Transcript Back in the day

Back in the day
The Late Middle Ages
1.1, 1.2
1.1
The Black Death
1347
What was the Black Death?
 The great epidemic of bubonic plague that killed a
large part of the population of Europe in the mid
14th century
 First outbreak in
Europe happened in
1347
Accounts of the Plague
 “Here not only the "burn blisters" appeared, but there
developed gland boils on the groin, the thighs, the arms,
or on the neck. At first these were of the size of a hazel
nut, and developed accompanied by violent shivering fits,
which soon rendered those attacked so weak that they
could not stand up, but were forced to lie in their beds
consumed by violent fever. Soon the boils grew to the size
of a walnut, then to that of a hen's egg or a goose's egg,
and they were exceedingly painful, and irritated the body,
causing the sufferer to vomit blood. The sickness lasted
three days, and on the fourth, at the latest, the patient
succumbed"
Accounts of the Plague
 “More wretched still were the circumstances of the common
people and , for a great part, of the middle class, for, confined
to their homes either by hope of safety or by poverty, and
restricted to their own sections, they fell sick daily by
thousands. There, devoid of help, or care, they dies almost
without redemption. A great many breathed their last in the
public streets, day and night; a large number perished in their
homes, and it was only by the stench of their decaying bodies
that they proclaimed their death to their neighbors.
Everywhere the city was teeming with corpses.”
Boccacio – “The Decameron”
Causes
 Flea-borne rats from Asia
 Overcrowding in cities and homes…poor sanitation
in cities/towns/villages
 Widespread malnutrition and poor hygiene
 Also considered as causes…
 God punishing man for sins
 Demonic dogs
 Jews poisoning wells
Results and Consequences
 Loss of 1/3rd of the population
 Economic Effects
 Inflation up…higher wages for workers
 Serfs gain freedoms and revolt
 Best members of the clergy die…loss of confidence
in the Catholic Church as a protecting force
1.1
The Hundred Years War
1337-1453
Causes for the War
 English crown wants
Aquitaine
 Who will be King of
France?
 Charles the Fair of France
dies
 Edward III (King of
England) is an heir to
throne through mom’s side,
but the kingship goes to his
cousin Philip IV
Course of the War
 Most of the war was boring and intermittent
 Battle of Crecy (1346) – England intros new weapons
 Era of the knight is over
 By 1415, England was beginning to threaten Paris
 Charles VII of France is
looking for a miracle
Influence of Joan of Arc
 French peasant girl who
believed French could win war
if they weren’t “bad people”
 Led the French in battle to
victories by raising French pride
Results of
the Hundred Years War
 England is permanently removed from France
 Centralization of government
 Rise of nationalism – pride in your country
 Peasant Revolts – who is keeping the law at home?
 Jacquerie in France (late 14th c. to early 15th c.)
 English Peasant Revolt (1381)
1.2
Trouble in the Catholic Church
Early Critics of the Church
 Marsiglio de Padua
 Claimed the Church should be
subordinate to state
 Church should own no property
 John Wyclif
 The Church should only follow the
Bible and people should read the
Bible…ignore Church traditions
 Jan Hus
 Believed lay people should have the
bread and wine during Communion
Babylonian Captivity
1309-1377
 Pope moved from Rome to Avignon, France
 Damaged papal prestige and hurt Roman economy
Great Schism
1377-1417
 Pope Gregory XI returns to
Rome but dies
 Conflict in Church leads to
election of two popes
 Conciliar Movement forms
but fails
 Who should have the highest
power in the Church?
Fall of the Byzantine Empire
1453
Meanwhile, in the East…
Nationalist Literature
 Rise of the use of the vernacular
 Dante – The Divine Comedy
 Geoffrey Chaucer – Canterbury Tales
AND FINALLY THE MOST
IMPORTANT INVENTION EVER
MAYBE INCLUDING THE INTERNET. AND SWISS CAKE ROLLS.
The Printing Press
 Invented by Johann
Gutenberg around 1440
 Allows works in print to be
printed by machine rather
than by hand…makes the
process of printing a lot
easier, cheaper, and faster
 Will facilitate the spread of
the Renaissance and the
Reformation