Describe the causes of decline of feudalism. in 250 words
Answers
Answer:
Key Events that Led to the Decline of Feudalism
1. Political changes in England in the 12th & 13th centuries
2. The Bubonic Plague
3. the Hundred Years War
Magna Carta (Great Charter)
Famous document that was a written agreement that limited the King's power and strengthened the rights of nobles. It established the idea of rights and liberties that even the king can not violate.
Bubonic Plague (Black Death)
Terrifying disease that killed millions in Europe - the deaths of so many people led to sweeping economic and social changes.
Hundred Years War
A series of wars fought between France and England between 1337 and 1453 that changed the ways wars were fought and shifted power from feudal lords to monarchs and the common people
Henry II - Legal Reforms
Strengthened the power of royal courts at the expense of feudal lords. - Trial by judges and juries replaced trial by ordeal and combat.
Constitutions of Clarendon
Issued by Henry II - a document that spelled out the king's traditional rights - ex. the right to try clergy accused of crimes in royal courts instead of church courts.
Thomas Becket
Archbishop of Canterbury, killed by four knights seeking favor of King Henry II - declared a saint
King John
Son of Henry II, who became king.
What led to King John having to point his seal on the Magna Carta?
King John made many powerful enemies:
1. Lost most of the lands English had controlled in
France.
2. Taxed the barons and ignored their rights
3. Fought with the church and taxed their
properties.
Habeas Corpus
Important part of the Magna Carta - the principle that accused persons cannot be held in jail without the consent of a court - came to be known as a key part of English common law and is regarded as one of the foundations of the people in England's rights and liberties.