The Battle of Hastings was started in the month of October in the year 1066. The battle was fought because King Edward died with no children to success him. He had promised the crown to his friend Duke William of Normandy. However, the Anglo-Saxon assembly had the power to overrule his dying wishes, and they chose Harold Goldwissen to ascend to the thrown. There was also a bloodline connection between King Edward and Harald Hardrada, King of Norway. With three people wanting the kingship, the only thing to do was kill each other until only one candidate remained (politics haven't changed much....)
First up was Harald versus Harold. As the september leaves fell, Hardrada was killed and Goldwissen won the battle. Of course, this still left the duke. Goldwissen and Duke William met in October and fought the Battle of Hastings. Because of their intelligence and advantages in man power, Duke William and his defeated Harold and William became the next King of England. This was extremely important because when William came to the throne, he brought all the traditions of Normandy with him. These included French as a main language, Norman style architecture and techniques of weaving. He was a good leader and always remembered to consult with the opinions of the nobleman into consideration. He also established a feudal system in England and created and recorded a census of England.
After assuming the throne in 1199, it became apparent that King John of England was not fit to run a kingdom. Over the next sixteen years, he continued to lose all of England's land within French boundaries, loose all of England's budget and looses communications with the Pope, infuriating the people and losing their respect and support. In 1215, the nobles and church officials forced King John to sign the Magna Carta, a giant binding agreement which gave him and his successors much less power than previously. Some of these restrictions included forced counsel with Lords before raising taxes and complete separation of church and state. The Magna Carta lived on, but John, fortunately, did not.
