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Cilj diplomske naloge je ugotoviti, kako se razvoj Anglije v srednjem veku razlikuje od ostale Evrope. Časovni okvir sega od normanske osvojitve do prihoda rodbine Tudor na angleški prestol. Osredotočila sem se torej na vladanje kraljev iz rodbine Plantagenetov, ter na napredek, ki so ga prinesli v deželo. Pri pisanju sem si pomagala predvsem z monografskimi publikacijami, delno pa tudi z različnimi enciklopedijami in internetnimi viri. Glavni vir je bilo delo avtorja Trevelyana Zgodovina Anglije, ki je že precej zastarelo, zato sem uporabljala tudi gradivo novejšega datuma, ki pa je večinoma v angleškem jeziku. Prvi del diplome vsebuje bolj splošne podatke in obravnava tipične probleme srednjega veka skozi perspektivo Anglije. V drugem delu je namenjeno nekaj prostora vsakemu od plantagenetskih kraljev, saj so si bili med sabo zelo različni in ne bi bilo korektno, če bi pisala le o sami rodbini, saj bi tako preveč posploševala. Skozi delo ugotovimo, da se na specifičen razvoj Anglije vplival predvsem izvor njenih plantagenetskih kraljev, ki je otok povezal s celino. Prav ta razdalja od centra Evrope pa je omogočila, da so se ideje s celine na otoku spremenile in prilagodile tamkajšnjim potrebam. Največja razlika med Anglijo in celino je vidna v razvoju prava, ki je neizbežno povezan z razvojem Cerkve in fevdalizma. This diploma is dedicated to the Plantagenet family. William the Conqueror won the legendary battle at Hastings in 1066, the battle for the English throne, and brought French culture and language to England. The Plantagenets’ ruled England for the first time in 12th century by Henry II. Their realm lasted until the deposition of Richard II. in 1399, when the sideline of Lancaster ruled for about 50 years, until it lost the war to the other sideline York in the famous War of Roses. Legal man line became extinct in 1499. Foreign clergy and a line of powerful kings helped to high development of England. They used feudalism not to divide the nation, as they did on the continent, but to unite it. They established a centralized country administration and unitary law system and also built the foundations of civilization, like universities, juries and others. The dynasty had a remarkable influence on the social and legal development of the country that was unique in Europe. They developed Common Law that made the legal system more fair for the commoners. They also established juries, which were not very similar to modern ones. This period means also the beginning of the English parliament. Even William the Conqueror consulted a small counsel and the successors continued with this tradition. In time, the great counsel expected to be part of every major decision. Edward I. summoned the first parliament that only included nobles. Two parts, the House of Commons that include commoners, and the House of Lords that include only lords, were founded. Feudalism in England had special characteristics because the land was so slowly conquered in times of William the Conqueror and the lords only got small, scattered pieces of land and not large ones. Domesday Book is truly a historical monument of that era because it contains an exact record of all the wealth in the country. The influence of Church rose in times of William the Conqueror, who allowed the separation of canonical and royal courts. That also influenced the development of Common Law. Henry II. forced the Clarendon constitutions that allowed clergy to be prosecuted by the royal court. His greatest opponent was Thomas Becket, who became a martyr and a saint after he was murdered. In the Plantagenet times two of the world’s famous universities were founded the university in Oxford and in Cambridge. Typical English culture, art, popular gothic style of architecture with its most famous examples, the Westminster Abbey and the York Cathedral, are the remains from Plantagenet era. Medieval England was different from the continent not only geographically but also in mind and development and was unique in the medieval times. Largely we can assign this to its unique historical development that allowed the appropriate conditions. England was far ahead compared to the rest of Europe in some areas and it took several centuries for other European countries to catch up. Of course England did not wait for the rest of the world instead it evolved and eventually became one of the most developed countries in the world.