The Decline of Feudalism Reason #1 Political Changes

England  Political changes that would bring an end to Feudalism started in England in the 12 th and 13 th centuries (1100’s-1200’s)  It really starts with King Henry II ( )

King Henry II Changes the Court System  No More Trial by Ordeal Trial by Combat Feudal Lords deciding guilt or innocence and punishments  Instead A Jury would accuse people of crimes Cases would be tried before a Royal Judge Guilt or Innocence would be based more on the facts of the case

Henry II Fights With The Church  Henry issued the Constitutions of Clarendon Listed the Rights of the King The BIG one was that if a member of the clergy was accused of a crime they would be tried in Royal Courts  Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, Objected!!! The clergy should be tried in Church Courts!! 1170 Becket is killed by 4 knights 1173 Becket becomes a saint, and his tomb becomes a destination for pilgrimages

King John I Makes A Lot of Enemies  John I becomes king when his father, Henry II, dies in 1199 Lost most of England’s land in France Taxed the nobles Ignored the rights of the nobles Fought with the church Heavily taxed church lands

King John I And The Magna Carta  The Magna Carta (Great Charter) is signed by King John I Nobles forced John I to sign the Magna Carta King must ask the nobles before he raises taxes All free men must have a trial Property cannot just be taken  Why would King John I sign a document that took away some of his power? If he did not agree…..He would be overthrown!!

King Edward I  1295 Edward I started the Model Parliament, to help govern England  Included lots of different people Commoners Lower Clergy Nobles High ranking Clergy

So How Did This Stuff Help End Feudalism? 1. Strengthened the power of the King 2. Weakened the power of the Nobles 3. Gave more power to Common People 4. Magna Carta gave people rights that could not be taken away 5. Improved Court System 6. Model Parliament gave regular people a say in the government

The Decline of Feudalism Reason #2- The Bubonic Plague AKA “The Black Death”

What is the Bubonic Plague?  Most famous form of Plague  Caused by a bacterial infection  Spreads through flea bites (Rarely through the air)  Without treatment…… 50%-100% Lethal  Bubonic Plague probably started in China or Mongolia  Today Bubonic Plague is curable with the use of proper antibiotics (3,000)

Symptoms of the Bubonic Plague  1 st Flu like symptoms Sneezing, Aches, and Fatigue  2 nd Swollen lymph glands Armpits, Groin, and Neck Swollen glands develop into Buboes, which eventually rupture and bleed  3 rd Coughing Once coughing starts the plague has become airborne  4 th Pain, Bleeding, Decaying of Tissue and Death…. in 3-7 days

The Bubonic Plague spreads to Europe  Fleas spread along trade routes  Spread along the Silk Road  Also spread to Europe on ships  First outbreaks of the Bubonic Plague would occur in port cities and towns

Spreading the Plague in Europe  Starts in modern Turkey and Italy  Poor sanitation encouraged the spread of the Plague Plague infected rats and fleas feed on garbage, dead animals, and human waste Most people did not change their clothing Most people did not bath regularly  People did not know what caused the Plague, or how it spread

Impact of the “Black Death”  Approximately half of the people in China died  24 million Europeans died, about 1/3 of the population  Trade and The Economy were destroyed Rebuilt with an emphasis on Common people  Power shifted from the Nobles to the Commoners So many people had died that workers were in short supply Workers could demand more money and more rights More people moved away from feudal manors and into towns and cities to look for better opportunities  Peasant rebellions began to break out

The Decline of Feudalism Reason #3- The 100 Years War ( Off and On for 116 years

Background  King of France dies with no successor  King Edward III of England is a distant relative, so he claims the French throne  The war was very back and forth  Eventually France would win and the English would be driven out of France

New Weapons (Battles of Crecy, Poitiers, and Agincourt) Battle of Crecy  English Army  Outnumbered 3-1  Not many armored knights, mostly peasant soldiers  LONGBOWMEN Battle of Crecy  French Army  3 times more troops  Mounted armored knights  CROSSBOWMEN

Joan of Arc  A peasant teenage French girl who hears voices telling her to drive the English from France and crown Charles V King of France, rallies France to victory  May 7, 1429 Joan of Arc leads a French army to victory at the Battle of Orleans  July 17, 1429 Charles V is crowned King of France  A year later, Joan of Arc is captured by the British Tried in Church Courts for Heresy and witchcraft Burned at the stake

Impacts of 100 Years of Warfare  English and French Kings Gain Power (Especially French)  Nationalism grows in France and England  Armored knights and Chivalry have been replaced with Peasant armies and Longbowmen  Nobles and Knights lose power and become less important, while Peasants become more important

The Decline of Feudalism Reason #4- The Great Schism (Conflict in the Church)

Kings and Popes Compete  Big Incident ( )  King Philip IV (France) says that the clergy in France have to answer to the King  Pope Boniface VIII says that kings must always obey popes.  Philip the IV has the Pope held prisoner, he is later rescued, but dies shortly thereafter  The power of the Pope over Kings was now completely gone

More then 1 Pope ?!?!  Pope Urban VI Chosen by Italian Cardinals because he was Italian Lived in Rome Excommunicated Clement VII  Clement VII Chosen by French Cardinals because he was French Lived in France Excommunicated Urban VI There is actually a 3 rd Pope at the same time! Who the heck is in charge of the Church?

The Great Schism (Split in the Church)  So who is Pope? 1414 The Council of Constance tries to figure this mess out Was able to force all 3 Popes to quit 3 years later they choose a new Pope, only 1 this time, Martin V

??Questions?? about the Church  People start to resent the wealth and power of the Pope and the Church  Start to question the teachings of the Church Who is really the head of the Church? How should the clergy live? Do common people even really need the clergy? By the way, often times the people who asked these questions were put on trial for heresy and burned at the stake  All of this questions showed that the power and influence of the Church was declining

Impact on the End of Feudalism  Kings now had more power than the Pope  Church is having problems with transferring power, and actually running itself  Common people begin to question the Church  Common people begin to resent the wealth and power of the Church

Recap  There are 4 main reasons why Feudalism fell… Political Changes  Changed the court system, More rights for the people, more power for the King Bubonic Plague  More power for the common people because their labor was even more important now 100 years War  Growth of Nationalism, End of Chivalry, Common people continue to gain power and importance Great Schism  Church loses power, people begin to question and resent the Church  2 Final Thoughts Kings and Common people were gaining more and more power, while the Nobles and Church were losing it People were sick of all this turmoil and really wanted things to change