Just like today, people had arguments in the Middle Ages about money, trading rights and land ownership. There are many documents at The National Archives that record these disagreements and the ways used to resolve them. Some of these documents concern the rich and powerful, but others show what ordinary people argued about and how they tried to settle matters. Use the different documents in this lesson to explore how people managed their relationships with each other and settle their disputes.
What do medieval documents reveal about people’s agreements and disagreements in the Middle Ages?In the Middle Ages there were many ways to solve arguments between people and record agreements that people made between themselves. The collections at The National Archives are a particularly good place to look for these kinds of documents because we have central records of government and court cases.
At that time the government was made up of the monarch (a king or queen) and their council, who advised them on important matters. The two important departments in the king’s household were the Exchequer (which managed the money) and the Chancery (which wrote the king’s documents and issued orders in his name). The Exchequer controlled the government’s money and was in charge of taxation. It also recorded payments made to and from the royal household. The Chancery produced charters (granting land or status) and writs, which called people to come to court. As well as these two offices there was also a central criminal court that heard more serious crimes, called the Court of King’s Bench.
People outside the royal household would encounter these offices in different ways. If the king granted a charter to a town or person, then there would be a record of the charter kept in the Charter Rolls at the Chancery. If a person got a payment from the Treasury, they might need to give the Exchequer a receipt for that payment. If there was an argument that could not be resolved between two people, one of them might take the other one to court and there would be a record of the court case in the plea rolls of the King’s Bench.
If someone, or a group of people, wanted to ask the king for something they would send a petition that would be considered by the king and often by parliament. They are often a complaint about something specific like someone taking someone else’s property and a request for the king to intervene. Sometimes the king intervened personally, but often the people who petitioned were told to take the case to court. These petitions are a way for us to find out about people’s problems in the Middle Ages, because they came directly from the group of people who were complaining.
Rather than use a year date as we might expect (March 1st, 1309), most medieval documents are dated using the year of the king’s reign or regnal year (March 1st, the second year of King Edward II’s reign). The majority of the documents are in Latin, the language of documents and the law for the majority of the Middle Ages in England, but some are in English (the map in this lesson is in both languages!). All of the documents are written on parchment, the skin of an animal (normally either sheep or cows, though we do have some goat and deer in the collection). There is evidence of paper in England from the early 1300s, but it is not commonly used in England until the sixteenth century.
Explore our map of Prisoner of War & internment camps across the British Isles
When numbers were at their highest, over half a million German and Italian POWs were held in hundreds of camps across the United Kingdom, while many more were transported to other Allied nations.
This map shows the locations of POW and internment camps around the UK and Isle of Man in the 20th Century. It was created alongside our new exhibition, Great Escapes.
Discover the history of your area or explore the stories of camps featured in our new exhibition ‘Great Escapes.’
The resources on this page have been designed for different levels. Please note, the transcripts of the resources retain any typographical errors included in the original documents.
Key Stage ThreeKey Stage FourKey Stage Five
They are designed to complement our short film and assembly pack ‘From Conflict to Peace – 25 Years On.’ This 7-minute video gives an overview of the conflict and the peace process that brought it to an end, plus details about what the Agreement did and the results of it. This can be used as part of an assembly presentation which should take around 15-20 minutes depending on the amount of time allowed for discussion at the beginning about what students know already about Northern Ireland and the Agreement.
Key Stage Three:
The Road to the Belfast Good Friday Agreement
Why was it so difficult to make peace?
- Explore two key moments on the road towards the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement.
- Learn about why it was so difficult to make peace.
- Use contemporary documents to deepen your understanding.
72 Hours to the Belfast Good Friday Agreement
How was peace achieved in the final 72 hours of negotiations?
- Know what barriers stood in the way of an agreement, 7-10 April 1998.
- Understand how the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement was finally achieved.
- Use contemporary documents to deepen your understanding.
Key Stage Four:
The Belfast Good Friday Agreement
What was the significance of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement? How can we use the documents as evidence to one of more of the lines of argument?
- Explore the significance of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement of 1998.
- Examine how historians use sources to develop a line of argument.
- Develop your own line of argument based on your learning.
Downing Street Declaration
What was the significance of the Downing Street Declaration?
- Explore the significance of the Downing Street Declaration.
- Examine how historians use sources to develop a line of argument.
- Develop your own line of argument based on your learning.
Key Stage Five:
What led to the Belfast Good Friday Agreement
What was the most important factor which led to the achievement of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement?
- Explore what role the key figures in the peace process played?
- Consider if it is possible to argue that there was one key figure or group?
- Explore interpretations from historians
- Test interpretations against historical evidence
How much do you know about Adolf Hitler and the rise of Nazism in Germany?
Learn about this topic in our educational videos and learning resources:
How much do you know about the Suffragettes and women’s right to vote?
Learn about this topic in our educational videos and learning resources:
How much do you know about these historical figures?
In this quiz, you’ll encounter six illustrated portraits of significant individuals throughout history, illustrated by Fiona McDonnell. Figure our who each figure is and then answer some questions about them!
Learn about this topic in our educational videos and learning resources:
Declaration of Independence, 1776, Catalogue ref: EXT 9/1.
A Declaration by the Representatives of the United States of America in General Congress Assembled. One of the Dunlap Broadsides printed on the night of 4 July 1776. In this document George III is referred to as a traitor and the American colonies declare their independence from Britain.
Proclamation for Suppressing Rebellion 1775, Catalogue ref: CO 5/993 f.7.
In this document, King George III referred to the American colonists as traitors. The proclamation was printed and distributed by William Franklin, the Colonial Governor of New Jersey (1763–1776), a Loyalist during American Revolutionary War. Benjamin Franklin, his father, however, became one of the most important Patriot leaders of the American Revolution and a Founding Father of the United States.
Lord Dartmouth, British Secretary of State to New Jersey Governor William Franklin, 5 July, 1775, Catalogue ref: CO 5/992, folios 127-129d.
Thomas Gage was appointed commander in chief of all British forces in North America in 1763. Had it not been for General Gage’s failed attempt at Concord, colonies separately or together possibly might have come to some plan of accommodation. Instead, almost all North America rose against British control.
On April 19, 1775, General Gage sent out regiments of British soldiers from Boston to Lexington to arrest colonial leaders Sam Adams and John Hancock and then move to Concord to supress any resistance. The plan failed as the colonists became aware of the plan and Paul Revere and other ‘Minutemen’ warned the local population that the British were coming.
Extract from Boston Port Act, 1774 (14 George III, c19) Catalogue ref: C65/56
The Coercive Acts, which became known as the Intolerable Acts to the colonists, were passed in 1774. According to the Boston Port Act, the British Parliament closed the port of Boston until the colonists compensated the East India Company for the tea destroyed at the Boston Tea Party. These also included the Massachusetts Government Act which replaced elected local government in the colony of Massachusetts with direct rule by British Crown. The powers of the military governor, Thomas Gage were also increased. British troops could now be quartered in any occupied dwelling.