The High Middle Ages

Europe is coming out of the Dark: An Era of

Turning Points

Turning Points of the High Middle Ages

• The Crusades• King John I signs the Magna

Carta• The Hundred Years’ War• The Babylonian Captivity• The Bubonic Plague

The Crusades

• Holy wars between Christians from Western Europe and Muslims from the Middle East

• Cause: Muslims were moving in the Byzantine Empire, so the Patriarch reached out to the Pope for help

• During: Many people left Europe to travel to the Holy Land to fight because they hoped to– Gain wealth and power– Be forgiven for their sins– Escape from the bonds of serfdom–Have an adventure– Go to Heaven if they died in battle

• There were many Crusades, in the end the Christians did NOT win lasting control over the Holy Land

• Effects–Western European isolation ends– Trade with the East begins again– Peasants who went to fight do not

want to become serfs again feudalism ends

– Trade end of self sufficiency– Trade the Commercial Revolution– Trade the Black Death

Crusades

• What were the major causes of the Crusades?

• Who were some important people? What did they do?

• How did the Crusades impact the relationship between Christians and Muslims?

• List at least three results of the Crusades– 1– 2– 3

King John Signs the Magna Carta

• Background: – John I was king of England in the

early 1200s– The Pope wanted to make one of his

friends the Arch Bishop of Canterbury

– John I refused and put one of his friends in the position

– The Pope excommunicated John I and placed England under interdict

• Causes: –Nobles from England appealed to

the Pope to remove his punishment– The Pope agreed as long as the

nobles promised to keep John I under control

– The nobles formed a parliament and wrote the Magna Carta

– John I signed the Magna Carta in 1215

• Magna Carta main ideas– The king is not above the laws–Only Parliament can raise taxes– All people have the right of Habeas

Corpus– All people have freedom of travel and

trade– The king cannot sieve anyone’s property– The Church is not controlled by the king

(this idea doesn’t last long!)– Eventually this will lead to a limited

monarchy in England– This is the 1st step towards a written

constitution in Europe!

Magna Carta

• What was England like under John I?

• What was the purpose of the Magna Carta?

• What limitations were placed on English kings by the Magna Carta?

• What were the effects of the Magna Carta?

The Hundred Years War

• A war between England and France over control of territory in northern France (1337-1453)

• Causes:– England gained some land in France

when Henry II married Eleanor of Aquitaine in the 1100s

– France wanted to reclaim that territory

• During–Many battles with wins and losses o

n both sides– Joan of Arc–New technology like longbows,

crossbows, and cannons!– Eventually France wins and England

is forced out of France– These two countries won’t really

forgive and forget until the 20th century!

• Effects– Kings of France and England both

gain more power–Many nobles (vassals) die even

more power for kings!– Church courts called “Inquisitions”

gain more power– Civil war in England will follow (The

War of the Roses) putting the Tudor family in control

Hundred Years’ War

• Why did the Hundred Years War begin?

• What new technology emerged during the Hundred Years’ War?

• What were some of the long term effects of the hundred years war on– England?– France?– Both?

The Babylonian Captivity & Great Schism

• Background and causes– After the fall of Rome, the Catholic

Church was the only institution left in Western Europe

– The Pope became the most powerful and influential person

– The Hundred Years’ War increased the power of the kings of England and France

– Philip IV of France attempted to gain control of the Church by forcing the Pope to move to Avignon

• During– For 76 years, nine different popes lived

in Avignon France– France gained huge influence over the

Church– Christians became increasingly worried

about the growing worldliness of the Church

• Effects: It’s a huge mess!– In 1376, Pope Gregory IX was returning

to Rome when he died– Cardinals in France and in Rome each

chose a new Pope. Two Popes? This is called the Great Schism OMG!

– It took a long time to get sorted out, and by the time it did, many people had lost faith in the Church or thought it was too worldly and corrupt

– Eventually the Protestant Reformation will begin as people protest the Church and demand reforms

The Bubonic Plague

• Background and Causes– Black Death is also known as the Bubonic

Plague– Spread by fleas on rats – Spread along trade routes like the Silk

Roads– The Mongols inadvertently spread the

plague by increasing trade!– The Mongols purposely spread the plague

by shooting infected dead bodies over the walls of cities they were trying to defeat!

• Symptoms of the Bubonic Plague– Red rash around the neck (ring

around the rosey)– Extremely high fever– Black puss filled blisters called

buboes around the neck, armpits, and other places where there are lots of sweat and salivary glands

–Death! (90% of people died within 3 days of showing symptoms)

• Short term effects– 1/3 of the population of Western

Europe dies between 1347 and 1352

– Increasing superstition– Rise of weird religious cults– People lose faith in a Church that is

unable to protect them– Anti-Semitism

• Long term effects– Trade increases – no longer self-

sufficient– Beginning of wage labor– End of feudalism– Church loses power– Kings gain more power

Bubonic Plague

• Where did the plague come from?

• How did it spread?• Where did people think it came

from?• What was a major short term

effect of the plague?• What was a major long term

effect of the plague?

TURNING POINTS

• What makes each of these things a turning point?– The Crusades– King John I signs the Magna Carta– The Hundred Years’ War– The Babylonian Captivity– The Bubonic Plague