The West Struggles and Eastern Empires Flourish The Late Middle Ages, ca. 1300-1500

The West Struggles and Eastern Empires Flourish

The Late Middle Ages, ca. 1300-1500

The West Struggles and Eastern Empires Flourish

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The Big Picture

1250 15001375

Mongol Empire

Great Schism

Hundred Years’ War Wars of the Roses

Avignon Papacy

Famine PlagueConquest of Constantinople

Economic and Social Misery

Famine in Western Europe– Agricultural at the Brink: Around 1300, the agricultural

improvements of the previous few centuries had reached their uppermost ability to sustain the greatly expanding population. Farmers were farming more marginal lands, yielding less crops. Plowing common lands for crops led to the killing off of livestock and less manure. And then the weather took a bad turn.

– Bad Weather: Around 1310, a series of cool and very rainy summers led to failed or very poor yields. Famine began in 1315 and lasted until 1322 in some parts of Europe. Starving peasants even resorted to cannibalism in some places. Those who didn’t starve often succumbed from malnutrition or respiratory or intestinal diseases. 3


The Black Death: A Pandemic Strikes– The Spread: Increased maritime commerce and

the expansion of the Mongol Empire left the Eurasian landmass susceptible to the spread of epidemic disease, and a particularly horrible one emerged in Europe in 1348. Genoese ships trading between Sicily and the Middle East most likely introduced the plague to Europe.

– What Was It? The disease was the bubonic plague, adisease caused by a virulent bacillus that infected ratsin Manchuria, and then spread to black rats in Europe.This disease was passed to human from the bites of infected fleas. It could spread into the lungs, causingsneezing and coughing, and ultimately, death. If it entered the lungs, it was 100 percent fatal.

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The Black Death: A Pandemic StrikesDescription from Boccaccio’s Decameron:

I say, then, that in the year 1348 after the Son of God's fruitful incarnation, into the distinguished city of Florence, that most beautiful of Italian cities, there entered a deadly pestilence. Whether one believes that it came through the influence of the heavenly bodies or that God, justly angered by our iniquities, sent it for our correction, in any case it had begun several years earlier in the east and killed an innumerable mass of people, spreading steadily from place to place and growing as it moved west.

No human wisdom or provision was of any help. Huge amounts of filth were removed from the city by officials charged with that task; sick people were forbidden to enter the city; advice was given on how to stay healthy; devout persons made humble supplication to God not once but many times, in processions and by other means; but in the spring of that year the sad effects of the plague nonetheless began to appear in an almost miraculous manner. It was not as it had been in the east, where nosebleeds had signaled that death was inevitable. Here the sickness began in both men and women with swelling in the groin and armpits. The lumps varied in size, some reaching the size of an ordinary apple and others that of an egg, and the people commonly called them gavoccioli. Having begun in these two parts of the body, the gavoccioli soon began to appear at random all over the body. After this point the disease started to alter in nature, with black or livid spots appearing on the arms, the thighs, everywhere. Sometimes they were large and well spaced, other times small and numerous. These were a certain sign of impending death, but so was the swelling.

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The Black Death: A Pandemic Strikes– Devastation: The plague raced through Europe,

spreading rapidly in warm and wet summers and slowing down in cold, dry winters. It killed roughly one-third to one-half of the population of Europe, somewhere between 20,000,000 and 35,000,000 dead. Paris may have last 50 percent of its populace, while Florence could have lost 80 percent.

– Reaction: Law, customs, and traditions that held “Dance of Death”

medieval society together disintegrated in the face by Hans Holbein

of the plague. People did not know the disease’s cause,attributing it toGod’s wrath or bad air. Doctors often unwittingly spread the disease by using the same leeches to bleed different patients. 6


The Black Death: A Pandemic Strikes– Flagellants: A group of those who believed that

the plague was the result of God’s wrath thoughtthat they might gain God’s forgiveness by inflictingpain on themselves, marching through town threetimes a day, whipping their backs with leather thongs tipped with lead, splashing their blood on the walls of the church they passed.

– Attacking Jews: In some locales, the population attacked Jews, accusing them of causing the plague by poisoning the wells. This was particularly true in the German lands, since many Jews had been pushed out of England and France and had moved eastward. Jewish property was often confiscated by the persecutors. By 1351, more than 60 major Jewish communities had been destroyed in the German lands. Many Jews fled to Russia and Poland, where they were better protected.

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The Spread of the Black Death 8


Peasants and Townspeople Revolt– Changed Demographics: After the plague, labor was scarce. Peasants

were less amenable to giving the lords their traditional required labor, while free laborers charged much higher wages. Lords’ denials of the new situation enraged peasants, sending many on violent rages across the countryside, burning manor houses and slaughtering their occupants.

– John Ball (ca. 1338-1381): Some revolts combined a religious message with calls for social reform. Preachers like John Ball believed that the famine and plague presaged the return of Jesus Christ, and that a new social order was called for: “When Adam delved and eve span, where were all the gentleman?” In 1381, he led a revolt that did not blame the king, but the local nobility, and had the support of some well armed men. The rebellion did not last, and when it dispersed, Ball was hanged, drawn, and quartered in the presence of King Richard II in July 1381.

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Peasants and Townspeople Revolt– Jacquerie: The French peasantry also revolted in an uprising

called the Jacquerie in 1358 in a region north of Paris. It was called “Jacquerie” since the French nobility called peasants “Jacques” in a mocking fashion. Peasants entered the manor houses of nobles and brutally slaughtered them and their families.

– Longterm Effects of Peasant Revolts: The peasant revolts did not last long because they could not withstand the superior weapons of the nobles, and numerous peasants and their leaders were massacred. But in the long run, these revolts started a process by which serfs who owed rent and labor became peasants, who only owed rent to the lord. This process moved more quickly in western Europe than eastern Europe. 10


Peasants and Townspeople Revolt– Urban Revolts: Economic hardship led many merchants and elite townsmen

to take away privileges of the lower orders, leading to many of the poorer townspeople to revolt, as in the case of the Ciompi Revolt in Florence in 1378. Ciompi were wool workers who were not in guilds (named after their wooden shoes). Their briefly successful revolt brought an unprecedented level of democracy to Florence. It was eventually suppressed when the major and minor guilds united against the Ciompi. Similar revolts in Ghent, Rouen, and Douai (in Flanders) brought short-term betterment of poorer workers’ quality of life.

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Imperial Papacy Besieged

Popes Move to Avignon– Weakening of the Church: During the troubled era of the 1300s, many

people turned to the church for solace, but the church itself was not immune from the era’s problems.

– Move to Avignon: French King Philip IV (r. 1285-1314) struggled with the church over the question of taxation of church lands. Philip even arrested elderly Pope Boniface VII (r. 1294-1303), who was quickly freed, but died soon thereafter. When the College of Cardinals elected a new pope, Philip used intimidation to get a pro-French cardinal elected, and convinced the pope to rule from Avignon, a city in southern France on the Rhone River. The new pope, Clement V (r. 1304-1314), agreed to Philip’s proposal, and moved in 1309. For 72 years after Clement’s election, popes ruled from Avignon—a strange place to be for the bishop of Rome—under the thumb of the French king.

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Popes Move to Avignon

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Popes in Avignon– “Babylonian Captivity”: The Italian scholar and humanist Petrarch

objected to what he called the “Babylonian Captivity” of the pope, as did many other Christians. The Avignon popes improved their collection of ecclesiastical taxes as they could not count on traditional revenue from Rome. Many saw the Avignon popes as too secular.

– Return to Rome: An influential mystic, Catherine of Siena (1347-1380), felt called by God to bring the pope back to Rome, experiencing several visions. She wrote letters to Pope Gregory XI (r. 1370-1378), and in 1376, traveled to meet him. Catherine pleaded with him and convinced him to return.

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Things Get Worse: The Great Schism– The Great Schism: When Pope Gregory died in 1378, Romans feared that

the College of Cardinals would elect another pro-French pope who would return to Avignon. The guard of the cardinals warned them that they risked being “torn to pieces” if they did not elect an Italian, and they did so: Pope Urban VI (r. 1378-1389). He immediately started making plans to reduce French influence on the papacy.

– French Reaction: Urban’s election prompted the French Cardinals to bolt from the city, claiming that his election was invalid since the Roman mob had coerced his election. The French cardinals reconvened and elected another pope, Clement VII (r. 1378-1394), essentially creating a situation in which there were two sitting popes, initating what is known as the “Great Schism.” Many people declared allegiance for political rather than spiritual reasons, and all of western Christianity was split in half. Following the famine and Black Death, the church then lost much of its moral authority.

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The Great Schism, 1378-141716


The Conciliar Movement– Question of Leadership: Theologians had thought about who should rule the

Church is the pope became incompetent, and most agreed that it should be the college of cardinals. But what should be done if the college was split in two, as it was during the Great Schism? Maybe believed a general council of all bishops could be called together, and this body could heal the schism and reign in the power of the popes.

– Council of Pisa: Such a council was called by the cardinal of both Rome and Avignon in 1409, called the Council of Pisa. This council deposed the two popes and elected a new one. But the old popes refused to step down, so there were THREE popes rather than two.

– Council of Constance: A second council was called at which 400 churchmen came together for the greatest international gathering of the Middle Ages, meeting from 1414 to 1418. It successfully deposed all three popes, and elected a Roman cardinal, who became Martin V (r. 1417-1431). 17


• New Critics of the Church– John Wycliffe (ca. 1320-1384): This

English theologian at Oxford became a harsh critic of papal authority. He believed that there was no basis in scripture for the pope’s earthly power, and that the Bible should be Christianity’s sole source. He argued that the church should give up all of its earthly wealth and property, and that priests should live in poverty. He had a powerful protector in the royal court who kept him safe, but many of his followers, called Lollards, were executed for treasonbeginning in the early 1400s.

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New Critics of the ChurchJan Hus (ca. 1373-1415): This theologian and priestfrom the Kingdom of Bohemia (now the the CzechRepublic) was influenced by the writings of JohnWycliffe. A popular preacher and the rector of Charles University in Prague,he wrote and spoke against the Church’spractice of selling indulgences and wasexcommunicated. Refusing to recanthis statements, he was put on trial at theCouncil of Constance and executed forheresy by being burned at the stake.

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More Destruction: The Hundred Years’ War

England vs. France– Causes: A Capetian king died without an heir in 1328, and the

successor was contested. The nearest relatives was King Edward III of England, who was son of a Capetian king’s daughter. But the Parlement of Paris (France’s supreme court) ruled that a claim to throne could not be transmitted through a woman, so Philip Valois, a first cousin of the old ruler, was crowned as King Philip VI. Meanwhile, Philip began to interfere with the wool trade between Flanders and England, which made the Flemish ask for English intervention.

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England vs. France– English Victories: The English won a naval battle in 1340 which

guaranteed their ability to travel unimpeded across the English Channel. Although they were outnumbered by the French, they won many victories at the outset of the war because of new weapons and strategies that they had adopted. For example, at the Battle of Crecy in 1346, the sky was blackened with English arrows. A string of English victories allowed them to take control of Flanders, the important port of Calais, and expanded holdings in Aquitaine in exchange for Edward III giving up his claim to the French throne.

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England vs. France– New Weapons: The English had leaned of the effectiveness of the

Welsh longbow against armored knights in their war with the Scots; this simple but effective weapon could pierce armor at long distances, and a skilled archer could shoot ten arrows in one minute (compared to two with the older crossbow). The English army also used the Swiss pike, long spears that were braced against the ground by foot soldiers as mounted knight charged. Soldiers also experimented with early forms of guns beginning in the 1340s, which were highly unreliable, but could bring down knights when they functioned properly.

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England vs. France– Renewed Conflict: The French were unhappy with the

English being in control of so much of their territory, so a new French king, Charles V (r. 1364-1380) reopened the war in 1369. He avoided direct military conflict, but soldiers on both sides devastated the countryside, plundering villages and ruining crops. This phase of the war petered out when Edward III died in 1377, followed by Charles V died in 1380. The full-scale war was suspended for a few decades.

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England vs. France– Battle of Agincourt: A new English king, Henry V (r.1413-1422), took the

throne and looked to reopen the war, and found a ready ally in the Duke of Burgundy in France, who wanted to expand his lands at the expense of French kings and supported Henry’s claim to the French throne. In August 1415, Henry invaded France, and as the French king’s army approached, he set up his forces in a unique formation between two villages, one of which was named Agincourt. The French approached with dismounted troops first, followed by mounted knights, followed by crossbowmen who were too far back to be effective. The English longbowmen slaughtered them as they approached, while foot soldiers cleaned up what was left.

– Aftermath: The French king had to sue for peace as a result, and declare his heir—called the Dauphin—illegitimate. The Dauphin seemingly could not rally troops to his cause, and by 1328, the English seemed on the cusp of total victory, laying siege to the city of Orléans, a key controlling most of France. 24

The Hundred Years’ War, 1337-145325


Joan of Arc– The Rise of Joan of Arc (1412-1431): During these dark days for France,

a young peasant girl saw visions of angels who instructed her to lead France to victory. She persuaded the Dauphin of her legitimacy, donned armor, and immediately stirred French armies out of their stupor. Some accounts note her skill of placing artillery, a newly important weapon. Under her influence, the French lifted the siege of Orléans, allowing the Dauphin to claim the throne of France and be coronated at Reims. Eventually the French rallied, kicking the English out of France by 1453, only the port of Calais remaining in their hands.

– Joan Executed: Joan did not live to see the ultimate French victory. She was captured by the Burgundians in 1431, who sold her to the English. The English put her on trial for heresy, found her guilty, and had her burned at the stake. The French honored her as the savior of France, and in 1920, she became a saint in the Catholic Church. 26


Results of the War– Breakdown of the Feudal System: Lords began to demand money

from knights, called scutage, instead of military service, since mounted knights were no longer effective in warfare.

– Free Companies: Lord could hire professional armies with no feudal ties, called “free companies,” who sold their services to the highest bidder. Old ties of loyalty were replaced with cash payments.

– Consolidation of roayl Authority: At the end of the war, the king emerged more powerful than all of his vassals combined. The monarchy had a permanent army, a tax base, and a great deal of prestige among a people who were beginning to identify themselves as “French.”

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Results of the War– Wars of the Roses (1455-1485): When the English were expelled from

France at the end of the Hundred Years’ War, it caused considerable turmoil in England. The monarchy had weakened and Parliament had exercised considerably more control due to the expenses of the war. Furthermore, many old noble families had been decimated by the war. These factors set the stage for a bloody civil war between two of England’s foremost noble families, the Yorks and the Lancasters.

– Richard III (r. 1483-1485): After taking the throne from his twelve-year-old nephew, Edward V, he had the young king and his brother imprisoned in the Tower of London, where they were both murdered. This horrible act inspired an uprising against Richard led by Henry Tudor, a member of the Lancaster family. Henry defeated Richard at the Battle of Bossworth Field in 1485, and was crowned Henry VII (r. 1485-1509). He married Elizabeth of York to heal wounds, but then began to centralize his control: he confiscated lands of rebel nobles and banned private armies 28

Responses to the Disruption of Medieval Order

William of Ockham Reconsiders Scholasticism– A New Breed of Scholars: A century after Thomas Aquinas’s master

synthesis, the Summa Theologiae, a new generation of scholars began to question the very bases of scholasticism, questioning the ties between faith and reason.

– William of Ockham (ca. 1285-1349): This English philosopher challenged the idea within scholasticism that thinkers could extract general truths from individual cases. He argued that universals had no connection to reality. He started a school called “New Nominalism,” from the Latin for “Name,” because he believed universals were only convenient names for things. New Nominalists believed that it was impossible to know God or prove his existence through reason because God was all-powerful and did not have to act logically.

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William of Ockham Reconsiders Scholasticism– Ockham’s Razor: Ockham became more engaged with

observing cases from the real world than previous Scholastic philosophers, who tended to focus purely on the realm of abstract logic. Ockham discovered a fundamental scientific principle the served as the basis for much of future scientific analysis, called Ockham’s Razor. This principle declares that between alternative explanations for the same phenomenon, the simpler explanation is always to be preferred.

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New Literary Giants– Vernacular Languages: In the 1300s, more authors began to use their

vernacular—meaning national languages—rather than Latin, which still remained the official language of the church and governments.

– Dante Aligheri (1265-1321): This Florence-born author was won of the first writers in vernacular (in his case, Italian) to enjoy a wide audience. Exiled from Florence in 1302 for his involvment in that city-states volatile politics, he began writing his Divine Comedy, a somewhat satirical epic poem about a soul traveling through various levels of the afterlife—hell, purgatory, and heaven—from despair to salvation. The writer Vergil is the author’s guide through Hell, where Dante vividly describes the tortures each damned soul experiences. A criticism of the church is made explicit as several popes are found in hell. Dante is led into paradise by a mysterious woman named Beatrice, who was probably the love of his life, who probably serves as an allegory of faith.

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New Literary Giants– Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375): This other Florentine writer offered a

vivid description of when the Black Death hit Florence in his masterwork, The Decameron, in which ten young people flee to the countryside and amuse each other by telling stories. These stories mark a change in medieval sensibilities, as they much more irreverant, witty, sexual, and satiric than anything before. They were a light-hearted response to a very dark time.

– Geoffrey Chaucer (ca. 1340-1400): This English poet wrote The Canterbury Tales, which tells the stories of a group of twenty-nine pilgrims who are travelling to Canterbury to visit the shrine of Thomas Becket; the different narrators offer a comical and sometimes bawdy critique of English society, and have a similar subversive quality as The Decameron.

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A New View: Jan van Eyck– Flemish Realism: Around the same time Chaucer was writing

The Canterbury Tales, painters in Flanders were starting to produce works of startling realism and precision.

– Jan van Eyck (ca. 1395-1441): Foremost of the new Flemish painters, Van Eyck was among the first to use oil paint to create highly realistic details in his paintings. Interestingly, he combined this intense realism with much symbolism from the medieval period—he is truly a transitional figure. The combination of medieval symbols and high realism is a prominent characteristic of the art of the Late Middle Ages.

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Empires in the East

Eastern Universalism: The Mongols– Mongol Empire: In 1206, Genghis Khan (r. 1206-1277) united

diverse nomadic groups in Mongolia, all of whom were excellent warriors and horsemen, and swept out across Central Asia in a fury of conquest, creating an empire that eventually stretched from the Pacific to the Black Sea.

– Kublai Khan (r. 1260-1294): Genghis Khan’s grandson managed to conquer China and make it the center of his empire, creating a powerful lure for trade for westerners.

– Marco Polo

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The Mongol Empire, ca. 1300

35©2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

FIGURE 9.9Venetian merchants trading cloth for spices, mid-fourteenth century.


Figure 9.9

Photo credit: Bibliotheque Nationale

Empires in the East

• The Ottoman Empire, ca. 1300-1566–Conquest of Constantinople

–Suleiman I


The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1566


Empires in the East

• Biography: Vlad III Dracula (the Impaler), King of Wallachia–A Vicious, Controversial King


Empires in the East

• Russia: The Third Rome– Ivan III


The Rise of Moscow, 1325-1533


Documents

The West Struggles and Eastern Empires Flourish The Late Middle Ages, ca. 1300-1500