In his book, the History of the Kings of Britain, Geoffrey of Monmouth conjures up a picture of a great unified nation called Britain: it comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland – and is ruled over by King Arthur, who may or may not have once existed.

Writing in about 1136, Geoffrey says of this nation, which is a figment of his imagination, that it 'excelled all other kingdoms in its affluence, the richness of its ornaments, and the courteous behaviour of its population'.

The reality is different. For much of the Middle Ages, England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland are separate nations. But there is constant involvement in each other's affairs – not least because some nobles own lands in more than one of the countries. Britain as a political entity does not exist until the 1707 Act of Union, but the mythical idea of a united Britain is an inspiration to the power-hungry medieval kings of England.

French connection

When William I is crowned king of England in 1066, he is also ruler of Normandy in northern France. As duke of Normandy, William is a vassal of the king of France.

Because of wars, political alliances and dynastic marriages, England gains and loses various French provinces over the next 400 years. At the peak of its fortunes during the reign of Henry II, England controls two-thirds of French territory, from the English Channel to the Pyrenees. This includes Brittany, Anjou and Gascony, the total being known as the Angevin empire. But by the end of the Hundred Years War in 1453, all that remains in England's possession is the port of Calais. The French have won back control of their own lands.

Everyday life in France continues in much the same way as it has done, whether under English or French rule, with a feudal class system and a strong Roman Catholic Church. In fact, England is more heavily influenced by France than vice versa: its adoption of Gothic architecture, romantic poetry and universities all emanate from France.

During the heyday of the Angevin empire, the towns of Rouen and Poitiers are almost as important as London. The Gascon town of Bordeaux, with a population of 30,000, is the second largest town under English rule, after London. Gascony provides England with nearly all its wine.

Variations of French spoken include Breton and Occitanian.

France: Joan of Arc

The Hundred Years War brings devastation to much of France. Looting is seen as a God-given right of soldiers on both sides as they make off with wagon-loads of stolen goods from the towns in their path. During periods of peace, demobbed soldiers form vigilante groups to keep plundering. Normandy is worst hit. 'There is not a recognisable track left; there are no farms and, with the exception of a few bandits, no men,' writes one Norman town-dweller.

The French eventually emerge victorious, helped in part by Joan of Arc, a peasant girl who sees visions. Dressed as a soldier, she helps the French lift the siege of Orléans, thus allowing the dauphin Charles to march on Reims and have himself declared king. She is captured by the Burgundians and handed over to their English allies. Unable to cope with an inspiring French female figurehead, the English burn her at the stake as a witch in 1431. She is 19.

Scotland the brave

Apart from a period during the reign of the English monarch Edward I, Scotland is an independent kingdom, occasionally agreeing to recognise the English king as feudal overlord. Orkney and Shetland are ruled by Norway until the 14th century, along with the Isle of Man.

Scotland's borders fluctuate according to the military situation. The Borders – Northumberland, Cumberland and Westmorland – are fought over by successive regimes north and south.

Like England, Scotland recognises the authority of the Roman Catholic Church. It is also home to many monasteries.

Under Malcolm Canmore, who is Scotland's king from 1058 to 1093, English influence is strong, mainly due to Malcolm's English wife Margaret. So, when William I ousts English nobles from their lands, many seek refuge in Scotland.

Feudalism is adopted in Scotland when David I (king from 1124 to 1153) encourages Anglo-Norman settlement and ways of life. It replaces the old Celtic clan loyalties based on kinship rather than class, although feuds – notably between the MacKenzies and the MacDonalds – continue in the Highlands, where law and order are difficult to impose.

In the growing towns (burghs), the leading citizens have the power, given by the crown, to elect their own councils and chief magistrates (provosts), who rival the nobility. Scotland's national emblem of a red lion rampant on a yellow background is first adopted by William 'the Lion' (king from 1165 to 1214) on the Crusades.

Scotland: turbulent times

In 1221, Adam, Bishop of Caithness is stripped, beaten and roasted alive by a mob of 300 after charging people double the tithe they owed to the Church.

After the Stone of Destiny, on which Scottish kings have been crowned, is snatched by Edward I in 1296, it remains at Westminster for 700 years.

The imposition of English rule under Edward I provokes a strong nationalist movement. It is led at first by William Wallace, whose forces defeat the English at Stirling Bridge in 1297, and then by Robert Bruce, who, as king, secures victory at the battle of Bannockburn in 1314.

The Stewart (later spelt in England as Stuart) dynasty gets off to a bloody start. James I is killed with a dagger by a Scottish nobleman in 1437; James II is blown up by one of his own cannons in 1460; and James III is stabbed to death by a stranger claiming to be a priest while lying wounded after battle in 1488.

Before meeting his gory end, James I forces through reform of the corrupt Scottish government along English parliamentary lines, much to many nobles' disgust.

The first two Scottish universities are founded in the first half of the 15th century: St Andrews in 1411 and Glasgow in 1451.

Princely Wales

Wales comprises three adjoining kingdoms, whose rulers frequently squabble with each other: Gwynedd in the north, Deheubarth in the south-west and Powys in between. This region is known as 'pura Wallia' – what later English generations refer to as 'Welsh Wales'. The dominant kingdom is Gwynedd.

To prevent incursions from Wales, William I secures the borderlands – the Marches – by giving extensive lands in Chester, Shrewsbury and Hereford to his most loyal barons, who become known as the Marcher lords. The Marches are neither fully Welsh nor fully English. The area sees plenty of action over the coming years and pura Wallia's borders ebb and flow according to military fortunes.

The rulers of all three Welsh lands regard the English king as their feudal overlord. Because there is little love lost between them and because the mountainous terrain makes communications difficult, their position in relation to England is weaker than Scotland's.

The Welsh have separate laws and their own language. According to one quaint piece of legislation, a theft is pardoned if the thief passes 10 houses without getting any food.

Unlike England, most of the population is free and pays tribute to its lords by a communal offering of food or livestock rather than by a rigid system of feudalism. Inheritance is not based on all possessions going to the first-born but is shared among a number of heirs.

Wales: conquest and rebellion

In the 1100s, Henry I expels the people of Pembroke (part of Deheubarth) to make way for Flemish settlers. When Edward I annexes Wales in 1284, he forces communities in north Wales to move to make way for English settlers. He fines 30 people, including a doctor, in Beaumaris on Anglesey for not leaving quickly enough.

Wales possesses two main crusaders against the English in the medieval period. The first, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd of Gwynedd, declares himself 'prince of Wales' in 1267 under the Treaty of Montgomery after gaining control of Powys and Deheubarth. His revolt is eventually crushed by Edward I.

Under the Statute of Wales in 1284, Edward creates four English-style shires in the north and establishes boroughs for English settlers from which the Welsh are excluded. Some local laws are allowed, but the Welsh are forbidden to carry arms or have strangers stay overnight without permission.

Wales's second rebel leader is Owain Glyndwr, who controls nearly all of Wales during the reign of Henry IV. He is helped by the king's enemies – the earl of Northumberland, the Scots and the French – but is gradually pushed back by the military prowess of the English 'prince of Wales', the future Henry V.

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