1. A History of Western Society Eleventh Edition
John P. McKay • Clare Haru Crowston
Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks • Joe Perry
A History of Western Society Eleventh Edition
CHAPTER 11
The Later Middle Ages
1300–1450
Copyright © 2014 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

2. Have students discuss this 1465 French manuscript illumination portraying violence against peasants and the clergy in the late Middle Ages.
1. Describe the violence depicted in this scene.
(Answers: Knights in armor murder peasants in fields and steal their belongings. They even attack peasants seeking refuge in the castle and do not spare the clergy.)
2. Why would this kind of violence take place?
(Answers: Violence was a common occurrence in the Middle Ages, and knights often preyed on peasants who were unable to defend themselves. The knights were sworn to protect those less fortunate, but they often did just the opposite and there was no system to keep them in check. Despite their elevated position in society, members of the clergy were victims of this kind of abuse as well.)
3. Why would an artist choose to produce this kind of work, and what purpose would it serve?
(Answers: To portray events that happened on a frequent basis and had a detrimental effect on society; to show that there was no refuge to be taken, even in a castle; and perhaps to show the true nature, rather than the idealized image of knighthood.)

3. I. Prelude to Disaster A. Climate Change and Famine
1.The Little Ice Age (1300–1450)
2. Great Famine (1315–1322)
B. Social Consequences
1. Abandonment of Villages and Declining Population
2. Scapegoats
3. Governmental Responses
I. Prelude to Disaster
A. Climate Change and Famine
1.The Little Ice Age (1300–1450)—Between 1300 and 1450, the climate grew colder and wetter than in the three previous centuries. Evidence was found in tree rings, pollen in bogs, and glacier records. This caused the Viking colony in Greenland to die out completely.
2. Great Famine (1315–1322)—Torrential rains destroyed crops, and poor harvests were the cause of the Great Famine that hit Europe for seven years. This led to higher prices of grain, malnutrition, increased susceptibility to disease, and lower productivity.
B. Social Consequences
1. Abandonment of Villages and Declining Population—Social changes came about because of the climate change and agrarian crisis. City populations declined and villages were deserted as people wandered looking for food and work. Famine, disease, and young people delaying marriage exacerbated the population decline.
2. Scapegoats—Because of the dire situation, anger was directed towards the rich, speculators, lepers, and Jews, partially because of their role in money-lending and pawnbroking.
3. Governmental Responses—Government responses did not help the situation. Attempts to prevent the sale of grain abroad, condemnations of speculation, price control, and famine relief all proved ineffective.

4. II. The Black Death A. Pathology 1. Yersinia Pestis
2. Pneumonic Transmission
3. Effects on the Body
B. Spread of the Disease
1. From China to Europe
2. Spread Within Cities
3. Mortality Rates
II. The Black Death
(Black Death: Plague that first struck Europe in 1347 and killed perhaps one-third of the population.)
A. Pathology
1. Yersinia Pestis—Yersinia pestis was the culprit behind the plague (a bacillus that normally affects rats but is transmitted by flea bites).
2. Pneumonic Transmission—The disease is normally transmitted by flea bites, but this plague was spread through coughing and sneezing (pneumonic transmission). Coughing released millions of pathogens into the air, infecting those nearby.
3. Effects on the Body—The bubo (a growth the size of an apple or a nut in the armpit, groin, or neck) was symptomatic of the bubonic plague. If not lanced and drained of pus, bubos would lead to black blotches under the skin, violent coughing, spitting up of blood, and death within a few days.
B. Spread of the Disease
1. From China to Europe—The plague first emerged in southwestern China which was then part of the Mongol Empire. It traveled across Central Asia via rats in the Mongol caravan routes in the 1330s. The rats then carried the disease aboard ships that reached the Genoese colony of Kaffa on the Black Sea in From Kaffa, Genoese ships brought it to Italy, from where it spread to France, Germany, Spain, and by ship to England, Scandinavia, and the Baltic ports.
2. Spread Within Cities—Lack of sanitation in the home and on the streets and close living quarters in cities were ideal breeding grounds for rats and fleas.
3. Mortality Rates—Approximately one-third of the European population was killed in the first wave of infection in Neither central and eastern Europe, nor the Muslim world were spared. Subsequent waves of the plague between 1360 to 1400 claimed additional lives, but the results were never as catastrophic and widespread, in part because of improved standards of hygiene and enforced quarantine measures. In 1947, American microbiologist Selman Waksman discovered streptomycin, an effective treatment for the plague.

6. II. The Black Death C. Care of the Sick 1. Remedies
2. Care by the Clergy
3. Escape
II. The Black Death
C. Care of the Sick
1. Remedies—People believed that the air and the body must be rid of “poisons.” They accomplished this by ringing church bells, firing cannons, taking plant-based medicines, and using magical letter and number combinations (cryptograms) that offered a sense of order in a random world.
2. Care by the Clergy—The clergy were selfless in caring for the sick and burying the dead. As a result, the mortality rate of priests, monks, and nuns was staggeringly high.
3. Escape—Wealthy individuals often fled the cities, and some cities tried to shutter the gates to prevent infected people and animals from entering. In some instances, sick and dying individuals were not cared for at all.

7. II. The Black Death D. Economic, Religious, and Cultural Effects
1. Agriculture
2. Inflation
3. Religious Responses
4. New Universities
II. The Black Death
D. Economic, Religious, and Cultural Effects
1. Agriculture—Many parts of Europe had suffered from overpopulation. Population losses encouraged people to turn to more specialized types of agriculture (raising sheep, growing wine grapes) and to abandon less fertile land.
2. Inflation—A fall in production and shortages of goods caused a general price increase. Wages also increased as a result of labor shortages, resulting in a higher standard of living.
3. Religious Responses—Many individuals believed that God was punishing them for their sins. People became more pious and tried to lead lives free of vice even before they were infected. The most extreme group, the Flagellants, whipped and scourged themselves as penance. Others looked for scapegoats, most notably the Jews, who were accused of poisoning wells. Some were burned alive, while others had their property confiscated and were expelled from the city. Most people became morbidly fascinated with death, a sentiment visible in their art and literature (dance of death—depicting a dancing skeleton leading away living persons).
4. New Universities—Many new institutions were founded as a result of the shortage of priests and the decay of learning. These new universities had more national or local constituencies than international ones which led to the weakening of international medieval culture and paved the way for schism in the church.

8. Discuss this 1349 manuscript illumination of shirtless flagellants scourging themselves as they walk through the streets of the Flemish city of Tournai.
1. What is the significance of the black hats?
(Answers: Wide-brimmed black hats were usually worn by plague doctors during this era; however, flagellants were not physicians. They walked in companies, wearing colored felt hoods with crosses that associated them with their company.)
2. How did self-mortification (whipping) bring flagellants closer to God?
(Answers: They believed they were suffering as Christ had suffered when he was whipped by the Romans before his crucifixion.)
3. What did the flagellants hope to accomplish by doing this?
(Answers: Flagellants believed God was punishing mankind by sending the plague. By punishing themselves as penance for their sins and the sins of others, they were hoping to lessen God’s wrath.)
4. What effect might flagellants have on people they encountered?
(Answers: They might have struck a chord of religious fervor in others and inspired local residents to join them. They might also have inspired fear and contempt. As they traveled from city to city, they gained notoriety, and the movement was later condemned by the church as heretical.)

9. Analyze this fifteenth-century fresco from a church in Croatia and discuss this Danse Macabre (Dance of Death), an allegory on death and a popular motif prevalent in art during this period.
1. Describe the different people in this fresco and the objects they are carrying.
(Answers: There is a small child (far left), a brewer carrying a small barrel (left center), and a king and queen (right and right center) wearing crowns and carrying a scepter.)
2. What message was the artist trying to convey?
(Answers: The message was that regardless of social status, wealth, occupation, sex, or age, the plague spared no one.)
3. Because of the number of deaths caused by the plague, how would an image like this affect peoples’ view of life and death?
(Answers: People became preoccupied with death during this era, and their morbid thoughts were reflected in art, literature, and other forms of expression. Life was already short in the Middle Ages, and the plague made it even shorter and more painful for many people. When everyone from kings to beggars saw their friends and family dying, it was images such as these that reminded them of the universality of death.)

10. III. The Hundred Years’ War
A. Causes
1. Disagreements over Royal Land Rights
2. Succession Dispute
3. French Nobility Divided
4. Propaganda
5. Economic Reasons
III. The Hundred Years’ War
(Hundred Years’ War: A war between England and France from 1337 to 1453 that had political and economic causes and consequences.)
A. Causes
1. Disagreements over Royal Land Rights—Aquitaine entered into the holdings of the English crown when Eleanor of Aquitaine married King Henry II of England in According to the Treaty of Paris (1259), Henry III became a vassal of the French crown in return for an affirmation of English claims to Aquitaine. Later French kings, however, were expansionist and wanted to absorb the region into France.
2. Succession Dispute—Charles IV of France died childless in Charles had a sister whose son, Edward III, was king of England. An assembly of French nobles declared that “no woman nor her son could succeed to the [French] monarchy,” claiming that this was part of Salic law, a sixth-century code of the Franks. They passed the throne to Philip VI of Valois (r. 1328–1350). Philip confiscated the duchy of Aquitaine in 1337 (though Edward III had recognized his lordship over Aquitaine in 1329), prompting the war.
3. French Nobility Divided—Some supported the French crown; others supported the English to thwart the centralizing ambitions of the French monarchy. Scotland supported the French, and Scottish troops raided northern England and joined French armies on the continent.
4. Propaganda—A sense of nationalism was fostered through propaganda by the kings on either side. Edward III sent letters describing the evil deeds of the French, and Philip IV sent agents to warn his people of possible invasions.
5. Economic Reasons—The wool trade between Flanders and England was disrupted (Flanders belonged to the French, but the Flemish merchants depended on English wool and supported the claims of the English king). In addition, criminals, poor knights, and great nobles stood to reap great financial rewards by joining the war.

11. III. The Hundred Years’ War
B. English Successes
1. Initial English Successes
2. Later English Successes
III. The Hundred Years’ War
B. English Successes
1. Initial English Successes—The French fleet was almost completely destroyed when it attempted to land in England. At the Battle of Crécy in 1346, English longbowmen and the use of cannon created panic and led to an overwhelming victory for the English. The event was repeated a year later at the Battle of Poitiers.
2. Later English Successes—At the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, English king Henry V (r. 1413–1422) repeated the events of Crécy and Poitiers and defeated a larger French force through the skill of English longbowmen. He then reconquered Normandy and reached the walls of Paris by He married the French king’s daughter but died unexpectedly in 1422 leaving an infant son as heir.

17. III. The Hundred Years’ War
C. Joan of Arc and France’s Victory
1. Joan of Arc
2. Capture and Trial
3. Ultimate French Victory
D. Aftermath
1. Havoc in England and France
2. Technology and the Nation State
3. Representative Assemblies
4. Nationalism
III. The Hundred Years’ War
C. Joan of Arc and France’s Victory
1. Joan of Arc—Joan of Arc (1412–1431) was an obscure French peasant girl who revived French military fortunes. She began hearing voices telling her that the dauphin (the uncrowned King Charles VII) had to be crowned and that the English had to be expelled. She led the French army to a string of victories, and Charles VII was crowned king in 1429.
2. Capture and Trial—Although Charles was crowned king, he refused to ransom Joan when she was captured by the Burgundian allies of the English in She was turned over to the English, who put her on trial for heresy. She was burned at the stake in Rouen (a new trial in 1456 was held by the pope, who cleared her of all charges and declared her a martyr).
3. Ultimate French Victory—The Burgundians switched sides, and the French reconquered Normandy, finally pushing the English out of Aquitaine. Calais was the only town still in English hands when the war ended in 1453.
D. Aftermath
1. Havoc in England and France—The rural economy of many parts of France had been devastated, and French participation in international commerce was drastically reduced. England spent and lost more than £5 million on the war, and personal fortunes were squandered.
2. Technology and the Nation State—Cannons rendered stone castles vulnerable, but only central governments could afford cannons so the military power of national states was strengthened vis-à-vis the nobility.
3. Representative Assemblies—These consisted of deliberative meetings of lords and wealthy urban residents that flourished in many European countries between 1250 and Parliaments met more frequently and increased their power since the monarchs depended on the parliaments of nobles to raise money. France had no national representative assembly because provincial assemblies were independent and opposed the idea.
4. Nationalism—Nationalistic sentiment was strengthened in both countries. Military strength surged following a victory.

18. IV. Challenges to the Church
A. The Babylonian Captivity and Great Schism
1. Babylonian Captivity (1309–1376)
2. Atmosphere of Luxury
3. The Great Schism (1378–1417)
IV. Challenges to the Church
A. The Babylonian Captivity and Great Schism
1. Babylonian Captivity (1309–1376)—The period when the popes lived in Avignon, after Philip the Fair pressured the new but gravely ill pope, Clement V, to settle permanently in southern France (refers to the seventy years the Hebrews were held captive in Babylon).
2. Atmosphere of Luxury—The Avignon popes concentrated on bureaucratic matters at the expense of spiritual objectives and damaged papal prestige in the process.
3. The Great Schism (1378–1417)—The papacy was divided between Roman popes and French popes following a disputed papal election in European powers aligned with the two popes (Clement VII and Urban) along political lines. Support for the French pope: France, Scotland, Aragon, Castile, Portugal. Support for the Italian pope: England, Holy Roman Empire.

20. IV. Challenges to the Church
B. Critiques, Divisions, and Councils
1. William of Occam (1289?–1347?)
2. Marsiglio of Padua (ca. 1275–1342)
3. Conciliarists
4. John Wyclif (ca. 1330–1384) and the Lollards
5. Jan Hus (ca. 1372–1415)
6. Resolution of the Schism
IV. Challenges to the Church
B. Critiques, Divisions, and Councils
1. William of Occam (1289?–1347?)—A Franciscan philosopher and friar who witnessed the papal court at Avignon firsthand and argued vigorously against the papacy and questioned the connections between faith and reason developed by Aquinas.
2. Marsiglio of Padua (ca. 1275–1342)—An Italian lawyer and university official who argued that the church should be subordinate to the state and who was excommunicated as a result.
3. Conciliarists—Conciliarists supported the ideas of William of Occam and Marsiglio of Padua and believed that a general council of clergy, theologians, and laypeople should share power with the papacy and that this council should be supreme.
4. John Wyclif (ca. 1330–1384) and the Lollards—Wyclif, an English scholar and theologian, argued that Scripture alone should be the standard of Christian belief and practice and that papal claims of secular power had no foundation in the Scriptures. His followers were known as Lollards (from a Dutch word for “mumble”).
5. Jan Hus (ca. 1372–1415)—A Bohemian reformer and university theologian influenced by Wyclif who criticized the church’s wealth, denied papal authority, and attacked the issuing of indulgences.
6. Resolution of the Schism—Following an unsuccessful attempt to resolve the schism at the council of Pisa (1409) which merely led to the establishment of a third pope, the German emperor Sigismund convened a council in Constance (1414–1418) to end the schism, reform the church, and wipe out heresy. Jan Hus was invited to the council but burned at the stake for heresy despite being granted safe-conduct. The new pope, Martin V (p. 1417–1431) proceeded to dissolve the council and neglected to take up the cause for reform.

22. IV. Challenges to the Church
C. Lay Piety and Mysticism
1. Lay Piety
2. Confraternities
3. Brethren and Sisters of the Common Life
4. Mystical Experiences
IV. Challenges to the Church
C. Lay Piety and Mysticism
1. Lay Piety—Lay piety grew in importance in the fourteenth century as the moral failings of the church and the Great Schism weakened the mystique of the clergy.
2. Confraternities—Voluntary lay groups (often without the leadership of a priest) organized by occupation, devotional preference, and neighborhood or charitable activities expanded rapidly. They specialized in prayer but also raised money to clean and repair church buildings. Most confraternities were groups of men, but women’s confraternities oversaw production of items made of fabric (vestments, altar cloths).
3. Brethren and Sisters of the Common Life—Pious laity in Holland who lived in stark simplicity to carry out the Gospel mission of feeding the hungry, clothing the sick, and visiting the sick. The Dutch monk Thomas à Kempis wrote The Imitation of Christ, which urged Christians to take Christ as their model, seek perfection in simplicity, and look to the Scriptures for guidance. The movement grew strong in the Netherlands, Germany, and the Rhineland.
4. Mystical Experiences—Bridget of Sweden (1303–1373) was a noblewoman who journeyed to Rome after the death of her husband and offered advice on the basis of visions she had seen. Laypeople such as Bridget of Sweden used their own experiences to enhance their religious understanding.

23. V. Social Unrest in a Changing Society
A. Peasant Revolts
1. Flanders (1320s)
2. Jacquerie (1358)
3. English Peasants’ Revolt (1381)
V. Social Unrest in a Changing Society
A. Peasant Revolts
1. Flanders (1320s)—Flemish peasants were required to pay taxes to the French to satisfy peace agreements, and monasteries pressed them for additional money. The peasants burned and pillaged castles and aristocratic homes, but the rebellion was crushed by a French army and savage reprisals followed in the 1330s.
2. Jacquerie (1358)—The Jacquerie (named after a mythical agricultural laborer, Jacques Bonhomme) was an uprising of the French peasantry, after the taxation of the Hundred Years’ War fell disproportionately on the poor. The peasants killed nobles and attacked their families and livestock. The upper class united to put down the revolt, driving the protest underground.
3. English Peasants’ Revolt (1381)—Because the labor supply had shrunk, peasants demanded higher wages and fewer manorial obligations. In 1351, the lords passed the Statute of Laborers, freezing wages and binding workers to their manors. The reimposition of a tax on all adult males triggered the uprising in The boy-king, Richard II, tricked the leaders of the uprising with false promises and then ferociously crushed the uprising. However, the nobility was not successful in restoring the labor obligations of serfdom, and serfdom disappeared in England by 1550.

25. V. Social Unrest in a Changing Society
B. Urban Conflicts
1. Roots of Revolt
2. “Honor” Uprisings
3. Decline of Women’s Workforce
V. Social Unrest in a Changing Society
B. Urban Conflicts
1. Roots of Revolt—In the fourteenth century, a new capitalist system evolved to make products on a larger scale (larger than those of the craft guilds). Capitalist investors (bankers, merchants, shop masters) hired many households, with each household performing only one step of the process. This increased the divisions within guilds between wealthier and poorer masters and journeymen, causing income and status to plummet for some. The guilds sometimes opened up membership, but more often than not they limited membership to existing guild families (journeymen who were not masters’ sons could never become masters themselves).
2. “Honor” Uprisings—Urban uprisings were also caused by workers who were relegated to performing tasks they regarded as beneath them. Qualities of skill and honor began setting poorer masters and journeymen apart from less-skilled workers.
3. Decline of Women’s Workforce—In rising urban economies, the master’s wife, daughters, and female servants worked in the shop. In the fourteenth century, women’s participation in guilds declined. Masters’ widows could not hire journeymen; then female servants weren’t allowed to work; then the number of daughters employed was limited.

26. V. Social Unrest in a Changing Society
C. Sex in the City
1. Late Age of First Marriage
2. Prostitution
3. Rape
4. Homosexuality
D. Fur-Collar Crime
1. Noble Bandits
2. Robin Hood
V. Social Unrest in a Changing Society
C. Sex in the City
1. Late Age of First Marriage—In late medieval northwestern Europe, women entered marriage as an adult and immediately took charge of running a household. The result was less dependency on husbands and in-laws and fewer pregnancies. For men, marriage often took place in their mid- to late 20s. Journeymen, apprentices, and students were forbidden to marry.
2. Prostitution—Municipal authorities sought to regulate this by setting up houses or red-light districts outside the city walls or away from respectable neighborhoods. Young men visited brothels to achieve manhood. Most prostitutes were poor women or were sold into prostitution by their parents because of heavy debts (some earned enough to donate to charity or buy property). Prostitution was an urban phenomenon because of the large number of unmarried men, transient merchants, and a cash-exchange culture.
3. Rape—Unmarried domestic servants were usually victims of rape. Rape was a capital crime, but fines and brief imprisonment were usually the harshest punishments. Little was done to protect female servants or day laborers from rape or seduction (within a narrow window after the attack, victims had to prove that they had cried out and attempted to repel the attacker). Victims more often sought to regain their honorable reputation than to punish the perpetrators.
4. Homosexuality—Same-sex relations became a capital crime in most of Europe by the twelfth century, and adult offenders were executed. Despite laws and special courts, however, executions were rare. Same-sex relations often developed in the army, craft shops, and artistic workshops as part of the collective male experience. They defined stages of life and shaped masculine gender identity.
D. Fur-Collar Crime
1. Noble Bandits—With the end of the Hundred Years’ War, many knights lived on a fixed income, even as their chivalric code demanded an aristocratic lifestyle. They stole from rich and poor, demanded that peasants pay protection money, kidnapped travelers, and intimidated witnesses.
2. Robin Hood—Folk legends from late medieval England such as the ballads of Robin Hood describe the struggle against fur bandits and aristocratic oppression. These tales reflected and shaped popular culture.

27. V. Social Unrest in a Changing Society
E. Ethnic Tensions and Restrictions
1. Ethnic Diversity and Colonization
2. Legal Dualism
3. Blood Descent
V. Social Unrest in a Changing Society
E. Ethnic Tensions and Restrictions
1. Ethnic Diversity and Colonization—Townspeople were usually long-distance immigrants and ethnically different from the surrounding population. In eastern Europe, German was the language of the towns, and in Ireland it was French.
2. Legal Dualism—In the early periods of conquest and colonization, a legal dualism existed in which native peoples remained subject to their traditional laws, while newcomers were subject to the laws of the country from which they came. The exception was Ireland as England considered the entire Irish population unfree and they were denied many rights.
3. Blood Descent—Legal homogeneity and an emphasis on blood descent replaced legal dualism in the later Middle Ages. Marriage laws were made to maintain ethnic purity and prohibit intermarriage. The Statute of Kilkenny (1366) was a set of laws that discriminated against the Irish, forbade marriage between English and Irish, required the use of the English language, and denied the Irish access to ecclesiastical offices. The notion of “blood” affected national consciousness, religious beliefs, and social differences.

28. V. Social Unrest in a Changing Society
F. Literacy and Vernacular Literature
1. Dante’s Divine Comedy
2. Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales
3. Spread of Lay Literacy
V. Social Unrest in a Changing Society
F. Literacy and Vernacular Literature
1. Dante’s Divine Comedy (1310–1320)—Dante Alighieri’s (1265–1321) epic poem made sophisticated use of the vernacular to describe hell, purgatory, and paradise. It contains portrayals of contemporary and historical figures and bitter criticism of church authorities. It provides a synthesis of classical tradition and modernity as the first major work of literature in the Italian vernacular.
2. Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales—Geoffrey Chaucer’s (1342–1400) work is a collection of stories in lengthy rhymed narrative that present a rich panorama of English social life in the fourteenth century. It is a reflection of the cultural tension of the times and depicts the ambivalence of broader society’s concern for the afterlife.
3. Spread of Lay Literacy—The rise in literacy during the fourteenth century was a response to the needs of a more complex society as trade, commerce, and expanding government bureaucracies required more literate people. The number of schools increased, and laymen gradually rose into the higher ranks of governmental administration, positions formerly held by clerics.