† The true story is that in order to finance his war with England Philip levied a tax on the church of 50% (not only this but he arrested Jews and seized their assets, kicked them out of France, and took over their loans)† The issue of lay investiture (who got to appoint church officials) was contested by Philip. He eventually was able to arrest and hold Boniface prisoner.

Boniface VIII Philip IV of France

Some Philip factsHe was known as “the fair”, but it had to do with

his looks, not his actionsHe suppressed the Knights Templar and had

hundreds arrested and put to death for heresy. He the last Grand Master, Jacques de Molay tied to a stake and burned to death (see Da Vinci Code)

He had the French cardinals elect a French pope which would end for 100 years normalcy for the church

Avignon

Instead of the Vatican City, the new pope established residency in the southern French city of Avignon

Eventually the Italians would elect an Italian pope who would reside in Rome (Vatican City)

This would lead to the Great Schism, or division. The church had been split. So there would be one pope in France and one in Italy. (for a couple years there would even be a third pope)

In England, John Wycliffe (1300’s)translated the Bible into vernacular English. His main issues

were:

Early challenges to the church

Jesus, not the pope, was true head of church Church members should live in poverty and not own property The Bible was the final authority for Christian life He believed monasteries should be abolished because they didn’t have any biblical support for existence.

In Bohemia, (modern day Czech Republic), Jan Hus (1372 – 1415) continued on this same line of thinking after being influenced by Wycliffe. The Bible was a higher authority than the Pope. He was excommunicated in 1412.

He taught at the University of Prague and even though his king denounced his teachings, neither he nor the

university would stop teaching these beliefs unless they could be proved to be unscriptural

Under false pretense he was arrested, tried, and burned to death.

Bubonic Plague (the Black Death)

The plague originated from Asia (probably the steppes of Mongolia)

It reached Europe at Genoa, Italy in 1347

Within 4 years it had touched all of Europe

It would reoccur every few years or so in Europe in varying degrees until 1666.

Cities, towns, and villages reacted differentlyIn the middle of England, Eyam became known as

the “plague village”. When the plague hit their village they decided to isolate themselves in an unselfish move so the plague wouldn’t spread out from them. Out of 350 inhabitants, 83 survived. The plague lasted for 16 months there

The plaque reads that all 9 residents of

this cottage died from the plague

But the most famous is probably Oberammergau in Bavaria, Germany

They promised God that if he spared them from the plague they would perform a Passion

Play every 10 years (a play about the crucifixion)

The town is also known for its Luftmalerei, or frescos painted on the fronts of houses

Nobody knew what caused it But when in doubt, the typical response by Christians was to blame the Jews.

In August of 1349, the Jewish communities of Mainz and Cologne were exterminated. In February of that same year, Christians murdered two

thousand Jews in Strasbourg.

Some reacted as if it were the sins of mankind. Some thought the church was ineffective and turned from

god. Flagellants tried to appease God by taking all the suffering on themselves by beating themselves

Historians generally agree that the losses in Europe were about 33% of the population in the 1st 4 years

The trend of recent research is pointing to a figure more like 45% to 50% of the European population dying during a four-year period.

In Mediterranean Europe and Italy, the South of France and Spain, where plague ran for about four years consecutively, it was

probably closer to 80% to 75% of the population.

Effects from the Plague

The plague especially hit the peasant/serf class the hardest (because their living environment was even dirtier than the wealthy)

With less peasants to work the labor intensive jobs, there was a great demand.

In effect this ended serfdom due to the need. It also helped increase wages due to the great demand.

Sometimes the serf/peasants got greedy and it backfired as in the case of Wat Tyler’s Revolt shown here being beheaded when tricked into a meeting with Richard II of England

Hundred Years War

This war between England and France actually lasted 116 years

It was argued and fought over who was the legitimate heir to the throne of France.

The 1st important battle was the Battle of CrecyThe French knights didn’t think much of the English foot

soldiers and instead of attacking en mass they attacked individually and they were cut down by the English LongbowsIt was total chaos. The French knights trampled their own foot soldiers trying to get to the longbow men. Many knights

fell off their horses due to the hail of arrows sent by the English archers.

The English longbow men jumped on the knights with knives and finished them off. Over 1,500 knights (over a

1/3 of the entire # of knights died)

Maybe the most important battle took place at Agincourt in Northern France. The French were over eager to avenge earlier loses

A tight battle field, recently plowed, soaked by heavy rains hampered the French knights. A test on the soil recently shows that this mud would literally suck your boot off. This would be the end of the French knight

In 1429 a French peasant girl had a vision in which God spoke to her. She was to lead the French armies and drive out the English. Her name was Joan of Arc

Amazingly enough, the crown prince, or Dauphin, Charles was persuaded to give her the opportunity. In less than 3 years the French were able to drive the Brits to just a small portion of northern France.

The future king of France made a deal with England and allowed her to be captured.

Tried by an English court, she would not renounce her belief that the voices she heard were from God

She was burned at the stake 3 times (so everything was ashes). 20 years later the Vatican had her retried. They concluded she had been innocent and put to death by secular vendetta.

The EffectsThe Age of Faith –

due to the Great Schism, the Black Plague, the display of riches by the church

The Age of Chivalry – died on the fields of Crecy, Poitiers, and Agincourt.

Rise of Nationalism – people became more country conscious and not as much regional. Looked at their king as national leader, not a feudal lord.