Download Ch_ 14 The Late Middle Ages

THE LATE MIDDLE AGES
The Black Death
• Bubonic plague – spread by traders from China
to Europe; often along Mongol routes but not
exclusively
• At its height, it killed one in three people
• Altered political institutions (helped end the
feudal system in Europe)
• Some regions (Europe, China) were devastated,
others (India) were not
Black Death
• 1300s (fourteenth century)
• Greatly devastates
Europe’s population (1/3)
• Helps end the feudal
system (why swear loyalty
to a lord in exchange for
land, when land is readily
available?)
• Made worse by the “Little
Ice Age”
Goodbye
feudal
system…
Cities
•
•
•
•
Not as large as Mediterranean cities
Rampant poverty and disease
Cities led to increase in trade
From 1000 to 1200 led to growth in Europe’s
economy
Trade
• Local traders form trade organizations called
“guilds”
• Guilds help control prices, regulate quality, and
fought for merchant rights
• Hanseatic League – commercial alliance –
represented shippers in Germany and the Baltic
sea
EUROPEAN MEDIEVAL TOWNS AND TRADE ROUTES
Italian city-states and cities of the Hanseatic League dominated trade in western Europe during the late Middle Ages. Merchants from Venice and Genoa brought
silks and spices from the eastern Mediterranean to northern markets, where they met merchants who traded in fish, furs,, and textiles.
MEDIEVAL ARCHITECTURE
• Called “Gothic”
• Pointed, instead of
round, arches
• Flying buttresses
• Sharp spires
Religion and Education
• Catholic Church extremely powerful
• Gave Europe a unified cultural element
• Monks translated and copied Greek and Roman
writings
• Made Latin the language of the educated
• Universities were
dominated by the
Church
• Taught theology, law, and
medicine
• Open only to men
• Scholars sought to blend
Greek and Roman logic
with Christian faith (St.
Thomas Aquinas)
The Magna Carta
• 1215- a group of nobles
confronts King John and
forces him to sign the Magna
Carta (great charter)
• Gives the nobles some rights
(not commoners)- king is
subject to the law
• Soon after, England
establishes a parliament
• Example of limited
government
Hundred Years’ War
• 1337-1453
• Between England and France
• England controls over ½
France
• Joan of Arc helps French
repel English
• Leads to stronger, more
centralized nations in France
and England
The Renaissance
Beginnings
• Renaissance means “rebirth”
• Referred to rebirth of “classical”
learning of Greece and Rome
• Based on Humanism – focused on
worldly subjects and human concerns
• Characterized by scientific inquiry and
geographical exploration
• Gradual change in intellectual trends
Location
• Began in
Florence, Italy
• Spread to rest of
Europe
• Urban
phenomenon
• Caused by
Crusades- how?
Medici Family
• Wealthiest family
in Florence
• Supported
renaissance artists
like Michelangelo,
Raphael, and
Donatello
Exploration
• Portugal first European country to engage in
extensive exploration (new technology)
• Marco Polo’s adventures, the Crusades, and a
desire for spices helped spur voyages of
exploration
• Columbus-1492- (It’s a big world after all)
– Importance- creates a permanent link between the
Eastern and Western hemispheres
• Begins in China
• Johann Gutenberg (German) adapts to
alphabet- 1450s
• Helps the spread of ideas (renaissance and
enlightenment)
• Where does the word “cliché” come from?
Invention of the Printing Press