Download THE LATER MIDDLE AGES: 1300-1450

8/9/2016
Unit 1.1
THE LATER MIDDLE AGES:
1300-1450
Learning Objective:
Students will understand the evolution
of European society from antiquity
through the Later Middle Ages and
analyze the ways in which religious,
economic, and social upheaval affected
late-Medieval society.
Unit 1.1
Major Periods in European
History
I. Ancient Greece/Rome (c. 500 BCE-500 CE)
II. Middle Ages- 5th Century CE to approx. 1450
A. Early Middle Ages (476 CE to 900 CE)
B. High Middle Ages (1050- 1300)
C. Later Middle Ages (1300- 1450)
III. Modern Era (1450 to the present)
1. Renaissance: 1450- 1600 (1300-1527 in
Italy)
2. 17th – 21st centuries
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I. Black Death (1347)
A. Causes
1. Bubonic plague was carried by fleas
on Asian black rats and brought to
Europe on ships returning from
Asia
2. Overcrowding in cities and homes
facilitated the spread of the disease
3. Poor sanitation in cities
4. Widespread malnutrition
5. Poor hygiene
Map of the Black Death
B. Results: Loss of 1/3 of Europe’s
population
Time-lapse Map of Black Death
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1. Some cities, such as Florence, saw death
rates reach above 50%
The Toggenburg Bible (1411) contains an
illustration of the Black Death
3. In some areas, workers enjoyed higher
wages
4. Impact on the peasantry
a. Serfdom ended in many areas of
western Europe
b. Major peasant revolts in England and
France
5. First enclosure of fields in England
6. Best of the clergy died helping the sick
7. Jews were often blamed for the plague
2. Economy in towns suffered significantly
Plague doctors often wore attire, such as seen above,
with the beak stuffed with spices or herbs to protect
the doctor from the disease.
8. Literature and art reflected pessimism
a. Danse of Death (Danse Macabre)
b. Northern Europe developed a
fascination with death that was later
reflected in the art of the Northern
Renaissance
Dancing skeletons
were a common motif
in the Danse of Death
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II. Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453)
A. Cause: the English crown lay claim to
the duchy of Aquitaine inside of
France
Duchy of Aquitaine (in pink) seen inside
modern French borders.
Time-lapse Map of the Hundred
Years’ War
B. Joan Of Arc (1412-1431)
1. Peasant girl claimed she heard voices
from saints and persuaded the king to
allow her to accompany the troops
2. In 1429, led the French army to
victory at Orléans
-- The French heir
to the throne was
crowned
3. She was later
burned at the stake
by her English
captors
C. Results of 100 Years’ War
1. France permanently removed
England from France (except Calais)
2. Modernization of state building in
England and France
Battle of Crécy, 1346
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3. Peasant Revolts
a. Causes: taxation from the 100 Years’
War, desire for higher wages,
hostility toward the nobles, higher
expectations among the peasantry.
b. English Peasant Revolt (1381):
largest revolt, over 100,000 involved
c. Jacquerie in France
was less successful
d. End of serfdom in
England
III. Crisis in the Catholic Church
A. Background
1. Western and central Europe was
dominated by the Catholic church
since the fall of the Roman Empire
2. The Middle Ages were characterized
by religious unity under the Catholic
church
Richard II meeting with
peasant rebels, 1381
B. Early critics of the church
1. Marsiglio de Padua (1270-1342):
Defensor Paxis (Defender of Peace)
a. Claimed the church should be
subordinate to the state
b. Believed the church should be
governed by a council of laity and
priests who would
be superior to the
pope
2. John Wyclif (1320-1384)
a. Believed the Church should only
follow Scripture
-- This view foreshadowed Martin
Luther’s in the early-16th
century
b. Translated the Bible into English
c. His later followers
were known as
Lollards
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3. John Hus (1369-1415): Ideas
similar to Wyclif
a. Led a nationalist movement in
Bohemia (modern-day Czech
Republic)
• Burned at the stake for his
heretical views
b. Hussites: followers
of Hus who staged
large rebellions in
the 14th century
C. Babylonian Captivity (1309-1377)
1. 1305, a struggle between the pope
and the French king led to the
election of a French pope who set
up his leadership in Avignon,
France
2. Seven successive popes ruled from
Avignon
3. Damaged papal prestige, especially
in Germany and England
D. The Great Schism (c. 1377-1417)
1. Further conflict occurred in 1377
when two popes were elected—one
in Rome, one in France—neither
of whom recognized the other
2. Further damaged the prestige of
the church
The papal
palace at
Avignon
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E. Conciliar Movement (1409-1418):
ended the Great Schism
1. Sought to reform the church by
creating a council of cardinals that
would be more powerful than the
pope
2. Failed as a movement; newlyelected Pope Martin V ensured
papal power remained supreme
The
Great
Schism
IV. Fall of the Byzantine Empire
A. The Byzantine Empire had been the
dominant power in southeastern
Europe for a thousand years
1. Began as the Eastern Roman Empire
2. Eastern Orthodox Church was
dominant
B. 1453, the Ottoman Empire took
Constantinople, the capital city of the
Byzantine Empire and its last
remaining stronghold
The empire
under
Justinian in
the 6th century
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1453: Ottoman Turks took Constantinople
V. Nationalist literature of the later Middle
Ages
A. Rise in the use of the vernacular
(national language)
B. Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), The
Divine Comedy
C. Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400):
Canterbury Tales portrayed English life
D. Francois Villon (1431-1463): Grand
Testament
C. Ottoman Empire spread into Europe,
threatening Hungary and Austria
VI. Life in the Later Middle Ages
A. Marriage
1. Average age for men: mid-20s; for
women: 16-18 years of age
2. Economic reasons were most
important
3. Divorce was non-existent
4. Prostitution existed in cities
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B. Work
1. Agricultural cycles and church ritual
were closely linked
2. Guilds: protected artisans in towns
3. Serfdom was reduced in many areas
C. Recreation
1. Aristocracy: jousting tournaments
2. Common people: archery, wrestling,
bull-baiting, bear baiting, alcohol
consumption
D. Laity increasingly managed church lands
V. Scholasticism: Thomas Aquinas
(1225-1274)
A. Became the cornerstone of latemedieval philosophy
B. Aquinas sought to reconcile faith and
reason by using logic to support
Christian doctrine
--Reconciled philosophy of
Aristotle with the Bible
C. Dominated Catholic
philosophy for centuries
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