A Century of Turmoil “We declare, state, and define that subjection to the Roman Pontiff is absolutely necessary for the salvation of every human creature.” – Pope Boniface VIII In response to King Philip IV of France attempting to assert authority over French Bishops, Boniface issued a papal bull declaring that kings must always obey popes. Rather than obey the pope, King Philip had Boniface imprisoned in September 1303 with the intention of bringing him to trial in France. Boniface was rescued, but he died a month later. Never again would a pope hold sway over monarchs. The relationship between church and state in Europe was about to change.

Avignon and the Great Schism In 1305 King Philip persuaded the College of Cardinals to choose a French archbishop, Clement V, as the new pope. Clement quickly moved from Rome to Avignon, the papal residence until 1372. “Distance weakens authority, Great Distance Weakens Authority Greatly.” The move to Avignon significantly weakened the Roman Catholic Church. (Why?) Upon Pope Gregory XI death in 1378, Catholic reformers demanded an Italian pope. The College of Cardinals elected Pope Urban VI. Regretting their decision, the French cardinals elected Clement VII two months later. Now there were two popes.

Resolving The Great Schism The French pope lived in Avignon. The Italian pope lived in Rome, giving birth to the Great Schism in the Roman Catholic Church. To end the Great Schism, the Council of Constance (1414) set out to choose a new pope. The Council, with the help of the Holy Roman Emperor, forced all three popes (the two aforementioned and a third previously elected by a council at Pisa) to resign. In 1417, a new pope, Martin V, was chosen and the Great Schism came to an end, however, Martin failed to effect any reform of abuses of power.

A Scholarly Challenge to Church Authority John Wycliff further challenged the papacy in the early 1400s when he preached that Jesus Christ, and not the pope, was the true head of the church. Wycliff pointed out that the pope lived in utter luxury, criticized the taxes collected by the pope and proposed that clergy should not own land or wealth. Wycliff birthed the doctrine Sola Scriptura; that the Bible alone was the final authority for Christian theology and practice. To spread his idea, Wycliff encouraged an English translation of the New Testament.

A Scholarly Challenge to Church Authority Wycliff’s teaching greatly influenced John Huss, a Bohemian professor who was excommunicated in 1412 due to his teaching that the Bible was a higher authority than the pope. In response, German emperor Sigismund arranged the Council of Constance (1414). Sigismund urged Huss to attend with promises of safe conduct. Unfortunately, upon his arrival Huss was seized, tried as a heretic, and burned at the stake in 1415.

The Bubonic Plague Strikes During the 1300s, roughly 33% of Europe’s population died from the bubonic plague (about 25 million people). Having infected most of Asia (35 million in China) and the Muslim world (4 million), the Black Plague reached Europe’s shores in 1347 when a fleet of Genoese merchant ships arrived in Sicily carrying the disease. Taking its name from the black and purplish dots it left on the skin, the Black Plague caused painful swelling in the lymph nodes of the armpits and groin. Common symptoms were high fever, chills, and delirium. As the epidemic swept through Italy and followed trade routes to France, Germany, England, and other parts of Europe, people were so terrified that fathers and mothers refused to nurse and assist their own children.

The Bubonic Plague Strikes There were three strains of the disease: Yersinia pestis, the bacteria that caused bubonic plague, lived in the bellies of fleas that lived on rats and other rodents. The fleas bit humans and passed on the bacteria. Pneumonic plague, a more serious form of the disease, was airborne and bacteria passed from victim to victim through coughing and sneezing. Septicemic plague, the deadliest form of disease, struck when the bacteria attacked the victim’s bloodstream. Had people known the causes of the bubonic plague, what might they have done to slow its spread? Which modern diseases can we compare to the plague?

Effects of the Plague Frightened people looked for a scapegoat, and they found one in the Jews who were blamed for spreading the plague by poisoning the drinking wells. As a result, Jews were driven from their homes all over Europe, and many were massacred. As the disease spread, roughly 75% of people who caught the disease died from it. The plague decimated Europe’s population and crippled its economy as trade decreased and prices increased. Scarce labor led serfs to leave their manors in search of better wages. The manorial system fell apart as peasants’ demands for higher wages in England, France, Italy, and Belgium led to open rebellion.

Effects of the Plague Clergy began to charge high fees to perform services for the dying, and some deserted their flock. Some people feared the future and became pessimistic about life, while others occupied themselves with pleasure and self-indulgence; “Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you may die.” Extra Credit: Research these varieties of the plague and provide your classmates with a brief description of how each affects its victims.

The Hundred Years War When the Capetian king died () without a successor, England’s Edward III claimed the right to the French throne as grandson of Philip IV. The subsequent war continued on and off from 1337 to 1453 and became known as the Hundred Years War. Three Major British Victories The Battle of Crecy – 8/26/1346 – a victory for the longbow over the chivalric warrior The Battle of Poitiers (1356) – French King John and his son Philip captured and held for ransom Battle of Agincourt (1415) – King Henry V’s English archers again win over heavily armored French Knights

Joan of Arc In 1420 the French and English agreed that Henry V would inherit the French crown at the death of Charles VI. ALL HOPE WAS LOST  Then in 1429 a peasant girl named Joan of Arc became convinced that she was God’s instrument to drive the English out of France and return the French crown to Charles VI’s son. Orleans having been besieged by the British for six months, Joan led the French army to a victorious battle, after which she convinced Charles to go with her to Reims where he was crowned King on July 17, 1429. In 1430 Joan was captured in battle by the Burgundians, turned over to the British, then the Church.

Joan of Arc She was tried as a heretic and a witch due to her claims to have heard voices. King Charles VII did nothing to rescue her, and on May 30, 1431 Joan of Arc was tied to a stake and burned to death at Rouen. Her trial was more political than religious, as the English was just a wee bit upset that they had been defeated by a teenage girl.

The Impact of the Hundred Years War French farmland was devastated and French population declined. Trade was disrupted, so peasants were taxed heavily. Despite its heavy human and material cost, the war increased the power and prestige of the French monarch. The war birthed a sense of nationalism in both Britain and France as people saw the king as the symbol of the nation, and no longer simply as a feudal lord. The English suffered through a period of internal turmoil (the War of the Roses, 1450 - 1485) in which two noble families (Lancastrians vs. Yorkists) fought for the throne. Democracy was strengthened as Britain’s parliamentary power increased due to Edward’s constant requests for additional $$ to finance the war; the Middle ages drew to a close