Church, state and society in medieval Britain, 1066-1509
For four centuries after 1066 two powers shaped English life: the Crown and the Church. Following their rivalry explains almost everything else about the period.
Lesson overview
What you'll learn in this lesson
Understand the development of Church, state and society in Medieval Britain 1066-1509
Key learning points
- • The Crown and the barons
- • The reach of the Church
- • Everyday society
- • Plague and revolt
This lesson at a glance
- 30 minutes
- 25 parts to scroll through
- 4 quick checks
- Marked quiz at the end
- Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses
Words to know
Scroll down — the lesson carries on below
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Part 1 of 25
Visual introductionPicture this
Church, state and society in medieval Britain, 1066-1509
For four centuries after 1066 two powers shaped English life: the Crown and the Church. Following their rivalry explains almost everything else about the period.
In a nutshell
Understand the development of Church, state and society in Medieval Britain 1066-1509
What you already know
Part 2 of 25
Before we start
What you already know
You should already know that the Norman Conquest introduced feudal landholding.
Key words
Part 3 of 25
Key words
Words you'll need today
- Feudalism
- Holding land in return for service and loyalty.
- Clergy
- People ordained to religious duties.
- Magna Carta
- The 1215 charter limiting royal power.
- Villein
- An unfree peasant tied to a lord's land.
Reset break
Part 4 of 25
Pause
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Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Learning cycle
Part 5 of 25
Learning cycle 1 of 2
Two competing powers
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 6 of 25
Learn
The Crown and the barons
Norman and Plantagenet kings ruled through barons who held land in return for military service. When a king demanded too much money or lost wars, barons resisted. Magna Carta in 1215 forced King John to accept that the king was subject to law, and although it was quickly broken it became a reference point for every later argument about royal power.
Explore the idea
Part 7 of 25
Learn
The reach of the Church
The Church owned vast estates, ran its own courts, provided almost all education and shaped daily life through the calendar of feasts and fasts. Clashes were inevitable: the murder of Thomas Becket in 1170 showed how dangerous the argument over who judged the clergy had become. Monasteries were also economic institutions, employing and feeding whole districts.
Reset break
Part 8 of 25
Pause
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Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Quick check
Part 9 of 25
Quick check
Part 10 of 25
Learning cycle
Part 11 of 25
Learning cycle 2 of 2
Society and its shocks
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
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Part 12 of 25
Pause
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Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Explore the idea
Part 13 of 25
Learn
Everyday society
Most people were peasants, many of them villeins who owed labour to a lord and could not leave the manor freely. Towns grew slowly, gaining charters that gave them freedoms and markets. Status was assumed to be God-given, which is why challenges to it were treated as religious as well as political offences.
Explore the idea
Part 14 of 25
Learn
Plague and revolt
The Black Death killed a large share of the population from 1348, making surviving labourers scarce and valuable. Attempts to hold wages down helped trigger the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. Although the revolt was crushed, villeinage weakened through the following century, showing how a disaster can shift power without anyone planning it.
Quick check
Part 15 of 25
Reset break
Part 16 of 25
Pause
That's sitting 4 of 6 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Quick check
Part 17 of 25
Common mix-ups
Part 18 of 25
Common mix-ups
Things people often get wrong
- People often think Magna Carta gave rights to ordinary people. It mainly protected barons, but set the principle that law binds the king.
- People often think the medieval Church was only religious. It was also the biggest landowner and educator.
Challenge round
Part 19 of 25
Game · Sort it
Which of these are true?
Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.
True
Not true
Reset break
Part 20 of 25
Pause
That's sitting 5 of 6 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Challenge round
Part 21 of 25
Game · Fill the gaps
Finish the sentences
Choose the word that belongs in each gap.
The ____ owned vast estates, ran its own courts, provided almost all education and shaped daily life through the calendar of feasts and fasts.
Challenge round
Part 22 of 25
Game · Recall cards
Magna Carta established the principle that...
Card 1 of 4
Exit quiz
Part 23 of 25
Exit quiz
Show what you've learned
6 questions, marked together at the end. Nothing is timed.
1. Feudalism exchanged land for...
2. Magna Carta was signed in...
3. Monasteries mattered economically because they...
4. The Peasants' Revolt occurred in...
5. Town charters gave towns...
6. Medieval social rank was widely believed to be...
Mastery quiz
Part 24 of 25
Marked quiz
End of lesson quiz: Church, state and society in medieval Britain, 1066-1509
4 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.
1. Magna Carta established the principle that...
2. A villein was...
3. The Becket dispute was mainly about...
4. The Black Death strengthened peasants' bargaining power because...
Lesson round-up
Part 25 of 25
Lesson round-up
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