ABSTRACT
Medievalpeopleseldomputtheirthoughtsandhopestopaperandamongthe subjectswhichevensociologicallyschooledmedievalhistorianshaveneglectedis thatofambition.ItisacommonplacethatfolkintheMiddleAgesknewtheirplace andeitherwerecontenttoremaininit,ortheirambitionswereverymuchdampened bythesheerdifficultyofsurviving.Theimmobilityofthemajorityofthepopulation, exceptperhapswhensummonedtoserveinthearmy,isanotherplatitudewhichwe associatewiththeMiddleAges.Inoneofthefewnon-noblemedievalautobiographies whichwehave,thatofBurchardZinkanAugsburger,weaverofthefifteenthcentury; althoughBurchardbecamequiteprosperous,histhoughtsinthediaryremainedvery muchoneconomicsurvivalwithoutanylong-termperspectives.Thelackofanysort ofanyassuranceorinsuranceinthefaceofanuncertainworldclearlyprevented long-termthinkingandplanning.TheChurch,whichrequiredthatpeopleshould concentratetheirthoughtsontheotherworldandwholoudlycondemnedworldly ambitionalsocontributedtothisnegativewayofthinking.Neverthelessthereare plentyofexamplesofpeopletryingtogetoninthethirteenthcentury.Thefirstoneis themovementfromthecountrysideintothetowns,awayfromarduousagricultural labour.Evenmoredramaticarecasesofmassemigration,asfromtheLowCountries andWestphalia,tocoloniseontheeasternfrontiersofGermanyorthesettlementsin theHolyLand.Landhungermademobilebutpeoplewantedtoimprovetheirlives, too.Theywentinsearchoffreedomandprosperity.Weprobablyunderestimate generalmobilityinthethirteenthcentury.Notonlydidwarandtradeprovidechances forthenobilityandmerchantstotravelbutnaturallymanyordinarypeoplefollowed intheirserviceorintheirwake.PilgrimagesandcrusadesextendedEuropeanmobility. ThepopulationofEnglandceasedtotravelattheendofTheHundredYears'War. Exceptforpilgrimagestherewasnorealneedtogoabroadanymore.Medieval EnglandmayhavebeenmoremobilethanearlymodernEngland,atleastdowntothe nineteenthcentury.Itwasalsoquitenormalthatamongstthosewhotravelledabroad forwhateverpurpose,somenevercameback,buttookupresidenceabroad.Thisis particularlytrueinthecaseofnobles,bishopsandmerchants,bvtnodoubtmany burgessesandpeasantsaswell.Recruitingfortheepiscopacyamongstforeignershad beentheorderofthedaysinceAnglo-Normantimesanddoesnotneedtobe discussedhere.Englandwasregardedinthisperiodasthelandofmilkandhoney
and no doubt an Italian or French cleric who managed to obtain this promotion was a very happy man. Increasingly, since the time of Henry II, foreign knights, who originally came as mercenaries, never returned but instead obtained land in England. When Henry the Lion had been sent into exile by Barbarossa, some of the knights who accompanied him never returned to Germany.1 Richard, and particularly John, came to rely on these men who stood outside the charmed circle of the AngloNorman aristocracy and were completely dependent on the king for favour. Their role in England, particularly that of Walerand Teutonicus who became controller of the stannaries and custodian of the critical castle of Berkhampstead is interesting.2 Even more interesting is that this group of Germans do not appear on the list of evil foreign favourites (of exclusively French origin) whom the magnates demanded to be sent into exile in Magna Carta. A number of these German knights, after rising high in royal favour, being very successful and gaining good jobs, married English women and remained in England.
