Late Medieval Troubles SSWH 7 cd Time and

Late Medieval Troubles SSWH 7: c-d

Time and Geography

SOCIAL See Notes for Videos

Late Medieval Troubles • Starting 1000 CE, European civilization revitalized and flourished • In 14 th C, a series of unprecedented disasters (Black Death, Hundred Years’ War) – reduced population; created labor shortage – decline in economy that continued for 150 years

Late Medieval Troubles • Christian Church embroiled in scandals – – – Babylonian Captivity weakened papal sovereignty Great Schism challenged papal authority Conciliar Movement crushed Popes never regained previous moral authority Paved way for Protestant revolt, Reformation

DISASTERS OF THE 14 th C Good life was coming to an end: • Most good land was already in use • Technology to convert marginal land (swamps, hillsides) was non-existent • Climate changed: Little Ice Age for 500 years – cold, rainy summers, shortened growing seasons, frequent crop failures, famines, malnutrition • No innovations to increase food supply for the large population

The Black Death • Most massive epidemic on record • Form of bubonic plague unknown in Europe spread over the continent • Plague returned later in the century

The Black Death • Nobody knew how it spread or what countermeasures should be taken • Two-thirds of those stricken, died • Roughly one-quarter of European population perished

ECONOMIC

Consequences of the Black Death Economic Consequences • • Tax revenues declined sharply Public works stopped Shortage of labor Better working conditions, wages, job security for workers who survived • Trade volume decline • Peasant revolts • Serfdom disappeared in Western Europe

RELIGIOUS

Consequences of the Black Death Psychological Consequences • • Fascination with death seen in art Believed God sent plague as warning to sinners Penitence, self-flagellation, guilt, shame Consciousness and consequences of sin Blamed Jews for the crucifixion of Jesus Plague was God’s punishment for allowing Jews to live among them Jewish minorities and innocent victims publicly burned at the stake

POLITICAL

The Hundred Years War 1337 -1453 • Dynastic quarrel between England France • Causes partially economic over woolen trade • Problems of feudal allegiance made war into civil war within France • Fighting interrupted occasionally by truces • Major battles: Crecy, Agincourt • Joan of Arc changed course of the war • War ended with British withdrawal from France

Consequences of the Hundred Years War • Consumed much manpower and tax monies • Increased power and prestige of Parliament, especially over taxation • France did not experience such development • Differences would become significant – France: power transferred from nobles to royal officials – England: power of king weakened as Parliament strengthened • Ended chivalric ideals of combat – Infantry and artillery most important, along with gunpowder – Social leveler: commoners were just as valuable soldiers

RELIGIOUS

Christian Church Omnipresent Institution • Every person’s life was touched by it • Church was more than just place of worship • Parish priest was respected as representative of God • Church courts determined many legal questions • Pope Innocent III: more of secular ruler than moral authority

Babylonian Captivity • Newly-elected pope stayed in Avignon France • First time since Peter that the head of the church had not lived in Rome • Urban VI and Clement VII: competing popes; neither having total legitimacy • Led to Great Schism

Great Schism • Europeans divided papal loyalties along national lines • Conciliar Movement – Enacted some new reforms – Argued that entire church community, not the pope, had power to define doctrine • John Wycliff – Believed individual Christians should read and interpret Scripture for themselves – Led revolt of Lollards, 1381

Council of Constance • Scandal of schism caused resentment, pressure to end the papal quarrel • Council of Constance made some changes – New pope chosen – Tried to eliminate heresy, only partially successful – Reforms discussed, but not much done

SOCIAL

Society and Work • Many peasant revolts – Most famous was Jacquerie of 1358 – Lollard rebellion: peasants joined by artisans, urban workers • Guilds – Controlled what was made, for what price, by whom – Worker moved from apprentice to journeyman to master – Purpose to ensure economic security for members, not competition • First instances of urban planning: open spaces, old walls torn down • Skilled, semi-skilled workers – Home workshops – No machinery, all hand work

INTELLECTUAL

Medieval Sciences • Scientific studies improved – Arabic numbers – Hindu/Arabic inventions of Algebra • Beginnings of Chemistry • Progress in Geography • Medicine, surgery, anatomy were somewhat beyond previous knowledge • Physics, Astronomy advanced after 1400

Science and Metaphysics • University education emphasized arts and humanities, rather than science • Albertus Magnus and Roger Bacon pioneered experimental methods • Aristotle was final word about the cosmos • Metaphysics – Thomas Aquinas and Summa Theologica – Scholastics tried to ignore ideas challenging tradition

REVIEW

Discussion Questions 1. The Black Death was a horrendous experience by all accounts. Imagine seeing everyone around you getting sick and dying, and not knowing what caused it. What would your reactions have been? How would you compare and contrast what happened in Europe because of bubonic plague and what has happened to modern society because of AIDS? 2. The late medieval church experienced considerable turmoil because of the Babylonian Captivity and the Great Schism, yet it did not fall apart until almost 200 years later. How would you explain that unity in the face of such serious division? Was it a matter of intentional effort, simple inaction, or resistance by the overall population?