The Middle Ages, which began in Europe with the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the
fifth century CE, were a time of warfare that determined the fate of empires all over the world.
This boundary-shifting era, also known as the medieval period,
ran into the beginning of the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery in the 15th century—different
historians demarcate different start and end dates for the medieval period. However you see it,
the medieval period lasted a long time (up to a millennium), and it witnessed numerous
massive events that altered the political, social, and even geographical shape of Europe
and the world. Welcome back to Nutty History, and in this video, we'll look at some of the
most important and decisive moments that shaped the Middle Ages and the course of history as we
know it today. The Battle of Hastings happened in 1066 as a result of a disputed succession.
England had been ruled for the previous 24 years by Edward the Confessor,
who, despite being married, had failed to produce any children to succeed him. In the middle of his
reign, in 1051, the king is said to have promised the English succession to his cousin, William,
Duke of Normandy. Edward had spent half his life in exile in Normandy, and owed its rulers a great
debt of gratitude. This plan was not well received by Edward's English subjects, particularly the
family of his queen, Edith. She was the daughter of the country's most powerful earl, Godwine,
and her brothers - the Godwinesons - became the dominant force in English politics in the late
1050s. However, when Edward died on January 5, 1066, it was his brother-in-law, Harold Godwinson,
who claimed the throne, claiming that the old king had nominated him in his dying moments.
Harold was crowned the next day, but he quickly encountered problems with his regime.
The first was an unexpected invasion led by Harold Hardrada, King of Norway,
which he defeated on September 25, 1066, at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in Yorkshire. The second
challenge came from the man who was promised the throne, William, the Duke of Normandy. By
the evening of October 13th, the English and Norman armies were ready for battle. William's
intention as an invader in hostile territory was to force a decisive battle with Harold.
When word of William's landing reached Harold, he rushed the core of his battle-weary army south,
stopping only briefly in London to gather any additional forces he could. On October 14th,
shortly after dawn, Harold positioned his forces in a strong defensive formation
along the ridge now occupied by the Battle Abbey buildings. The English line probably stretched for
nearly half a mile and formed a 'shield wall' on the hilltop, literally a wall of shields held by
soldiers standing close together. This formation was thought to be almost impenetrable to cavalry,
but it also left little room for maneuver. At about 9AM, the cry of battle was heard.
To win, the English needed to remain behind their shield wall, allowing the Normans to be
wrecked in repeated attacks, before sweeping forward to defeat the invaders. The Normans,
on the other hand, had to climb the slopey field to be within bowshot of the English - a couple
of hundred meters at most - before breaking the English line with archers and infantry so the
cavalry could ride through and finish off the broken remnants. It was an odd kind of battle,
with one side attacking with all their might and the other standing firm, as if rooted to the
ground. The Normans continued their assaults on the English shield wall for the rest of the day.
They pretended to flee in the middle of a battle at least twice to encourage the English to break
ranks and pursue them. The Anglo-Saxons were so close together that "the dead could scarcely fall
and the wounded could not remove themselves from the action." With the autumn light fading,
the Normans made one last push for the ridge. Then came the decisive moment: Harold perished
during the final assault. Four Norman knights did the evil act. This brutal battle altered
the course of history, making Harold the final Anglo-Saxon king of England. It founded the
French-speaking Normans as the new rulers of England, resulting in significant cultural,
economic, and military transformations as well as the development of the modern English language.
A medieval commoner was usually a farmer, and as a farmer who used animals to work,
you had to bring these animals indoors for their own safety. This was done to protect them from the
wild animals that roam the countryside, such as wolves, and bears that could easily end your goat
or chicken. The loss of any animal as a peasant could be disastrous, but the loss of a valuable
animal like an ox would be catastrophic. None of this would happen if they were inside your house,
as they would be safe. However, because none of these animals were house-trained, they must have
made the house even dirtier than it would have been otherwise. They would have also brought in
fleas and flies, adding to the unsanitary nature of the house. The Black Death ironically was
caused by a bacteria that was usually spread by fleas. The same fleas that were present in the
animals that were brought indoors. And thanks to the unsanitary nature of the commoners,
the disease spread far and fast. Unlike us, the medieval people did not understand the true cause
of this disease, thus, many believed it was a form of divine punishment—retribution for sins
against God; like greed, blasphemy, heresy, and fornication. According to this reasoning,
the only way to defeat the plague was to seek God's forgiveness. Many people believed that
the best way to accomplish this was to rid their communities of sinners and other troublemakers,
so in 1348 and 1349, thousands of Jews were removed from the Earth. Some people dealt with
the terror and uncertainty of the Black Death epidemic by lashing out at their neighbors;
others dealt with it by turning inward and worrying about the state of their own souls.
So, how did the Black Death end? Truth is — It never really did. However, officials in the port
city of Ragusa were able to slow its spread by isolating arriving sailors until it was clear
that they did not carry the disease — creating social distancing that relied on isolation
to slow the disease's spread. It wasn't until the 1800s, thanks to the work of Louis Pasteur
and Robert Koch, that germs were discovered to be the cause of disease. In 1894, Alexandre Yersin
discovered the plague’s bacteria. “Yersinia pestis” was the name given to the bacteria.
The plague resulted in rapid wage increases as landowners competed for workers by paying more.
In 1351, a law was passed to force wages to return to what they had been before the Black Death.
This was one of the causes of the 1381 Peasants' Revolt – which eventually led
to the end of the Dark ages and marked the beginning of the Renaissance.
Thomas Becket, the son of a London merchant, was a complex man; in his youth, he was a typical
energetic young man, proud, selfish and arrogant, vain and eager to please, but in later life,
he became one of the most devout Archbishops of the 12th century. Despite their social status
differences, Thomas's closest friend was Henry, who went on to become King Henry II of England.
People said the two men 'had but one heart and one mind' as they hunted and played chess together.
When Henry became king at the age of 21, Becket became his Chancellor. They both worked tirelessly
to restore law and order to Henry's realm. During Henry's reign, legal terms like "trial by jury"
and "assizes" became common in the English language. The king's judges traveled the
country enforcing the common law, which was the law of all free men. The Church was an exception,
as it had its own courts and laws. Priests who committed evil acts to innocent people could avoid
common-law justice by claiming the 'benefit of clergy,' or the ‘right to be tried in the bishop's
court’. The worst that could happen was expulsion from the priesthood. The rich bishops and abbots
of the Church enjoyed and exploited a great deal of power in the country at the time. And, while
the Church swore allegiance to the king, they also insisted that their true allegiance was to God and
his earthly representative, the Pope in Rome. When Henry's Archbishop of Canterbury died in May 1161,
he saw an opportunity to bring the Church to heel by promoting his best friend Thomas to the newly
vacated post. Becket's entire demeanor appears to have changed with the donning of his archbishop's
robes, as he appeared to have undergone a religious conversion. King Henry and Thomas
Becket were good friends until they disagreed about clerical privilege. Henry stated that
the church was subject to local law, but Becket maintained that the Church was above the law.
Their conflict reached a head in October 1164 at Northampton Castle, when supporters of Henry
accused Thomas of being a 'Traitor' to his king. The two old friends exchanged some harsh words
before Thomas made a wise move to France to protect himself. Thomas was exiled for six
years before returning to Canterbury when things calmed down. On Christmas Day 1170,
while preaching from the cathedral, Thomas displayed his stormy temperament once more
when he excommunicated some of his fellow bishops with the words, 'May they all be cursed by Jesus
Christ!' When Henry learned of this outburst, he became enraged and is said to have uttered
these fateful words, "Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest!". Four of Henry's knights took
this as a call to arms and immediately set out for Canterbury. On December 29th, they arrived at
Canterbury Cathedral and found Becket before the High Altar. The knights did not appear to intend
to end Becket at first, but when he stood firm and unafraid, the four knights decided to finish him.
When Henry heard the news, he was shocked because he believed his words had caused Becket's death.
As an act of penitence, he dressed in sackcloth and ashes and fasted for three days.
Becket was immediately hailed as a martyr and canonized in 1173, after which his shrine in
Canterbury Cathedral became the most important pilgrimage site in England, with relics associated
with him being distributed to churches across Europe. So, what other significant events do
you know shaped history today? Tell us in the comment section below. Like and share the video
if you enjoyed it. And as always, thanks for watching Nutty History, we’ll see you next time.