England in the High Middle Ages

In England, the High Middle Ages spanned the period from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the death of King John, considered by some historians to be the last Angevin king of England, in 1216.

The disputed succession of the last Saxon king Edward the Confessor led to a Norman invasion, culminating in the victory in the Battle of Hastings of William of Normandy in 1066. This linked the Kingdom of England with Norman possessions in the Kingdom of France. By the time of William's death in 1087, England formed the largest part of an Anglo-Norman empire, though his succession led to a civil war known as the Anarchy.

The rule of Henry II of England saw a clash with the church that led to the murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket, while the later part of his reign was dominated by rebellions. His son Richard I of England acceded to the throne in 1189 and almost immediately departed on the Third Crusade. His younger brother John succeeded, but his behaviour led to rebellions that weakened Angevin control on the continent. His weakened position in England also resulted in the signing of the Magna Carta with the country's barons, limiting royal power. His death in 1216 marked the end of the Angevin period and the beginning of the Plantagenet dynasty.

The Normans adopted many Anglo-Saxon governmental institutions, but the feudal system concentrated more power in the hands of the monarch and a small elite. The Normans also introduced an ecclesiastical hierarchy aligned closer to Rome. During the twelfth century divisions between conquerors and the English began to dissolve. England played a prominent role in the Second, Third and Fifth Crusades.

Between the ninth and thirteenth centuries England experienced the Medieval Warm Period, a prolonged period of warmer temperatures that allowed poorer land to be brought into cultivation. Agricultural land became typically organised around manors. By the eleventh century, a market economy was flourishing across much of England, while the eastern and southern towns were heavily involved in international trade. Many hundreds of new towns, some of them planned communities, were built, supporting the creation of guilds and charter fairs. The period has been used in a wide range of popular culture, including William Shakespeare's plays.