The Magna Carta – the most well-known and most important document to come out of the Middle Ages >An agreement between England's major landholders (barons) and King John, signed at Runnymede in >Established idea that the King of England was not above the law – a principle that became the cornerstone of representative democracy. > Not a statement of political philosophy, it was a list of complaints and rights that the feudal vassals extracted from their liege lord, King John. Of the 63 clauses, only three are relevant today: Trial by Jury of Peers No taxation without representation Punishments must fit the crime

The Late Middle Ages Crisis and Dissolution

An Age of Adversity Economic problems Famine & Plague Peasant Rebellions Decline of the Papacy Hundred Years War ( )

Economic problems Early 1300's - “The Little Ice Age” Declining agricultural production Food shortages, malnutrition and famines Silver shortage - Spiraling inflation Diminished revenues from peasants Knights turned to plunder and warfare

The Black Death Sicily Fleas on black rats 20,000,000 dead “Divine punishment for human sin”

Negative impact of the Plague included: Panic- family, friends & villages abandoned Food production plummeted Jewish communities massacred Church authority questioned Economic and social tensions emerged into rebellions New artistic forms focused on decay and death

Positive long-term impact of the Plague Higher wages for manual labor People questioned the authority of church leaders Re-emergence of rational science Re-discovery of the ancient past New, questioning spirit- paved the way for the Renaissance

The Jacquerie, France, 1358

The Ciompi – Italy, 1378

Wat Tyler’s Peasant Revolt, aka The Great Rising, England, 1381

The Hundred Years War,

William of Normandy, aka William the Conqueror, 1066

Edward III r In 1337, he claimed the throne of France. Henry V r took advantage of a civil war in France and invaded in 1415

Crecy, 1346 Poitiers, 1356 The Long Bow vs mounted knights and the crossbow

Agincourt, 1415

Joan of Arc ( ) Jeanne D’Arc, 1429 “The Maid of Orleans”

Captured by the Duke of Burgundy in 1430 and turned over to English

Impact of the Hundred Years War English held only the port city of Calais England experienced a civil war: War of the Roses French monarchy grew in power & prestige Kings won the right to collect taxes New weapons and strategy for warfare Code of Chivalry abandoned Feudalism began to decline

Height of the Papacy Innocent III ( ) > The Donation of Constantine – to justify papal power > Regained physical control over many Italian states > Responsible for the 4 th Crusade > Forced King John to give England to the Pope and receive it back as a fief > Sponsored Francis of Assissi in creating the Franciscan order and the Spaniard Dominic and his Dominican order. > Convened the 4 th Lateran Council

Decline of the Papacy

Pope Boniface VIII and French king Philip IV

Clericos Laicos, 1296 “Churches and priests that paid taxes to the French king instead of the Pope would face excommunication.”

“…if the earthly power errs, it shall be judged by the spiritual power…. but the pope can be judged only by God, not by man. Therefore we declare, state, define and pronounce that it is altogether necessary to salvation for every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff.” Unam Sanctam, 1302

September, 1303 “The Terrible Day at Anagni.”

In 1309, Clement V -Avignon

The Babylonian Captivity, Along with Clement V, the next 6 popes (68 years) were French. Many saw the pope as a puppet of the French king Widespread criticism among devout Catholics of “the good life” led by the clergy at Avignon further reduced the prestige of the church and the pope in particular.

The Babylonian Captivity, Petrarch, in 1353 wrote “I am now living in Avignon where reign the successors of the poor fishermen of Galilee. I am astounded…to see these men loaded with gold and clad in purple, boasting of the spoils of princes and nations; to see luxurious palaces and heights crowned with fortifications, instead of a boat turned downwards for their shelter.”

John Wycliffe ( ) Stressed a personal relationship with God Sacraments are not necessary for salvation Denied that priests turned bread/wine to body/blood of Christ (transubstantiation) Denounced wealth and advocated material poverty Followers called Lollards

The end to Medieval Scholasticism... St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica – the attempt to reconcile the works of Aristotle, with its emphasis on reason and logic, with Christianity.

Duns Scotus ( ) “Human reason cannot prove that God is omnipotent, that He rewards the righteous and punishes the wicked, or that the soul is immortal. These doctrines are the province of revelation and faith, not reason.”

William of Ockham ( ) “The tenets of faith are beyond the reach of reason; there is no rational foundation for Christianity.” His approach, separating natural knowledge from religious dogma, made it easier to explore the natural world without fitting it into a religious framework.

In 1377, Pope Gregory IX re-established the papacy in Rome

The Great Schism, : Pope Urban VI (Pope in Rome) and Pope Clement VII (Pope in Avignon)

The Great Schism, , Council of Pisa elected Alexander V – a third pope!

Council of Constance, elected Martin V as new Pope.

Legacy of the Middle Ages… Notions of honor, duty, loyalty, and love European cities / The middle class The state system English common law -concept of liberty Equality and the sacred worth of the individual Representative government Universities Corporations, Bookkeeping & Banking Preserved Greco-Roman scholarship Growth of secularism