
The rulers of the Middle Ages in England include:
- Edward the Confessor (1042-1066)
- Harold II (1066)
- William I the Conquerer (1066-1087)
- William II (1087-1100)
- Henry I (1100-1135)
- Stephen (1135-1141)
- Empress Matilda (1141-1142)
- Stephen (1142-1154)
What were the Kings duties during the Middle Ages?
What Were the Responsibilities of a King in Medieval Times?
- The Oath of Kingship. The oath of kingship was one way to remind new kings of their official responsibilities. ...
- Keeping the Peace. Kingship in medieval Europe was a very different institution from a modern government, because there was no such thing as an uncontested central authority with power ...
- Administering Justice. ...
- Upholding the Law. ...
Were the Middles Ages truly a dark time in history?
The Dark Ages have often been described as a backwards time in human history. The Dark Ages came to a close around 1500 AD, as the Italian Renaissance and the Age of Discovery dawned. Another reason why the Middle Ages are often called the Dark Ages is because, compared with other eras, historians don't know as much about this time.
What were the guilds of the Middle Ages?
There are three primary types of Guilds that reflect the various aspects of the Society:
- MARTIAL ARTS (combat, archery, thrown weapons, etc.)
- SCHOLAR (brewing, metalworks, calligraphy & illumination, etc.)
- SERVICE (religious orders, Officers, event stewards, etc.)
How was guilt determined in the Middle Ages?
How was guilt determined in the Middle Ages? Trial by ordeal was an ancient judicial practice by which the guilt or innocence of the accused was determined by subjecting them to a painful, or at least an unpleasant, usually dangerous experience. Trials by ordeal became rarer over the Late Middle Ages, but the practice was not discontinued until ...

Who was in power in the Middle Ages?
List of medieval great powersChina (throughout)Persia (Sasanians, 500–600; Samanids, 900–950; Timurids, 1400–1450)Byzantine Empire (500–1050)Göktürk Khaganate (550–600)Tibetan Empire (650–1250)The Caliphate (650–850)Carolingian Empire (751–843)Turks (Onoq, 650; Seljuks, 1050–1100; Ottomans, 1450–1500)More items...
Who were important leaders in the Middle Ages?
Sixth CenturyClovis I – King of the Franks (c.466 – 511) ... Boethius – Roman official and philosopher (c. ... Benedict of Nursia – Italian monk (480 – 548) ... Justinian I – Byzantine emperor (482 – 565) ... Khosrow I – Sassanid emperor (c.512 – 579) ... Pope Gregory I (c.540 – 604) ... Shōtoku Taishi – Japanese prince (574 – 622)More items...•
Who was the most powerful king in the Middle Ages?
Charlemagne was a medieval emperor who ruled much of Western Europe from 768 to 814. In 771, Charlemagne became king of the Franks, a Germanic tribe in present-day Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and western Germany.
What person held the most power in the Middle Ages?
Europe's medieval period lasted from the fall of Rome in the 5th century to the spread of the Renaissance in the 15th century. In this time, the pope (the head of the Catholic Church) became one of the most powerful figures in Europe.
Why is it called the Middle Ages?
They started around the year 476 CE, when the Western Roman Empire ended, and continued until around the time Christopher Columbus arrived in the New World in 1492. This period of time is called the 'Middle Ages' because it took place between the fall of Imperial Rome and the beginning of early modern Europe.
How did the Middle Ages end?
Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, fell to the hands of the invading Ottoman Empire on May 29, 1453. This day, many believe, marks the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the 15th-century Renaissance.
Who was the nicest king in history?
So, even nice emperors can leave nasty ones behind.Æthelstan (king of England, 925–939)Henry VI (king of England, 1422–61; 1470–71)Charles I (king of England and Scotland, 1625–49)George III (king of Great Britain, 1760–1820)Louis XVI (king of France, 1774–92)Frederick III (German emperor, 1888)More items...•
Can a woman be a king?
She is sometimes called a woman king. A princess regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right over a "principality"; an empress regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right over an "empire".
Who was the youngest king in history?
The youngest king was Henry VI, who was 8 months and 26 days old at the time of his accession. The youngest queen consort was Isabella of Valois, second wife of Richard II, aged 6 years 11 months and 25 days when she became queen in 1396.
Who was the first queen in the Middle Ages?
Mary TudorAlthough the first Queen of England is widely considered to be Mary Tudor, throughout the medieval period there were many women who ruled as Queen Regent, Queen Consort, Queen Dowager, or even in their own right.
Who was the best medieval king of England?
Edward I did more than perhaps any other king in the era to bolster English power, his victories in war made him respected, feared and adored by his people. He extended royal power, reformed the legal system and did much to establish parliament making him one of the most influential kings of the time.
Who was one of the most famous kings during the Middle Ages?
Charlemagne also known as 'Charles the Great, was one of the most powerful kings throughout the medieval period. He was a member of the Carolingian Dynasty and arose to power as the King of the Franks in 768.
Who were the kings and queens in the Middle Ages?
Key Facts And InformationWilliam I 'the Conqueror' (r. 1066-1087)William II 'Rufus' (r. 1087-1100)Henry I 'Beauclerc' (r. 1100-1135)Henry II 'Curtmantle' (r. 1154-1189)John 'Lackland' (r. 1199-1216)
Who was the first queen in the Middle Ages?
Mary TudorAlthough the first Queen of England is widely considered to be Mary Tudor, throughout the medieval period there were many women who ruled as Queen Regent, Queen Consort, Queen Dowager, or even in their own right.
Who were the significant rulers of medieval Europe?
Terms in this set (11)William the Conqueror. had Doomsday book compiled; English.Henry II. Created basics of English Common Law and began Jury System; English.John. Excommunicated and forced to sign the Magna Carta; English.Edward I. Strengthened power of Parliament; English.Hugh Capet. ... Philip Augustus. ... Louis IX. ... Philip IV.More items...
What is the Middle Ages?
People use the phrase “Middle Ages” to describe Europe between the fall of Rome in 476 CE and the beginning of the Renaissance in the 14th century. Many scholars call the era the “medieval period” instead; “Middle Ages,” they say, incorrectly implies that the period is an insignificant blip sandwiched between two much more important epochs.
What was the most powerful institution in the medieval period?
After the fall of Rome, no single state or government united the people who lived on the European continent. Instead, the Catholic Church became the most powerful institution of the medieval period. Kings, queens and other leaders derived much of their power from their alliances with and protection of the Church.
How did the Middle Ages show devotion to the Church?
The Middle Ages: Art and Architecture. Another way to show devotion to the Church was to build grand cathedrals and other ecclesiastical structures such as monasteries. Cathedrals were the largest buildings in medieval Europe, and they could be found at the center of towns and cities across the continent.
Why did people become flagellants in the Middle Ages?
Understandably terrified about the mysterious disease, some people of the Middle Ages believed the plague was a divine punishment for sin. To obtain forgiveness, some people became “flagellants,” traveling Europe to put on public displays of penance that could include whipping and beating one another.
How did feudal life change?
During the 11th century, however, feudal life began to change. Agricultural innovations such as the heavy plow and three-field crop rotation made farming more efficient and productive, so fewer farm workers were needed–but thanks to the expanded and improved food supply, the population grew. As a result, more and more people were drawn to towns and cities. Meanwhile, the Crusades had expanded trade routes to the East and given Europeans a taste for imported goods such as wine, olive oil and luxurious textiles. As the commercial economy developed, port cities in particular thrived. By 1300, there were some 15 cities in Europe with a population of more than 50,000.
What was the Renaissance?
In these cities, a new era was born: the Renaissance. The Renaissance was a time of great intellectual and economic change, but it was not a complete “rebirth”: It had its roots in the world of the Middle Ages.
What did the inventors of the Middle East do?
Inventors devised technologies like the pinhole camera, soap, windmills, surgical instruments, an early flying machine and the system of numerals that we use today. And religious scholars and mystics translated, interpreted and taught the Quran and other scriptural texts to people across the Middle East.
What is the Middle Ages?
The Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history: classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern period. The medieval period is itself subdivided into the Early, High, and Late Middle Ages . Population decline, counterurbanisation, the collapse of centralized authority, invasions, ...
What was the beginning of the Middle Ages?
The most commonly given starting point for the Middle Ages is around 500 , with the date of 476 first used by Bruni. Later starting dates are sometimes used in the outer parts of Europe. For Europe as a whole, 1500 is often considered to be the end of the Middle Ages, but there is no universally agreed upon end date.
What were the major developments in the military sphere during the Late Middle Ages?
One of the major developments in the military sphere during the Late Middle Ages was the increased use of infantry and light cavalry. The English also employed longbowmen, but other countries were unable to create similar forces with the same success. Armour continued to advance, spurred by the increasing power of crossbows, and plate armour was developed to protect soldiers from crossbows as well as the hand-held guns that were developed. Pole arms reached new prominence with the development of the Flemish and Swiss infantry armed with pikes and other long spears.
What was the main unifying factor between Eastern and Western Europe before the Arab conquests?
Christianity was a major unifying factor between Eastern and Western Europe before the Arab conquests, but the conquest of North Africa sundered maritime connections between those areas. Increasingly, the Byzantine Church differed in language, practices, and liturgy from the Western Church. The Eastern Church used Greek instead of the Western Latin. Theological and political differences emerged, and by the early and middle 8th century issues such as iconoclasm, clerical marriage, and state control of the Church had widened to the extent that the cultural and religious differences were greater than the similarities. The formal break, known as the East–West Schism, came in 1054, when the papacy and the patriarchy of Constantinople clashed over papal supremacy and excommunicated each other, which led to the division of Christianity into two Churches—the Western branch became the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern branch the Eastern Orthodox Church.
What was the style of art in the Middle Ages?
The Late Middle Ages in Europe as a whole correspond to the Trecento and Early Renaissance cultural periods in Italy. Northern Europe and Spain continued to use Gothic styles, which became increasingly elaborate in the 15th century, until almost the end of the period. International Gothic was a courtly style that reached much of Europe in the decades around 1400, producing masterpieces such as the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. All over Europe secular art continued to increase in quantity and quality, and in the 15th century the mercantile classes of Italy and Flanders became important patrons, commissioning small portraits of themselves in oils as well as a growing range of luxury items such as jewellery, ivory caskets, cassone chests, and maiolica pottery. These objects also included the Hispano-Moresque ware produced by mostly Mudéjar potters in Spain. Although royalty owned huge collections of plate, little survives except for the Royal Gold Cup. Italian silk manufacture developed, so that Western churches and elites no longer needed to rely on imports from Byzantium or the Islamic world. In France and Flanders tapestry weaving of sets like The Lady and the Unicorn became a major luxury industry.
What countries were part of Europe in the Middle Ages?
Map of Europe in 1360. Strong, royalty-based nation states rose throughout Europe in the Late Middle Ages, particularly in England, France, and the Christian kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula: Aragon, Castile, and Portugal.
What were the kings of England doing in the 10th century?
Efforts by local kings to fight the invaders led to the formation of new political entities. In Anglo-Saxon England, King Alfred the Great (r. 871–899) came to an agreement with the Viking invaders in the late 9th century, resulting in Danish settlements in Northumbria, Mercia, and parts of East Anglia. By the middle of the 10th century, Alfred's successors had conquered Northumbria, and restored English control over most of the southern part of Great Britain. In northern Britain, Kenneth MacAlpin (d. c. 860) united the Picts and the Scots into the Kingdom of Alba. In the early 10th century, the Ottonian dynasty had established itself in Germany, and was engaged in driving back the Magyars. Its efforts culminated in the coronation in 962 of Otto I (r. 936–973) as Holy Roman Emperor. In 972, he secured recognition of his title by the Byzantine Empire, which he sealed with the marriage of his son Otto II (r. 967–983) to Theophanu (d. 991), daughter of an earlier Byzantine Emperor Romanos II (r. 959–963). By the late 10th century Italy had been drawn into the Ottonian sphere after a period of instability; Otto III (r. 996–1002) spent much of his later reign in the kingdom. The western Frankish kingdom was more fragmented, and although kings remained nominally in charge, much of the political power devolved to the local lords.

Overview
Early Middle Ages
The emperors of the 5th century were often controlled by military strongmen such as Stilicho (d. 408), Aetius (d. 454), Aspar (d. 471), Ricimer (d. 472), or Gundobad (d. 516), who were partly or fully of non-Roman ancestry. In the post-Roman world ethnic identities were flexible, often determined by loyalty to a successful military leader or by religion instead of ancestry or language. Ethni…
Terminology and periodisation
The Middle Ages is one of the three major periods in the most enduring scheme for analysing European history: classical civilisation or Antiquity, the Middle Ages and the Modern Period. The "Middle Ages" first appears in Latin in 1469 as media tempestas or "middle season". In early usage, there were many variants, including medium aevum, or "middle age", first recorded in 1604, and media saecula, or "middle centuries", first recorded in 1625. The adjective "medieval" …
Later Roman Empire
The Roman Empire reached its greatest territorial extent during the 2nd century AD; the following two centuries witnessed the slow decline of Roman control over its outlying territories. Runaway inflation, external pressure on the frontiers, and outbreaks of plague combined to create the Crisis of the Third Century, with emperors coming to the throne only to be rapidly replaced by new usurpers. M…
High Middle Ages
The High Middle Ages was a period of tremendous expansion of population. The estimated population of Europe grew from 35 to 80 million between 1000 and 1347, although the exact causes remain unclear: improved agricultural techniques, the decline of slaveholding, a more clement climate and the lack of invasion have all been suggested. As much as 90 per cent of the European po…
Late Middle Ages
The first years of the 14th century were marked by famines, culminating in the Great Famine of 1315–17. The causes of the Great Famine included the slow transition from the Medieval Warm Period to the Little Ice Age, which left the population vulnerable when bad weather caused agricultural crises. The years 1313–14 and 1317–21 were excessively rainy throughout Europe, resulting in …
Modern perceptions
The medieval period is frequently caricatured as a "time of ignorance and superstition" that placed "the word of religious authorities over personal experience and rational activity." This is a legacy from both the Renaissance and Enlightenment when scholars favourably contrasted their intellectual cultures with those of the medieval period. Renaissance scholars saw the Middle Ages …
Notes
1. ^ This is the year the last Western Roman Emperor was deposed.
2. ^ The commanders of the Roman military in the area appear to have taken food and other supplies intended to be given to the Goths and instead sold them to the Goths. The revolt was triggered when one of the Roman military commanders attempted to take the Gothic leaders hostage but failed to secure all of them.