1. The Black Death European Middle Ages (500 – 1500CE) > (400 – 700CE) Germanic tribes carve Western Europe into small kingdoms. > (711 – 732CE) Muslims control parts of Europe; trade with Muslims brings new opportunities for learning. > (800 – 814CE) Charlemagne unifies Germanic and Roman lands in Western Europe; sets example of unified rule for later rulers. > (700s – 1000sCE) Vikings, Muslims, & Magyars invade Europe; invasions weaken kings and emperors and they cannot maintain law and order; - the Feudal System develops to provide protection.

2. > Feudal System - King - Nobles - Knights - Peasants/Serfs > (1000sCE) Feudalism spreads across Europe and other parts of the Christian world; huge defensive castles are built; - system defines relationships between social classes. > (1000 – 1300CE) Agricultural revolution transforms Europe by increasing food production [3-field system]; - towns and cities grow, trade becomes more important, & a middle class develops

3. Medieval Town

5. Food Shortages (early 1300sCE) - Increasing population - Soil exhaustion > grazing lands converted to cultivation (less livestock = less fertilizer) - Bad weather > heavy rains & frosts - Result is malnutrition; susceptible to disease

6. Spread of the Plague (p. 358) - Mixture of Bubonic & Pneumonic plagues - Begins in Mongolia (1331 – 1332) - Spreads to China with invasion - Moves to port of Kaffa with merchants - Travels to Sicily with Italian merchants (1347CE) - Spreads throughout most of Europe (1347 – 1353CE)

10. Effects of the Plague - 25 million Europeans died (1/3 of total pop.) - Towns & monks/priests had highest mortalities > Europe lost its intellectual & spiritual leaders - Jews were often blamed (pogroms) - Many believed that God was punishing them; flagellants - Black magic, debauchery, sealed houses - Economic results: > Town populations fell. > Trade declined. > Prices rose. > Workers were scarce. > Serfs left manors to search for better pay. > Feudal System began to collapse.

11. The “Bone Church” - near Prague - Bohemia - 30,000 skeletons

12. Peasants’ Revolt - Ordinance of 1349 froze wages at pre- plague levels - Statutes of Laborers tied peasants to the land they worked (all of W. Europe) - Poll Taxes 1377 – 1381 directly taxed the peasants - Peasants revolted in 1381 in England > crushed by the lords & knights, but the poll tax was eliminated