Transcript Late Medieval Europe

Late Medieval Europe
1300-1450
THE SITUATION IN 1300
• The only strong monarchy in Western
Europe was England
• Society was divided into nobility, gentry,
merchant class, free peasant and serf;
90% of the population were peasants or
serfs
• Population had been steadily growing for
centuries and had reached the saturation
point for the available farmland
Europe in 1300
THE BLACK DEATH
THE GREAT FAMINE
• 1315 – 1322
• Three years of cold weather and rain led
to low crop yields and famine
• Negative result: death and disease that
affected mostly the very old and the very
young
• Positive result: lessens the population and
makes more land available for purchase
THE BLACK DEATH
• The exact origins and nature of disease are still unknown
• Probably some combination of bubonic, pneumonic and
septicaemic plague; maybe anthrax too
• Thought to be spread by rats
• Medieval people did not know the cause
• Caused the death of 33% to 50% of Europe’s people
REACTIONS TO THE BLACK DEATH
• pogroms against
Jews
• flagellants
• fleeing cities for
the countryside
• abandonment of
traditional morality
– “eat, drink and
be merry for
tomorrow we die!”
Boccaccio’s Decameron –
famous novel which descries the
Black Death in Florence
RESULTS OF THE BLACK DEATH
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Decline of population leads to:
– More land available
– Wages rise
– Decline of serfdom
More social mobility, especially for lower classes (upper classes tried to
prevent this)
Living conditions rise for most people; marriages take place at earlier ages
Availability of land allows younger sons and others who could not buy land
before the Plague to do so now
Large amounts of fallow land lead to beginning of enclosure movement in
England
Lack of clergy leads to ordaining less qualified men to priesthood
Decline in respect for the Church
Founding of new universities to train men in theology, law and medicine (to
replace those who died in the Plague.) More universities means men do not
need to travel as far to attend college so education becomes more localized
THE HUNDRED YEARS WAR
More than you ever wanted to know
about the Anglo-French connections:
• Roots in the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 (Battle of
Hastings)
• French dukes of Normandy retained lands in France and held title of
“King of England”
• French kings were weak feudal lords holding little authority outside
of Île de France (Paris and the surrounding countryside)
• French aristocracy often married their daughters to the sons of the
kings of England, further complicating dynastic alliances
– Eleanor of Aquitaine m. Louis IX of France, then Henry II of England
(large French province became English territory)
– Isabella of Angoulême m. John I, mother to Henry III
– Eleanor of Provence m. Henry III, mother to Edward I
– Isabella of France m. Edward II, mother to Edward III
• Edward III was heir to properties in France which made him a threat
to French royal power, in addition to his claim to the throne
100 YEARS’ WAR
• Death of Charles IV of
France, last Capetian
king, no surviving male
heirs
• Edward III of England
claimed the throne of
France through his
mother who was Charles’
sister.
• Claim denied by France;
Salic Law; rule passes to
Philip VI Valois
• Edward III goes to war
with Philip VI to claim the
throne of France
Edward III of England
100 Year’s War (1337-1453)
• Major Players:
– England: Edward III, Edward the Black
Prince, Henry V
– France: Philip (Philippe) VI of Valois; John
II, Charles V, Charles VI, Charles VII
– Flanders: sought independence from
French rule; early role in the war
– Burgundy: rival for control of France;
aided Henry V; eventually a Hapsburg
possession
MAJOR TERRITORIAL GAINS
• 1328: Pre-war land
status
• 1382: English losses
reason for overthrow
of Richard II
• 1430: Henry V of
England allied with
Burgundians
• 1470: Post-war
situation
MAJOR BATTLES AND HAPPENINGS
• Battles:
– Sluys: naval battle;
destroys French navy
– Crecy: longbow > cavalry
– Poitiers: The Black Prince
– Agincourt: Heroic win for
Henry V
– Orleans: Joan of Arc
Treaty of Troyes – after
Agincourt; Henry V to
inherit French throne –
but both Henry & French
king die the same year
Last battle in 1453
RESULTS OF 100 YEARS WAR
• France was unified with a strong centralized
monarchy
• French economy was in a shambles because all
battles had taken place in France
• England permanently lost all her possessions on
the Continent except Calais
• English monarchs will focus more on building up
England than on keeping lands on the Continent
• Eventually will lead to England's investing time
and money into building an overseas empire
RESULTS OF 100 YEARS WAR
• New weapons technology
(longbow, cannon) leads
to decline of knights and
rise of professional army
• Maintaining an army
becomes more
expensive, so few nobles
can afford to do so
• Rise of nationalism in
both England and France
ENGLISH PEASANT’S REVOLT, 1381
• Spurred by John Ball,
Lollard priest
• Led by Wat Tyler, later
killed as a rebel
• Protested increased
taxes (the Poll tax) to
support war in France
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
RELIGIOUS REFORM
• John Wycliff
– Called for religious reform in England
– Bible in English (first to translate New Testament)
– Clergy should not be involved in politics and should not be
wealthy
– Denied doctrine of transubstantiation
– Convicted of heresy after his death
• Lollards
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John Wycliffe’s followers
Bible in English
Called for reform of Church
“Church of the Saved”
Association with the Peasants’ Revolt drove it underground
THE PAPACY IN THE MIDDLE
AGES
The Pope’s political position:
– Ruler of Papal States (aka “Holy
See; in central Italy)
– Needed to maintain armies to
hold position
– Often threatened by the Holy
Roman Empire, the French, and
various Italian city-states
Medieval popes could wield
formidable political and religious
power
The peak of Church
prestige and power
occurred during the
reign of Pope
Innocent III (d.
1216)
MOVE TO AVIGNON
• Roman patrician families battling for
influence deposed Pope Boniface VIII
• Influence of French cardinals caused
election of Clement V, a Frenchman.
• Clement V decided to reside in
Avignon; which was papal territory but
near French borders
• Perception was that the popes made
decisions at behest of King of France
CRITICS
• England, at war with
France, resented papal
judgments on behalf of
France
• Marsiglio of Padua
– Defensor Pacis
– 1st to write for a separation
of church and state
• William of Ockham
– “Ockham’s Razor”
– Accused Pope John XXII of
heresy
GREAT WESTERN SCHISM
• Catherine of Siena intervened,
pleading for papal return to Rome
• 1378 – contested papal election led
to two popes: an Italian in Rome
and a Frenchman in Avignon
• Great Western Schism of 13781417
• Europe divides along political lines
• Council of Pisa – 3 popes!
• Council of Constance (1417)
resolves issue. One pope – Martin
V
• Rise of Conciliar Movement
GREAT WESTERN SCHISM
• Brings an end to the idea of “Christian
Europe”
• Lowers prestige and power of papacy in
Rome
• Increasing consolidation of power by
monarchs and rise of nationalism will
continue to decrease the authority of the
pope and the Catholic Church
MEDIEVAL SOCIETY
SOCIAL HISTORY
• Decline of feudal system,
especially in England
• Beginnings of “middle
class” as more people
move into cities, again,
especially in England
• Peasants are still 80% of
the population
LATE MEDIEVAL WOMEN
• Throughout their lives, women were under the legal
control of their fathers or husbands
• Nobility and gentry – responsible for maintaining family
properties; often controlled their own lands; most were
literate in the vernacular; often had political influence but
rarely ruled on their own
• Working class – women were often equal partners with
their husbands; some women owned their own
businesses; some guilds allowed women to belong
• Peasants & serfs – Neither women nor men had much
control over their lives; lived in poverty; women had more
choice in who they married than did upper class women
MARRIAGE
• Arranged for political,
economic or other
practical reasons; love
rarely a factor
• Women married in early
teens; men in early
twenties
• Peasants often married
later than upper classes
• Marriage a sacrament;
usually witnessed by a
priest
MARRIAGE AND ADULTERY
• Marriage was not for love, especially
among the upper classes
• Divorce was nearly unknown; annulments
were possible but not common
• Men frequently had mistresses and this
was acceptable
• Illegitimate children were expected to be
provided for by their father, but could not
inherit his lands or titles
SOCIAL CLASSES
• Serfs – were not free. Worked small plots of
land for which they paid “rent” either in produce
or by doing “service work” on the Lord’s land
• Peasants – mostly small farmers who either
owned or rented their plots of land
• Peasants and serfs were 80% of the population
by the year 1400
• By 1400 in much of Western Europe serfdom
was declining
SOCIAL CLASSES
• Merchants and Craftsmen
– Numbers were increasing
– Lived in cities
– Many belonged to guilds which regulated their
training, what they could charge and what their work
was
– Guilds were beginning to restrict membership by 1400
• Professional class – lawyers, physicians,
bankers; many of whom had been educated in
universities
SOCIAL CLASSES
• Clergy –
– Upper levels often from nobility and professional
classes
– Well educated; often with doctorates from universities
– Parish clergy less educated. Many rural clergy were
illiterate even in the vernacular
• Nobility –
– Gentry – large landowners
– Upper nobility – the very wealthy and politically
powerful; often related to the royal family
– Less than 5% of population
LEISURE ACTIVITIES
• Men’s activities were often geared towards
preparing for war: archery contests,
tournaments
• Sundays, saint’s feast days and other
religious festivals were holidays
• Most celebrations involved excessive
amounts of alcohol (even by modern
standards!)
VERNACULAR LITERATURE
• Most members of nobility, gentry
and merchant classes could read
• (Divine) Comedy
– Dante Alighieri
– Italian: Il Commedia
– Journey through hell to heaven
• Canterbury Tales
– Geoffrey Chaucer
– English; pilgrimage stories
• The City of Ladies
– Christine di Pisan
– First “feminist” writings; shows
influence of women in stabilizing
court culture
IN CONCLUSION
• The 14th Century was a transition period in
Europe – moving out of the Middle Ages and into
the Early Modern Period
• Important movements:
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Nationalism
Formation of strong central governments
Decline of Church prestige
Increasing power of middle and merchant classes
Increasing number of people living in cities – increase
in their political power
– Increase in literacy and demand for books in the
vernacular