Difference Between the New Bases of Power in England and the Traditional Structure of France - Essay Example

College Compare Between the New Bases of Power in England and the Traditional Structure of France England emerged from the collapse of the Roman Empire. After the collapse of the Roman Empire various German immigrants known as Anglo-Saxons established several kingdoms in England the replaced the British language with the old English. The Anglo-Saxons went to war with each other and with the various British successor states of Cornwall and Wales. At about 800A.D the Vikings frequently raided the Anglo-Saxons kingdoms. It is during this period that several rulers started attempting to unite the various Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms. Their attempts eventually bore fruit and the Kingdom of England emerged by the 10th century. Anglo-Saxons converted to Christianity following which convents and monasteries were built all over England. In 1066 there was the Norman invasion of England this led to the defeat of the Anglosaxons and the Norman and French nobles replaced them as rulers. William the conqueror started ruling and introduced the feudal system at the same time abolishing slavery. France was traditionally a monarchy and It was during the final years of the ruler Charlemagne that Vikings started making advancements along the western and northern perimeters of his kingdom. Following his death the kingdom started to crumble since his heirs could not maintain political stability. The kingdom became divided through the treaty of Verdun of 843.Viking invasions became more common and still in 843 they advanced into the kingdom and murdered a bishop. Through a succession of several kings ,king Louis became a ruler of France in the 13th century .He was a ruler who desired justice for his subjects and he created tribunals. He also passed statutes against private warfare. During the twelfth and the thirteenth centuries, French culture power and authority started to move from the rural monastic areas to towns and royal court. Paris acquired the status of the kingdoms commercial hub as well as the judicial and administrative centre. In England in the 12th and 13th centuries, there was expansion of towns ,trade and cities. The population increased drastically to almost twice the earlier population. It was during the reign of king Phillip IV in France that subdivision arose in the church. Initially it was because king Phillip wanted to tax the clergy in a bid to fund the military. British and French clergy complained to the pope who objected to the kings intention of taxing them though he withdrew his objection following loud arguments from the king. A second incident in which king Phillip accused the bishop of pampers of treason and heresy made the pope beat loggerheads with the king for a second time. This led t jailing and beating up of the pope who later died and was replaced by pope Clement V who was obedient to king Phillip. In England Christianisation of the Anglo-Saxons took place at around 600 under the influence of the Roman catholic church and the Celtic Christianity. Augustine became the first Archbishop of Canterbury at around this time. Wars and pestilence caused major havoc in these societies .For instance, the great famine which caused millions of deaths all over Europe .It started with bad weather in spring 1315 lasting through 1316 to summer harvest of 1317.There was universal crop failures and due to lack of fodder for animals they died .Other than causing deaths of humans due to starvation ,It had other consequences which included people losing faith in the church since no matter how much they prayed the Lord did not seem to answer their prayers’ her was increase criminal activity as individuals used all means possible to acquire food (Lynn et all 400). There was breakdown of the institution of family as children were abandoned to fend for themselves. People turned into cannibalism. Constant wars were another major problem. The hundred years wars affected both the kingdom of England and the kingdom of France. This started as a dynastic disagreement which is said to date back to King William the conquer who started ruling England while at the same time retained possession of Duchy of Normandy in France. It saw the introduction of new tactics of wars such as archery Calvary and Infantry. The war laid grounds for later wars such as the war of roses in England which was fought by veterans herded by the hundred years war. Though there was loss of wealthy French areas for example Normandy and Aquintaine, Some Englishmen benefitted in that the plunder from France was used to develop England. People started having a greater sense of patriotism and national identity partly because; for generations all they had seen was war in France and partly due to the publicity created to raise taxes for war. In France there was severe damage as civilians were massacred by British soldiers. Crops and buildings were burnt down. The economy was disrupted as there was need for a greater budgetary allocation for the army. The war also led to establishment of regular taxation in France (Lynn et all 396). There was an outbreak of the bubonic plague in Europe. It was referred to as the black death. It was characterised by swellings on the groin armpits and necks of the victims. Some people would present with gangrenous limbs. It caused panic and devastation to those who suffered from it and it would lead to rapid death of those who become sick. It was spreading rapidly and in some instances it would lead to death of everyone in a given townspeople did not know what was causing it. It was rumoured that it was caused by a poison that Jews were putting in wells and springs .This led to torture and persecution of Jews as some of them were made to confess to having put the poison in the wells. In some towns there was mass burning of Jews. The plague killed so many people including kings and their families. This lead to further reduction of the population that had already been reduced by the great famine. Work cited Lynn Hunt, Thomas R. Martin, Barbara H. Rosenwein, Bonnie G. Smith. Making of the West 3e Volume B: 0-1740 & Candide. Bedford/st Martins, 2012. Print. Read More