Middle Aged Rulers
William Conqueror, King John, and Joan Of Arc
William Conqueror
BIOGRAPHICAL INFO
- A.K.A. "William The Bastard" because his parents were not married when he was born. Many lords in Normandy did not want him to rule them for this reason.
- He was born in 1027 in Falaise, and died in 1087. William was brave, inspirational, and a religious man with intelligent skills in war.
- *1051: If a village or town betrayed him, then he showed no mercy... citizens in the town of Alençon, which William was besieging, taunted him about being illegitimate. Once the town had fallen to him, he ordered that those who had abused him should have their hands and feet cut off.
- *1051: William met Edward the Confessor. William claimed that at this meeting, Edward promised him the throne of England on his death. However, there were no proper witnesses to this meeting - only those who wanted to keep on the good side of William.
- *1053: William married Matilda of Flanders. They had nine children, of whom seven survived.
- For a period of ten years, William had to constantly fight off invaders from his territory. He was always successful and built up a feared and professional army. His control over the people was greatly extended by the Doomsday book.
Doomsday Book
William Conqueror wrote this book to help the king keep records to set up an accurate central tax system at the time.
Shakespear's "King John"
Shakespear told many stories and plays based off of King John's life and the time period during his reign over the throne.
In Memory Of Joan Of Arc
A statue in honor of Joan Of Arc, located in modern day France.
King John
BIOGRAPHICAL INFO
- Born Christmas Eve in 1167 in Oxford, and died October 1216
- One of the more controversial monarchs of Medieval England
- As a child, John tended to be overshadowed by is older brother Richard. John developed a reputation for violent rages which lead to him foaming at the mouth. Henry left no land to John when he died so John was given the nick-name "John Lackland."
- *1202: John's nephew, Arthur of Brittany, was murdered. Many in Brittany believed that John was responsible for his murder and they rebelled against John.
- *1204: John's army was defeated in Brittany and John had no choice but to retreat. His military standing among the nobles fell and he was given a new nickname - "John Softsword"- taxes shot up to pay for the defeat.
- *1207: John succeeded in falling out with the pope in. He quarreled with the pope over who should be Archbishop of Canterbury. The pope excommunicated John and put England under a Church law that stated that no christening or marriage would be legal until the time the pope said that they would be.
- 1213: John had to give in and surrender the spiritual well-being of the whole country to the pope. However, the pope never fully trusted John.
- 1214: the pope proclaimed that anybody who tried to overthrow John would be legally entitled to do so; John lost another battle to the French at Bouvines- resulted in England losing all her possessions in France; this was too much for the powerful barons in England- they rebelled
- *1216: died of disease during war and was succeeded by Henry III.
- He was a strong King, and his most significant accomplishment was signing the Magna Carta
- We care for him because he was one of the leaders responsible for the way the people of the MIddle Ages lived
- His nobles went to him in "gay military array" demanding "liberties be granted to them."
Joan Of Arc
BIOGRAPHICAL INFO
- Nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans," was born in 1412 in Domrémy, Bar, France.
- She possessed many characteristics —extreme piety, claims of direct communication with the saints, and a reliance on individual experience, as opposed to that found through the institutions of the church, of the presence of God; remarkable mental and physical courage.
- *1428: traveled to Vaucouleurs-she asked for permission to join the dauphin and his cause. She and her visions were promptly dismissed, and the 16-year-old Joan went home. The next year, undeterred, she returned.
- Her standard was painted with an image of Christ in judgment, and the banner she would carry into battle bore the name of Jesus.
- *100 Years War: helped Charles VII become king of France.
- Truly believed God spoke to her through visions
- Captured by the English, tortured and then burned at the stake at 19 years old- committed the crime of wearing pants.
- Battle Of Orleans: 15 years old and lead French Soldiers to victory over the English.
- Joan with several military men, fought her fight, joined by her brothers Jean and Pierre.
- She was the leader of hundreds of soldiers and fought in war at such a young age.
Horrible Histories - Medieval War
The Flashbackers
We go way back just to show you all what it was like back then. Things were so much more differnet for people back then!
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