Historical Fiction Novel Project “The Pale Horseman” by Bernard Cornwell, is in 871-899 AD in Wessex, an Anglo-Saxon territory in England. The main character, Uhtred, is a warrior. He was born a Viking but adopted into an Anglo-Saxon clan and as his story unfolds in a series of conflicts with his own clan, the church and outsiders, his background differences from Anglo-Saxons highlight many features of this time period. The author is careful to be historically accurate in many details, including the civil and military power of kings, how military authority and tactics are carried out, and the armor and weapons used by knights. Kings in England had both civil and military power during this time period. In the novel, King Alfred was the leader …show more content…
But King Alfred also had the power to judge people and had the power to decide how to punish or discipline people who he determined had done wrong things (Cornwell). In the “Warfare, Western European”, author John Beeler talks about the powers that a king would have had in the time period. “Military and civil authority were kept separate at the upper level, although at the king's convenience the two were sometimes combined." This demonstrates that although there was some separation of military and civil authority, the king was the ultimate head of both, and had both political and military power. The historian and the novel’s author agree in their description of the broad power of kings at that time as a military and civil authority. Between 871-899 AD the form of government was feudalism. Feudalism was when kings with land would sell their land to other people in exchange for things. In this case the kings were selling land to knights. This was good for both the knight and the king because they both got what …show more content…
Chain mail armor is a bunch of metal chains that are put together by bending them In the novel when Uhtred is fighting against Steapa one on one Uhtred is wearing light armor made of skins while steapa is wearing a heavy chainmail suit and a large helmet to go along with his massive sword(Cornwell). In “Medieval Weapons and Warfare” by Paul Hilliam he talks about the armor of most knight's "Chain mail was worn as the main form of protective armor"(16). This concludes that a majority of knights during the 9th century wore chain mail for armor, but also they both show that there were some people who didn’t use chain mail armor because Uhtred didn’t always wear chain
Serfs grew the food and made the things that everyone required, and without them, the system would collapse. Manorialism was also important to it as a source of order and economy. In this structure, feudalism was the main political land based system of the Middle Ages. And while the practice of it mostly disappeared with the Middle Ages, it is still an imprinted government in
During the medieval times Kings had absolute power and the Catholic Church made sure God help the King retain this power. During this time feudalism was the structure that shaped society. In the feudalism structure the people that work the land the poor got cero power and live at the mercy of the barons. Barons where the owners of the land that people where let to work and make really low amounts of money while the baron sells and exchange the goods produced by the land and makes a fortune. At the end of the day the land belongs to the king and the king taxes the barons and collects money from all the land making him very, very wealthy and powerful.
According to the text book, an absolute monarch is a king or queen who has unlimited power and seeks to control all aspects of society (McDougall little, 1045). In more simple terms, it is a ruler who can do just about anything without having to get permission from anyone, or having to worry about the repercussions. This was a trend that started in the 1600’s by European leaders who were rich, and didn’t
Everyone has a different way to deal with overwhelming situations. It can be more difficult for people with mental illness to cope with the hardships of life. For instance, in “Horses of the Night,” the character of Chris has dissociative symptoms that can be linked to his depression. Margaret Laurence’s short story tells the story of Chris, a young teenager who moves to from a small farm to the town of Manawaka in order to go to high school. The story is told by his younger cousin, Vanessa. As she grows up, she learns that Chris is depressed. The author uses the theme of fantasy to show that he does not cope well with reality. The horses, Shallow Creek, and the children are symbols that show us the fantasy that Chris lives in.
In northern Europe after the Middle Ages, monarchies began to build the foundations of their countries that are still in affect today. During the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries these “New Monarchs” made many relevant changes in their nations. During the middle of the fifteenth century Europe was affected by war and rebellion, which weakened central governments. As the monarchies attempted to develop into centralized governments once again, feudalism’s influence was lessened. This “new” idea of centralization was reflected in the monarch’s actions. Rulers tried to implement peace and restore the idea that the monarchy represented law and order in the nation. These New Monarchs were able to build armies due to taxation, and
Feudalism was a political, economic and social system that exchanged land and loyalty in return for protection. It was a commerce of protection and goods, as seen in the feudal system diagram, there are different types of social classes that have arrows describing what they are trading and to whom they are trading (Document 4). In the late ninth century, peasants gave food and service to the knights in exchange for protection. The knights gave military service in exchange for shelter and defense. The lords gave military aid while the king gives them fief and peasants etc.
Feudalism was a contrasting system dealing with political and military relationships existing among members of the higher social class, Kings, Lords and other owners of large lands in Western Europe during the Middle Ages. The Feudal system started by the granting of fiefs, chiefly in the form of land and labor, in return the lord would receive political and
Henry VIII was a king of England from 1509 to 1547. He kept his power because he was able to reciprocate some of the suggestions that Niccoló Machiavelli expressed in his book, “The Prince.” Although there were many similarities in how Henry VIII ruled England and what Machiavelli explains in “The Prince,” Henry VIII did deviate from Machiavelli’s tips.
Western Europe suffered numerous hardships through the ninth and tenth centuries and this was the ultimate reason they established a new political organization which was known as feudalism. By providing honor, protection, and a sense of control, this new social system revived peace and order in Western Europe after the fall of the Carolingian Empire. Feudalism was a necessary ingredient to yield stability in during these times of calamity.
Feudalism- monarchy attempts to control the lands of the realm through agreements with regional leaders.
King James I, Machiavelli, and Thomas Hobbes strongly believed in the idea of Absolute government. They believed that King's were "God's Lieutenant's" and they were in power simply because God sent them there. These men believed in divine power upon earth, and that "God hath power to create or destroy, make or unmake at his pleasure, to give life or sent death, to judge all and to be judged nor accountable to none, to raise low things, and to make high things low at his pleasure and the like power have Kings " as quoted from doc. 2 of King James I. Being how King James I was a King, it is a conventional belief that Kings had divine rights. In one of Machiavelli's works "The Prince" Machiavelli writes "Men have less hesitation in offending a man who is loved than one who is feared."(Doc.1) Consequently Machiavelli believes in having a fear in your ruler, because if you fear your ruler, you will not hesitate to obey him, for you are afraid of the punishment. Where as, if you love your ruler, you are more lenient to challenge your ruler's authority.
Their responsibilities were limited in that their rule was mainly a generalship. This is supported by Aristotle, who states that the King could “command the army on foreign expeditions, and supervise religious worship; beyond that their sovereignty does not extend…an independent and permanent generalship.”
Shakespeare’s ideas towards kingship can be seen throughout the play. He shows that a king should be chosen by divine right and shows the attributes of what a good king should be.
In Medieval times during the 10th and 13th centuries, a form of political and social organization called feudalism was a way of life that had great effect on people of the time and on the modern world. Feudalism was developed because of the weakness of Europe and it's kings. The word feudalism comes from the word fief, which was the land held on condition of feudal service, similar to an estate (English). The fiefs bound together lords and vassals. Feudalism was a structure in which a lord divided his land into smaller parts to give to lesser lords (“Feudalism”).
was based heavily on the honor system. The king had overall power, then the lord, then the