Medieval LEGO
Page 3
44
To prevent the argument from turning
into a war, the king agreed to make
some special promises. There were
long talks about what these would
be. Many people took part, including
the archbishop of Canterbury and the
most senior nobles of England. Both
sides probably also had teams of
lawyers and advisors.
In the summer of 1215, when the final
draft was ready, the king’s personal
seal was put on the document to
show his approval. Copies were made
and sent all over the kingdom to
let people know what the king had
pledged. Some of these points seem
strange today, like the promise to
remove all the fish traps from the
River Thames. The promises were
mainly for the rich and powerful;
they didn’t apply to people lower in
society. Most related to money and
the legal rights of the displeased
barons and nobles.
But King John’s promises could
not be trusted. As soon as Magna
Carta was written, he asked the
pope to overrule it. He said that he
had been forced into approving it.
The pope agreed, and the promises
became invalid. It wasn’t until after
King John’s death that Magna Carta
came to life once more.
—Dr. Kathleen Neal
45
MatThew Paris
M
atthew Paris was a monk at
St Albans, a rich monastery near
London. He wrote a history of
England during the 13th century and
made his views of kings and their actions
very clear. His accounts are important for
our knowledge of this period.
Matthew Paris was also a political
commentator. Because Matthew wrote
after King John’s death, he was able to
be very critical of John.
1200-1259
ST ALBANS ABBEY
48
He included in his chronicle an
account of the troubles that led
to the signing of Magna Carta. He
even added a poem that claimed that
King John had gone to Hell, and when
he arrived, he had made Hell
worse
.
The monk also made maps of
Britain and of the pilgrims’ route
to Jerusalem. Using his skill as an
artist, he recorded the miracles of
saints and unusual sights, such as
an elephant in a royal exhibit.
Because of his religious devotion
and political skills, he was sent
on an embassy to Norway. He was
also interested in finding ways to
predict the future. He left illustrated
accounts of both subjects, as well as
his chronicles and dramatic stories
about saints, including the murder of
Thomas Becket.
—Dr. Anne lawrence-mathers
51
Roger Bacon
R
oger Bacon was an important early
scholar. We don’t know exactly when
or where he was born, but he was an
active writer and teacher in the second
half of the 13th century. By 1267, Bacon
completed three major works: the
Bigger
Book
(
Opus Majus
), the
Littler Book
(
Opus
Minus
), and the
Third Book
(
Opus Tertium
).
He wrote about philosophy, but his main
interest was in understanding the world
around him.
1214-1292
Much like a modern scientist,
Bacon argued that one could better
understand how the physical world
worked through careful observation
and record keeping.
He explored the science of vision
(mirrors, lenses, how the eye works),
how mathematics can explain the
physical world, and astronomy.
Roger Bacon was an extraordinary
medieval thinker. Although he was not
a modern scientist, he understood
things about the natural world
that had previously been utterly
mysterious to his contemporaries.
—Professor John Arnold
ROGER BACON IN HIS WORKSHOP
ENGLISH RULE ARRIVES
IN NORTHUMBERLAND
55
Treaty of York
T
he kingdoms of England and
Scotland took shape slowly. By
the year 1000, they had certainly
come into existence, but their exact
boundaries were not clear. For several
hundred years, the kings of England and
the kings of Scotland tried to extend
their power at the expense of their
neighbor when they could.
1237
56
Warfare was not constant. But strong
kings like David I of Scotland took the
chance to control territory deep into
what is now England, and formidable
English rulers like Henry II pushed
the frontier back again.
The Treaty of York in 1237 was
intended to settle the matter.
Henry III of England and Alexander II
of Scotland met at York. Alexander
agreed that the northern counties of
Northumberland, Cumberland, and
Westmorland would belong to the
king of England. In return, Alexander
received rich estates in England.
This was not the end of wars
between Scotland and England
(indeed, quite far from it!). But the
frontier established by the Treaty
of York is, more or less, the same
today.
—Professor Robert Bartlett
ALEXANDER II AND HENRY III MAKE A PACT
THE ENGLISH PARLIAMENT
CONFRONTS THE KING
59
First English
Parliament
A
group of barons led by Simon
de Montfort had taken control of
England and captured King Henry III
in battle. The baron rebels wanted to force
Henry to keep some important promises
made by his father, King John, like the
ones written in Magna Carta.
One important demand was for the
king to meet with representatives of the
people and take their advice. So, in 1265,
the barons decided to hold a parliament.
1265
60
English kings had held big meetings
called
parliaments
before, but these
meetings had involved only the most
powerful noblemen. This time the
rebels invited not just the barons
but also knights from all the shires
of England. These people would
represent the entire
community of the
realm—
in other words, all the king’s
subjects, not just the powerful ones.
This was a big step. Kings had never
been force
d to take notice of so many
people’s opinions before.
The parliament met in Westminster,
then a village near London, to talk
about how England should be ruled.
King Henry III, who was still a prisoner,
had to sit quietly and listen.
Montfort wanted representatives
from all over England to make it look
like his rebellion had lots of support,
which he needed because keeping
Henry prisoner made him look bad.
In fact, some thought Montfort just
wanted power for himself. Others
thought it was wrong for him to put
himself above the king. Several people
who had been invited didn’t attend the
parliament, to avoid supporting him.
Soon after, Montfort was defeated in
battle and killed. However, his idea
of having a parliament to represent
everyone had a big effect on how the
English Parliament developed later.
—Dr. Kathleen Neal
61
William Wallace
I
n 1286, King Alexander III of Scotland
died, leaving no clear heir to the
throne. Thirteen different people
thought they should be the next ruler of
Scotland! King Edward I of England was
asked to help sort it out. He decided that
a man named John Balliol should become
king. But when Edward later demanded
that the Scottish lords fight on his side
against France (England was at war with
France), they refused. Instead, the lords
and Balliol made a treaty with France.
1270-1305
WILLIAM WALLACE AT STERLING BRIDGE
63
This led to a war between Scotland
and England, which England quickly
won in 1296. King Edward removed
Balliol from the throne and ruled
the country directly. This decision
was not accepted by many Scottish
people. In 1297, the younger son of a
Scottish knight, William Wallace, led
a popular uprising.
Wallace’s army defeated an English
army at Stirling Bridge, prompting
Edward to lead a much bigger army
north to fight them. More skirmishes
and battles took place over the
next few years. The English won
some of the battles—notably at
Falkirk in 1298, even though many
of the Welshmen in the English
army refused to fight against the
Scottish. But there was no decisive
victory.
In 1303, Robert the Bruce, another
claimant to the Scottish throne,
joined forces with Edward to bring
stability to Scotland. Wallace’s rebels
continued to resist, but most of the
Scottish lords made peace with the
English crown in 1304. A year later
William Wallace was captured.
The English took Wallace south to
London for trial and executed him
cruelly—a horrible warning to any
future rebels.
64
Robert the Bruce was eventually
crowned king of Scotland by his
supporters in 1306. He then led a
fresh revolt against King Edward I
and English rule.
—Professor John Arnold
WILLIAM WALLACE
65
Battle of Falkirk
A
t Stirling Bridge, William Wallace
earned a reputation as a guerilla
fighter, using stealth and surprise
tactics. But could he win in a traditional
pitched battle on an open field?
At the Battle of Falkirk, Wallace faced
a much larger opposing army, this time
led by the English king himself, Edward I.
Wallace organized his infantry into
schiltroms, large circular shapes with
two ranks of spearmen.
1298
A “HEDGEHOG” FORMATION,
OR SCHILTROM
67
The men in front knelt down and
braced their 12-foot spears (called
pikes) in the ground, slanted upward.
The second row held their spears
above the heads of those in front. The
entire formation looked like a massive
hedgehog, ready to stick the enemy
if it charged. Behind the schiltroms,
Wallace’s cavalry waited to attack once
the English broke ranks.
Before the battle, Wallace addressed
his men: “I have brought you to the
ring; dance the best you can.”
Edward’s knights, seeing nothing but
open field between them and the
schiltroms, charged on horseback.
They did not realize that Wallace had
placed the schiltroms behind marshy
land. When the knights attacked, their
horses got bogged down in the marsh,
and the schiltroms held fast. The
Scottish pikemen killed many of the
English knights.
It looked like victory for Wallace,
but the battle was not over. The
remaining English knights withdrew
and regrouped. Wallace’s horsemen,
behind the schiltroms, suddenly
retreated from the battlefield, never
having fought! Edward then deployed
his archers, who used a relatively new
weapon, the longbow. They loosed
a hail of arrows on the trapped
schiltroms, defeating them where
mounted knights could not.
Wallace, having lost, barely escaped
with his life.
—Professor Phillip C. Adamo
AN ARCHER WITH A LONGBOW
69
First English
Prince of Wales
W
hen the Romans withdrew their
legions from southern Britain
in 410, the formerly united
native Celtic Britons soon split back
into quarrelsome local chiefdoms.
These divided peoples were unable
to resist a new wave of invasions by
the Germanic Angles and Saxons, who
established what came to be called
England
.
1301
THE FIRST ENGLISH PRINCE OF WALES
71
The Angles and Saxons forced
the native Britons into the
western highlands, especially the
mountainous central region the
invaders called
Wales
.
Celtic Wales survived in this divided
state until 1258, when it was finally
united under the Prince of Gwynedd,
Llywellyn ap Gruffydd. Taking the title
Prince of Wales, he ruled the new
principality until his death in 1282.
But his son and successor, Prince
David, made the mistake of resisting
the claims to overlordship by
King Edward I of England, his more
powerful neighbor. Edward deposed
David and executed him for treason.
Then he placed Wales under England’s
direct rule.
To retain control of Wales without
abolishing the Celtic principality,
Edward revived
the title of Prince
of Wales in February 1301. He then
awarded the title and a reduced
form of the principality to his only
surviving son, the 16-year-old Edward
of Caernarvon, who became King
Edward II of England in 1307.
72
Edward II was deposed in 1327
without having conferred the
principality on his own elder son,
Edward of Windsor, who succeeded
him as King Edward III. Edward III
granted the principality to his eldest
son, Edward of Woodstock, later
known as “the Black Prince.” From
1343 on, all English monarchs would
grant Wales to their heir apparent (if
they had one) when he came of age.
—Professor D’Arcy Jonathan
Dacre Boulton
73
The Great Famine
B
etween the years 1000 and 1300,
the climate in medieval Europe
became notably warmer. In fact,
it was warm enough to grow grapes in
southern England.
Because of this warm climate, more
land was used for farming, more food
was grown, and more people were born.
1315-1317
THE HARDSHIP OF THE GREAT FAMINE
75
Medieval towns and cities grew
larger as well. The city of London
grew about ten times larger during
the 12th and 13th centuries.
But early in the 14th century, the
warmer climate ended. Europe and
England had terrible storms and
harsher winter weather. The harvests
failed several years in a row, and
livestock were affected by widespread
disease. Of course, there was also
political turmoil and warfare, which
prevented communities from planning
ahead or storing grain.
As a result, millions of people starved
to death. The suffering across Europe
was considerable.
By the end of the 14th century, the
population of medieval England was
much lower than at the beginning.
Many people died from the Black
Death, but a part of the population
loss was caused earlier by the Great