Chapter 11: The Later Middle Ages: 1300-1450

AP EUROPEAN HISTORY

I. Prelude to Disaster

“Little Ice Age” around 1300.

Poor harvests led to the Great Famine in the years 1315-1322.

Fewer calories meant increased susceptibility to disease and less energy for growing food.

B. Impact1. Economic and Social Impact

Diseases killed many people and animals. Economies slowed; population growth halted (lower output, higher

prices) Entire villages deserted, people forced to sell holdings and many

became vagabonds. Marriages declined decreased population. This caused an international economic downturn, as trade everywhere

declined 2. Weak governments were unable to deal with these problems. Starving people turned against rich people and Jews. English kings tried to regulate the food supply and set price controls

but failed. Tried to buy grain abroad but was stolen by looters.

A. Causes

Black Death

A. Origins

Genoese ships brought the bubonic plague to Europe in 1347.

The bacillus lived in fleas that infested black rats.

B. Pathology and care

It was transmitted through both flea bites and pneumonic transmission

Unsanitary and overcrowded cities were ideal breeding grounds for the black rats.

Most people had no rational explanation for the disease, and out of ignorance and fear many blamed it on Jews, causing thousands of Jews to be murdered.

The disease, which killed millions, recurred often and as late as 1700.

a. It spread to central Europe and eastward--although its toll was less in Poland.

b. In Hungary, type-D blood people may have been immune.

c. Its last occurrence was in France in 1721.

d. A vaccine was not developed until 1947.

Black Death

C. The social and cultural consequences Priests, monks, and nuns cared for the sick, and as the clergy were killed off

even women performed the services of priests.

In the towns the plague meant population decline, labor shortage, and high inflation. Wages increased and labor productivity increased as did per capita wealth.

The psychological consequences of the plague were enormous: pessimism, gross sensuality, religious fervor, and flagellantism.

a. Society became divided and full of fear.

b. Artists and writers became obsessed with death.

Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453)

A disastrous conflict bet. England and France over territory, money and power.

Began largely over Philip VI’s seizure of Aquitaine. Joan of Arc and France’s Victory 1. Joan of Arc-obscure French peasant girl who revived French military fortunes. She

began hearing voices telling her that the dauphin (the uncrowned King Charles VII) had to be crowned and that the English had to be expelled. She led the French army to a string of victories, and Charles VII was crowned king in 1429.

2. Capture and Trial—Charles refused to ransom Joan when she was captured by the Burgundian allies of the English in 1430. She was turned over to the English, who put her on trial for heresy. She was burned at the stake(a new trial in 1456 was held by the pope, who cleared her of all charges and declared her a martyr).

3. Ultimate French Victory—The Burgundians switched sides, and the French reconquered Normandy, finally pushing the English out of Aquitaine. Calais was the only town still in English hands when the war ended in 1453.

Hundred Years’ War

Aftermath 1. Havoc in England and France—The rural economy of many parts of France had

been devastated, and French participation in international commerce was drastically reduced. England spent and lost more than £5 million on the war, and personal fortunes were squandered.

2. Technology and the Nation State—Cannons rendered stone castles vulnerable, but only central governments could afford cannons so the military power of national states was strengthened in respect to the nobility.

3. Representative Assemblies—deliberative meetings of lords and wealthy urban residents that flourished in many European countries between 1250 and 1450. Parliaments met more frequently and increased their power since the monarchs depended on the parliaments of nobles to raise money. France had no national rep. assembly because provincial assemblies were independent and opposed the idea.

4. Nationalism—Nationalistic sentiment was strengthened in both countries. Military strength surged following a victory.

The Decline Of The Church's Prestige

A. The Babylonian Captivity (1309-1376) 1. The pope had lived at Avignon since the reign of King Philip the

Fair of France and thus was subject to French control. a. The Babylonian Captivity badly damaged papal prestige. b. It left Rome and Papal states poverty stricken. 2. Pope Gregory XI brought the papacy back to Rome in 1377, but

then Urban VI alienated the church hierarchy in his zeal to reform the church.

3. A new pope, Clement VII, was elected, and both popes claimed to be legitimate.

The Decline Of The Church's Prestige

B. The Great Schism (1378-1417) 1. England and Germany recognized Pope Urban VI,

while France and others recognized the antipope, Clement VII.

2. The schism brought the church into disrepute and weakened the religious faith of many.

The Decline Of The Church's Prestige

C. The Conciliar Movement 1. Conciliarists believed that church authority rested in councils representing the

people--not the authority of the pope.

2. John Wyclif attacked papal authority and called for radical reform of the church. a. He believed that Christians should read the Bible for themselves, prompting the first

English translation of the Bible.

b. His followers, called Lollards, disseminated his ideas widely.

3. Wyclif's ideas were spread to Bohemia by John Hus (burned at stake for heresy in 1415.

4. An attempt in 1409 to depose both popes and select another led to a 3-fold schism.

5. Finally, the Council at Constance (1414-1418) ended the schism with the election of Pope Martin V.

Society in the 14th Century

“Fur Collar” Crime- Nobles resort to crime to raise money after wars

Peasant Revolts

Erupt in Flanders in 1320s

Lasted over 5 years

Mostly over taxation

1358 Jacquerie in France

Massive French peasant uprising

1381 Revolt in England

Combination of taxes, plague and war weariness

Revolts are crushed, underlying causes are not resolved

The popularity of the Robin Hood legends symbolized the deep resentment of aristocratic corruption and abuse.

V. Social Unrest in a Changing Society

E. Ethnic Tensions and Restrictions

1. Ethnic Diversity -Townspeople were usually long-distance immigrants and ethnically different from the surrounding population.

2. Legal Dualism—In the early periods of conquest, native peoples remained subject to their traditional laws, while newcomers were subject to the laws of the country from which they came. The exception was Ireland as England considered the entire Irish population unfree and they were denied many rights.

3. Blood Descent—Legal homogeneity and an emphasis on blood descent replaced legal dualism in the later Middle Ages.

Marriage laws were made to maintain ethnic purity and prohibit intermarriage.

The Statute of Kilkenny (1366) -set of laws that discriminated against the Irish, forbade marriage between English and Irish, required the use of the English language, and denied the Irish access to ecclesiastical offices.

The notion of “blood” affected national consciousness, religious beliefs, and social differences.

Society in the 14th Century

Marriage

A vehicle for socio/economic advancement

Most marriages were arranged

Girls were married as early as 12 years old

Men married in their 20s

Prostitution is legalized is many regions

Craft Guilds• Skilled workers in

urban areas band together

• Able to control access to lucrative jobs with high entrance fees

• Standardized training yields superior products

• Enforced monopoly on its product

Vernacular Literature

A. The emergence of national consciousness is seen in the rise of literature written in national languages--the vernacular.

B. Many literary masterpieces manifest this new national pride. 1. Dante's Divine Comedy, a symbolic pilgrimage through Hell,

Purgatory, and Paradise to God, embodied the psychological tensions of the age and contains bitter criticism of some church authorities.

2. Chaucer, in the Canterbury Tales, depicted the materialistic, worldly interests of a variety of English people in the fourteenth century.

3. Overall, the number of laypersons who could read and write increased but society continued to be based on oral culture.