Cultural Focus: The Canterbury Tale
Today Canterbury in Kent remains a religious capital of England where the head of the Church of England — the Archbishop of Canterbury has his headquarters. This place in the Middle Ages was the place of pilgrimage — people came to pray to the grave of Thomas Becket.
The murder of Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket, an Archbishop of Canterbury, was murdered by the order of Henry II, who was dissatisfied with Thomas' wish to strengthen the position of the Church. In 1170, King's knights murdered Thomas Becket on the steps of the altar of Canterbury Cathedral. Later King Henry understood his mistake — all his misfortunes he took as the God's damnation after the death of Archbishop. He made a pilgrimage to Canterbury and thousands of pilgrims for three centuries were coming to the tomb. In 1173, Thomas Becket was made a saint.
Geoffrey Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales" written in the 14th century describes
the ordinary pilgrims in the book. At that time the pilgrims started at Winchester and took the footpath called the North Downs Way. Though in the 16th century after the Reformation Henry VIII said that Becket was no longer the saint and his tomb was destroyed, the place is not forgotten. Thomas Becket is widely remembered.
In 1982, Canterbury was visited by Pope John Paul II. It was an important historical event, which showed understanding between the Roman Catholic and the Anglican Churches.
Magna Carta. The First Parliament
John the Lackland spent most of his reign in battles for English possessions in France. He took great money to wage these wars as taxes from his subjects and from the Church. Finally the English barons, many of them were Normans, refused to fight with the King of France. Barons' rebellion plunged the country into civil war in 1214. A year later, in 1215, when the struggle between the King and barons reached its climax, both sides accepted the famous document called Magna Carta (the Great Charter).
Magna Carta contained "the list of grievances" — the criticism of the King's abuses of power. It promised new rights to people and was based on the laws established by Henry II, Edward the Confessor and Alfred the Great. The most well-known laws of this Charter are these:
The King was not to make people pay taxes without the consent of the Great Council.
No one was to be punished for any wrong-doing without a proper trial according to the law of the land.
In general Magna Carta checked the despotic power of the King and was the first step in the long struggle, which led to the limitation of the King's power and establishing constitutional monarchy in England. Later the Charter was confirmed by other kings and reissued, but it always retained its original characteristics.
After John's death in 1216, the throne was succeeded by his nine-year-old son Henry. The Great Council revised Magna Carta and made Lord Pembroke Regent and Protector of England as the King was too young. Lord Pembroke improved the Carta and governed justly, but died in three years of his protectionship. This death marked a period of great disorder in the country — the civil wars almost never stopped.
Henry III was deeply religious, constantly built and rebuilt churches and Abbeys. These projects needed much money and led to the constant fight between the King and the barons.
In 1257, the religious Henry III, who was under the great influence of the Church and the Pope was persuaded to accept the kingdom of Sicily for his son Edward. He needed money to conquer the island but barons refused to give it. In the course of the civil war, which started in the country, the barons and churchmen held an assembly and drew up the Provisions of Oxford. That document provided the appointment of the Justiciar, Chancellor and Treasurer, the Council of Fifteen was to govern England and control the ministers.
The barons led by Simon de Monfort defeated the King's forces in the civil war, captured the King and his son Edward. After it Simon de Monfort summoned the first English parliament in January 1265. It gathered barons, knights (2 knights from each shire) and burgesses (2 citizens from each town). The presence of burgesses aimed at giving the citizens of the towns the idea of new taxes.
The first Parliament had little time to show its merits — the barons began to quarrel; the people were dissatisfied with the barons. Simon was killed in the civil war and soon after it the son of Henry II Edward I came to power.
Task 2. Discussion. Read the text about the design of the House of Commons and compare it with the design of the Parliament building in your country. How many political parties are there in your country? Do you think the arrangement of the sitting places for Members of Parliament helps to create a political atmosphere?
What other medieval inventions in the British Parliament could be successfully introduced in your country?
Medieval Traditions in the British Parliament Today
Though the Parliament of Britain has a long history, many traditions, which began in the Middle Ages, still exist today. In the medieval times there was no special place for Parliament, so very often its members gathered in a church. Churches of that time usually had rows of benches facing each other. From that time the design of the House of Commons has not changed. It remains the typical feature of the British Parliament and distinguishes it from other parliaments in the world. Today Members of Parliament (MPs) still sit on two rows of benches facing each other. The left row is taken by the governing party and the right row — by opposition.
According to this division an MP must be either "for" government or "against" it. This arrangement of benches encourages confrontation between government and opposition and physically helps to maintain the two-party system in Britain.
The benches in the Parliament have no desks and MPs do not have their personal places, they sit wherever they can find a vacant place. From that place they can stand and talk, drift in and out of the room. All this creates an informal atmosphere in which all MPs are encouraged to cooperate.
. As there is no podium or dais and the room is rather small, MPs usually speak in normal conversational tone. They also do not speak for a long time, because it's difficult to use notes having no desk'or dais.
The rules coming from medieval times also forbid MPs to address each other directly. They address the opponents "through the Chair" calling them "the honourable Member for..." or "my honourable friend". These ancient rules serve to diminish the heat of the debate. They also give MPs the feeling that they belong to a special group of people.
Edward I. Fighting with Wales and Scotland
Edward, who was called Longshanks because of the slenderness of his legs, was peacefully accepted by the English nation. Edward I was the first English King who paid more attention to Wales and Scotland than to his possessions in France. He saw his first object in the unification of Scotland and Wales under one Sovereign England.
At that time the Prince of Wales was Llewellyn. He led a rebellion against the English King, which ended with English victory and a treaty of Peace in 1265. The treaty canned the Welsh for a while, but then the rebellion flamed with a new force. In severe battles Prince Llewellyn was killed and proud Welsh people were subdued. To show the importance of Wales for England an heir of the English throne bears the title "Prince of Wales" (also see "Cultural Focus").
Edward I improved the Welsh laws and established order in the country. The direct control of England led to different changes in local government. Thus by the end of the 13th century, Wales was fully subdued by England.
Edward also did numerous attempts to conquer Scotland. At that time Scotland was racially and geographically divided into Highlands and Lowlands. Highlands were inhabited by Gaelic speaking Celtic tribes while Lowlands were predominantly Saxon and feudal. England and Scotland were closely connected — by the middle of the 13th century, most of the Scottish magnates held lands in England.
In 1286, after the death of Alexander III, the King of Scotland many rival claimants to the Scottish throne appeared. The main claimants were Robert the Bruce and John Baliol. Though Edward I supported Baliol, he soon rebelled. The Scots formed an alliance with France and invaded northern England. Edward I in turn invaded Scotland for several times.
When Edward finally left Scotland, he took the legendary Stone of Scone (destiny) on which the Scottish kings had always been crowned. The Stone was put under a Coronation Chair of the English kings and queens. Till today it remains a symbol of England's desire to rule Scotland.
Soon after the events Robert Bruce was declared the King of Scotland and crowned in 1306. The Scots again started uprising. In bloody battles the Scots retook most of their lands seized by the English.
These battles were the last for King Edward. He died in the course of the war, after which Scotland remained unconquered. King Edward II, who came to power after his father, also made an attempt to attack Robert the Bruce in Scotland. In the battle of Bannockburn in 1314 the English suffered a serious defeat. As a result of this defeat Scotland maintained its independence for the next three centuries.