CHAPTER 10 The West in Crisis: The Later Middle Ages, 1300 1450 CHAPTER OUTLINE I. A Time of Death Death by starvation and disease became the fate of millions as Europe s population plunged from about 74 million in 1300 to just 52 million by the 1340s, with the greatest suffering falling on the poor, the very young, and the old. A. Mass Starvation Reaching the limits of its agricultural production, Europe by 1300 could no longer continue to feed a growing population, resulting in widespread malnutrition, starvation, and disease. B. The Black Death A savage epidemic, most likely bubonic plague, swept into Europe in 1348 and by 1351 had traveled as far as Russia, leaving in its wake approximately 20 million dead, or about a third of Europe s population. II. A Cold Wind from the East Charging westward out of central Asia, Mongols and Turks put pressure on European kingdoms and redrew the map of the West. A. The Mongol Invasions Highly skilled horsemen and warriors, under the leadership of Genghis Khan, the Mongols transformed themselves from disunited tribes into a vast empire, which eventually stretched from Korea to Hungary. Within their empire, the Mongols reestablished the caravan routes that made trans-eurasian trade possible, but the fracturing of the Mongol empire in the fourteenth century hindered and eventually destroyed this trade. B. The Rise of the Ottoman Turks At first mercenaries employed by the Mongols, outside of Mongolia itself the Muslim Turks gradually became dominant, taking over central Asia. The most successful were the Ottomans, whose dynasty lasted over 600 years, and whose empire continually harassed a weakened Byzantium, overtaking the Balkans and eventually conquering Constantinople in 1453, which was the end of the Byzantine Empire. 95
III. Economic Depression and Social Turmoil In the fourteenth century, the economic expansion of the previous two centuries turned into economic depression. A. The Collapse of International Trade and Banking Disorder in the Mongol Empire and pressure by the Ottoman Turks on Byzantium led to a virtual collapse of overland luxury trade between east and west. This, in turn, caused the collapse of Europe s fledgling, and fragile, banking system. B. Rebellions from Below Despite a labor shortage created by the Black Death, the collapse of the luxury trade led to a stagnation of urban workers wages. Governments made the situation worse by trying to control wages and raise taxes, setting off revolts. 1. An Economy of Monopolies: Guilds Medieval cities were controlled, politically and economically, by guilds, who protected the interests of their trade or craft and whose regulations governed virtually all aspects of their members lives. Their power and monopoly privileges made them the focus of mounting social tension in a time of economic decline. 2. Long Live the People, Long Live Liberty In Italy, the Netherlands, and France economic pressures caused workers to rebel, demanding political rights and economic reforms. In the countryside, both France and England experienced peasants revolts. None of these were successful, and only the English peasants revolt in 1381 acted on a clear political vision of a classless society. IV. A Troubled Church and the Demand for Religious Comfort During an era of extreme suffering, people turned to religion, but the Church, dangerously weakened in spiritual authority and moral leadership, was unable to provide the solace people craved, leading them to seek alternatives. A. The Babylonian Captivity of the Church and the Great Schism Beginning in 1305, the popes voluntarily relocated from Rome to Avignon, known as the Babylonian Captivity of the Church. There their subservience to the French kings dangerously politicized the papacy and their lack of revenues led them into questionable financial schemes. The determination of Pope Urban VI in 1378 to relocate the papacy in Rome led to the Great Schism, which saw rival popes in Avignon and Rome. An attempt to solve the problem of the Great Schism led to the Conciliar Movement, which argued that a general council of the Church had greater authority than any pope, and thus was competent to resolve the schism and initiate reform. The Great Schism was ended by the 96
Council of Constance, which met between 1414 and 1417, but further reform by councils was thwarted by popes who disliked any limitation on their authority. B. The Search for Religious Alternatives The weakened papacy was unable to control those who brought messages of direct experience of God and a return to apostolic purity. 1. Protests Against the Papacy: New Heresies Medieval religion was primarily sacramental, which emphasized the power of the clergy over the laity. In a time of faulty clerical leadership, some reformers, such as John Wycliffe and Jan Hus, argued for more equality between clergy and laity, leading them to be condemned as heretics. 2. Imitating Christ: The Modern Devotion Unable to find solace in the institutional Church, some turned to an intense, deeply individual and internalized piety in a movement known as the Modern Devotion, which mostly managed to avoid heresy, but whose emphasis on private prayer and moral introspection in many ways presaged later Protestantism. V. An Age of Continuous Warfare Europe was further weakened when the two largest and previously stable monarchies, France and England, engaged in a prolonged conflict that drained resources and deepened and lengthened the economic depression. The resulting desire to strengthen and control military resources led monarchs to begin to transform feudal states into the beginnings of modern ones. A. The Fragility of Monarchies Monarchy depended upon the support of aristocracy, but that aristocracy was protective of its privileges and both weakened and occasionally threatened monarchy, especially when weak kings combined with a disputed succession. B. The Hundred Years War The causes of this war sprang from the feudal relationship between the kings of England and the kings of France, as well as differences between English and French royal succession traditions, which resulted in the king of England having, in his view, a claim to the French crown. This was not a continuous conflict but a series of occasional battles, in which the French, numerically superior, usually fell victim to superior English discipline and weaponry. 1. From English Victories to French Salvation English successes, including the capture of the French king in battle, led to what appeared to be English victory by 1420. Ruling France, however, proved more difficult than conquering it. Beginning in 1429, the French rallied and, led by 97
Joan of Arc, began to turn the tide against the English, leading to eventual French victory in 1453. 2. The Hundred Years War in Perspective Other European areas were occasionally drawn into this Anglo-French conflict, so that at certain times this was a European-wide conflict. The war also prolonged the Great Schism and helped hasten the decline of the economy. It devastated France, adding to the death toll from the plague, and resulted in England becoming more English, as the English aristocracy s ties to France were broken. C. The Military Revolution This refers to the gradual replacement of heavily armored cavalry by disciplined infantry, armed with new weapons such as the longbow and gunpowder. However, in order for this infantry to be effective, armies became much more complex organizations and were much more expensive, leading royal governments to pursue centralizing policies that lay the foundations for the modern state. VI. The Culture of Loss The anxiety produced by the widespread suffering of this era caused Europeans to be preoccupied with death. A. Reminders of Death Death became a pervasive cultural theme, reminding people that life was fleeting and death inevitable. Moralists emphasized ethical behavior and repentance, while they and artists graphically depicted death and dying. B. Illusions of a Noble Life Seeking an escape from the reality of death, nobles indulged in fantasy worlds, especially an intensified, otherworldly chivalry which was belied by both the lavish, often sensual life-styles of the nobility and the nobles exercise of worldly power. C. Pilgrims of the Imagination Another form of escape was the pilgrimage, which became a model for creative literature. 1. Dante Alighieri and The Divine Comedy One of the richest, most fantastic of these literary pilgrimages, The Divine Comedy imagined a journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise. 2. Giovanni Boccaccio and The Decameron In contrast to the loftiness of Dante Alighieri s masterpiece, Boccaccio s collection of tales is a celebration of life in the face of death. 98
3. Geoffrey Chaucer and The Canterbury Tales Chaucer interwove the worldly and the spiritual in this collection of pilgrims tales. 4. Margery Kempe and The Autobiographical Pilgrimage Understanding her own life as a spiritual pilgrimage, Margery Kempe dictated the first autobiography in English to provide guidance to other pilgrims. 5. Christian De Pisan and Early Feminism Neither escapist nor a spiritual pilgrimage, the works of Christine De Pisan addressed the issues of the day, especially the cause of defending women in a male-dominated society. D. Defining Cultural Boundaries During this period, systematic discrimination against certain ethnic and religious groups increased as ever-higher levels of religious uniformity spread intolerance. 1. Spain: Religious Communities in Tension Once home to thriving communities of Muslims, Jews, and Christians, the Later Middle Ages saw the now-dominant Christian kingdoms becoming increasingly intolerant, eventually outlawing the practice of Islam and forcing Jews to either convert or face expulsion or murder. 2. German and Celtic Borderlands: Ethnic Communities in Tension In Ireland as well as Bohemia, Poland, and Hungary, ethnic divisions hardened, with laws forbidding intermarriage and restricting citizenship or guild membership. 3. Enemies Within After the Black Death, vague biases and dislikes towards minorities hardened into systematic persecution and violence, especially against Jews and alleged witches. VII. Conclusion: Looking Inward In a catastrophic century, Europeans turned inward, as political and religious frontiers shifted and Europeans sought to reinforce their identity as Christians as well as becoming more aware of the country in which they lived. Thus people in the West began to think more self-consciously in terms of us and them. 99
TIMELINE Insert the following events into the timeline. This should help you to compare important historical events chronologically. Reign of Mehmed II, The Conqueror Hundred Years War Battle of Agincourt Reign of Genghis Khan Life of Joan of Arc Fall of Constantinople and death of last Byzantine emperor Reign of Richard II of England 1206-1227 1337-1453 1377-1399 1412-1431 1415 1451-1481 1453 TERMS, PEOPLE, EVENTS The following terms, people, and events are important to your understanding of the chapter. Define each one. Bubonic plague Guilds Babylonian Captivity of the Church Great Schism Indulgences Conciliar Movement Hundred Years War Modern Devotion Black Death Genghis Khan Mehmed II, The Conqueror Dante Alighieri Giovanni Boccaccio Geoffrey Chaucer Reconquista 100
MAP EXERCISE The following exercise is intended to clarify the geophysical environment and the spatial relationships among the important objects and places mentioned in this chapter. Locate the following places on the map. Venice Genoa Constantinople Athens Rome Naples Sicily Pickup map from Kishlansky Study Guide, page 64 101
MAKING CONNECTIONS The following questions are intended to emphasize important ideas within the chapter. 1. What was the Black Death? How did it affect Europe socially and politically? 2. How did the residence of the papacy at Avignon and the Great Schism affect the Church? What was conciliarism? 3. What were the causes of the Hundred Years War? Who won? What was the impact on the two nations involved? 4. What role did the Hundred Years War play in the evolution of a modern military apparatus in Europe? In what ways could it be said to mirror the transformation of the state in this period? 5. What does the street play, The Dance of Death, tell us about the culture of loss that permeated the late Middle Ages? DOCUMENT QUESTIONS 1. In Marco Polo and Tibetan Religion, what would compel Marco Polo to determine that the acts of the Bakhshi are the arts of the Devil? 2. In Dante Describes Hell, what does his description of the fate of frauds tell us about medieval Christianity? PUTTING LARGER CONCEPTS TOGETHER 1. To many Europeans living in the post-1350 Middle Ages, the events they witnessed seemed to prestage the end of the world. How did the events of the later Middle Ages reflect the four horsemen of the Apocalypse famine, pestilence, war, and death. Were they right? Was Europe fundamentally different in political and social structure as a result of the catastrophes of the later Middle Ages? 2. How did forces outside Europe, in particular the Mongol and Ottoman Empires, affect conditions in the West? Consider, too, the impact of internal strife on the continent. In what ways did European states adapt to these changing circumstances? 102
SELF-TEST OF FACTUAL INFORMATION 1. Which statement about the Black Death is not true? A. It seemed to have no known cause at the time. B. It began in Ireland and Britain in 1348 and spread to Italy by 1350. C. It occurred after several major famines had already weakened Europe. D. It killed one-third of Europe s population. 2. Which statement about the Mongols is not true? A. They overwhelmed enemies with massive armies. B. They excelled as horsemen. C. They swept across Asia and even into Russia and Hungary. D. They maintained peace and order, thereby permitting a revival of trans-eurasian trade. 3. The Ottoman Empire A. Besieged Constantinople with an enormous cannon. B. Used Constantinople as a base to threaten Christian Europe. C. Kept the title Roman Emperor after capturing Constantinople. D. All of these. 4. Which statement about a craft guild is not true? A. It provided benefits for widows and injured workers. B. It was open to everyone. C. It set prices and wages within the craft. D. It set standards for training and competence in the craft. 5. During the Babylonian Captivity the pope resided in A. Avignon. B. Burgundy. C. Siena. D. Flanders. 6. The Great Schism refers to the A. Conflict between church and state. B. Theoretical difference between power and authority. C. Period when there were two or more popes. D. Division between Orthodox and Catholic Christianity. 103
7. The fifteenth-century best-seller Imitation of Christ A. criticized corruption in monasteries. B. denounced Pope John XXIII. C. reflected Modern Devotion s emphasis on individual piety. D. described Cathari doctrines. 8. Joan of Arc A. Besieged Orleans. B. Dressed in distinctly feminine flowing robes. C. Fought in the Wars of the Roses. D. Became a symbol of French national pride. 9. A harquebus was a A. communion wafer. B. ppilgrimage. C. dance of death. D. gun. 10. Which statement best describes Dante Aligheri s Divine Comedy? A. It presents an allegorical trip through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. B. It contains over 100 humorous or satirical short stories for entertainment. C. It is an autobiography about pilgrimages to Jerusalem, Spain, and Germany. D. It relates the heroism of Joan of Arc. 104