petrascu lecture 2

8/3/2019 Petrascu Lecture 2

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2.3. House of Plantagenet. Law and administration. Magna Carta.

King Henry II (1154-89) was granted overlordship of Ireland by Pope Adrian. Thus, an

Anglo-Irish struggle was started, that was to last ever since. Henry II obtained the submission of

many of the Irish kings and of the Irish Church. Much of Ireland was captured, but Henry was

just overlord, never king, of Ireland. He also obtained the homage of the King of Scotland, who

restored him some territories, and he subdued the Welsh.

In order to put an end to the anarchy in England, Henry II instituted a number of legal

reforms. The most notable example was the Assize of Claredon (1166), where the jury system

was established, and which was fundamental in the development of the English judicial system.

He became famous for the conflict with his Chancellor, Thomas Becket, Archbishop of

Canterbury, who defended the rights of clerics to be tried in Church courts (the freedom of

appeal to Rome). As a result of the disputes over the rights of Church and State, Becket was

exiled and murdered at Canterbury. He was canonized and his shrine became a place of

pilgrimage.

The expansion of governmental activity required an increasing number of professional

people. These were called curiales a word originating in curia regis, the royal court of

Norman kings, which had fulfilled the functions of royal government. The curiales enforced

justice and collected royal revenues. They contributed to the increase of the coercive power ofgovernment.

The administration became even more independent during the reign of Richard I Coeur

de Lion (1189-99), whose participation in the Crusades and frequent absences from the country

placed heavy burdens on Englands finances.

Until 1189, English monarchs had enjoyed great power, but they had accepted advice and

certain limitations on their authority. King John (1199-1216), however, ignored these

restrictions. He made England a fief of the Papacy and this, along with the previous growth in

the role and liberty of the State, caused the opposition of the noblemen, who united against his

dictatorial rule.

In 1215, King John was forced to accept the terms ofMagna Carta, a document that was

originally intended to protect the aristocracy, not the ordinary people, but which, in time, became

a landmark in British constitutional history.


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Magna Carta was a charter of liberties that condemned King Johns use of feudal and

judicial powers. It defined and limited royal power and royal rights, it forced the king to accept

advice and promoted an aristocratic influence in national affairs. It guaranteed every mans

security from illegal interference in his person and property, it provided freemen with some

rights and liberties against royal action. It guaranteed justice to everyone, stipulating that no

person could be punished or kept in prison without a fair, however speedy, trial.

According to the terms of Magna Carta, the Crown was no longer able to determine its

rights alone. Magna Carta constrained monarchs to accept limitations in their power, and it was

to be enforced by a Council of barons, who could declare war on the king if he failed to respect

his promises.

Magna Carta was frequently reissued by Great Councils and, even if later monarchs often

tried to ignore it, and its importance was not perceived as such at the time, it remained the oldest

written constitutional paper in England.

The 13th century was marked by further decisive political events. Crises in Anglo-Welsh

relationships culminated in 1277, when Edward I (1272-1307) invaded Wales and established a

new military order and political settlement. The Statute of Wales was established in 1284, and it

defined the legal and administrative changes and arrangements made by Edward for the

conquered territories. New government centers were established, new boroughs and counties

were formed, more castles were built. English criminal law was made compulsory, while Welsh

civil law was allowed to continue. Edward initiated the English custom of entitling the kings

eldest son Prince of Wales.

The wars with Scotland were not as successful Scotland was not defeated because, at

the same time, a conflict with France emerged, which was to degenerate into the Hundred Years

War.


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2.4. The emergence of Parliament

In 1295 Edward I summoned the Model Parliament. Basic parliamentary structures had

existed before in 1265 Simon de Montfort had called Englands first Parliament, composed of

nobles and minor aristocrats. Parliament emerged out of the need for an important political body

to complement monarchy. In 1295, representatives of the clergy, of counties and boroughs were

called to give advice to the King and to consent on behalf of the communities they represented;

the nobles appeared on their own behalf. The Model Parliament was to serve as an example for

similar future structures. Its two sections consisted of the Lords and Bishops, who were chosen

by the King, and the Commoners, who were elected.

In the 14th century, the practices of Parliament were established. Tax money from the

nobles was no longer enough to finance the upkeep of administration and pay for the wars

against France, so that the middle classes were asked to contribute as well. In 1349, during the

reign of Edward III (1327-77) the representatives of the counties and boroughs (knights, yeomen

and merchants) complied, and began to meet as a separate assembly, the Council of the

Commoners. In return, they demanded to be consulted by the king when important decisions mad

to be taken (this was the beginning of the House of Commons).

Parliament became important because of the constant need to raise taxes in order to pay

for warfare (military troops). At the end of the 14th century, taxation was established by the

House of Commons, with the consent of the Lords. [However, for most of the Middle Ages, the

Commons were an adjunct to Parliament, rather than a part of it they met separately and were

represented in the Parliament Chamber by their speaker, who was, until the end of the 17 th

century, a servant of the Crown.]

While Parliament did serve as a means to support royal policies financially, it also

constrained monarchical freedom of political manoeuvre. England was on the road of becoming

the first and only parliamentary monarchy in Europe. From a situation in which the monarch had

enjoyed almost absolute power, by the end of the Middle Ages, two councils, one made up of

aristocrats and one of commoners, had a say in the running of the country. England was the first

country in the world where the principle that the representatives of the people had a right to

participate in government was accepted.


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2.5. England in the 14th Century

In the 14th century, social and economic crises increased. Most of them were triggered by

the conflicts between the nobility and the newly emerged middle classes.

During the reign of Edward II (1307-27) the Great Famine (1315-17) occurred, as a result

of extensive harvest failure. During the reign of Edward III (1327-77), the Hundred Years War

with France began (1337-1453), and the most decisive episode was the Bubonic plague (Black

Death), which killed, from 1348 to 1351, one third of the population and disrupted the economy

of the country. Both the war and the plague hastened the breakdown of the feudal system in

England.

In 1377 Edward III was succeeded by Richard II Plantagenet (1377-99). In 1381 the King

was faced with the Peasant Revolt a revolt against feudal power and at the poor living

conditions against the background of the Hundred Years War with France. In order to support

war expenses, a poll tax was introduced for all people over the age of 14. This tax pressed hard

on the rural population, leading to riots in 1381. The peasants, led by Watt Tyler, occupied

London, seized the Tower of London and murdered the Chancellor and the Archbishop of

Canterbury.

King Richard II granted charters of freedom to the rebels, but as soon as they had

returned to their homes, he revoked the charters and punished the leaders of the rebels.

In 1399 he conducted a successful expedition to Ireland, where the Irish lords paid him

homage. Three years later, he banished Henry Bolingbroke (Lancaster) and seized his

inheritance, but in 1399 he was deposed. Henry IV (House of Lancaster) became king until 1413.

The succession of the House of Lancaster to the throne of England caused the War(s) of

the Roses (1455-86). Both families involved (Lancaster and York) claimed royal right by descent

from Edward III. Internal political conflict between the House of Lancaster and the House of

York began in 1454, when King Henry VI (Lancaster) was declared temporarily insane and was

replaced by Richard, Duke of York, who became Protector of England.

In 1461 Edward, Duke of York, defeated the Lancastrians and proclaimed himself

Edward IV. Henry VI fled to Scotland. He returned in 1464, but he was captured and imprisoned.

In 1470 he was restored and Edward fled to Flanders. Henry ruled again for only one year, when


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Edward of York returned and claimed the Crown. Henry VI was imprisoned again and murdered

(1471). Edward IV became king once again (1471-83). He was succeeded to the throne by his

son, Edward V, who was king for only one year. In 1483, his uncle, Richard of Gloucester,

imprisoned him in the Tower, where he was probably murdered.

King Richard III House of York (1483-85) was not trusted by the noblemen. In 1485,

Henry Tudor (House of Lancaster) invaded the country with the help of French troops. Ric hard,

supported only by a few noblemen, was defeated and killed at Bosworth. Henry became King of

England as Henry VII (1485-1509). When he married Elizabeth of York (1486), the War of the

Roses was ended.

2.6. The Language. Middle English.

Since the Norman Conquest, three languages had been used in parallel in England:

Norman French was spoken in Court and by the nobility, Latin was the language of the Church

and of official documents, while English was the language of the ordinary people. But, at the

beginning of the 13th century, King John lost Normandy to the French Crown. The ties with

Normandy were gradually severed and the Norman nobility gradually became English.

Gradually, there was a switch from French to English as the official language.

The first state document to be issued in English was the Proclamation of Henry III (1216-

72) a constitutional document that reformed Parliament in 1269. In 1362 Edward IIIs

Parliament enacted a statute whereby the use of French in the court laws was terminated (even if

records were still kept in Latin) and in the same year the king made the first royal speech to

Parliament in English. By the end of Richard IIs reign (1399), English had become the everyday

language of the Court. In the 14th century there was a switch from French to English as the

medium of grammar school education.

When, in 1399, Henry Lancaster seized the throne of England, he would be the first king

whose native language was English, and in the 15 th century there were members of the nobility

who spoke no French at all.

As English became the language of administration and culture, there came a re-

establishment of an English literary language a standard form of the language, which could be

regarded as a norm (there were, in fact, two standard forms of the language, that of England and


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that of Scotland). In England, the new standard language was no longer based on the West-Saxon

literary language, but on the East Midland dialect, as the East Midlands had a superior cultural,

economic and administrative life. The North remained a rather backward region, but in the south,

the London speech imposed itself and its prestige grew gradually.

Nevertheless, the 13th and 14th centuries represented a code-switching, transitional period,

as both languages were used simultaneously. More French words were adopted in English now

than they had been when French had been the official language, because back then it had not

been spoken by the ordinary people. An illustrative example is that of the 2nd person pronouns.

Originally, the English words had been thou (singular) and ye (plural), and thee (singular)

and you (plural) after a preposition or as an object, respectively. Due to the ambiguity of the

French vous, the English word you took over the functions of the plural ye, and then you

took over the functions of the singular thou, so that the distinction between singular and plural

was lost.

With the emergence of a new class the merchants who took control of an international

trade, with London guilds beginning to use English for their records, specialized terms, in which

English was deficient, were taken over from French. By mid-15 th century, the tradesmen had

become an almost separate literate group, apart from the clergy and the nobility. Sometimes,

English, French and Latin occurred together in their documents (the symbol & was first used in

their documents).

2.6.1. French Loan Words

Most French words were not borrowed in English while French was the language of the

upper classes (the ordinary people in England did not speak French), but in the 13 th and 14th

centuries, when there were bilingual speakers changing over to English for purposes such as

commerce, administration and literature. They were not homely words such as the Scandinavian

ones. The influence of French was a vertical one, reflective of cultural and political dominance,

and they are more common in the fields of administration (chancellor, council,

government), the law (to accuse, attorney, crime, to punish), heraldry, arts (costume,

apparel, dress), military and ecclesiastical life (castle, tower, abbey, clergy, prayer).


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Most words denoting titles of rank in English are also of French origin (baron, count, duke,

peer, prince), while the language retained the English words king, queen, lord, lady,

earl, knight.

When they were first borrowed, French words were given a French pronunciation, but

they were soon adapted to the English phonological system and they were pronounced in the

English manner. This process of assimilation made it easier for later Romance and Latin words

to be adopted by the English language (French stems with English prefixes and suffixes, such as

beautiful, faithless, preaching, ungracious).

The dominance of French for so many centuries had a huge impact on writing as well:

English writers began writing verse chronicles in the French manner. However, in certain places,

some English literary traditions were preserved until the 2nd half of the 14th century, there was a

line of poets using the alliterative line descending from Old English poetry. With Geoffrey

Chaucer, whose versification was deeply influenced by Italian and French models, Old English

versification became obsolete.

2.6.2. Characteristics of Middle English

Linguists conventionally date Middle English from 1100 and 1500. Old English did not

disappear suddenly in the years following the Norman Conquest. The West-Saxon literary

tradition was continued for a while in some monasteries, but the changes that had begun to occur

in the language before the conquest now developed at a much higher speed. Significant changes

took place in spelling: the Norman scribes disregarded Old English spelling altogether they

spelled words as they heard them and often resorted to the conventions of Norman French.

A sound change that took place in late Old English but did not become apparent until the

Middle English period, was the lengthening of short vowels before certain consonant groups,

under the influence of French pronunciation. For instance, the OE word bakan (to bake)

became baken in Middle English, but it was still pronounced with a long a. With the French

influence, it then became to bake, and its pronunciation was the one used nowadays. The

Middle English lengthening of vowels in open syllables of disyllabic words also affected the

spelling conventions of the English language. In early Middle English, words like bake had two


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syllables. After the first vowel was lengthened, the final e was lost and such words became

monosyllabic.

In the field of morphology, there was a great reduction in the inflectional system

inherited from Old English (the period of reduced inflections). The loss and weakening of

unstressed syllables at the end of the words destroyed many of the distinctive inflections of Old

English. The Old English word-finals a, -u, -e became en in Middle English, to be finally

reduced to e. The endings as and es for the Nominative plural and Genitive singular became

es. Even the final e ultimately disappeared in the Nominative during the Middle English

period and many endings became identical. By the 15th century the es plural became universal.

A similar process of loss of case distinctions took place in adjectives and demonstratives.

In the case of adjectives, the language used two forms: the base form (e.g. fair) and a form with

the ending e used for the plural (faire). Towards the end of the Middle English period, the e

was lost and the adjective became indeclinable. In Old English, the definite article showed three

genders, but by the end of the Middle English period the became the only form of the definite

article.

In Old English, the definite article and the adjective played a major role in marking the

distinctions of case and number. When they lost this function by the end of the Middle English

period, the language changed a lot. Grammatical gender disappeared in favor of the natural

gender (in Old English, for instance, the word wifmann woman was masculine, while wif

wife was neuter).

Word order became very important, because inflections were no longer capable of

showing which noun was the subject of the sentence. In the verb system, there was also a

tendency for inflections to be replaced by more analytical devices. If, in Old English, there were

many inflections, but only two tenses (present and past), in Middle English the system of

inflections was reduced, but a new system of tenses was built up by means of the primary

auxiliaries and of the modal auxiliaries.

2.7. Literacy and Education in the Middle Ages


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In the Anglo-Saxon period, the control of education in England became the responsibility

of the Christian church (the first schools were founded in the 6 th century). In the Middle Ages,

the monastic and cathedral schools, which had originally been established for the clergy and for

those intending to enter the monasteries, gradually admitted lay pupils and broadened the

curriculum to include the study of the classics, grammar, logic, rhetoric, geometry and

arithmetic. The Church continued to dominate education until the end of the Middle Ages.

In Norman and early medieval times only a few people were educated especially churchmen.

Before the Norman Conquest, Alfred the Great had attempted to bring the benefits of literacy to

a wider section of the community (he founded a court school and translated some works from

Latin into Anglo-Saxon himself). However, Alfred was something of a unique figure in this

respect. With the Normans, education was regarded as something incompatible with fighting

men (William the Conqueror could not even sign his name and he signed charters with a cross).

However, there were schools attached to monasteries in the Middle Ages. It was to the

greatest extent the Church that enjoyed the prerogatives of education, but the Universities of

Oxford and Cambridge developed around centers of learning established by the clergy in the 12 th

and 13th centuries. During the Middle Ages, the number of cathedral grammar schools rose to

approximately 400. By the 14th century, grammar schools existed for the education of boys who

were not destined for the Church.

With the Black Death, many of these schools had closed by the 15 th century. They were

restored afterwards, this time by certain citizens and companies who founded new schools by

donation. These were the Livery Companies the London trade and crafts associations such as

those of the weavers, merchants and vintners, who were the successors of the guilds and

dominated Londons political and economic life in the Middle Ages. They began to control

trades in the mid-13th century and exercised power over all aspects of commercial organization.

As they were immensely wealthy, they also engaged in charitable and educational activities, so

that they founded boys schools, took over responsibility for running them and provided

scholarships at schools and universities. At the same time, a basic education was also provided in

some areas for the children of the poor, usually by the local parish priest.


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CONCEPTS AND KEYWORDS

1. Feudalism

2. Domesday Survey Book, Exchequer3. Transition from Old English to Middle English

4. Magna Carta

5. Model Parliament

6. Middle English

7. The Great Famine, the Plague, the Peasant Revolt

QUESTIONS

1. How did the Norman Conquest influence the early English democracy?

2. What was the feudal system characterized by?

3. How did judicial activity expand in the Middle Ages (House of Plantagenet)?

4. How did early Parliament structures emerge in the 13th century?

5. Discuss the main social crises in the 14th century.

6. How did the War(s) of the Roses influence monarchy in the 15th century?


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3. The 16th Century: Reformation. The Elizabethan Age.

England in the 16th century was characterized by significant changes. On the whole, there

was more emphasis on religious division, there were problems at home and abroad, and

transoceanic developments. The population of the country had nearly doubled by mid-16th

century, which brought about a growth in economic demand.

Inflation also grew, rents and food prices grew faster than wages. This brought about a

growth of the number of beggars. The 1495 Parliament Act concerning vagabonds and beggars

was followed by a number of laws regarding the poor: paupers who were not able to find work

became the responsibility of parishes in England, whereas in Scotland paupers had to earn the

right to beg and beggars were required to wear a distinctive blue badge.

The discrepancy between the rich and the poor created a rift in the social order. The rich

displayed their growing wealth, which was visible in clothes, furniture, music instruments.

Homes were no longer built like fortresses they had large windows and were surrounded by

ever more elaborate gardens.

The gentry tried to adopt a code of aristocratic conduct and developed an interest in

education, which distinguished them from the rest of the community. Caxton had introduced

printing in England in 1474. Books thus ensured the possibility of a more private and individual

culture. Theaters appeared towards the end of the 16 th century (The Globe was opened in 1599)

under the patronage of aristocrats.

The coal industry developed in the north mainly to supply London. The role of the market

economy became more consistent and affected areas that had been poor before (Edinburgh in

Scotland). Welsh cattle and sheep were brought to England and Welsh coal was mined and

exported.


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3.1. House of Tudor

Under the Tudors, England flourished and was introduced to Renaissance learning. It also

became an important power in European diplomacy. Henry VII (1485-1509) was the first

Welshman to become King of England. The process of administrative assimilation of Wales was

begun during his reign and it was completed during the reign of Henry VIII, from 1536 to 1547.

Henry VIII had an active role in reasserting the monarchs control over the nobility. The

nobility had been weakened by wars and by internal conflicts so from 1485, in Tudor England

there was a return to royal dominance. The noblemen were often excluded from policy-making.

Consequently, Tudor monarchs controlled Parliament and summoned it only when they wanted

to raise money.

The reign of Henry VIII (1509-47) King of Ireland from 1540 was significant for the

Reformation of the Church. The Reformation was a religious and political movement in 16 th

century Europe, inspired by a wish to reform the Roman Catholic Church and resulting in the

establishment of Protestant Churches in several countries.

The first part of Henry VIIIs reign was dominated by his desire for a glorious foreign

policy. He was determined to make England an influential country in Europe and in this sense he

sustained military campaigns that brought the country close to bankruptcy.

Apart from these concerns, Henry VIII also had dynastic concerns. His first wife,

Catherine of Aragon, had given him one daughter, Mary. Henry tried to end his marriage when

he fell in love with Anne Boleyn. As divorce was almost impossible, Henry needed a Papal

dispensation. He asked Pope Clement VIII for an annulment of his marriage, which he was not

granted. One of the reasons for the Popes refusal was the fact that, at the time, Catherines

nephew was Emperor Charles V, the most powerful ruler in Italy, and he did not want to upset

him.

In a dramatic gesture, Henry rejected Papal jurisdiction over the English Church. Until

1533, the English Church was subject to the papacy. The clergy owed loyalty to the King and to

the Pope in Rome. They also had the right to be tried in Church courts (the right of Appeals to

Rome). A series of statues (the Restraint of Appeals to Rome) ended the papal jurisdiction over

the English Church and also brought papal authority to an end in England. This Act permitted

Henry to divorce Catherine and marry Anne Boleyn.


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In 1533 Henry VIII proclaimed England an Empire, governed by one supreme head and

king. By being declared an Empire, England was proclaimed self-sufficient from a jurisdictional

point of view. Henry established the sovereignty of Law made in Parliament.

In 1534, the term majesty was used for the first time in proclamations and documents (it

replaced your grace as a form of address to the king). Henry devised the doctrine of royal

supremacy, and developed the theory that the monarch was not responsible to the people, but to

God alone (the mystique of kingship).

In the same year (1534), the Act of Supremacy established that Henry would be the

Supreme Head of the Church. A dramatic turn took place in religion, a shift that was to change

the political future of the country as well.

There had been no indications that England would become, from a Catholic country, a

Protestant one. In 1517, in Germany, Luther had challenged the Papacy. Not only had Henry (a

devout Catholic) not responded, but he had written a book against Luther. The Pope had

rewarded him with the title Fidei Defensor(Defender of Faith). But later, his break with Rome

encouraged Protestants in England.

Henry VIII moved in the direction of Lutheranism. He changed those aspects of the

Church that he viewed hostile. In 1536 the dissolution of the (extremely wealthy) Catholic

monasteries was set in motion. The properties of the monasteries were transferred to the Crown.

Beckets shrine at Canterbury was destroyed and pilgrimages were forbidden.

As a result of the royal supremacy, all religious questions became political questions and

any form of dissent became a direct challenge to the Crown. Those who did not accept thee

Reformation were persecuted. The Treason Act of 1534 extended the notion of treason to words,

not just deeds. Religious dissent was identified with the denial of royal supremacy. Thomas

More, who had persecuted Protestants before, resigned as Lord Chancellor in protest at Henrys

divorce and was executed for treason.

In 1534 an Act was passed in Parliament, establishing that Henrys marriage to Anne

Boleyn was undoubted, true, sincere and perfect, and that their children would succeed to the

throne of England. Mary, Catherines daughter, was declared illegitimate. After Elizabeth was

born, Anne Boleyn was beheaded in 1536. Henry married Jane Seymour, who bore him a son,

Edward. In 1536 an Act replaced that of 1534, and provided for the succession of Henrys


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children with Jane Seymour. In 1544, a final Act settled the order of succession to the throne of

England: Edward I, Mary I, Elizabeth I.

In England, the general reluctance to accept Protestant religion was counterbalanced by

the unwillingness of most people to overthrow the King, but this political move had weakened

the authority of the Crown. Scotland was determined not to follow the English lead, and, even if

Henry VIII attacked it in 1542, the negotiations failed and Scotland would accept the

Reformation much later.

Wales accepted the Reformation easily, as it was threatened by Spain, the most powerful

Catholic country, and it needed English help. From 1536 to 1543, the Union of Wales with

England was consolidated. Wales was assimilated into the English governmental system and the

Welsh people became English subjects, with representatives in Parliament. In 1543, the

introduction of English law and administration contributed to the prosperity of the country, but

the replacement of Welsh with English as the official language had a devastating effect on Welsh

culture.

Ireland rejected the Reformation and the Protestant colonists whom the King sent there.

This resulted in a war that lasted for nine years, but in 1540 the Irish Parliament accepted Henry

VIII as King of Ireland.

During the reign of Edward VI (1547-53), Protestantism was consolidated, despite the

general hostility to religious change. Two Acts of Uniformity that were passed during Edwards

reign established that the moderately Protestant Book of Common Prayer should be used in

Anglican service, and that fines should be paid for non-attendance at church.

When Mary I (1553-58) succeeded her brother to the throne of England, there was a

dramatic return to Catholicism. Mary was a fervent Catholic; she also married Philip of Spain (an

unpopular marriage that caused revolts in the country). England was absolved from Schism, and

a synod restored Catholicism. Massive persecution of Protestants (Bishops and about 270

Protestants were burnt at the stake) earned her the name Bloody Mary.

In 1558 Elizabeth I became Queen of England and Ireland. Having been declared

illegitimate after her mothers death, she had been imprisoned in the Tower of London by her

half-sister Mary, who had seen in her an exponent of Protestantism.


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Even if she opposed religious extremism, she inherited a country (nation) that was deeply

divided by religious strife. She restored her fathers moderate Anglicanism - in 1559 she

reintroduced Anglican service and in 1563 the 39 Articles formulating the established doctrine of

the Church were issued. She maintained control over the Church and over the bishops, and the

Act of Supremacy that was passed during her reign (the Elizabethan Settlement) defined once

again the sovereign as the Supreme Head of the Church.

Moreover, she made use of her prerogative (the powers and privileges that the law

recognizes as belonging to the sovereign) and claimed that Parliament had no right to initiate

discussion of the religious settlement, her marriage, and the succession to the throne.

She accepted only those aspects of the Protestant doctrine and practice that were

consistent with order, and she made it clear that there would be no further Reformation of the

Church. This brought about the conflict with the Puritans (the radical exponents of

Protestantism). She only offered moderate and cautious help to the Dutch Protestants and the

French Hughenots.

Her moderate Protestantism had political reasons, as England was threatened by two

great Catholic powers, France and Spain. Philip of Spain attacked the heretical Queen, but the

powerful Spanish Armada was defeated by the English in 1588.

Elizabeth I showed great interest in the welfare of her subjects, who called her Gloriana.

She was prudent in her economic decisions she often financed Government from her own

revenues and rarely raised taxes. She helped create a national self-confidence that was reflected

in the works of Marlowe, Spenser and Shakespeare.

The basis of Britains trading Empire was set in 1600, when the East India Company was

founded to trade there. At the same time, the first English colony in America (Virginia) was

established and some unsuccessful attempts were made to break into Portugals trade with West

Africa.


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3.2 Linguistic Changes in the 15th and 16th Centuries

The English language in the 16th century underwent dramatic changes, which represented

a new stage in its development (early) Modern English (1500-1700). As early as the 15 th

century, the emerging literary standard made it possible for the English language to create some

kind of recognizable order out of the chaos of co-existing regional, social and stylistic variations.

The disproportionate growth of London and the growing mobility of the population in

general combined to spread London prestige linguistic forms in waves out to the regional

dialects, after the language of the written documents was affected first. The social varieties also

affected one another increasingly, in the sense that the speech of the educated determined the

norms of the middle class.

It is generally accepted that the beginning of the Early Modern English can be dated back

to 1500. Several social factors were brought in support of this theory. One of them was the

expansion of a written standard form and its increasing homogeneity (book printing had begun in

England in 1476). Another factor was the beginning of humanism in England (the Oxford

reformers 1485-1510). Another major contribution was the translation of the Bible into

English, as a consequence of the breakaway of the English Church from Rome in 1533-34.

Both linguistically and culturally, the 15th century had been a transitional period, and

many 16th century language features had their beginnings in the preceding century the

reduction of inflections, the rise of Chancery English as the standard after 1430, an increase in

middle-class readership.

Another factor in favour of English was the increase in national feeling, particularly

during the Renaissance and the reign of Elizabeth I. The rise of the modern nation-state in the

15th and 16th centuries brought greater interest and pride in the national language. The rise of

social groups, educated and eager to read and learn, increased translations and book printing in

English.

In terms of grammar, the speakers of early Modern English often had a choice of terms

and constructions that are not possible nowadays in verb inflections, personal pronouns,

relative pronouns, negative and interrogative sentences (e.g. has/hath, you/thou

goest/goes).


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3.2.1. The Great Vowel Shift was a change in the quality of all the long vowels, which

became shorter in quality. It began in the 15th century and was completed in the 17 th century. In

relation to this, many linguists believe that the causes of early Modern English variation among

long vowels and of the rift between spelling and pronunciation go back to Middle English times.

The social reasons for these innovations are unexplained. According to a hypothesis advanced by

some linguists, the upper classes, highly competent in French in the 15th century, may have

substituted a more refined pronunciation of English. Moreover, the medieval concept of

spelling presupposed a kind of phonetic spelling (scribes in Norman times spelled words as they

heard them). Therefore, in the 16th century, spelling had remained extremely archaic. While

pronunciation had changed a lot, spelling had lagged behind. It is generally believed that, in

many ways, modern spelling in English still represents medieval pronunciation.

Latin was also influential during the Renaissance period, a period that was remarkable for

the rediscovery of the classics. To some extent, Latin remained the linguistic ideal it was still

the international language of scholarship, the lingua franca that would safeguard a writers

international fame. Thomas More, William Camden, Isaac Newton, Francis Bacon, Thomas

Hobbes still wrote in Latin, so that, if works in Latin were ignored, the cultural history of

England would be incomplete. In grammar schools, Latin was still used because of the medieval

belief in its superiority. The educational system would adopt the English medium education only

in the 17th century, when the influence of Puritans, who equated Latin with Roman Catholicism,

increased; it was only the upheaval of Civil War that disrupted the old traditions of the schools.

If, at the beginning of the 16th century, English had still been considered a rather rude,

barbarian language, by the end of the 16th century, after the Golden Age of the English

language, there was an unparalleled sense of pride in the national language.


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3.3. Education

In the 15th and 16th centuries, English humanists, such as John Colet (who founded St.

Pauls School) and Sir Thomas More helped to establish a revival of classical learning and

liberal studies. During the 16th and 17th centuries, the spread of Calvinist reforms by the Puritans

in England and by the Presbyterians in Scotland led to an emphasis on the study of English, the

sciences, modern languages and sport. Many Kings schools (public schools) appeared in most

cathedral cities.

However, for a long time, the state played no role in the school system. There were

exceptions some monarchs opened schools (Henry VI opened Eton one of the most exclusive

colleges nowadays, and Edward VI founded some dozen schools still known as King Edward VI

Grammar Schools), but, apart from that, the state was reluctant to intervene in the educational

sphere.


1. Henry VIII and the Reformation: Restraint of Appeals to Rome

2. Sovereignty of Law made in Parliament

3. Act of Supremacy

4. Lutheranism and Protestantism; the Elizabethan Church Settlement

5. Union of Wales with England

6. Early Modern English the Great Vowel Shift


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4. The 17th Century: James I. Civil War in England. The Restoration of the Stuarts. The

Glorious Revolution.

4.1. The 17th Century: House of Stuart

The reign of Tudor monarchs ended with Queen Elizabeths death and with the accession

of James I (1603-25) to the throne of England and Ireland. The son of Mary, Queen of Scots, he

was an infant when he succeeded to the Scottish throne as James VI, following his mothers

enforced abdication in 1567. Mary, Queen of Scots, who was related to Elizabeth, had been

executed for treason, as Queen Elizabeth feared that she might be the focus of Catholic

conspiracies against the authority of the English Crown.

In 1586 he was awarded an English pension, and Elizabeth I promised not to oppose his

claims to the English succession, unless he provoked her with his actions in Scotland. In 1592, as

King of Scotland, he consented to an Act of Parliament establishing Presbytarianism as the

official religion of Scotland, and he subdued the Catholics in the north of the country.

[Presbytarianism is the main branch of the reformed churches, embodying the principles of

Calvinism, principles that had been advanced by the French Protestant theologian of the

Reformation. Calvin denied Papal authority; he considered that the Bible was the sole source of

Gods law and that it was mans duty to interpret it.]

When he succeeded to the English throne, he promised that he would not alter the

Elizabethan Church Settlement, and he did not accept religious diversity in the country. He

believed that the Anglican Church and the monarchy should be interdependent - his slogan was

no Bishop, no King. He was the target of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605, when Guy Fawkes, a

Roman-Catholic, attempted to blow up Parliament.

In 1611 the established version of the Bible was translated into English (King James

Bible).

When he became king of England, James I united the crowns of England and Scotland,

by the Act of Union. The two countries still had separate Parliaments, and the formal Union


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would be accomplished only in 1707, but all people born in Scotland after his accession to the

throne of England became English citizens.

The Union flag (Union Jack) was devised in 1606, combining the crosses of St. George

and St. Andrew (the cross of St. Patrick was introduced in 1801). [The term jack was used to

refer to the flag when it was flown at a vessels bow, i.e. used as a ships flagstaff].

Realizing that England could no longer support the costs of war, James I made peace with

Spain. He extended his diplomatic efforts to other countries in Europe, as he wanted to be

accepted by both Catholics and Protestants, but his efforts were ruined by the strength of

Protestant opinion in England and by Spains reluctance to form a lasting alliance with him.

During his reign, English colonies were established in North America. The English also

colonized Bermuda (1613), Barbados and the West Indies (1627). The Mayflower, the ship in

which the Pilgrim Fathers sailed to America, left England (Plymouth) in 1620.

4.2. Civil War and Republican England

Religious and political crises occurred during the reign of Charles I (1625-49). It was a

reign dominated by the Kings struggle with Parliament, which ultimately culminated in Civil

War (1642-49).

Civil War in England had complex causes, but two issues were fundamental: the religious

and the constitutional.

The constitutional dispute centered on the extent of the royal prerogative, and it was

triggered by the Kings exaggerated financial demands and Parliaments refusal to vote new

taxes. Parliament was influenced by the gentry, who had become more independent of royal

patronage, had expanded economically and had a majority in the House of Commons. Parliament

began to refuse royal requests for money. It forced Charles to sign the Petition of Rights in 1628,

which further restricted the monarchs powers and was intended to prevent him from raising


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taxes without Parliaments consent. Charles tried to ignore these political developments, until he

was obliged to summon Parliament for finance.

The religious dispute was equally important. The king opposed the attempts of the

Puritans in Parliament to purge the Anglican Church of what they considered to be Roman-

Catholic tendencies, of elements that they regarded as superstitious or lacking in scriptural

authority (they laid emphasis on moral strictness and abstinence from all pleasure).

The civil strife was a direct result of the religious disputes dating back to the Reformation

period: radical reformers of the Church (Puritans) continued to believe that the Church had to

purify itself further from the authority of the bishops and the authoritarianism of the Stuart kings.

These religious reformers were seen as rebels, both by Catholics, and by moderate Protestants.

The political and religious crises reached their climax when the king and his Archbishops

tried to impose their own brand of High Church Uniformity (which met Puritan resistance), and,

when, in Parliament, Charles I raised taxes and reasserted the idea that kings were Gods agents

on Earth (the claim to the monarchs divine right). (Kings are not only Gods lieutenants on

Earth, but even by God himself they are called Gods.) Tension was heightened by the Kings

marriage to a Roman-Catholic.

As a result, many moderate Protestants in Parliament united with the radical Puritans

against the Crown.

The peoples reaction was equivocal. Even if there was a tense relationship between

monarch and law, even if people respected Parliament, few in England actually wanted to

overthrow the king. A monarch was thought to be divinely instituted, and if Charles was a bad

king, he was to be punished by God, therefore rebellion and civil war were unconceivable.

Nevertheless, Charles I dissolved his first Parliament in 1625, after it refused to vote him

the revenue that he needed. A second Parliament was also dissolved after it refused to grant

money to the king.

Charles resolved to rule the country without Parliament - he instituted personal rule

from 1629 to 1640 (the Eleven Years Tyranny). A war with Scotland made him summon a

Short Parliament in 1640, which he dissolved. In the same year he summoned the Long

Parliament, but he could not cooperate with it and open conflict arose in 1642, when he tried to

arrest five of its members. [Ever since that year, the monarch has been forbidden to enter the

House of Commons. At present, the monarch knocks on the door of the House of Commons after


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4.3. The Restoration of the Stuarts

Cromwellian military rule was harsh and increasingly unpopular, so that most people

favored the restoration of the monarchy. In the confusion following Richard Cromwells

downfall, General Monck dissolved Parliament and invited the kings son, Charles II, who had

lived in exile, to return to England.

The Convention Parliament voted for the kings return, in 1660. With the restoration of

the Stuarts, the monarch might again rule by divine right, but he was to rule thanks to Parliament

(parliamentary monarchy).

Whereas Catholic families had been persecuted under Cromwell, Puritans were excluded

from positions of civil and religious authority under Charles II. Unlike the Puritans, who had

closed down theatres and had imposed fines for dancing and drinking, the aristocracy in the

Restoration period enjoyed and indulged in a new freedom (theaters were reopened and allowed

women to perform on the stage, literature flourished). The country enjoyed more prosperity, as

the development of commerce was accompanied by administrative reforms.

The king had to conform to the policies of Parliament, which worked to strengthen

Englands trading and agricultural industries. In addition to the growing power of Parliament

against the monarch, the 17th century also saw the beginning of more organized political parties.

These derived largely from the ideological and religious conflicts of the Civil War. Two groups

became dominant, and this feature was to characterize British two-party politics in the future. In

the political balance of power there was a shift from the king to the two-party system the

Tories, associated with a conservative, royalist aristocracy, and the Whigs, identified with the

growing, more liberal, commercial class (generally Protestants from the gentry).

Charles II was succeeded by his brother, James II (1685-88). As he was a Catholic, there

was alarm at his religious convictions (politicians had made three attempts to exclude him from

succession).

After he became king, James II admitted Catholics to the succession to the throne of

England, by the Declaration of Indulgence in 1687. The anxiety for the future of Protestantism in

England was intensified with the birth of a Catholic heir to the throne.


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Williams troops occupied Dublin and other towns. Catholics were disfranchised and debarred

from all political, legal and military offices, as well as from Parliament.


1. King James Bible (1611)

2. Union with Scotland Union Jack

3. Civil War in England

4. Commonwealth and the Protectorate

5. The Stuart Restoration Parliamentary monarchy

6. The Bill of Rights

QUESTIONS

1. What were the disputes that brought about Civil War?

2. What happened in England during the Puritan Interregnum?

3. What was thee importance of the Glorious Revolution in terms of civil rights in England?

4. What concept did the English philosopher John Locke advance in relation to people and

monarchy shortly after the Glorious Revolution?


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5. The 18th Century: The Growth of the Empire. The Loss of America.

The 18th century was defined as the age of reason in English history. Scientific

discoveries (gravitation, the laws of motion) were accompanied, on a social level, by an impulse

for order, characteristic of the rising middle classes. Overall, the century was pervaded by some

epidemics because of the lack of an adequate sewage system. There was a high percentage of the

English population that was engaged in activities other than agriculture and industry developed.

After the Transport Act was passed in 1718, about 50,000 convicts from England and Wales

were sent to work in the colonies in America; after the loss of the American colonies they were

sent to Africa and finally to Australia.

The elite of the country (the gentry, the higher clerics and the leading townsmen) owned and

controlled most of the land. They were the local notables and enjoyed social prestige and

effective control of most of the communities; therefore they were able to influence the central

government.

In most countries, central government meant, at the time, the monarch and a small group of

advisors and officials. These were not capable of creating the modern state because they lacked

the mechanisms to intervene effectively in the communities, so that the churches were the only

ones able to operate more efficiently than secular governments. Thus, in most countries,

governments relied more heavily than today on the social elite to fulfil many functions.

In England, for instance, religion, education and health were centered on the parish, but at a

local level, the Church was dominated by the laity and the gentry (in some cases even the state

needed the sanction of the church). The administration of the localities (the maintenance of law

and order and the administration of justice) were left to the local nobility and gentry. Overall, the

political system was run by the elite, but, in contrast to other countries in Europe, the English

were more animated by a belief in the role of law, and this belief alone saved the country from

the move towards despotism characteristic of so many other countries at the time.

5.1. House of Hanover.


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Queen Anne (1702-14) was the youngest daughter of James II and the last Stuart

sovereign (she succeeded William and Mary, who had no children). As her children died, she

agreed to the Act of Settlement, providing for the succession of the House of Hanover to the

throne of England. The Act also stipulated that all future monarchs had to be Protestant.

The legal (incorporating) Union of England and Scotland was made in 1707, and it arose

from Englands fear of an autonomous Scotland. The united country was now called Great

Britain.

Even if England dominated the British Isles after the Glorious Revolution, there was a

sense of separate identity which continued to be important in Ireland and Scotland [Ireland had a

separate Parliament until 1800, and Scotland had a different national Church, as well as different

educational and legal systems.]

The Revolution Settlement (a term applied to the Constitutional changes after 1689)

defined Britains uniqueness and its difference from the general pattern of continental

development. This constitutional settlement saved Britain from the general European move

towards absolutism. With the freedom of the press and the two-party system, England offered the

model of a progressive society, culturally and constitutionally superior to other European

countries.

After the Glorious Revolution, the reigns of the Hanover monarchs strengthened the

independence of the political parties. George I (1714-27), a Protestant who never learned

English, left the administration of the country to his Whig ministers. His successor, George II

(1727-60) relied heavily on the advice of his ministers. After involving Britain in the War of

Austrian succession, George II withdrew from active involvement in politics, and his reign

became a landmark in the development of constitutional monarchy. During his reign, one of

Britains most prominent statesmen, Sir Robert Walpole, was regarded as the countrys first

Prime Minister (he was the Whig leader in the House of Commons).

The Whigs redefined parliamentary monarchy; they were associated with the new

industrial interest, with non-conformity and reform. As Parliament controlled foreign policy and

taxation, England was on her way of becoming the wealthiest world power.

King George III (1760-1820) was forced to admit the reality of party politics. During his

reign, Britain lost the American colonies. The American Revolution began as the colonies


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(which had no representation in Parliament) refused to pay a part of their defense burden,

required by the British to support the conflict with France over the territories in North America.

Moreover, certain theories about the autocratic intentions of King George III made Americans

reject British authority.

In 1765 they rejected Parliaments financial demands. Actual fighting broke out near

Boston in 1775. The Americans declared their independence in 1776. France entered the war on

the revolutionary side (1778), Spain and Holland also sided with the Americans, and the war

became an international conflict. The Franco-Spanish attempt to invade England failed, but the

British were forced to accept the loss of America. In 1783, the Treaty of Paris ended the

American Revolution. With this enormous loss, both the king and the institution of monarchy

lost prestige.

In 1792 the French Revolution began; one year later, after the French invasion of the

Austrian Netherlands, Britain entered the war against France (the British attacked the French in

Flanders, Toulon and the French West Indies). In 1799 Napoleon came to power in France. In

1803 the Napoleonic war began and continued until France invaded Russia (1812) and all Europe

united against him in 1813. Napoleon was defeated in the Waterloo campaign (1815), and the

post-Napoleonic settlement of Europe was arranged at the Congress of Vienna (1814-15).

Throughout the Napoleonic wars, Britain survived France thanks to a series of naval

victories, the most remarkable of which was Horatio Nelsons triumph at Trafalgar in 1805.

However, Napoleon wanted to defeat Britain by economic means, therefore trade with Britain

was banned. In Britain, this caused famine and inflation (as a result the income tax was

introduced in 1799).


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5.2. The Union with Ireland

In Ireland, wealthy Catholics had come to play a more central role in politics and a more

active role in society. In 1800, as a result of Napoleons attempt to invade Ireland, and in

response to increased Catholic discontent and rebellion there, the British government supported

the union with Ireland.

The Act of Union of 1800 abolished the separate Irish Parliament 100 new Irish

politicians represented Ireland in the House of Commons at Westminster, and the established

churches were combined into one Protestant Episcopal Church, called the United Church of

England and Ireland. Catholics could not become MPs in the new Parliament until 1829.

5.3. The Growth of the British Empire

The growth of the Empire had been a characteristic feature of England since the

Elizabethan Age. It was perhaps best illustrated, metaphorically, by the historian G.M.Trevelyan

(An Illustrated History of England). According to him, the maps of the Middle Ages had shown

an England that had been placed in one of the remotest corners of the world. As there was

nothing beyond it, any impulse for colonization or for territorial expansion had to be directed

towards Europe. But the consolidation of the great monarchies in Europe was incompatible with

the more liberal spirit of England, which seemed doomed to remain forever locked in its

insularity.

It was during the House of Tudor that this situation changed dramatically. The English

realized that their remote geographical position had in fact become an advantageous central post,

which allowed them to dominate the modern routes of trade and colonization. Wealth and power

were to be found in the remotest parts of the world, in Africa, Asia and America.

The struggle for colonial expansion was to be carried by England, Spain, Portugal,

Holland and France. What contributed to the ultimate supremacy of Britain as the strongest

colonial power was the liberal spirit of the English people. Ever since the reign of Queen

Elizabeth I, the religious strife had ceased to interfere with colonial expansion. No European

country sent religious dissenters to its colonies. Unlike the countries on the continent, England


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allowed her dissenters (Puritans or Roman-Catholics) to immigrate to the colonies. Therefore,

the most energetic spirits of the English middle and lower classes went overseas and made the

English colonies prosperous. Those who were upsetting at home, represented Englands fame

and glory in the colonies.

At the same time, dissenters from other European countries were allowed in the English

colonies, particularly in America. Here they enjoyed religious freedom and they could manifest

their enterprising spirit under the English flag, with liberal English institutions. This relatively

liberal principle gave England a great advantage in the competition for colonial supremacy.

Moreover, during the House of Stuart, Englands domestic market depended almost

entirely on export. Parliament contributed to the consolidation of trade, therefore it favored the

establishment of colonies, even by those who were in fact political enemies to the English.

Under the Stuart kings, England had well populated, self-governing colonies in North

America, where Dutch and other foreigners were accepted and made an important contribution to

the prosperity of the Empire. England gained New York (initially New Amsterdam) from the

Dutch in 1664. From 1634 to 1732 several British colonies were founded in America (Maryland,

Pennsylvania, Carolina, Georgia). In the West Indian Islands, sugar economy flourished, based

on slave labor. The East India Company, chartered in 1600, became the basis of Britains

economic and political power, especially after Bombay was gained in 1661 and Calcutta in 1698.

Scottish colonists went to Nova Scotia (Canada) and they played a major role in the background

to the union between England and Scotland.

Despite the loss of the thirteen American colonies, Britain gained Florida, the Caribbean

Islands and Malaysia. In 1788 the British established the first European colony in Australia.

After the Transport Act was passed in 1718, about 50,000 convicts were sent to America from

England and Wales. After the loss of the American colonies, they were sent to Africa, and finally

to Australia.

The British made more settlements in Canada, and in 1791 a Constitutional Act created

Upper and Lower Canada (French and English-speaking, respectively).

Naval power permitted Britain to dominate the European transoceanic world during the

Napoleonic wars. Britains position on the colonial map was of crucial importance to 19 th century

economic and cultural development. The rise of Britain as an imperial power was to become

(especially later, during the reign of Queen Victoria) a central feature of British public culture.


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petrascu lecture 2

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