Section V, Shifting Power at Home

When a king argues with a bishop, everyone listens.

The roads that carried soldiers also carried stories, and now those stories have changed expectations. In taverns and markets, people repeat new ideas about law, learning, and power. Some still fear questioning. Others have begun to ask who can be challenged, and why. As these ideas spread, I notice that authority begins to shift. For centuries, the Roman Catholic Church dominates education, knowledge, and daily life. Kings rule through force, but they are expected to respect religious authority. Over time, conflicts flare when kings try to control church officials or church courts.

Then I hear the story that shocks everyone, Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, is murdered by supporters of King Henry II. The killing becomes a symbol of the growing tension between royal authority and the Church, and beliefs become stronger that kings cannot act without consequences.

In towns, small schools appear. A few merchants learn letters to keep records. Literacy is still rare, but it is no longer locked inside monasteries. As reading spreads, so does the habit of questioning. Exposure to broader knowledge weakens unquestioned obedience. Literacy expands slowly beyond monasteries, and schools begin appearing in towns and cities. Most people remain uneducated, but the idea spreads that authority can be debated, challenged, and limited.

Observation: When knowledge spreads beyond the clergy, authority must explain itself, not only demand obedience.