Chapter 3 · A long and illustrious history
The Middle Ages: Life in the UK test study notes
This section covers the Middle Ages, or medieval period, from the Norman Conquest to 1485. Edward I brought Wales under the English Crown with the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284 and built castles such as Conwy and Caernarfon. But Robert the Bruce's victory at Bannockburn in 1314 kept Scotland unconquered. In Ireland the English ruled the Pale around Dublin. Knights fought in the Crusades, and during the Hundred Years War Henry V beat the French at Agincourt in 1415. The Black Death of 1348 killed a huge share of the population, causing labour shortages, a new landowning gentry and the growth of towns. Magna Carta (1215) placed even the king under the law, Parliament divided into the Lords and the Commons, and judges built up the common law. Norman French and Anglo-Saxon merged into English, the language of Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, which William Caxton printed, while John Barbour wrote The Bruce in Scots. The Wars of the Roses between Lancaster and York ended at Bosworth Field in 1485, when Henry VII founded the Tudor dynasty.
Key facts to remember
- Feudalism – under the Normans, lords hold land from the king and owe him military support in return; most peasants are serfs, bound to their lord.
- 1284 – Edward I's Statute of Rhuddlan brings Wales under the English Crown, backed by castles such as Conwy and Caernarfon.
- 1314 – at the Battle of Bannockburn, Robert the Bruce's Scots beat the English, so Scotland remains unconquered.
- Ireland – the English rule an area around Dublin known as the Pale.
- The Crusades – European Christians, including many English knights, fight for control of the Holy Land.
- The Hundred Years War with France actually lasts 116 years; in 1415 Henry V wins the Battle of Agincourt.
- 1348 – the Black Death reaches Britain and kills a large part of the population.
- After the Black Death – labour shortages, peasants demanding higher wages, a new gentry class and people moving to towns, where a strong middle class develops.
- 1215 – King John is forced by his noblemen to accept Magna Carta, which protects the nobles' rights, makes the king subject to the law and limits his power to raise taxes or change laws.
- Parliament – the House of Lords (nobles, great landowners and bishops) and the House of Commons (knights and wealthy townspeople).
- Scottish Parliament – in the Middle Ages it has three Houses, called Estates, representing the clergy, the lords and the commons.
- Law – judges begin to be independent of the government; English common law grows from precedent and tradition; statute law is made by Parliament.
- Language – Norman French and Anglo-Saxon combine to form English; in Scotland, Gaelic is spoken and the Scots language develops.
- Words – 'park' and 'beauty' come from Norman French; 'apple' and 'cow' come from Anglo-Saxon.
- Geoffrey Chaucer writes The Canterbury Tales; William Caxton, England's first printer, prints it; John Barbour writes The Bruce in Scots.
- Castles are built across Britain and Ireland, and cathedrals such as Lincoln Cathedral and York Minster, with its famous stained glass.
- 1455 – the Wars of the Roses begin between the House of Lancaster (red rose) and the House of York (white rose).
- 1485 – Richard III is killed at Bosworth Field, ending the Wars of the Roses; Henry Tudor becomes Henry VII and marries Elizabeth of York, and the Tudor rose, red with white inside, unites the two symbols.
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These notes summarise the official handbook, Life in the United Kingdom: A Guide for New Residents (3rd edition), which all the test questions come from. Try the free chapter 3 questions.