The Middle Ages

The Middle Ages section is about power changing slowly: kings, nobles, Parliament, law, language and war.

Timeline anchors

The story in order

After the Norman Conquest, kings tried to control land in Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Wales came under stronger English control, but Scotland remained unconquered after Bannockburn.

The first major test anchor is 1215. Magna Carta limited King John and helped establish the idea that even the king is under the law.

The Black Death changed society because so many people died. Labour became more valuable, towns grew, and social classes changed.

Parliament developed from the king’s council. English law and the English language also developed. The period ends with the Wars of the Roses and Henry Tudor becoming Henry VII in 1485.

Test facts to know

• The medieval period is framed as running from the end of the Roman Empire in AD 476 to 1485, with focus after 1066.
• Edward I annexed Wales to the Crown of England through the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284.
• Robert the Bruce led the Scots to victory over England at Bannockburn in 1314.
• The English-controlled area around Dublin was known as the Pale.
• The Hundred Years’ War was fought against France and included the Battle of Agincourt in 1415.
• Feudalism linked land ownership to military service and labour duties.
• The Black Death reached Britain in 1348 and killed a large share of the population.
• King John agreed to Magna Carta in 1215, limiting royal power and supporting the idea that the king was subject to law.
• Parliament developed from the king’s council and split into the House of Lords and House of Commons.
• Common law developed in England through precedent; Scottish law developed with more written codification.
• English became the language of official documents and Parliament by around 1400.
• Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales; William Caxton used a printing press in England.
• The Wars of the Roses began in 1455 and ended at Bosworth Field in 1485 with Henry Tudor becoming Henry VII.

How questions may test it

• Link 1215 to Magna Carta and King John.
• Link 1348 to the Black Death.
• Link 1415 to Agincourt and Henry V.
• Link 1485 to Bosworth, Richard III and Henry VII.
• Explain how Parliament, common law and English identity developed in the Middle Ages.
• Distinguish House of Lords and House of Commons origins.

Key terms

Middle Ages, Statute of Rhuddlan, Bannockburn, Robert the Bruce, the Pale, Hundred Years’ War, Agincourt, feudalism, Black Death, Magna Carta, House of Lords, House of Commons, common law, precedent, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales, William Caxton, Wars of the Roses, Bosworth Field, Henry VII.