http://prof-methos.livejournal.com/ (![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png)
prof-methos.livejournal.com) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2006-02-14 01:31 pm
prof-methos.livejournal.com) wrote in fandomhigh2006-02-14 01:31 pm
Entry tags:
History of Medieval England - Tuesday 6th Period: Lecture 5: Post-Conquest Royal Family Infighting
Methos greets the students that come in. "Welcome, all. So proud of you that you made it into class on Valentine's Day. Because, really, what's more romantic than an elderly celibate priest?
"I have your tests. The less said, the better. Actually, Ms. Mal Doran, please see me after 7th period. The rest of yougot the grade you assigned yourself, or an A if you did not can pick up your tests after class.
"And so we begin our next section: Family Infighting, and Why We Care."
"All right. When last we left England, I promised to tell you about a civil war. I can get into details about Stephen verses Matilda and the back and forth of their fighting for about 17 years, but instead I want to focus on an aspect that will become the center of this unit.
"When William the Conqueror imported feudalism to England, he was able to structure it far more to his benefit -- largely because he had some idea of how it worked, and didn't, on the Continent. But that stripped a lot of power from the nobles, both the Anglo-Saxon ones -- those that were left -- who had been conquered and the Norman ones who were used to circumventing the feudal system. William himself was a strong enough personality to dominate the aristocracy, for the most part. But when your government rests upon a cult of personality, losing that figure is devastating.
"Henry I was also a strong-willed leader, and his reign is remembered as a peaceful one where law and justice were fostered. But when his son and heir died, he insisted that his daughter Matilda inherit the English throne. Matilda did not have the qualities that her father and grandfather had. Nor did her cousin, Stephen, who took the throne when Henry I died.
"The upshot was, the nobles of England weren't willing to follow either of them. It wasn't until Matilda's son Henry was old enough to take the throne that another strong personality managed to unite the nobility -- or, more accurately perhaps, play them off of each other -- and peace was assured in England.
"Henry II was a tireless leader. He had to be. He ran an empire -- from the Pyrenees on the border of modern-day Spain to the Scottish Highlands. His reign was remarkably long for the era -- he took the throne at 21 and died thirty-five years later. His long reign eventually became a problem. His sons were adults and wanted their share of the power. When Henry died, all of his living sons were in open rebellion against him, and his wife was in prison for helping her favorite son, Richard.
"However, as juicy as all this gossip is, and as much as it has been mined for historical fiction... it was not truly important to the average person. While the top 1% was warring over who got the throne, Henry II's government was stable enough to give the rest of England a solid basis in law and justice. As much as one may crack jokes about the British sense of fair play, it can been seen here, where law -- both Roman law newly being rediscovered on the Continent and old Anglo-Saxon laws that had never been ousted on a community level -- was the absolute. True, it could be abused, manipulated and ignored -- and was -- but the abstract sense that justice should be served for all was the overriding impulse."
[[OCD threads are up. Class is open.]]
"I have your tests. The less said, the better. Actually, Ms. Mal Doran, please see me after 7th period. The rest of you
"And so we begin our next section: Family Infighting, and Why We Care."
"All right. When last we left England, I promised to tell you about a civil war. I can get into details about Stephen verses Matilda and the back and forth of their fighting for about 17 years, but instead I want to focus on an aspect that will become the center of this unit.
"When William the Conqueror imported feudalism to England, he was able to structure it far more to his benefit -- largely because he had some idea of how it worked, and didn't, on the Continent. But that stripped a lot of power from the nobles, both the Anglo-Saxon ones -- those that were left -- who had been conquered and the Norman ones who were used to circumventing the feudal system. William himself was a strong enough personality to dominate the aristocracy, for the most part. But when your government rests upon a cult of personality, losing that figure is devastating.
"Henry I was also a strong-willed leader, and his reign is remembered as a peaceful one where law and justice were fostered. But when his son and heir died, he insisted that his daughter Matilda inherit the English throne. Matilda did not have the qualities that her father and grandfather had. Nor did her cousin, Stephen, who took the throne when Henry I died.
"The upshot was, the nobles of England weren't willing to follow either of them. It wasn't until Matilda's son Henry was old enough to take the throne that another strong personality managed to unite the nobility -- or, more accurately perhaps, play them off of each other -- and peace was assured in England.
"Henry II was a tireless leader. He had to be. He ran an empire -- from the Pyrenees on the border of modern-day Spain to the Scottish Highlands. His reign was remarkably long for the era -- he took the throne at 21 and died thirty-five years later. His long reign eventually became a problem. His sons were adults and wanted their share of the power. When Henry died, all of his living sons were in open rebellion against him, and his wife was in prison for helping her favorite son, Richard.
"However, as juicy as all this gossip is, and as much as it has been mined for historical fiction... it was not truly important to the average person. While the top 1% was warring over who got the throne, Henry II's government was stable enough to give the rest of England a solid basis in law and justice. As much as one may crack jokes about the British sense of fair play, it can been seen here, where law -- both Roman law newly being rediscovered on the Continent and old Anglo-Saxon laws that had never been ousted on a community level -- was the absolute. True, it could be abused, manipulated and ignored -- and was -- but the abstract sense that justice should be served for all was the overriding impulse."
[[OCD threads are up. Class is open.]]
SIGN IN: Attendence
Note: Lana Lang has an excused absence to go get married for sex class.
Re: SIGN IN: Attendence
Re: SIGN IN: Attendence
Re: SIGN IN: Attendence
Re: SIGN IN: Attendence
Re: SIGN IN: Attendence
Re: SIGN IN: Attendence
Re: SIGN IN: Attendence
Re: SIGN IN: Attendence
Re: SIGN IN: Attendence
QUESTIONS: MEH Lecture 5
Re: QUESTIONS: MEH Lecture 5
Re: QUESTIONS: MEH Lecture 5
Re: QUESTIONS: MEH Lecture 5
Thank god I don't have any siblings."TALKING IN CLASS: MEH Lecture 5
Re: TALKING IN CLASS: MEH Lecture 5
Re: TALKING IN CLASS: MEH Lecture 5
Re: OOC: MEH Lecture 5
AFTER CLASS: MEH Lecture 5
Re: AFTER CLASS: MEH Lecture 5
Re: TALKING IN CLASS: MEH Lecture 5
"Happy Valentine's Day. Or something."
Re: AFTER CLASS: MEH Lecture 5
Re: AFTER CLASS: MEH Lecture 5
OOC: MEH Lecture 5
Re: OOC: MEH Lecture 5
Re: OOC: MEH Lecture 5