The Crisis of the 14 th Century A Distant Mirror of Our Own Times? Adapted by Dianne Siasoco

A Distant Mirror  In, novelist Barbara Tuchman reveals in alarming detail a “tortured century” with parallels to our own time.  In A Distant Mirror, novelist Barbara Tuchman reveals in alarming detail a “tortured century” with parallels to our own time.

 People in the 14th century were subjected to natural and man- made disasters, including:  Climate Change  Soil Exhaustion  Agricultural Decline  Famine  Black Death  The Hundred Years' War  Political Instability  Peasant Uprisings  The Babylonian Captivity  The Great Schism

 Was Western Europe's 14th century a mirror for our own time?  The illustration above depicts the Battle of Dunkirk in It was part of the Hundred Years War.  The one below represents a battle at the same location that took place in It was part of the Second World War.

7.1 Crisis of the 14 th century

Wars The Hundred Years’ War ( )  What was it? A series of long, deadly wars, between England and France.

HUNDRED YEARS’ WAR ( ) check your book for the years Causes:  France tried to control the English’s Guyenne in SW France  The French supported the Scots against England.  The French tried to control Flanders and the English wool trade  Fights over the English Channel Consequences:  Destroyed harvests and fields  disrupted trade throughout northwest Europe  In the east, war was also disrupting trade routes as the Ottoman Empire began to expand throughout the region.  POPULATION DECRESED

Famine What was it? People starved to death or became weak against disease. During , famine devastated most of Europe.

FAMINE Causes:  CLIMATE CHANGE (SEE NEXT SLIDE)  A LITTLE ICE AGE! SAY CONSEQUENCES:  Agricultural productivity declined  Grain prices increased greatly.  Diseases destroyed much of Europe's livestock, depriving people of meat and dairy products.  POPULATION DECREASED

Climatic Changes  What was it? Starting about 1250, a Little Ice Age began weakening Europe's agricultural productivity.  The Baltic Sea (locate it on the map) froze, Alpine glaciers advanced, and in some areas, grain cultivation stopped.  In other areas, crops failed as a result of heavy rains.

Question for thought:  Are we having a climate change now?

The Black Death What was it?  In 1347, the Black Death hit Europe. Those bitten by infected fleas died horrible deaths within a week's time. Those who inhaled the virus died even sooner.

THE BLACK DEATH Causes:  Came from Asia and spread along the trade routes Consequences: POPULATION DECREASE  Decimated(destroyed) the populations of the densely populated cities of Northern Italy. Florence fell from 90,000 to 50,000 people.  Killed 40% of the English population and nearly 60% of the population in northeastern France.  Killed 40% of the English population and nearly 60% of the population in northeastern France.

HOMEWORK: READ THE BOXES AND MAP ON PAGE 90 AND 91. ANSWER NUMBER 4.

7.2 Consequences of the crisis

1. POPULATION DECREASE  FROM 80 TO 45 MILLION BETWEEN

2. Economic Decline or recession

3. Social Conflicts Countryside:Cities:

Peasant Uprisings in the countryside  The strains of life in the countryside, of hunger, disease, war and death, were made worse by feudal lords' demands that peasants continue paying high rents and other feudal dues and by the burden of royal taxation. This led to mass uprisings in France and England.

Urban Rebellions  The rural population was not alone.  The rural population was not alone.  Artisans and the urban poor spontaneously rose in protest against hunger and against the upper classes (especially the aristocrats), who lived in luxury and used their political power to keep wages low.  Artisans and the urban poor spontaneously rose in protest against hunger and against the upper classes (especially the aristocrats), who lived in luxury and used their political power to keep wages low.  Are you seeing this today?

Banking Crisis  In the mid-1300s, France and England both refused to pay off loans made by the banking houses of Italy.  This led to financial crisis and collapse in Florence and Sienna in Italy.  This led to financial crisis and collapse in Florence and Sienna in Italy.  Banking failures disrupted the flow worsened the depression of most European cities.

 Stop here. Review.

Popular Religious Responses  One common response to the multiple disasters and hardships of the 1300s was to conclude that God was passing judgment on mankind's sins. Remedies for sinfulness included:  Engaging in pilgrimages to holy sites  Punishing the flesh as part of a flagellant cult  Imitating the life of Christ and seeking mystical union with the divine through the Eucharist  Participating in the Lollard movement by obeying the teachings of Christ and rejecting the Church and its sacraments.

Crises of Authority  The Babylonian Captivity (when the papacy moved to Avignon, France) and the Great Schism (a period during the 14 th century when three popes claimed the seat of Peter) brought a crisis of authority. The papacy lost prestige and church councils attempted to usurp authority.

Economic Consequences  By disrupting existing patterns of life, the various crises created opportunities for new development, such as the revival of classic culture that brought forth new forms of art.  For survivors of the Black Death, there were new opportunities in the form of improved agriculture, more diversified economies, and greater prosperity, including better wages and living standards.  The new prosperity helped fuel such developments as the founding of new universities and the amassing of wealth among urban elites. The Renaissance flourished in both environments.  Universities became centers of humanist learning, and wealthy city dwellers, along with monarchs and popes, became patrons of Renaissance art, architecture, and music.

Political Consequences  Although frequent warfare proved destructive for its victims, it strengthened the political power of the victors, contributing to the growth of modern nation states.  France benefited from its victory in the Hundred Years’ War, English kings consolidated their power following the Wars of the Roses, and the Spanish monarch emerged as one of the strongest in Europe following the unification of Castile and Aragon and the expulsion of the Muslims.  Victory in warfare also benefited many rulers who became important patrons of the northern Renaissance. Similarly, contact between Venice and the Ottomans, who had defeated the Byzantines, stimulated the development of the Renaissance.

Religious Consequences  Upheaval in the church, combined with the horrors of the Black Death and the dislocation of the Hundred Years’ War, stimulated important changes in European religious life.  The devastation caused by the plague prompted spiritual uncertainty.  Competition among the rival popes during the Great Schism weakened the prestige of the papacy.  The diminished authority of the church stimulated new religious movements – important precursors of the Reformation.  The Great Schism undermined the political unity of the Church and enhanced opportunities for kings to lay claim to the Church in their own countries.