIII ruined the major Italian banking companies in England by failingto repay loans early in the Hundred Years’ War. This providedopening for English Merchants, who were given monopolies of woolexports by the crown in return for their support. The most notablewas William de la Pole of Hull, whose family rose to noble status.Heavy taxation of wool exports was one reason for the growth of thecloth industry and cloth exports in the 14thcentury. The wine trade from Gascony was also important. In contrastto the 13thcentury, no new towns were founded, but London is particularcontinued to prosper despite the ravage of plague.
“Incultural terms, a striking change in the 14thcentury was the increasing use of English. Although an attempt tomake the use of English mandatory in the law courts failed becauselawyers claimed that they could not plead accurately in the language,the vernacular began to creep into public documents and records.Henry of Lancaster even used English when he claimed the throne in1399. Chaucer wrote in both French and English, but his importantpoetry is in the latter. The early 14thcentury was an imdivssive age for manuscript illumination in England,with the so-called East Anglian school, of which the celebratedLuttrell Psalter redivsents a late example. In ecclesiasticalarchitecture the development of the Perpendicular style, largely inthe second half of the 14thcentury, was particularly notable.”(38)
Bibliography
Черняк Е.Б. Тайны Англии: Заговоры, интриги, мистификации. – М. Остожье, 1996
Грин Вивиан Х. Безумные короли: Личная травма и судьба народов. – М. Зевс, Феникс, 1997.
Цингейт Филиппа Королевские династии: учебное пособие для дополнительного образования – Москва, Росмэн, 1997
История средних веков. Том I, под редакцией А.Д. Удальцова, Е.А. Косминского и О.Л. Вайнштейна, 2-е издание, ОГИЗ – 1941.
Douls Louisa Desaussure Richard II in the early chronicles. The Hague- Paris, Mouton- 1975.
Fryde Natalie The tyranny and fall of Edward II, 1321-1326. Cambridge etc.: Cambridge univ. Press – 1979.
Costain Thomas B. The three Edwards. Garden City (N.Y.), Doubleday – 1958.
Costain Thomas B. The Last Platagenets. Garden City (N.Y.), Doubleday – 1962.
Harvey John, The Plantagenets. New York – 1973
Stubbs William The early Plantagenets. London(a.o.0, Longmans, Green and co., 1909.
Appleby John Tate, John, king of England. N.Y., Knopf-1959.
Green Alice Stopford, Henry the Second. Lnd. – N.Y., Macmillian – 1888.
Costain Thomas B. The conquering family. Garden City (N.Y.), Doubleday – 1962.
The Cambridge Illustrated dictionary of British Heritage. Edited by Alan Isaacs and Jennifer monk. — 1986
Costain Thomas B. The magnificent century. Garden City (N.Y.), Doubleday – 1951.
Tout T.F. Edward the first. London, Macmillian – 1920.
Henderson Philip Richard, Coeur de Lion. A biography. Lnd. Hale – 1958.
Who’s who in history. Vol. 1 British Isles 55 B.C. To 1485. – 1960.
The Oxford companion to British history. Edited by John Cannon. Oxford U.P. 1997.
References.
Stubbs William The early Plantagenets. London(a.o.0, Longmans, Green and co., 1909. 43p.
Green Alice Stopford, Henry the Second. Lnd. – N.Y., Macmillian – 1888. 29p.
Green Alice Stopford, Henry the Second. Lnd. – N.Y., Macmillian – 1888. 48-49p.
Green Alice Stopford, Henry the Second. Lnd. – N.Y., Macmillian – 1888. 56-61p.
Green Alice Stopford, Henry the Second. Lnd. – N.Y., Macmillian – 1888. 63p.
Henderson Philip Richard, Coeur de Lion. A biography. Lnd. Hale – 1958.10p.
Henderson Philip Richard, Coeur de Lion. A biography. Lnd. Hale – 1958. 12-13 p.
Henderson Philip Richard, Coeur de Lion. A biography. Lnd. Hale – 1958.21-23p.
История средних веков. Том I, под редакцией А.Д. Удальцова, Е.А. Косминского и О.Л. Вайнштейна, 2-е издание, ОГИЗ – 1941. 301-302p.
История средних веков. Том I, под редакцией А.Д. Удальцова, Е.А. Косминского и О.Л. Вайнштейна, 2-е издание, ОГИЗ – 1941. 312-314p.
История средних веков. Том I, под редакцией А.Д. Удальцова, Е.А. Косминского и О.Л. Вайнштейна, 2-е издание, ОГИЗ – 1941. 3329-332p.
История средних веков. Том I, под редакцией А.Д. Удальцова, Е.А. Косминского и О.Л. Вайнштейна, 2-е издание, ОГИЗ – 1941. 334p.
Цингейт Филиппа Королевские династии: учебное пособие для дополнительного образования – Москва, Росмэн, 1997. 249-256p.
Harvey John, The Plantagenets. New York – 1973.49-52p.
Harvey John, The Plantagenets. New York – 1973. 67-68p.
Грин Вивиан Х. Безумные короли: Личная травма и судьба народов. – М. Зевс, Феникс, 1997. 123-124p.
The Oxford companion to British history. Edited by John Cannon. Oxford U.P. 1997. 36p.
Costain Thomas B. The three Edwards. Garden City (N.Y.), Doubleday – 1958.91-93p.
Costain Thomas B. The three Edwards. Garden City (N.Y.), Doubleday – 1958. 127p.
Costain Thomas B. The three Edwards. Garden City (N.Y.), Doubleday – 1958.134-135p.
Costain Thomas B. The three Edwards. Garden City (N.Y.), Doubleday – 1958.138-140p.
Costain Thomas B. The three Edwards. Garden City (N.Y.), Doubleday – 1958.154p.
Costain Thomas B. The Last Platagenets. Garden City (N.Y.), Doubleday – 1962.357p.
The Cambridge Illustrated dictionary of British Heritage. Edited by Alan Isaacs and Jennifer monk. – 1986. 115-123p.
Costain Thomas B. The three Edwards. Garden City (N.Y.), Doubleday – 1958.169p.
Douls Louisa Desaussure Richard II in the early chronicles. The Hague- Paris, Mouton- 1975.77-81p.
Douls Louisa Desaussure Richard II in the early chronicles. The Hague- Paris, Mouton- 1975.114-115p.
Douls Louisa Desaussure Richard II in the early chronicles. The Hague- Paris, Mouton- 1975. 204-206p.
Douls Louisa Desaussure Richard II in the early chronicles. The Hague- Paris, Mouton- 1975. 235-236p.
Черняк Е.Б. Тайны Англии: Заговоры, интриги, мистификации. – М. Остожье, 1996. 327-339p.
Черняк Е.Б. Тайны Англии: Заговоры, интриги, мистификации. – М. Остожье, 1996. 348-349p.
Черняк Е.Б. Тайны Англии: Заговоры, интриги, мистификации. – М. Остожье, 1996. 357-360p.
The Oxford companion to British history. Edited by John Cannon. Oxford U.P. 1997. 40p.
The Oxford companion to British history. Edited by John Cannon. Oxford U.P. 1997.41p.
The Oxford companion to British history. Edited by John Cannon. Oxford U.P. 1997.41p.
Costain Thomas B. The magnificent century. Garden City (N.Y.), Doubleday – 1951.98-99p.
Costain Thomas B. The magnificent century. Garden City (N.Y.), Doubleday – 1951.104-105p.
Costain Thomas B. The magnificent century. Garden City (N.Y.), Doubleday – 1951.106p.