The Crossroads of Government and Culture in Historical Documents

This post is based off of, though not directly adhering to, the following prompt:

“England After the Norman Conquest:” In a solid paragraph, summarize, comment, and ask questions about (portions of) BABL “The Medieval Period: England After the Norman Conquest” 12-29, 32-34.  Some terms/concepts that may provide a focus: feudalism, Domesday Book, anti-Semitism, Magna Carta, Arthurian narratives, roman/romance, lai, exemplum, saint’s life, spiritual “self-help” book, and visionary writing, “Ricardian” poets, craft guilds and confraternities, the Fourth Lateran Council, fraternal orders, development of English national identity, the Great Famine, the Hundred Years’ War, the Black Death, Uprising of 1381. 

The Crossroads of Government and Culture in Historical Documents

The three hundred years that followed the Norman Conquest of England saw great leaps in the government and societal infrastructure that were part of England’s national identity through the Enlightenment. Many of these developments can be traced through government documents such as the Domesday Book and the Magna Carta.

In an attempt to legitimize his new English holdings, William the Conqueror kept an account book of all his land, called the Domesday Book. While “it would take some time before the mechanisms of government could make efficient use of such burdensome archives of documents,” the act of keeping tangible records helped secure many vassals (14).

The Magna Carta was forced upon King John by his nobles. It was “the first time” the King of England’s authority was “limited by the terms of a written document” (20). The language and structure resonated so powerfully, that the Magna Carta served as the model for other revolutionary government documents, such as the American Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Besides making great strides in developing the English government, these two documents also set up two institutions of English society. The Domesday Book’s record of promised allegiances strengthened the feudal system, and the Magna Carta claimed certain political freedoms for the church. These documents are prime examples of the important events that occur at the crossroads of history and national identity. Since the Magna Carta is reflective of its time period and greatly impacted English culture, should it be studied as literature? Were the political engineers behind the Magna Carta influenced by the style of romans, lays, or religious texts? It would be interesting to compare the famous charter to a fictional work of the same style and organization, if such literature exists from the thirteenth century.

"The Medieval Period." 2011. The Broadview Anthology of British Literature. Ed. Joseph Black. 2nd ed. Vol. A. Peterborough, Ont.: Broadview, 2011. 13-21. Print.