5The Decline of Feudalism in England

Chapter III

The Decline of Feudalism in England

I. Hundred Years War

(1337-1453)

1. Time:

intermittently from 1337 to 1453.

2. Countries:

France and Britain

3. Factors:

partly territorial and partly economic

The English kings wanted to get back the

lost land in France.

The economic interests of England and France clashed in Flanders.

New national consciousness of England

4. Fuse:

French

throne

succession---

Edward

III

claimed

the

French

Crown.

The

French

refused

to

recognize the claim.

outstanding stages of the war

A. At first the English were brilliantly successful.

B. Henry V renewed the war in 1415 and he was recognized to the French throne in 1420.

C. After Henry V’s death in 1422, the French, encouraged by Joan of Arc, their nationa

l heroine,

drove the English out of France.

decisive reasons for French to win:

effective use of guns &“Joan of Arc”

icance:

The

war

was

very

expensive

and

it

cost

theEnglish

great

deal

of

death,

wealth

and

property,thus the feudal rule was weakened in the war.

s of the war:

After this war, the ruling Normans began to:

A.

regard England as their home.

B. regard themselves as belongings to the English nation.

C. reestablish English (language) as their official language.

D. make effort to try to develop their industry

(The expulsion of the English from France is regarded as a blessing for both countries; the

superior size and wealth of France would have hindered the development of separate English

national

identity,

while

French

national

identity

was

hindered

so

long

as

a

foreign

power

occupied so much French territory.)

II. The Economic Changes

Natural economy

??

money economy

III. The Black Death

Black Death swept through England in the summer of 1348. It killed between 1/2

and 1/3 of the population of England. As a result of the plague, much land was left untended

and there was a terrible shortage of labor. Villeins struggled for freedom, but the parliament

passed

“statutes

of

laborers”,

which

provided

ideol

ogical

preparation

for

the

labor

movement.

IV

. The Peasant Uprising (1381)

s:

Since the Hundred Y

ears’s War, the conditions of the peasants were not improved.

The

villeins

struggled

for

full

freedom,

but

the

government

of

Edward

II

and

the