Download Crusades_ Joan of Arc_ Black Death

Crusades
Invasions had diminished and there was an excess of warrior knights with little to do but cause trouble.
1095 Pope Urban II at Council of Clermont called for liberation of Jerusalem and Holy Lands from infidels (Muslims).
Promised “instant remission (forgiveness) of sins” to participants who died in action.
• 1st Crusade - 1096 – 1099 - Captured Jerusalem and set up 4 crusader states
• 2nd Crusade - 1147–1149 – Total failure
• 3rd Crusade - 1189 -1192 – (1187 Jerusalem fell to Saladin but he allowed for Christian pilgrimages)
• 4th Crusade - 1202-1204 – Crusaders inexplicably conquered Constantinople on their way to Holy Lands.
• 1212 – Children’s Crusades (maybe or maybe not historically accurate)
• Germany – Nicholas of Cologne – thousands of children marched to Italy, met with pope and were told to go
home
• France – 20,000 French children marched to Marseille – taken by ship and enslaved in North Africa.
• Other Crusades - There were other crusades but none of any real consequence.
Effects
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Not much on Holy Lands
Increased trade.
European access to culture, math, and science.
Caused a strong dislike and massacre of European Jews (Christ killers).
Helped break down feudalism. Lords freed their serfs and sold their land to go fight.
Precipitated strength of kings and stability of kingdoms.
The Hundred Years War, Joan of Arc, and Nationalism
The Hundred Years War was fought between France and England 1337 - 1453 ending with France as the victor. The long
bow and paid peasant foot soldier gave England the edge for a time but the advent of gunpowder and France’s use of
cannons proved too much for the English.
One of history’s most amazing human interest stories comes out of the Hundred Years War. Joan of Arc was born in
France to a prosperous peasant family in 1412. She was deeply religious and claimed to have experienced visions of
saints commanding her to come to rescue the French city of Orleans. February 1429 she made her way to King Charles’s
court and persuaded him to allow her to lead the French army to Orleans where they successfully liberated the city. She
led the French army to several important victories but was captured in 1430 and charged by the English with witchcraft.
She was tried by the Inquisition and found guilty, excommunicated, then burned at the stake. Later the excommunication
was nullified and she was granted sainthood by the pope in 1920.
The Hundred Years war evoked a strong sense of nationalism in France and brought power to the throne which it used to
impose direct taxes on land and property. This gave the king money to maintain his position of authority. England was
weakened and internal conflict served to weaken it even more. About that same time, Spain experienced a surge of
nationalism having driven out the last Muslims which had invaded in 725. They were also able to regain control of the
Iberian Peninsula.
Black Death
The Black Death (predominantly bubonic plague) was the most devastating natural disaster in European history. Bubonic
plague. Spread by rats that were infested with fleas carrying the bacterium. It was thought to have been brought in by
Italian merchants from Caffa, on the Black Sea, to Sicily in 1347. It then spread to southern Italy and France the same
year. It followed trade routes reaching England by 1349. It spread to Eastern Europe and Russia by 1351. 38 million out
of a 75 million European population succumbed to the disease. Some Italian cities lost as much as 60 percent of their
populations.
The Jews were accused of causing the plague by poisoning the water. They were persecuted most heavily in Germany
with many fleeing east to Poland where the king offered protection. Economic effects included a reduced work force and
increased wages. There was a decline in consumption which caused prices to fall. Landlords had to pay higher wages
but were receiving lower prices. The situation helped some serfs bargain for their freedom from being tied to the land.
The influence of the church began to decline about this time due in part to its inability to explain or remedy the Black
Death. Also, political leaders were becoming unwilling to submit to papal authority. From 1378 to 1417 there was a
division of the church with one pope residing in France and another in Rome. This “Great Schism” lasted until 1417 when
the papacy was reunified in Rome. This lack of economic stability and shaken faith in the Church/God served to facilitate
the establishment of monarchal governments. Consequently, Europe began to move out of the Medieval/Dark Ages.