Daily Life

British History: The Middle Ages
After the departure of the Romans in the fifth century, the island of Great Britain was largely controlled by Anglo-Saxon settlers from the north whose various kingdoms unified during the 10th century. In 1066 the Norman king William I, known as William the Conqueror, invaded England, ushering in centuries of rule by monarchs of French origin. The 12th, 13th and 14th centuries saw the development of a distinct English culture and the establishment of a system of law, including the issue in 1215 of the Magna Carta. In the late 1340s, the plague pandemic known as the Black Death devastated England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, killing an estimated one-third of the British population.
Topics of Interest:
• Middle Ages
• The Crusades
• The Real Robin Hood
• Richard I
• Magna Carta
• Black Death
British History: The Tudor Period (1485-1603)
Following the dynastic struggle known as the Wars of the Roses, Henry VII of the House of Tudor ascended the throne in 1485. His son, Henry VIII, broke with the Roman Catholic Church, appointing himself head of the Church of England and effectively making England a Protestant nation. The 44-year reign of Elizabeth I, the last Tudor monarch, was marked by a flourishing of British literature, music and theater. Elizabeth also led England during its 1588 defeat of the Spanish Armada, an event that weakened the Spanish Empire and paved the way for future British colonization of North America.
Topics of Interest:
• Henry VIII
• Elizabeth I
• Exploration of North America
• William Shakespeare
British History: The Stuart Period (1603-1714)
After the death of his cousin Elizabeth I, James I of the House of Stuart, which had ruled Scotland since the late 14th century, ascended the throne of England, bringing the kingdoms of England, Ireland and Scotland under a single crown. In 1649, in the midst of the English Civil War, the Stuart dynasty was briefly overthrown when parliamentarians...