Strengthened ties with continental Europe
The most direct impact of the establishment of the knight system in the United Kingdom is that it has more and more frequent contact with European countries, especially France. "Before the middle of the 11th century, the cultures of Scandinavia and Britain had only distant contact with European culture." After the Norman Conquest, England established a knightly system and a feudal system. Consensus has been formed in terms of political, religious, and cultural systems, and the two sides have become closer in exchange. "England had a very close relationship with Europe for 400 years after the Battle of Hastings."
In the Middle Ages, the most common way of communication between the two regions was through war or marriage. But England in the Anglo-Saxon period was not very closely connected with the European continent. All over the country at that time, "the kings of various countries usually marry the daughters of other kings of England. When England is ruled by a king, he will marry the daughters of his own ministers."
It wasn't until 1002, when Ethelred, the "decision-maker" married Emma, the daughter of Charles II, Duke of Normandy, that the situation gradually increased. The first time Britain and Normandy had a dispute as rivals also came when the Danes invaded England. And this year has already reached the end of the 10th century, so, during most of the Anglo-Saxon period, the connection between Britain and the European continent was relatively distant.
When William the Conqueror established his rule in England and implemented chivalry, it facilitated the connection between the two places. "When a king rules England and Normandy at the same time, the local people can come and go freely." During this period, chivalry spread to England. "Chivalry brought with it a new code of honor, a more humane set of values to govern the conduct of war."
The most obvious is the attitude toward prisoners. Originally, bloody vendettas and corpse abuse prevailed among the Saxons. But the customs of the Normans were more civilized in many aspects under the influence of the knight system. After they captured local nobles, they were more used to exchanging ransoms instead of directly killing the captives.
In 1356, at the Battle of Poitiers led by the Black Prince, the Earl of Warwick captured the Archbishop of Sens and received a ransom of £8,000; a squire captured the Bishop of Le Mans and sold him for £1,000 Edward. The Norman code of soldiers reached its high point in 14th-century England, as evidenced: "Murder was practiced by the English until the eve of the conquest, but soon after that the practice died out." The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle praises William "After the Norman Conquest, no one dared, no matter what bad things were done to him."
Knighthood helps to reduce kills to a certain extent. In 1351, Britain and France were at war. In order to avoid large-scale war, the two sides agreed to select the 30 best soldiers and let them fight. This battle was called the Battle of the Thirty Warriors. At the same time, the use of the death penalty was on the decline, and after Walterhof's execution in 1076, no nobleman in England was beheaded until the 14th century. The Norman Conquest brought nearly two and a half centuries of knightly restraint to England.
Even more influential was Britain's thorough involvement in European wars. Under the British knight system, the enfeoffment of fiefdoms was linked to military obligations, and the structure of the state power was full of military overtones. Making internal and external wars an important activity in medieval England.
Due to the conquest of the Duke of Norman, the founders of the Norman and Anjou dynasties have the same status - the French feudal lords, who are nominally under the control of the King of France, which makes the land competition between Britain and France formed Natural connection. Although William was a French feudal lord, he became the king of England after the victory of the conquest. In the eyes of the French, the British king was just a vassal of his own king, but he had a huge territory that even the French king envied. This undoubtedly became a contradiction between Britain and France. source.
From William II's seizure of Normandy from his brother Robert to Henry II's peak king of England and ruler of half of France. With the two countries under the influence of the knight system, Britain hopes to continue to expand its territory, while the French monarchy wants to take back the territory and weaken the power of the British king.
The belligerent spirit under the chivalry system was fully demonstrated in the countless wars between Britain and France. Curler Weilin once believed that the Hundred Years' War did not start from the struggle, but was the result of the whole people and the Congress. If the people themselves are unwilling to fight, the king will never have the ability to force the people of the fourth generation to fight overseas. At that time, New Britain had to go through a period of warlordism with outward expansion. On the other hand, it was reflected in the Crusades in the 13th century. British knights themselves have a warlike character. British knights were influenced by Christianity and longed for revenge. At this time, the British knights not only had a pious heart but also had the military ability to curb social expansion.
British knights had already learned the tactic of using spears to charge while riding, and this tactic was extremely powerful at the time. Before the English longbow became popular, the infantry could not resist the knight's charge tactics. What's more, the improved castle was stronger in the 12th and 13th centuries, which also made the cavalry more powerful. The British combat environment has changed, and offensive and defensive tactics have also been improved. It changed the situation of being invaded by foreigners such as Norway and Denmark and turned to the road of the Crusades.
Throughout the 13th century, some British knights chose to venture into the Holy Land. In 1190, Richard I, one of the leaders of the Third Crusade, promoted the joining of British knights. After his death, the nobles now effectively control the crusading force that left the country. But the monarch still has influence over who can leave the country and go abroad. For example: During the Fifth Crusade in 1218-1221, "Many English nobles and barons went overseas, including the Earl of Ranulph of Chester, Earl of Sahele de Quincey of Winchester, and Robert Fitzwalt."
It should be noted that the enthusiasm for the Crusades in Britain was still lower than that of France. This is probably because "France is adjacent to the Mediterranean Sea and Britain is isolated from the Mediterranean Sea." But this does not affect the impact of the Crusades on Britain in the slightest. "Because of the Crusades, the best elements of the Western semi-developed society had to have beneficial contacts with the trade, literature, art, science, and knowledge of the East." The Crusades not only brought wealth to the British knights but also strengthened Britain and advanced regions. All of these created conditions for the economic development of Britain in modern times.
