14th c.-15th c. Period of crisis in Europe

c. 1300 Climate change in Europe

1315-17 Widespread famine

1347-50 Black Plague strikes Europe

Bubonic plague - buboes

Pneumonic plague

1400 Population of Europe has halved

1720 last outbreak in France

Reactions:

Panic, breakdown of society

Scholars of Paris and the conjunction of1345

Flagellants

Blame of Jews

1358 French peasants’ rebellion (Jacquerie)

1381 English peasants’ rebellion

1337-1453 Hundred-Years’ War betweenEngland and France

Impact of wars:

Mercenaries and standing armies

Impact of gunpowder weapons

Change in role of nobles at courts

Change in taxation practices

Helping growth of nationalism

1453 Solidification of England and France asdifferent nations

1462-1505 Reign of Ivan III (the Great) ofRussia, who unites state with capital atMoscow

1492 Last Muslim state in Iberia destroyed.Consolidation of Spain and Portugal asdistinct states

Map Link: Europe about 1560:

<http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/shepherd/europe_1560.jpg>

1300 Osman Gazi sets up principality inAsia Minor

By 1451 Ottomans have taken Asia Minor, Bulgaria

1453 Ottomans take Constantinople

Map Link: Ottoman Empire, 1355:

<http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/shepherd/byzantine_empire_1355.jpg>

1517 Ottoman authority recognised at Meccaand Cairo

1534 Ottomans take Baghdad

janissaries Istanbul

Map Link: Ottoman Empire, 1481-1683:

<http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/shepherd/ottoman_empire_1481-1683.jpg>

1309-77 Papacy at Avignon

1378 Start of Great Schism. Rival popes atAvignon and Rome

1409 Council of Pisa fails to resolve dispute.Now three popes!

1417 End of Great Schism at Council ofConstance

Map Link: The Great Schism, 1378-1417:

<http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/shepherd/great_schism_1378_1417.jpg>

Early 15th c. Invention ofoil-based ink and woodenhand press in Flanders

1450 Johannes Gutenberg(c. 1395-1468) and othersinvent movable metal type

Early 16th c. Print shops inEdinburgh and Stockholm

Themes in the explorations and colonisationsof the 15th and 16th centuries:

Role of Christianity Alexander VI(p. 1492-1503)

Might makes right

A “smaller” world

Amerigo Vespucci (1451-1512)

Martin Waldseemüller (c. 1470-1522)

Primary Sources: written by people living attime or soon after

Secondary Sources: Works of interpretationor analysis written long after the fact

Important to read critically, with eyes openfor agendas, biases, etc. Applies to bothprimary and secondary sources, as wellas newspapers, TV, web sites, etc

Reading (Primary) Sources

Context

Who wrote this?

Where and when? Was the author aneyewitness?

Why was it written?

To whom is it addressed? Who are they?

Reading (Primary) Sources

Classify Source

What sort of work is it?

What is its purpose (stated or not)?

Is it following a traditional structure ormould?

Reading (Primary) Sources

Understand Source

What are the key words? Meaning?

What is the author’s point?

What evidence is provided?

What assumptions are made?

What values are expressed?

What problems are addressed? Context?

What reaction is expected/hoped for?

Reading (Primary) Sources

Evaluate Source

How typical is the source?

How widely did it circulate?

Does it share views/values/ideas/argumentswith others from period?

Can you find other evidence to corroborateyour conclusions?

Geoffrey Chaucer(c. 1342-1400)

Canterbury Tales

Bureaucrat, diplomat,court poet

Spent some time in Italy