This is the first of a planned six volume history of England. As Peter Ackroyd is one of my all time favorites, I've decided to undertake the venture. The word Britain was first used by a Greek traveller in 325 BC. The island was extensively engaged in trade with the continent when Caesar invaded in 55 BC. A hundred years later, the actual 40 year-conquest of England was begun by Claudius. "England's ports, its metals, its taxes helped to sustain the vast engine of Roman commerce." Britain was a breadbasket for the Empire. By the time the Roman military withdrew in the early 5th century, Christianity had been established south of Hadrian's Wall. The next invaders were the Germanic tribes of the Angles, Saxons, Frisians and Jutes, who over the course of centuries gained the upper hand in England. The disparate kingdoms of England came together to respond to an external threat when the Vikings arrived on the scene in 790. "In 865, a great host of Danes descended on east Anglia." The areas of the Danelaw in eastern England became the most prosperous in the land. By the end of the millennium, England was an established society with prosperous cities, with shire boundaries that would last until the 19th century and a feudal system wherein obligations and responsibilities were fully defined.
William, duke of Normandy, felt slighted when the crown of the King of the English went to Harald in 1066 and he invaded. He prevailed at Hastings and then terrorized London before he was crowned on Christmas day. He extended his power and began the lengthy, acrimonious contest with the Church over sovereignty. He took the position that only he, and not the Pope, could appoint the bishops of England. The Conqueror was succeeded by two sons, a grandson and a great-grandson, Henry II in 1154. Henry's father was Geoffrey of Anjou or Geoffrey Plantagenet. He was, thus, the first of more than 300 years of Plantagenet kings. "It was said the family was the scion of Satan himself." Henry II will be forever known as the king who appointed his close friend and Chancellor as Archbishop of Canterbury. Thomas Beckett did not prove to be as compliant as Henry had wished. After six years of bickering over their respective powers, Beckett ex-communicated the Archbishop of York, sending Henry into a rage, during which he muttered his desire to be "rid of this turbulent priest". Beckett's death forced Henry to cede power to the Church. Although it is his battles with the Archbishop that he is most remembered for, his reign also saw the expansion of the common law and the laying of the foundation of the English legal system. His sons, Richard I and John I, were known for their endless, rapacious taxing and for squeezing every last penny out of their subjects, a series of abuses that led to the Magna Carta in 1215. John also lost most of the French land that his Norman and Angevin inheritance carried and, upon his death, a chronicler of the day said, "Hell felt herself defiled by his admission." The 13th century saw the reigns of Henry III, for half-a-century, and then Edward I, during which the barons, the new Parliament and the monarchy continued their on going struggle for power, wealth and control. The reign of Edward II saw humiliating defeat at Bannockburn and a three-year Great Famine before he was deposed by his Queen, Isabella, and replaced by his son.
The inherent tension between the ruled and the ruler was rivaled by a greater one between the kings of England and France. From the time of the Conqueror, the English monarchs were dukes of Normandy, Anjou, Aquitaine, Gascony or some combination thereof. Thus, they were vassals of the French king and holders of land on the continent. Phillip of Valois and Edward III began the Hundred Years War and the author suggests that it continued until Waterloo. Edward III was victorious in 1346 at Crecy, the first of the three famous, yet meaningless, English victories in France that were generally attributed to the merits of the English longbow. Two years later, the Black Plague arrived. Over the next thirty years, it returned three more times. The population of England was reduced by a third to a half. It would take 400 years to recover. Nonetheless, the fabric of society held. In 1356, Edward's son, the Black Prince, not only prevailed when outnumbered at Poitiers, but also captured the French king and held him in London for ransom. A temporary peace followed. Two decades later both Henry III and his son, died leaving the crown in 1277 to ten year old Richard II who reigned for over twenty years before being deposed by his cousin, the Duke of Lancaster, who became Henry IV, thus establishing the Lancaster branch of the Plantagenets.
His son, Henry V, reopened the Hundred Years War and achieved immortal fame at Agincourt on St. Crispin's Day, Oct. 24, 1415. He was honored and acclaimed throughout England, but his parliament and barons knew that campaigning in France was expensive business. His success led to his marriage to Katherine Valois, the King's daughter, and an agreement that any son would be acclaimed king of both countries. He died in August, 1422 leaving an 8-month-old heir. Although Henry V's success in France proved to be of no lasting value, his reign is considered a time in which the nation was established in the popular mind, the language became dominant while both French and Latin fell from common usage, and the Church of England began to distance itself somewhat from Rome. It was becoming "this blessed realm." Unfortunately, Henry VI grew to be an ineffectual king, one who lost whatever was left to the English in France and who had a surfeit of uncles and cousins looking over his shoulder. The contretemps between him and the the Duke of York would lead to the War of the Roses. Over matched, the Lancaster's enlisted the help of Owen Tudor, the King's half brother (Henry V's widow had married a Welsh courtier). Round one of the thirty-year civil war, which would entail a dozen bloody battles, went to the rebels, as the Duke of York was crowned king as Edward IV. He was cursed with two malcontent brothers, the first the duke of Clarence, who he had murdered in the Tower and the second, Richard Duke of Gloucester. Edward died at 40, leaving as his oldest a fourteen-year-old who would be king for only 88 days. Gloucester imprisoned the king and his younger brother (the Princes) in the Tower and was proclaimed as Richard III. In the summer of 1485, he died at Bosworth Field and Henry Tudor became Henry VII. The crown had repeatedly changed hands through violence, and the new king was no more than a usurper who had to ask the Pope to legitimize his rule. He married his oldest daughter to the king of Scotland, thus calming centuries of conflict and abandoned the Plantagenet obsession of interfering on the continent. He died without debt and passed on his throne without controversy. Henry XIII became king in 1509.
Ackroyd sums up by stating that throughout it all, "below the surface of events lies a deep, and almost geological, calm." "Unlike the provinces and sub-kingdoms of France or of Spain, or the fissiparous states and duchies of Europe, or of the city-states of Italy, England was all of a piece." "Continuity, rather than change, is the measure of the country." This is a wonderful book and very helpful in organizing the medieval era for me. Although an Irish-American, I must confess that I am an unabashed Anglophile and thoroughly enjoyed this volume.
William, duke of Normandy, felt slighted when the crown of the King of the English went to Harald in 1066 and he invaded. He prevailed at Hastings and then terrorized London before he was crowned on Christmas day. He extended his power and began the lengthy, acrimonious contest with the Church over sovereignty. He took the position that only he, and not the Pope, could appoint the bishops of England. The Conqueror was succeeded by two sons, a grandson and a great-grandson, Henry II in 1154. Henry's father was Geoffrey of Anjou or Geoffrey Plantagenet. He was, thus, the first of more than 300 years of Plantagenet kings. "It was said the family was the scion of Satan himself." Henry II will be forever known as the king who appointed his close friend and Chancellor as Archbishop of Canterbury. Thomas Beckett did not prove to be as compliant as Henry had wished. After six years of bickering over their respective powers, Beckett ex-communicated the Archbishop of York, sending Henry into a rage, during which he muttered his desire to be "rid of this turbulent priest". Beckett's death forced Henry to cede power to the Church. Although it is his battles with the Archbishop that he is most remembered for, his reign also saw the expansion of the common law and the laying of the foundation of the English legal system. His sons, Richard I and John I, were known for their endless, rapacious taxing and for squeezing every last penny out of their subjects, a series of abuses that led to the Magna Carta in 1215. John also lost most of the French land that his Norman and Angevin inheritance carried and, upon his death, a chronicler of the day said, "Hell felt herself defiled by his admission." The 13th century saw the reigns of Henry III, for half-a-century, and then Edward I, during which the barons, the new Parliament and the monarchy continued their on going struggle for power, wealth and control. The reign of Edward II saw humiliating defeat at Bannockburn and a three-year Great Famine before he was deposed by his Queen, Isabella, and replaced by his son.
The inherent tension between the ruled and the ruler was rivaled by a greater one between the kings of England and France. From the time of the Conqueror, the English monarchs were dukes of Normandy, Anjou, Aquitaine, Gascony or some combination thereof. Thus, they were vassals of the French king and holders of land on the continent. Phillip of Valois and Edward III began the Hundred Years War and the author suggests that it continued until Waterloo. Edward III was victorious in 1346 at Crecy, the first of the three famous, yet meaningless, English victories in France that were generally attributed to the merits of the English longbow. Two years later, the Black Plague arrived. Over the next thirty years, it returned three more times. The population of England was reduced by a third to a half. It would take 400 years to recover. Nonetheless, the fabric of society held. In 1356, Edward's son, the Black Prince, not only prevailed when outnumbered at Poitiers, but also captured the French king and held him in London for ransom. A temporary peace followed. Two decades later both Henry III and his son, died leaving the crown in 1277 to ten year old Richard II who reigned for over twenty years before being deposed by his cousin, the Duke of Lancaster, who became Henry IV, thus establishing the Lancaster branch of the Plantagenets.
His son, Henry V, reopened the Hundred Years War and achieved immortal fame at Agincourt on St. Crispin's Day, Oct. 24, 1415. He was honored and acclaimed throughout England, but his parliament and barons knew that campaigning in France was expensive business. His success led to his marriage to Katherine Valois, the King's daughter, and an agreement that any son would be acclaimed king of both countries. He died in August, 1422 leaving an 8-month-old heir. Although Henry V's success in France proved to be of no lasting value, his reign is considered a time in which the nation was established in the popular mind, the language became dominant while both French and Latin fell from common usage, and the Church of England began to distance itself somewhat from Rome. It was becoming "this blessed realm." Unfortunately, Henry VI grew to be an ineffectual king, one who lost whatever was left to the English in France and who had a surfeit of uncles and cousins looking over his shoulder. The contretemps between him and the the Duke of York would lead to the War of the Roses. Over matched, the Lancaster's enlisted the help of Owen Tudor, the King's half brother (Henry V's widow had married a Welsh courtier). Round one of the thirty-year civil war, which would entail a dozen bloody battles, went to the rebels, as the Duke of York was crowned king as Edward IV. He was cursed with two malcontent brothers, the first the duke of Clarence, who he had murdered in the Tower and the second, Richard Duke of Gloucester. Edward died at 40, leaving as his oldest a fourteen-year-old who would be king for only 88 days. Gloucester imprisoned the king and his younger brother (the Princes) in the Tower and was proclaimed as Richard III. In the summer of 1485, he died at Bosworth Field and Henry Tudor became Henry VII. The crown had repeatedly changed hands through violence, and the new king was no more than a usurper who had to ask the Pope to legitimize his rule. He married his oldest daughter to the king of Scotland, thus calming centuries of conflict and abandoned the Plantagenet obsession of interfering on the continent. He died without debt and passed on his throne without controversy. Henry XIII became king in 1509.
Ackroyd sums up by stating that throughout it all, "below the surface of events lies a deep, and almost geological, calm." "Unlike the provinces and sub-kingdoms of France or of Spain, or the fissiparous states and duchies of Europe, or of the city-states of Italy, England was all of a piece." "Continuity, rather than change, is the measure of the country." This is a wonderful book and very helpful in organizing the medieval era for me. Although an Irish-American, I must confess that I am an unabashed Anglophile and thoroughly enjoyed this volume.
No comments:
Post a Comment