After separation from Rome in 410 AD, it would be another five centuries before England would be ruled again as a singular entity. When Æthelstan (r.924-939) captured York in 927 he became the first West Saxon king to rule over all of England, and in a wonderful panegyric, Petrus explains this event in epigrammatic style: ista perfecta Saxonia (this Saxon land now made whole) . From Æthelstan’s death to the first reign of Æthelred the Unrædy (r.978-1013) the perfecta Saxonia underwent a process of unification, the success of which which this essay endeavours to evaluate. Just how unified was the kingdom of England by c.1000? It certainly wasn’t without division. In many ways, it was still an artificial creation lacking a wider sense of identity; …show more content…
Yet the king did have authority across the kingdom; this was not simply a case of West Sussex hegemony over other independent kingdoms. King Æthelred possessed the capacity for legislation, taxation, patronage and punishment in the whole of England, and few questioned the legitimacy of a King of England. There was an ‘English’ identity and a mostly unified religion, and the …show more content…
The fact there was no major rebellion against Æthelred is indicative not of a divided country, but a unified one. The ealdormen which he appointed even in the far northern parts of the country should not be seen as regional dynastic rulers with some level of independence but ‘as agents of the state’ , loyal to Æthelred yet granted some autonomy for practical reasons. In socio-economic and religious factors, we only see more evidence of unification, not divide. Although we lack sufficient evidence concerning the lower tiers of society, we can be fairly confident that the entirety of the country was Christian by c.1000, a result of the successes of Augustine’s mission and the church reforms by Æthelred’s predecessors. The structure of dioceses and ministers was applied universally; Æthelred used church appointments to bring the north closer by appointing his own archbishop and ealdorman in Mercia , and there does not seem to be significant religious division in the kingdom. Economically, Æthelred did have control of mints in the northeast of England, and he was able to collect tax and take a share of trade across the country
Due to the unstable political environment of the period 1399-1509, royal power varied from monarch to monarch, as parliament’s ability to limit this power fluctuated. There are several factors in limiting royal power, including the king’s relationship with parliament, royal finances and a king’s popularity, often due to military success. The most significant of these factors, however is the king's finances, as one of parliament's primary roles was to consider the king’s requests for taxation, and thus denying these requests would have been one of the few ways to effectively limit royal power.
For many the Cathedral is seen to indicate the grandeur and control of the Normans, who were able to build such monuments to their power despite having only recently conquered England. The precarious situation of being an recently instated alien power was even more pronounced in the north, where even the Anglo Saxon Kings had only had a superficial hold, arguably making the construction of Durham “one of the greatest Anglo-Norman achievements”. This so-called achievement is not restricted to architecture but also refers to the political developments which enabled the Normans to apparently gain enough control to do this within 30 years. However the study of Durham Cathedral alone cannot suffice to give a satisfactory outline of Norman politics and the achievements in Durham and must be put into the context of the region. Hence Durham Cathedral and all its powerful connotations can be argued to only be an anomaly to the reality of Norman England and its politics.
Elton proposes that sovereign revolution was achieved under Cromwell; this claim seems to stand strongly, as evidence in form of the fact is that England remains sovereign from the Holy Roman Empire until this present moment which undoubtedly supports Elton. Under Cromwell, sovereign England was further strengthened as Wales was joined with England and placed under the rule of its Supreme King, Henry. The changes which Cromwell successfully administered were all permanent thus revolutionary, these changes were able to withstand the whole Tudor dynasty and more. Revolution was achieved by Cromwell with his skilful crafting of the parliamentary bills which ensured the Resolution of the Great Matter as well as the supremacy and absolutism of the King. Supremacy, sovereignty and Henry’s divorce were unl...
Burns, William E."Britain in the Late Middle Ages, 1272–1529." A Brief History of Great Britain, Brief History. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2010. Modern World History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
With any new monarch’s ascension to the throne, there comes with it changes in the policies of the country. From Elizabeth’s new council, to Henry’s documented polices and even to William the Silent’s inaction in response to threats were all policies that needed to be worked out by the new rulers. This group of rulers all had something in common; they chose to let their people make their religious preference solely on their beliefs but they all differed in their ways of letting this come about. This was monumental for the time period in which they lived, but it was something that needed to be done to progress national unity.
== == = State Formation in England, early modern England 1550- 1700 by Micheal J Bradelick. Tudor England by John Guy Society and Puritanism Christopher hill Tudor and Stuart Britain 1471- 1714 by Rodger Lockyer
[10] Tracy, James D. ed. (1991), The Political Economy of Merchant Empires : State Power and World Trade, 1350-1750, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Laud’s attempts to make the Church more conformed coincided with King Charles I’s personal rule without parliament. In fact, Charles embarked on policies which made the English feel under threat. The Venetian ambassador in London wrote Charles had “changed the principles by which his predecessors reigned…if the road he has taken will lead him to absolute royalty, which is definitely the goal he has set for himself” (Young 106). Even though many English...
...ample. Henry VIII was also responsible for the religious reformation in England and changed the religion of England from the Roman Catholic faith to the Protestant Religion, and established the Church of England. If it weren’t for King Henry VIII, England would not have been as wealthy as it was because of the dissolution of the monasteries. The Act of Appeals aided the constitutional development of England, once again, all thanks to Henry VIII.
When you hear of historical figures that “conquered” a certain time period, you think of barbarians, spartans, or other gruesome, battle-tested men. While William I, the King of England and Duke of Normandy, was also nicknamed the “Conqueror”, he achieved success reigning over his time period in very different ways than that of Genghis Khan or Alexander the Great. Regardless of his path to success, William I played a huge part in the religious evolution of England. Using his advantageous leadership position, William I was able to be prosperous for many decades. His illustrious career is historical proof that a country does not need to be overtaken by brute force alone.
Nelson, Lynn. “The Collapse of the Carolingian Empire” Lectures University of Kansas. November 18, 1999. http://www.ukans.edu/kansas/medieval/108/lectures/carolingian%5Fempire%5Ffall.html
Originally when feudalism was 1st forming in the Carolingian Empire, the king divided his empire among his counts, who were directly responsible back to him. It is known as the king-lord contract; where a king grants the lesser with land and in ret...
Henry IV is a play that concerns itself with political power and kingship in English history. References to kingship are prevalent throughout the play, especially in the depiction of the characters. Although most of the characters in this play could teach us about kingship, I would like to focus my attention to Prince Henry. I think that this character helps us to best understand what kingship meant at this particular time in history.
Religion was structured within the Roman and British Empire unlike the Anglo-Saxon’s who did not have any organized religion until the seventh century (West, 2000). All good things must come to an end, the empires had numerous reasons why and they all appeared to be intertwined with each other, the decline of morals and values and the increasing need of power and greed. The unfair wealth and stress on all of the social classes placed massive stress on the political and social orders ("Key Concept 2.2 The Development of States and Empires - AP Worldipedia," n.d.). The Roman Empire dealt with the Goths, the Anglo-Saxon dealt with the Vikings where the British Empire was considered more of a peaceful decline without any powerful struggles.
Pettegree, Andrew. "The English Reformation." BBC History. BBC, 17 Feb 2011. Web. 1 Oct 2013.