Download Christian Choe AP European History Chapter 12: The Crisis of the

Christian Choe
AP European History
Chapter 12: The Crisis of the Later Middle Ages
I.
Prelude to Disaster
A. In the 14th century, there was an inflation in Northern Europe.
1. The primary yields during this era were grains, livestock, and dairy products.
2. This inflation was the result of various storms.
a. Geographers labeled this time of agricultural hardship as “The Little Ice Age”.
b. The several storms ruined many crops such as wheat, oats, and hay, while providing
poor harvests.
B. The Great Famine of 1315 – 1322
1. There were a number of storms that brought along torrential rains which ruined
harvests and affected the society.
a. The lesser amounts of food released disease onto infants, children, and the elderly.
b. The increase in starvation among the working class led to less productivity.
2. The Great Famine left a devastating toll on French statistics.
a. In the Burgundy area, around 1/3 of the population was wiped out.
b. The monasteries in Flanders lost many nuns, priests, and monks.
c. Many agrarian setbacks occurred in the French region of Languedoc.
i. For 150 years, this region enjoyed much agricultural prosperity.
ii. A famine lasted for four years which offered horrible harvests.
 Torrential rains ruined the harvests in 1310.
 More poor harvests affected the people in 1322 and 1329.
 Later in 1332, the peasantry survived the harsh European winters on raw
herbs.
iii. The undernourished in France were ripe victims for the Grim Reaper who would
eventually revisit them during the Black Death.
C. After the Great Famine, a massive wave of typhoid fever swept across the European
continent.
1. The fever rid Europe of thousands of its ‘excess population’ in the 14th century.
2. In 1316, around 10% of the population died.
3. In 1318, the cattle and sheep soon caught this epidemic.
D. All of these devastations had grim consequences on the status of Europe.
1. People abandoned their homesteads after the poor harvests and famines. At times,
entire cities such as those on the Scottish-English Borderlands were deserted.
2. A wave of transients appeared throughout Europe’s streets.
a. In Flanders and East Anglia, certain rustics were forced to mortgage, sublease, or
sell their homes.
b. The richer farmers bought out their neighbors; and as conditions improved, debtors
attempted to reclaim their land. This led to an unpredictable land market.
3. The youth sought jobs in the towns and their weddings had to be postponed.
4. Since all of the countries’ economies were fairly interconnected, if one country fell, a
domino effect grasped Europe.
a. An infection of English sheep in 1318 caused a sharp decline in wool exports in later
years.
b. Without this wool, Flemish weavers could not work and thousands of workers were
laid-off.
c. Eventually, there would be a shortage in woolen clothing forcing Flemish, Hanseatic,
and Italian vendors to suffer.
d. This forced people to go into a life of crime.
E. Although many governments sought to resolve their predicaments, they had little to no
effect.
1. The three heirs to Philip the Fair accused speculators, between 1314 – 1328, of stocking
grain and other foodstuffs.
a. They forbade the sale of grain in any other European nation and prohibited fishing
with nets that could catch large amounts of fish.
b. The starving people under these three princes blamed the rich, investors, and the
Jews for cheating the poor through pawnbroking.
2. King Edward II set price control on the sale of livestock and ale through Parliament.
a. During his reign, there were many territorial disputes between the English and the
Scots.
b. Edward condemned the speculators since it was easier than enforcing the price
controls.
c. He tried to buy grain from other nations; however:
i. Yields in the Baltic countries were low,
ii. France forbade the exporting of grains,
iii. And shipments from Castile were picked by Scottish, English, and Hanseatic
pirates.
3. In the Baltics, there was a food shortage caused by low grain count, declines in meat and
dairy products, economic recessions, and the lack of salt.
F. Economic and social problems worsened with the oncoming diseases.
II. The Black Death
A. The Genoese sailors defeated the Moroccans and opened the Strait of Gibraltar for Italian
trade.
1. In order to survive ocean travel, ships were modified to be larger and sturdier after the
turn of the century.
a. Ships were given a square rig which could hold three masts.
b. Additional masts made it possible to power the ship solely on the winds.
c. With these improvements Venetian and Genoese ships could endure the Atlantic
even in the winter.
2. While traveling outside of the Mediterranean, various rats stowed away onto the ships.
This allowed any rat-transmitted disease to travel rather quickly.
3. Many scholars debate over the true cause of the bubonic plague in Europe. However,
like the Cold War, many of these arguments may be valid.
a. In one story, the plague broke out in the Tartar army under Khan Djani-Beg while
besieging the city of Caffa. The Khan ordered the severed heads of Tartar victims be
thrown over the city walls to infect the defenders.
b. Others believe it hit China and Central Asia first in 1331 and merchants carried it
over the caravan routes throughout the next fifteen years until it reached the Crimea
in 1346.
c. Another idea was that it had been an endemic of Southern Russia.
4. Nevertheless, every story ended in Crimea. After its arrival in Southern Russia, a
snowball effect began in Italy.
a. In 1347, the Genoese brought it to Messina; there it spread across Sicily.
b. The following year, Venice and Genoa were hit and the plague spread from the port
of Pisa to Rome and Florence. It eventually made its way to Germany.
c. The French authorities became frightened and chased away a galley that had been
infected from Marseilles. However, the plague already made its mark on French soil.
d. All of Europe felt the scourge of this horrible epidemic by 1350.
B. Pathology and Care
1. The modern understandings of the plagues were brought on by two bacteriologists, one
French and one Japanese, who identified the germ as pasteurella pestis.
a. The bacterium lived in the bloodstream of fleas.
b. These fleas attached themselves to the Black Rats. These rats often traveled by
stowing away in ships.
c. These rats fed off of the grain and cargo that was transported across Europe.
2. The plague took on two forms – bubonic and pneumonic.
a. In bubonic form, the flea transmitted the disease.
b. In the pneumonic form, it would be passed on from human to human through the
air, water, etc.
3. By the fourteenth century, officials from London to Paris to Rome tried to achieve a
crude level of sanitation.
a. The poor sanitation codes of Europe helped spread the plague around the continent.
i. These were of no use since there were narrow streets crowded with trash and
human refuse.
ii. Dead animals and sore-covered transients occupied the streets.
iii. The upper story housing blocked air and sunlight from reaching the lower
levels.
iv. Unlike aristocrats, middle-class families had eight people to a bed, if one was
available.
b. Although large cities had public bathhouses, care for personal hygiene was
frightfully low.
i. Everyone, from peasants to archbishops, had body lice and fleas since taking a
bath was thought to bring about diseases.
ii. An additional bite from these creatures would not spur alarm. However, if the
bacillus had infected the person, an entire household or region was doomed.
4. It was easy to spot a victim of the Bubonic Plague:
a. They obtained an apple-sized growth along their armpits, neck, or groin.
b. Next they acquired several black spots caused by bleeding in the dermis.
5. The physicians knew how to ease the pains, but a permanent cure for the mysterious
disease eluded them.
6. Once ignorance (of germ theory) was added to fear and panic of the European people,
ancient rivalries and hatreds emerged.
a. The Jews were held responsible for “poisoning European/Christian water supplies.”
b. Thousands of Jews across Europe were falsely accused and sentenced to death for
the heinous crime.
7. The infectious characteristics of the plague were understood by the Muslims.
a. As the plague hit Salé, Morocco, Ibu Abu Madyan enclosed his entire household with
enough food supplies.
b. He did not allow anyone in or out of his home until the epidemic in Salé had gone.
c. This measure of security resulted with positive outcomes. None in the house got
sick.
d. This showed that the countryside was safe since it was rarely visited by the black
vermin.
8. Most hospitals were located in places of worship such as churches, convents,
monasteries, and temples. Despite many conventional stories, there were many
churches throughout Europe.
a. However, businesspeople started hospitals Northern France, Flanders, Milan,
Venice, and Genoa. These, along with the ones in Florence served a great deal of
people.
b. Sixty hospitals were open in Paris in 1328 – it was very unlikely that they could
service the 200,000 living there at the time.
c. On the Iberian Peninsula, the hospitals continued their Muslim practices for the
poor.
d. A mixed bag presented itself for sailors in the hospitals of Venice.
i. These merchants were thought to be the sole carriers of the disease.
ii. In 1300, the Venetian government paid surgeons to take care of the sick sailors.
9. Many procedures the doctors practiced did not help people get any better.
a. A main problem for the infected was that two people often shared bed. This
contributed to the spread of disease.
i. Rural hospitals contained on average 12 – 15 beds.
ii. Those in large cities such as Lisbon, Narbonne, and Genoa could provide 25 – 30
large beds.
b. At times, eight to ten children often shared the same bed.
10. Many countries lost hundreds of thousands of people to the plague.
a. Of 4.2 million probable citizens in England, perhaps 1.4 million were lost to the
Black Death.
b. In 1348, the Black Death took nearly half or 2/3 of the original population of
Florence.
c. The plague also hit the German empire.
i. In 1348, it swept through Bavaria and up north, entering the Moselle Valley.
ii. In 1349, the Rhineland endured heavy losses.
d. While the Plague hit the German Empire, people emigrated over to Poland, Bohemia,
and Hungary.
i. It was better in these distant regions; however, the land was not completely
vacant of the contagion.
ii. The Plague appeared to have entered Poland through the Baltic seaports.
e. The disease would then spread from Poland to Russia, reaching the principalities of
Pskov, Novgorod, and Moscow, as it hit the Grand Duke Simeon.
f. In Serbia, Albanians immigrated into the Balkan country to claim the vast tracts of
unattended lands.
11. The Black Death was not a single period of terror in Europe. It had sporadically
appeared throughout the affected cities between 1360 and 1400.
a. It constantly reappeared with less and less effect on the population; it made its last
appearance in Marseilles in 1721.
b. The survivors grew more wisdom and caused them to lose nutrition and grow
feeble. Europeans would try to control the growth of population in order to preserve
the food supply.
c. Europeans improved navigation techniques and increased long distance travel; this
would allow them to import grain from the Baltic regions up north.
d. The people of Europe developed more vaccines to combat the diseases and enforced
harsh quarantine measures.
12. Later in 1947, Selman Waksman discovered an effective vaccine, streptomycin.
C. Social, Economic, and Cultural Consequences
1. The actions of the church were exemplary despite the many rumours and criticism of
clerical wealth and fortune.
a. The clergy hospitalized the sick and buried the dead.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
b. Certain places like Venice, where physicians fled, the priests tried to give what care
they could provide.
c. As a result, their mortality rate was incredibly high; however, after 1350, the clergy
of Germany was rapidly decreasing.
Although they took their clerical duties seriously, they partook in activities that the
modern church would frown upon.
The shortage of priests led to the Bishop Ralph of Bath and Wells of England advise his
followers with: “if you are on the point of death and are unable to secure the services of
a priest, then you should confess to each other as is permitted in the teachings of the
Apostles, whether it is to a layman. Or if there is no man present, than even a woman.”
Many historians debate over the economic results from the plague.
a. The traditional view of the disastrous epitome is greatly modified.
b. The greatest proof comes from England where the agrarian economies showed
fervent resilience.
c. It seems as though most landlords enjoyed revenues similar to those before the
plague.
d. By the early 1400s, the landlords’ economic prosperity gained an all-time high in
medieval standards.
i. Many countries suffered from overpopulation a century earlier.
ii. However, the population decreases from the Plague “led to increased
productivity by restoring a more efficient balance between labour, land, and
capital.”
The Plague also brought horror to the urban populations.
a. The evidence from a census taken around Florence between 1427 and 1430 is
amazing; since 1347, epidemics have taken the lives of the young and adolescent.
b. Children consist of 44% of the victims of the plague.
Florentine crafters led high mortality rates. Therefore, craft guilds recruited plenty
members.
a. Within 19 years, an increase of 54 people was admitted to the silk merchants’ guilds.
b. As a distinction to the pre-1348 period, many new members were not related to the
current guild members. This invoked a wave of “new men.”
As for the inflation, high mortality rates produced a fall in production, shortage of goods,
and, eventually, a sharp rise in prices.
a. The shortage of labor and the demand for higher wages from workers forced the
guilds to retaliate.
i. One such measure was the Statute of Laborers (1351) which froze workers’
wages at pre-1347 levels.
ii. How would these be enforced? They couldn’t, so it was ultimately unsuccessful.
b. The prices of foodstuffs like meat, sausage, and cheese increased with that of wheat
in the majority of Europe.
i. This inflation continued onto the rest of the 14th century.
ii. However, it got better since the wages in towns increased at a faster rate and the
larger population enjoyed a higher standard of living.
c. Greater demand for labor brought forth greater mobility to rural peasantry and
industrial townspeople.
d. From Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) to Spain, the businessmen found a
golden opportunity in the slave trade.
i. The price of slaves was evermore on the rise.
ii. Venetians from their colony of Tana in the Sea of Azov in the Crimea took
advantage of the price proliferation between 1350 and 1410.
iii. At least 78% of the profits from exports came from slavery. As a result, palace
after palace began popping along the Rialto.
8. There was an ever present threat to the Europeans’ mental and social stability as
knowledge of the Black Death meant certain death for all who crossed its path.
a. An entire people became pessimistic at the thought that it was at the mercy of a
disease which nothing could be done about. It forced families to leave one to die
alone and in immense pain.
i. Many tried to exert their fear through gross sexual activities or expressing
religious fervor.
ii. There were few extremists that would whip or scourge themselves to purge
them and their communities of their sins.
b. In the 13th century, funerals became evermore elaborate with large corteges and
multiple mourners.
c. However, the sizes of mourning processions were reduced and many failed to
perform ceremonious death rites in the 14th century from the horror of the suffering
of the dead.
d. Some used pilgrimages as excuses for leaving one’s country. However, they were
suspected to be carriers of the infamous disease and were treated with great
hostility.
i. Eventually, all European port cities would quarantine incoming ships and their
cargo to determine whether they brought along the plague with them or not.
ii. Quarantine is derived from a Venetian word. In English, it was originally
translated into “forty days’ isolation.”
9. The Black Death brought along scholarly reform that it witnessed the establishment of
new colleges at older universities.
a. Some included Corpus Christi and Clare Colleges at Cambridge and New College at
Oxford.
b. New universities would also be formed such as:
i. Charles University of Prague (1348),
ii. The University of Florence (1350),
iii. The University of Vienna (1364),
iv. The University of Krakow (1364),
v. And the University of Heidelburg (1385).
c. Their foundation charters clearly mention the shortage of priests and the decay of
learning. Unlike the universities in Bologna and Paris which had international
student bodies, newer institutions had more national or local constituencies.
d. This led to the weakening of medieval culture and paved the way for a schism even
before the Reformation.
10. A never ending international feud would add additional misery to the appalling
disasters of the plague.
III. The Hundred Years’ War (ca. 1337 – 1453)
A. There was internal distress in England preluding the course of the Hundred Years’ Wars.
1. The date was January 1327.
a. It was when King Edward II was deposed by Queen Isabella, Mortimer (her lover),
and a group of angered barons. This brought forth the reign of their son, Edward III.
b. However, Isabella and Mortimer would hold true power until 1330, when Edward
III would assume power.
2. In 1328, Charles IV was the sole surviving heir of Philip the Fair. His death was tragic
because he was childless and the line of the Capetian dynasty had ended.
a. However, Isabella was Charles’s sister and a daughter of Philip the Fair.
b. Nevertheless, the group of barons meant to exclude Isabella and her son, stating that
“no woman or her son could succeed the French monarchy.”
i. French lawyers took up this claim, bringing up the Salic law.
ii. It was a long obsolete 6th century German law that played a fundamental part in
French law.
c. The French bypassed this minor hindrance by crowning Philip VI of Valois, the
nephew to Philip the Fair.
3. This would lead to the conflicts between the English and the French that is still present
today. It led to the centuries old conflict which was fought intermittently from 1337 to
1453.
B. Causes
1. In 1259, France and England had signed the Treaty of Paris which forced the English
king and his successors to become vassals for the French crown in order to gain the
Duchy of Aquitaine.
a. This led the English to claim Aquitaine as an ancient inheritance.
b. However, French policies and kings resolved to absorb the Duchy into France.
2. In 1329, King Edward III paid homage to King Philip VI for Aquitaine.
3. Eight years later, Philip was eager to exercise French jurisdiction in Aquitaine. He
quickly confiscated the duchy.
4. Edward found this a gross violation of the Treaty of Paris of 1259 and declared war on
the French.
a. As the eldest surviving male descendant of Philip the Fair, he claimed the title of
King of France to wield his rightful authority in Aquitaine.
b. Edward denied the exclusion from the French throne.
c. This led to civil unrest. The former vassals used this excuse and shifted their loyalty
to a more legitimate lord, Edward III. They hoped this would gain them more
independent power.
d. This made the war last for so long. It was a French civil war with certain barons
joining the English side to thwart the centralizing goals of the French crown.
5. Economic factors involving Flemish towns served as justifications for war with each
other.
a. The wool trade between Flanders and England served as the cornerstone for both
economies.
b. Flanders was a fief of the French, while the Flemish aristocracy was highly
sympathetic to the monarchy of Paris.
c. However, the wealth of Flemish merchants depended on English wool. However,
Flemish citizens strongly supported Edward’s claims.
d. After all, disruption of commerce would threaten their prosperity.
C. The Popular Response
1. Both governments manipulated public opinion to gain support for the war.
a. The English believed that the war was waged to secure King Edward the French
crown that he was unrightfully denied.
b. Edward distributed letters to the sheriffs describing the evil deeds of the French. In
these letters, he also asked for royal support.
c. Philip VI sent agents out to warn the people of an imminent attack from the English
and asked them to defeat the invaders.
d. In both nations, the kings ordered the clergy to issue sermons which would fill the
populace with patriotic spirit.
2. This propaganda of sorts was met with extraordinary triumph for the English.
a. From 1340 – 1350, Edward gained huge support and the English developed a deep
hatred of the French people.
b. They believed the French planned to “seize and slaughter the entirety of England.”
c. As a result, the English achieved great accomplishments in their military.
3. The Hundred Years’ War brought forth unusual opportunities for wealth and
advancements.
a. The poor and unemployed knights were promised a regular wage.
b. Criminals who voluntarily enlisted were granted pardons.
c. Nobles were promised estates.
d. The commoners were promised that if they were victorious, they could keep what
they seized and captured.
e. As a result, there was an upsurge in recruits to fight for the crown. Many came to
fight for honor, but others wanted to loot and pillage the luxuries of France.
D. The Course of the War to 1419
1. Throughout the course of the Hundred Years’ War, the majority of fighting took place in
French lands. It was majorly a war of random sieges and cavalry raids.
2. The French fought back by aiding Scottish invasions, destroying lands in Aquitaine, and
sacking their coastal towns such as Southampton.
a. These attacks helped Edward fight with propaganda.
b. The royal propaganda from both sides brought forward a sense of nationalism.
3. During the beginning of the war, England was gaining more and more success.
a. At the Battle of Crécy (1346), the English longbowmen scored a major victory
against the French knights and their crossbowmen.
i. Although the longbow was not very accurate, it allowed for faster reloading. As
the French fire one or two, the English could send off three to six.
ii. This resulted in a blinding shower of arrows which would unhorse the French
knights.
iii. After, the English could fire off a cannon or two to cause even greater confusion.
b. After these, the English horsemen would charge in, butchering the unhorsed men.
4. The English used tactics that differed to the chivalry practiced by the knights and
soldiers of Edward’s time.
a. Ten years prior, Edward’s son would use the same tactics at Poitiers to capture the
French king and hold him for ransom.
b. Again in 1415 at Agincourt, the chivalric king Henry V would gain field over vastly
numbers.
i. After this victory, Henry would successfully reconquer Normandy.
ii. By 1419, the English had advanced to Paris, but all was not lost and the French
kept fighting on.
5. Even though England gained the most victories, France would win the war.
E. Joan of Arc and France’s Victory
1. On a losing streak, the French needed to pull out a trump card and it would come in the
form of Joan of Arc.
a. There have been many rumours concerning Joan of Arc from her peculiar
appearance to her martyrdom to her canonization by the Roman Catholic Church.
b. In fact, Joan merely saved the French monarchy and the French people.
2. Joan was no plain peasant; she was born to a well-off family and grew up very religious.
3. During her adolescence, she began to hear the words and voice of Saints Michael,
Catherine, and Margaret.
a. In 1428, they spoke with great urgency telling her that Charles VII had to be put
back to the throne and the French were to expel the English from their land.
b. She listened to them and went to the French court to persuade the king to reject the
rumour of his illegitimacy.
c. This secured his support for her relief of the besieged city of Orléans.
4. An amazing feat occurred in her visit to the dauphin.
a. It was not the obstacles she had to overcome to meet him or the fact that he and his
advisors would even listen to her.
b. It is that they were convinced by her and followed her wisdom.
5. By now, the French funding was extremely low and they would need a miracle to save
the country.
6. Joan cut her hair and shocked the court with her masculinity. Charles believed her to be
the miracle they have waited for so he allowed her to tag along on the siege of Orléans.
7. The turning point of the war would appear as Joan arrived at Orléans on 28 April 1429
at the age of 17.
a. She was not in the know of any French tactics being of such a young age and in her
status.
b. She believed that if kept the soldiers from swearing and visiting whorehouses, they
might be able to pull this off.
c. Ten days later, the English withdrew from Orléans due to lack of supplies and a
lowered morale from the disease.
d. Another period of ten days past until Charles VII was crowned king at Reims.
8. Joan gained a reputation and strengthened the morale of the army since this major point
of the war was in French favor.
a. For this reason, it was of great importance that the English capture her. And they did
– in 1430 when the Burgundians captured her and sold her to the English.
b. The English handed her over to the religious authorities, but the French courts did
not interfere with the verdict.
i. The English wanted her dead and decided to use witchcraft as the loophole.
ii. Apparently, wearing men’s clothing indicated some form of contact with the
Devil.
iii. The courts condemned her of heresy and burned her at the stake in 1431 at
Rouen.
c. A court ruling in 1456 would give a new connotation to her name.
d. In 1920, she was declared a saint by the Roman Catholic Church.
9. The liberation of the Orléans provided newfound morale for France and prolonged the
war. A longer war meant civil unrest for the people of England and France.
a. The people of England demanded an end to the war with France.
b. Hundreds of pounds and francs were used to support the cause.
c. Church officials pressed the governments for peace.
d. Parliament tried to stop the flow of war grants.
10. The war ended when France took back Normandy and Aquitaine from the English in
1453, leaving Calais to the English.
F. Costs and Consequences
1. Before leaving, the English destroyed much of French property – the land, people, etc.
a. After the devastation from the Black Death, a huge toll was left on the French
population.
b. The English ruined acres and acres of farmland, leaving the economy in shambles.
2. Although England enjoyed certain advantages that France couldn’t, it still endured
heavy pains.
a. The English government spent a little over £5 million on the war effort. However,
the Black Death aided economic recovery rather than impeding it.
b. The knights who enforced the laws and brought upon order were abroad and
disorder struck the land.
c. The government tried to finance the debts by increasing taxes on wool. Eventually,
the Flemish and Italian consumers could not purchase this expensive material and
wool exports slumped from 1350 to 1450.
3. Money was a great issue after the end of the Hundred Years’ War for both the civilian
and the government.
a. Peasants volunteered in the army to acquire treasure and become rich. However, if
returning soldiers came back with cash, they would not use it to invest on land.
b. Even the £250,000 paid to ransom for King John of France and the indemnities paid
by captured towns and cities did not match the £5 million owed by the English
governments and they suffered a huge net loss.
4. The cultural and political lives of both countries would alter to a point in which they
would never be the same.
a. It started the development of the English Parliament.
i. Between 1250 and 1450, the representative assemblies flourished in the English
Parliament, the German Diet, and Spanish Cortes which laid the foundation for
today’s strong democratic governments.
ii. Although many died out, the English Parliament stayed strong and presides over
most of English law.
iii. Edward III constantly needed money, so he called out the barons, burgesses,
knights, and bishops for economic aid.
 Parliament frequently met to discuss monetary disciplines.
 The representative assembly became a habit for the crown and was titled
the “House of Commons” while meeting separately from the royals.
 These commons realized that they held all of the monetary power and
declared a statute in 1341 which allowed Parliament to make approvals
on non-feudal levies.
 When Edward III signed this, he limited the king’s powers.
b. Unlike the English, France had no such assembly in which to dictate the entire
country. Instead, they relied on the jurisdiction of the local governments.
i. The French refused to hold a national representative government because the
king found it rather distasteful.
ii. A national assembly of the nobles threatened the monarch’s power.
iii. Charles VII threatened to punish any who proposed the creation of a national
assembly.
iv. In fact, it wasn’t just the king. No one in France wished for a national assembly.
 There were just too many differences within the regions of France.
 People regarded themselves as Breton, Norman, Burgundian, or anything
than French.
v. Throughout the 14th and 15th centuries, the monarchs lacked the power to
assemble.
vi. The provincial assemblies believed a national assembly would use up too much
money and eventually bring about more taxes.
5. However, in both countries, the war promoted nationalism within the various Frenchand Englishmen.
a. After victories, each country exhibited pride in military strength.
b. It wasn’t just Normandy and Aquitaine; the French wanted absolutely no English
interaction on French soil. Like Joan of Arc said, “The enemy must be driven out of
France.”
IV. The Decline of the Church’s Prestige
A. The Babylonian Captivity(1309 – 1376)
1. From 1309 to 1376, the popes resided in the province of Avignon in southeastern
France.
a. Philip the Fair of France wished to take control of the church and pressured Pope
Clement V to settle in France. However, the pope was too ill to resist Philip.
b. This period was known as the Babylonian Captivity which referred to the Hebrew
encapsulation in Mesopotamian
2. The Babylonian Captivity badly hurt the church’s prestige.
a. The seven popes of Avignon concentrated on administrative matters rather than
spiritual.
b. When Italy lost the papacy, it was terribly hurt.
i. Since the papacy attracted many tourists, the economy fell into the hole.
ii. The Papal States lost authority and lacked stability.
3. In 1377, Pope Gregory XI returned the papal court back to Rome. However, he died
shortly after the return and Italians demanded a pope that would stay in Rome.
4. A total of 16 cardinals unanimously chose Bartolomeo Prignano after two ballots. He
took on the name of Urban VI (1378 – 1389).
a. Urban had excellent intentions for his reign.
i. He wanted to abolish simony, absenteeism, and clerical extravagance.
ii. However, he went to accomplish this sloppily and without a plan.
b. After his coronation, he attacked the bishops that resided in Rome while they
profited from their foreign churches. While his criticism was well founded, it
brought unpopularity and threatened his authority.
5. Urban’s attacks on the clergy and their lives of luxuriance would bring on disasters.
a. He denounced cardinals by name. He threatened an excommunication on certain
cardinals. He threatened to strike the cardinal archbishop of Amiens.
b. Urban’s quick temper and thoughtless actions led people to question his sanity.
c. In groups of two to three, the cardinals met at Anagni and declared Urban’s papacy
invalid since it was pressured by the mob at Rome. They asserted that Urban be
excommunicated.
d. The cardinals went to the city of Fondi (between Rome and Naples) and elected
Cardinal Robert of Geneva – the cousin of Charles V of France – as pope. He took the
name, Clement VII.
6. There were now two popes – Pope Urban VI of Rome and the antipope Clement VII
(1378 – 1394) who set up court in Avignon.
7. Thus came to be the Great Schism which would divide Western Christendom until 1417.
B. The Great Schism(1378 – 1417)
1. Like the Cold War, the European nations aligned themselves with Urban or Clement.
a. France naturally chose Clement since his headquarters were in the French state.
b. England sided with France’s opposition, Urban.
c. Scotland, who continually fought for independence, sided with Clement.
d. Aragon, Castile, and Portugal (all on the Iberian Peninsula) hesitated before electing
to follow Clement.
e. The emperor, who bore hostilities to France, sided with Urban.
f. Originally, the Italian city-states went with Urban. However, after they were
alienated, they switched to Clement.
2. The commoners were confused as to which pope had the most legitimacy.
3. This schism brought down the faiths of many Christians and brought to the fore
conciliar ideas about church government.
C. The Conciliar Movement
1. Like a maturing juvenile or the people of the Enlightenment, the Catholic Church and the
people within it began to think differently about the role of the authority.
a. The Conciliarists believed that the pope received his authority from the Christian
community and that that community was the most important part of the
relationship.
b. The Conciliarists believed that the ideal church government was that which was
shared with a three-branch government rather than a monarchial type.
2. Individuals began developing ideas of the perfect relationship between the church and
its surrounding factors – such as the head of state, individual church-goers, etc.)
a. Marsiglio of Padua argued that the state was the glue that held society together.
i. This belief would make the church inferior to the state and its head.
ii. He also thought the church shouldn’t stick its nose into matters of the state.
iii. Marsiglio believed a council ought to exercise authority in the church.
iv. These viewpoints led to Marsiglio’s excommunication and a condemnation of
Defensor Pacis.
b. Another major individual who wished for a lessening of church power was John
Wyclif (ca. 1330 – 1384).
i. He stated that the power of the papacy was completely made up.
 Wyclif affirmed that no one would ever find anything about this power in the
Scriptures.
 Instead, he favored a society in which people followed the Scriptures word
for word.
ii. He was like the first Luther before Luther – a person who would entirely
disprove of anything the Church had to say.
 It included those on the veneration of saints, pilgrimages, pluralism, and
absenteeism.
 He promoted others to read the Bible themselves and procure their very
own ideas based on their readings.
3. Wyclif was a proud promoter of anti-medieval structuring of the church.
a. He was heard of as the disrupter of priestly affairs before the Reformation of the
16th century.
b. These beliefs were unapproved by the elder church members, but were highly
accepted by the humble clerics and were widely popular.
c. He had followers who were known as Lollards. This meant “mumblers of prayers
and psalms.”
4. After all of the requests for a council in the church, both groups of cardinals met
together at Pisa in 1409.
a. The group deposed both popes and selected another.
b. None of the popes resigned so a threefold schism was at Europe’s door.
5. Eventually, a great council met at Constance to discuss three topics:
a. To end the schism altogether,
b. To give the church an entire makeover,
c. And to remove heresy from the face of the Earth.
6. The council managed to oust the Roman and Pisan popes, leaving the Avignon antipope.
7. The next conclave voted Colonna into office and he took on the name Martin V (1417 –
1431).
a. As pope, he dissolved the council, but nothing was done about reform.
b. Eventually, the schism ate itself and councils constantly met for a jubilee to rejoice
over their victory over the conciliar movement.
8. The stage was set for the Reformation to consume and divide 16th century Europe.
V. The Life of the People
A. Marriage
1. In the later middle ages, the practicality of marriage began during the adolescence of a
child.
2. Unlike most conceptions of the Middle Ages, the church was a huge opponent of
arranges marriages.
a. However, most people dismissed the advice from the Church and proceeded to
assigning an in-law for obvious economic interests.
b. If the parents died, the duty fell to the inheriting son.
3. When the bride and groom had been decided upon, both sets of parents arranged a form
of dowry to pay to their lord.
4. Many records were kept in Italy and those included the ages of the two devotees.
a. Most women married within their teenage years.
b. Since men were provided with much more rights in these times, they would be
older.
5. Since marriage was postponed for men, brothels opened up in Languedoc and allowed
men to enjoy the wonders of prostitution.
a. Prostitutes were given a certain section of the city to reside in.
b. However, these whore-houses were not unique to the people of Languedoc. They
popped up in Amiens, Dijon, Paris, Venice, Genoa, London, Florence, Rome, many
larger German towns, and port cities like Sandwich.
6. Divorce was an outlawed concept in the Middle Ages.
a. The church argued that they could not back out of it once it was officially made
valid.
i. Most thought of it as a private matter and performed matrimony without
witnesses.
ii. This led to arguments in which one party left the marriage because it was not
done in the eyes of God.
b. A divorce was announced only during horrible circumstances like that of the male’s
impotence.
B. Life in the Parish
1. The parish would forcibly connect the lives of the clergy and the peasantry, and that of
the man and woman.
a. Normally, the parish priest blessed the farmland before planting began.
b. If the harvest was rich, the priest would head the celebrations for thanksgiving.
2. The guilds in Europe started to revolutionize within a century.
a. In the 13th century, the guilds were for elite craftsmen who made little to no
mistakes on their merchandise. They lived under the idea that “quality comes before
quantity.”
b. Later in the 14th century, the guilds soon lost sight of their previous views on their
crafts. They wanted to gain a monopoly on their commodities and offered no love or
care for their products.
c. The guilds became more of a would-be “Republican-promoted” business than a club
of men who did the same thing.
3. Just as Europe exited the classical age, Europe would once again find instances of fear,
violence, and alcoholism.
a. People enjoyed the classical violence that made the Coliseum stand out.
b. Citizens also loved to watch the hangings of criminals held by the judicial system
and the festivals and contests held by the aristocracy.
c. If these would not help nullify the sadness that came with their lives, alcohol was a
surefire stance.
C. Fur-Collar Crime
1. After the Hundred Years’ War, the nobles and knights who were so used to lavish
lifestyles, found themselves in the upper-middle class of Europe.
a. They resolved to committing crimes to raise money.
b. This was nicknamed “fur-collared crime” because of the fur on the collars only the
nobility were allowed to wear.
2. However, these fur-collared crimes were usually extortions of the poor people into
giving them their money. Much like the gangsters of today, the nobles assured
“protection” from their forces for a trade of currency.
3. Fur-collar criminals were essentially terrorists coming from the homeland. They got
away from arrest via corruption whether it was through bribery or terror.
4. Fur-collar crime is seen in the present day, but a very popular instance in which it is
fought is found in the ballads of Robin Hood.
5. It continued decades on due to the incompetence of the government.
D. Peasant Revolts
1. The lower classmen began to rise up against the lords and nobility across the 14 th and
15th centuries.
2. Along the borders between France and Flanders, conflicts started to emerge.
a. The Flemish did not wish to be parts of the French nation, so when French armies
came in the Flemish attacked with their own infantry.
b. The Flemish peasants began to revolt in 1323 against the French demands for taxes.
3. The peasants were equally furious and retaliated with immeasurable vehemence.
a. When the French had to ransom their king, the peasants refused to recompense by
slashing the throats of the nobles, burning castles, and raping their wives and
daughters.
b. However, the true middle class started to dislike the government.
c. It seemed like the fur-collar criminals were now on the defense.
4. The government resorted to forcibly suppressing their civilians. However, this
inhibition of the people without an answer to their causes resulted in underground
hatreds.
a. From 1363 to 1484, many uprisings occurred throughout Europe in various
countries.
b. The English Peasants’ Revolt in 1381 saw the people demanding higher and higher
wages despite the English Statute of Laborers in 1351.
i. They revolted because another tax was imposed on them.
ii. As a result, those, including the nobles and the Archbishop of Canterbury, who
supported or ordered the tax, were murdered.
iii. Those in the guilds also revolted because positions of authority were
unavailable to them.
c. However, these uprisings were not special to England, France, or Flanders. The
ciompi revolted in Florence in 1378.
E. Race and Ethnicity on the Frontiers
1. In the middle ages, race and ethnicity became blurred as those from one country
migrated into another European nation. However, they did not look at the historical or
anthropological classifications as to whether or not one was of a certain culture. Instead,
they looked toward the customs and beliefs of that person.
2. As the new people spread to the rural areas, the natives continued their original ways of
life, including the laws and customs. However, while the newcomers were allowed to
practice old customs, they were to abide by the laws of the territory.
3. One exception to the above rule was Ireland.
a. When the English settled in Ireland, they set up courts and government buildings. It
was to act like an English town.
b. While these acquirements simulated English lifestyle, the Irish were expelled from
these practices.
4. Although the Germans settled into pre-settled lands and held much power, many
Eastern Europeans openly disliked them. Nonetheless, this feeling was mutually shared.
a. They were widely hated by the Czechs and the Slavs.
b. An instance of anti-German action was committed by a prince who offered 100
marks of silver for 100 noses cut off from Germans.
c. Equally, the Germans exhibited crude superiority towards the people with whom
they lived.
5. Many desired racial purity from the invading neighbors.
a. The Germans in the Baltic were told not to marry anyone that was not German or
face rather rash circumstances.
b. The Irish Statute of Kilkenny stated that there were to be no marriages between the
immigrant and native peoples.
6. While these laws spurred centuries of hatred toward one another, they supplied the
economic protection of the privileged German, English, or Spanish minorities.
VI. Vernacular Literature
A. Across Europe, one could tell how a person lived by the language and manner they spoke.
1. More often than not, the poorer Englishman spoke in a regional tongue with their
separate dialects.
2. However, the upper classes conversed in French and wrote in Latin or French.
B. By the 14th century, people began to develop a habit of speaking their national tongue.
Literature was altered as well and three grand examples were: Dante’s Divine Comedy,
Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, and Villon’s Grand Testament.
1. Dante Alighieri grew up in Florence and wrote the Divine Comedy. It was a set of three
comedies, in which he describes certain aspects of the afterlife.
a. It was portrayed as a comedy because he had written it in Italian rather than the
dramatic Latin.
b. It is comprised of 100 cantos in total, which was supposed to be the perfect number.
c. In this work, he is escorted through the three realms of Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven.
i. In hell, he condemns society – the church mainly because of their false faith and
primary concern for the flesh.
ii. Once he gets to Purgatory, Virgil directs Dante’s attention to the cleansing of the
souls from their disordered inclinations.
iii. Thus forth, he is led by Beatrice into Paradise (Heaven) where Saint Bernard
leads him to the Virgin Mary.
d. The Divine Comedy is his representation of the results of his society which is deeply
rooted into corruption and venality.
2. Geoffrey Chaucer was the son of a wine merchant from London. His work is also a poem,
but with a rhythmic chronicle.
a. It also depicts the evils of the time which were clear to him.
b. Like the Divine Comedy, it reflected the tensions present to him and those with clear
minds.
3. Villon was perhaps the greatest medieval French poet, but most of that history is shown
through the police records and his own poetry. Unlike Dante or Chaucer, he focused on
the good things in humanity, but through the eyes of several abominations.
a. His Grand Testament contained basics of modern street scenes.
b. His poetry contained the vernacular of the poor and criminal which make it modern
and easily comprehensible.
C. Unlike many women of medieval Europe, Christine de Pisan was well-educated and used
that knowledge to aid her and her family.
1. She knew much Greek, Latin, French, and Latin literature. She used these to feed her
mother and her three children when her father and husband died.
2. She wrote many books of nonfiction, including a biography of King Charles V; various
letters; a collection of stories of great women throughout history and their
contributions to the world; and an autobiography.
D. Another revolution began with the 14th century: one in which the proletarian became
literate.
1. Many schools were founded in England, especially York, where the amount of
institutions quadrupled in numbers.
2. The children of Flanders and Germany were sent to schools and learned to read, write,
and utilize arithmetic skills. The laymen were granted minor jobs of authority such as
manager and supervisor.
3. This inspired the upperclassmen to send their daughters to convent schools to read and
perhaps write in addition to their religious criteria.
4. With many more becoming literate, trade was expanding and economic opportunities
flourished.
E. Although the late middle ages retained an oral culture, by the mid-1400s, a generation of a
literate people emerged and a similar culture was on its way.