Chapter 12: Crisis of the Later Middle Ages

FLAVIO BIONDO-(1392 – JUNE 4, 1463) Italian Renaissance

humanist historian one of the first

historians to used a three-period division of history (Ancient, Medieval, Modern)

known as one of the first archaeologists

Coined the term, “middle ages”

Flavio Biondo's gravestone in Santa Maria in Aracoeli, Rome

LITTLE ICE AGE

expansion of mountain glaciers and cooling of global temperatures

not a true ice age because it did not get cold enough for long enough to cause ice sheets to grow larger.

…So, why is this important in European History??

ANS. Wet weather caused disease that affected people, animals and crops including the bubonic plague

GREAT FAMINE: 1315-1322

Famine that hit much of Europe after a period of climate change.

Major natural disaster of the Middle Ages Significance? ANS-Marked extreme levels of crime, disease,

mass death and even cannibalism and infanticide(homicide of an infant. It is most common within 24 hours of the baby's birth).

FEUDALISMWhat is Feudalism?Political, social and economic system of the M. Ages

•Feudalism was the exchange of land (fief) for military service

•vassals were protected and maintained by their lords, usually through the granting of fiefs, and were required to serve under them in war

•Social and economic of the time period

•decentralized organization that arises when central authority cannot perform its functions and when it cannot prevent the rise of local powers.

•Feudalism was never established in Europe until the Middle Ages;** looking for protection from the Vikings

•King William the Conqueror rewarded his Norman supporters who helped in the Conquest for England using Feudalism

•Feudalism land=power

•Whoever held the most land had the mostpower also they could have the largest military

A chart of ranks from highest to lowest.

Was also possible for people to move higher up in the ranks .

THE GAME OF CHESS… In many countries and

civilizations around the world a system known as feudalism developed in which warriors pledged certain military and legal duties to one another in exchange for certain privileges, especially control of land that the non-warriors in society did not have. The game of chess is a perfect metaphor for this feudal system, no wonder it was a game widely played in the Middle Ages.

 

Chess is a game that portrays the old power structures of feudal Europe and recognizes the alliance of different authoritarian interests that kept the people of society under the yoke of service to the elite

The king and queen represent the economic oppression asserted through a monopoly on land ownership in an agrarian society. The bishop represents the psychological authority exercised by the church. And the knight represents institutionalized war leadership. all of which are hidden within their castles and behind pawns who represent serfs

MANORIALISM The System by which the Lord of the Manor exploited the serfs

or tenants who worked his estate Also called Seignorial System Represented the economic part of feudalism….how people

made a living

The basic unit was the manor(fief) self Sufficient landed estate, which was underControl by a lord…peasants attached to it byMeans of serfdom

1.knights(nobles) …fought

2. Men and women..prayed

3.Peasants… workedIf serfs had escaped

From their master for a

year and a day then

they would become a

villein...villagecommoner

KNIGHTHOOD AND THE AGE OF CHIVALRY

Nobleman or warrior

Knights were horsemen, showing signs of nobility and social status as the costs of all the equipment for fighting on horseback got expensive

Knighthood was more than fighting it was about chivalry.…protecting the lord’s lands from invaders and fought in the lord’s battles against other lords

•At age 7 a high born boy was sent to a castle to live with another lord(friend or relative).He became educated as a page, which involved running errands, doing tasks, learning the sword, etc.

•By 13 years of age he became a squire. Where he learned the shield, duties and responsibilities of a knight.

•When the man got between the ages of 18 and 21, they were judged to become a knight. The night before the knights ceremony the squire would fast, make a confession and take a cleansing bath.

*Knights displayed courage

Three things knights lived for was :1.Earthly lord2. Heavenly lord 3.Choosen lady

Knights took part in competitions like jousting…designed for defense

The code by which they lived

Age of the horse

The qualities idealized by knighthood…braverycourtesy, and honor

Chivalry comes from two French words1. Cheval…horse2. Chevalier…horse riding knight

A moral system which went beyondrules of combat and introduced the concept of Chivalrous conduct

CONNECTION ACROSS TIME

Is Chivalry dead?? What do we call chivalry today??