15TH CENTURY*Known as the” McFarlane century” (1)

-because most scolars from this era are his “pupils or grand-pupils…(they) all acknowledge his influence and all cite his work”

*Bastard Feudalism, “ the bond between lord and retainer” (2)

(3)

*”’BASTARD fEUDALISM WAS ABOVE ALL A VOLUTARY BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP WITH PATRONAGE AND SERVICE AS unenforceable contractual obligations;”

-“Richard II was deserted by his northerners” – because their relationship was only out of self interest

IDEALISM

(41)

RICHARD III FAMILY LINERichard Wydeville I “had to build his fortune more or less from scratch. His life was spent in the service of the Lancastrian kings and royal dukes.” (210)

*Richard II “eARL Rivers” inherited 4 manors and 3 shires, gaining his a “minor role among the local gentry” (210)

- married the widowed “Duchess of Bedford – Jacquetta of Luxemberg” gaining much wealth. (210)

* R2 and Jacq had 13 kids! (211)

*ruled for only 26 months “the shortest reighn of any adult king since the Norman Conquest” (248)

*Lots of “external military threats” throughout his reign (248)

He was “Duke of Gloucester” before he was king (249)

http://www.r3.org/richard-iii/15th-century-life/15th-century-life-articles/delights-of-life-in-fifteenth-century-england/

Delights of Life in Fifteenth-Century England

A. Compton Reeves

Professor of History

Ohio University

 

Keynote Address

Annual General Meeting

Richard III Society, Inc.

American Branch

7 October 1989

Published by: Richard III Society, Inc.

15th century life

15TH Century Englad was in a time of famine and plague – individuals tried to stay physically strong.

-ball games were very popular (camp-call was the most popular” – played by men and women

1.Teresa McLean, The English at Play in the Middle Ages (Windsor

Forest: Kensal Press, 1983), pp.1-2, 5-6.

-“balls were made of a pigs bladder filled with dried peas”- the term “football” was coined in the 15th century

1. -archery = national sport (military overtones) Ibid., pp.11-15.

Dueling among royalty was popular The Scales-Bastard contest might suggest that English tournaments in the fifteenth century tended more toward ritualized athletic entertainment than martial mayhem, but tournaments were taken very seriously as training for war and they could be highly dangerous.14 

-They were often accompanied with pagentry

2. Malcolm Vale, War and Chivalry (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1981),

pp. 63, 76-78, 80.

3.

Pageantry was a source of delight for many observers, and incorporated a powerful element of drama. The great and the wealthy of the kingdom moved about at all times surrounded by followers and presented a display of magnificence which exemplified their power, but sometimes the pageantry was meant to convey a message more sophisticated than just wealth and power. Consider the entry of Henry VI into London in 1432 on his return from his coronation in Paris as king of France.4

1. Richard Osberg, “The Jesse Tree in the 1432 London Entry of Henry VI: Messianic Kingship and the Rule of

Justice,” Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies 16 (1986): 213-32; Robert

Withington, English Pageantry (2 vols., Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1918-20) 1: 141-47.

Chess was a popular board game – started with aristocracy but was soon played by all classes

- reflected real world strategy in politics

“universally held that monarchy was instituted by God for the benefit of His people”

king ruled by the grace of god – his rule should be “God-like in quality: rewarding the good and protecting the weak, punishing sinners, but showing mercy towards the repentant” (13)

Kings subjects:1st Teir – closely known members of his court and household2nd Tier – political society in town – knights, esquires, gentlemen and burgesses (carried out royal commands)3rd Tier – yeoman, husbandmen, small freeholders, copyholders, waged laborers, poorer clergy, artisans and shopkeepers. (‘the people’) (15)

“Nobility was not a uniform body”1st group: those of the “blood royal - immediate family of king/queen2nd group: those who had rised through royal favor – families of Hastings, Herbert, Howard3rd group:those whose families were of ancient lineage – Neville, Percy, Stafford, Courtenay

(all pg 151)DukesEarls & BaronsKnightsLandowners & GentlementPeasants

Yeoman (wealthy villagers who owned up to 40 acres of land) Husbandmen (peasants owning 10-40 acres) Smallholders, Labourers & domestic servants (lower ranks)

The idea of service- everyone was in service to someone higher up - -“ a scullion washing dishes was performing service, but so was a

nobleman carrying part of the regalia in the king’s coronation” (63)Honourable vs Menial service

Menial – servant has no independent standing aside from the performance of his taskHonourble – servant does have independent standing (63)

Hierarchy of Law1) The law of God (divine word and law)2) The law of nature (man’s deduced law based on God’s word)3) The law of England (“positive laws of human societies”)4) The customs of the realm

(30)

“3 basic points fundamental to 15th century attitudes to law and justice: law was of divine origin, it had to be in accordance with reason, and justice entailed giving each man his due” (31)

“Law was a mirror of the social order” (41)ex. “bribery – the epitome of corruption from 20th century viewpoint, is less easy to condemn in a society where legal officials were inadequately paid and gift-giving was an essential courtesy” (41)

URBAN SOCIETY

2 Largest towns

London – pop. 40,000-50,000York – 15,000(133)

“Many countryfolk came regularly to town” (134) Most larger cities had “acquired self-government by 1400” (134) 2 major classes = Merchants and Gentry (140)

Lots of “guilds” and “fraternities” and “social groups” formed in urban settings (143)

Aristocracy- “the whole idea of a heritable aristocratic ascendeny depends on the belief

that noble qualities are natural, inborn” (59)- they were a more “cohesive unit” than many led to believe

= 15th c‘s most dominant social group” (60)

EDUCATION

High infant mortality rates (80)

Children started learning skills in the home around the age of 8 by mimicking parents and fulfilling household chores (80)

By the age of 10 at most, most children “had the die cast” for their life (81)

Sons were given a few more years of schooling if it could be afforded. (82)- Learning the language of Latin & French and some accounting skills

(82)

SCIENCE*No great advancements in science (97)

*”Alchemy was forbidden by law w/o a license” (99)

WOMEN “Women in 15th century England could hold land, bring lawsuits, make

wills, be admitted to the franchise, engage in trade in their own right, take

apprentices, hold guild office, run households, manage estates and…administer the sacraments. Most did not.” (112)

“The principal authority upon which thought about women was based was scripture. The patriarchal order was thus a divinely sanctioned order and women’s questioning of that order was consequently an affront to God” (112)

o Man was made in God’s image. Woman was made of man’s image to be his helper. (112)

In regards to the 4 humors, women were thought to be “colder and moister” leaving men to be “hotter, dryer and more active”. – leaving the worldview of women as the “’weaker vessel’” (114) in cite 3

Women were most time exempt from an act of 1363 confining artificers to a single craft. Women’s “work identities were thus very fluid”. They fulfilled many tasks around the house and family. (116)

A vital part of a woman’s education was the “virtuous things of the scripture” (129)

RURAL SOCIETY“landlords” and “peasants” were too general of terms to identify the many

classes among the rural community (150)

RELIGION

Parish Catholic church was a part of everyone’s lives (although many may have had differing views about religion) Everyone attended mass. (183)

Images and bells were worn around the necks of men and women (184)

Churches were well kept, and greatly and often refurnished and renovated (184)

DEATH

“Dying was an art, a guide to living” (202) “ a good life was premised on the correct orientation towards the

certainties of death, and a good death could redeem the sins of a bad life” (202)

Fears of the afterlife promoted daily morality (202) Images of death and the dead littered the daily lives of the citizens (204)

- “bodies of traitors… were posted… as warning advertisements” (204)