1. The Late Middle Ages and the Plagues of Europe, 1300-1450 War, Pestilence, and Religious Crisis

2. Islam and the West

3. I. 100 Years War, 1337-1450 Clash of nation-state with feudal system Failure of chivalry Damage to authority figures

4. A. Causes 1. Vassalage 2. Economic growth in Flemish textile towns 3. French succession Edward III

5. 4. Culture of Aristocracy a. Crusades were over b. 100 Years war offered combat opportunity

6. B. Conduct of the War 1. Early victories for the English Crecy, Poitier, Agincourt a. “yeomen archers”

7. 2. English gained control of northern France English soldiers left to feed themselves

8. 3. Capetian Kingdom begins to unravel a. French nobles untrustworthy b. revolt of the Burgundians c. forced peasants to pay nobles’ taxes

9. C. Impact of the War 1. Widespread destruction 2. Waning respect for traditional authority - 1429, Battle of Orleans Joan of Arc

10. - Battle of Agincourt, 1415 yeomen archers no room for chivalry

11. 3. New methods of war 1450, Battle of Formingy = gunpowder 4. Both France and England left weakened Warfare and economic disturbance laid groundwork for “environmental disasters” of Late Middle Ages

12. II. The Black Death, 1347-1352 Xenopsylla cheopis

13. A. Environmental disaster in the making 1. 1300, nearly all arable land taken - urban crowding - trade with the East 2. 1347, Bubonic plague arrives via Italian trade routes

14. 3. “Black Death” 6, 14, 18th centuries 137 million (1/4 - 1/3 of Europe in 1300s)

15. B. Social, cultural and political legacy of the Black Death 1. Fascination with the macabre Hans Holbein, The Dance of Death the Kingthe Queenthe Pope

16. 2. Challenge to Church 3. Weakening of traditional bonds 4. Left Europe subject to invasion Mongols - 1400s Ottoman Turks - 1500 & 1600s

17. 5. Plagues of insurrection - short term: more opportunities - nobles try to take advantage; war taxes Jacquerie - 1358 the Great Rebellion of 1381 Wat Tyler’s revolt

18. III. Division of Christendom The Avignon Papacy and the Great Schism in the Church

19. A. Avignon Papacy 1. 1305, College of Cardinals choose Clement V a. suppression of Knights Templar b. moved papacy to Avignon c. ran Church like a business

20. 2. 1370s, last French Pope dies a. Rome, most of Europe wants Italian Pope b. desperation of French King demands French Pope 3. 1378- 1417, the Great Schism a. Ends with Council of Constance, 1414-17 Pope John XXIII

21. Avignon Papacy and Great Schism… a. represented a dreadful failure in leadership at a time when Europe needed the Church b. weakened the reputation and authority of papacy in the eyes of both clergy and lay people c. Left the door open for theological and literary challenges to Church hegemony

22. B. Theological challenges 1. John Wycliffe, 1340s-1380s a. quality of sacrament b. attacked Church as business c. supported English nobles

23. 2. Jan Hus = religion and nationalism Bohemia

24. C. William of Ockham and “The Spirit of Truth” (d. 1349) 1. Church should have no role in secular affairs 2. Argued against Aristotelian theory a. must argue from specific to general b. Ockham’s razor scientific method

25. D. Rise of Vernacular literature 1. As authority of Church declines, so does reliance on Latin 2. Vernacular expression of cultural, national, religious independence (Gutenberg press)

26. 1. Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy allegory = who really deserves to spend time in the Inferno?

27. 2. Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales middle english ribald, low brow comedy, social satire Wife of Bath

28. 3. Christine de Pisan, City of Ladies a. status of aristocratic women improving b. all levels of patriarchy challenged

29. Crises of the 14th Century weakened political, social and religious authority… paves the way for Renaissance, Reformation… the return of Greco-Roman humanism… and the rise of the Early Modern West