What We Need to Know:

What We Need to Know:

Political Changes in Europe Causes of the Decline of Feudalism The Bubonic Plague The 100 Year s War The Crusades

3 English kings make Political Changes Causes of the Decline of Feudalism Political Changes in Europe The Bubonic Plague The 100 Year s War The Crusades 1)Legal Reforms 2)Magna Carta 3) Model Parliament

King Henry II of England reigned from 1154 to 1189 Henry made legal reform a central concern of his reign. he insisted that a jury formally accuse a person of a serious crime. Cases were then tried before a royal judge. In theory, people could no longer simply be jailed or executed for no legal reason. There also had to be a court trial. By strengthening the royal courts he weakened the power of the feudal lords. Henry vs. the Catholic Church. Constitutions of Clarendon 1164, a document that he said spelled out the king s traditional rights. Among them was the right to try clergy accused of serious crimes in royal courts, rather than in Church courts.

Henry s action led to a long, bitter quarrel with his friend, Thomas Becket, the archbishop of Canterbury. In 1170, four knights, perhaps seeking the king s favor, killed Becket in front of the main altar of Canterbury Cathedral. The cathedral and Becket's tomb soon became a popular destination for pilgrimages. In 1173, the Catholic Church proclaimed him a saint. Still, most of the Constitutions of Clarendon remained in force.

King Henry s son. John became king in 1199 and soon made powerful enemies by: 1) losing most of the lands the English had controlled in France. 2)taxed his barons heavily and ignored their traditional rights, 3) arresting opponents at will. 4) quarreled with the Catholic Church and collected large amounts of money from its properties. In June 1215, angry nobles forced a meeting with King John in a meadow called Runnymede, beside the River Thames, outside of London. There, they insisted that John put his seal on a document called Magna Carta, which means Great Charter in Latin.

In the Magna Carta King John promised---- to consult the nobles and the Church archbishops and bishops before imposing special taxes. Habeus Corpus: He agreed that no free man could be jailed except by the lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land. In many ways, Magna Carta only protected the rights and privileges of nobles. However, as time passed, the English people came to regard it as one of the foundations of their rights and liberties.

In 1295, Edward I, King John s grandson, took a major step toward including more people in government. Model Parliament: a governing body created by King Edward I that included some commoners, Church officials, and nobles. The Model Parliament included: commoners lower-ranking clergy high-level Church officials nobles.

Political Events : Magna Carta Henry s Legal Reforms and Model parliament Led to 1)Magna Carta limited the power of English monarchs and affirmed that monarchs should rule with the consent (approval) of the governed (people). 2) Henry II s legal reforms strengthened common law, judges, and juries 3) Edward I s Model Parliament gave a voice to some common people

Political Changes in Europe Causes of the Decline of Feudalism The Bubonic Plague The 100 Year s War The Crusades

Bubonic Plague: a deadly contagious disease caused by bacteria and spread by fleas; also called the Black Death Victims had severe chills, convulsions, vomiting Dark spots on skin, swollen glands; death within a few days First struck Europe from 1346-1351 and returned every decade until the 15 th century. The plague killed one-third of Europe s population 24 million people

1.The Plague probably. originated in Central Asia 3. Italy Travels along trade route to Spreads north and west to 2.The Black Sea 4. England, Germany, France Carried on a ship to

Dirty living conditions Bacteria was carried by fleas that fed on the blood of rats When the rat died, the fleas would jump onto humans. Rats, covered with fleas roamed the floors of homes and city streets. Streets were covered with human waste, dead animals and trash

The term black death came from the black-and-blue spots that appeared on the skin of its victims. Painful swellings (buboes) of the lymph nodes These swellings, or buboes, would appear in the armpits, legs, neck, or groin A bubo was at first a red color. The bubo then turned a dark purple color, or black a very high fever delirium the victim begins to vomit muscular pains bleeding in the lungs mental disorientation A victim would die quickly - victims only lived between 2-4 days after contracting the deadly disease

Terrified people falsely blamed the plague on Jews. Persecution of the Jews did not initially begin with the plague but the plague made it worse. Prejudice against Jews had led the English government to order all Jews to leave the country in 1290. French and German cities ordered Jews to leave in the 1300s. The Jews were often accused of causing the plague to destroy Christians, even though Jews and Muslims were as likely to be infected as Christians. After being tortured, some Jews confessed that they were poisoning wells and other water sources, creating the plague. As a result, Jews were expelled or killed by the thousands. As a result of forced confessions, the entire Jewish population of Strassburg, Germany, was given the choice to convert to Christianity or be burned on rows of stakes on a platform in the city s burial ground. About 2,000 were killed

The Bubonic Plague Led to 1) Decreased population meant a decreased workforce; therefore, power shifted a bit from nobles to common people because, the few who remained could demand higher pay and more rights; 2) serfs abandoned feudal manors and moved to towns and cities, seeking better opportunities; 3) peasant revolts also occurred when nobles tried to return things to the way they had been. Ex) English Peasant s War 1381

Bathing during the plague was discouraged for two reasons. First, along with changing clothes, it was a sign of vanity, which invited the wrath of God and the punishment of sin. Second, bathing was believed to open the pores, making it easier for bad air to enter and exit the body, spreading disease. Bodies were piled up inside and outside city walls where they lay until mass graves could be dug. This contributed to the bad air and helped to spread the disease Medieval doctors believed the plague had at least one of several causes. Many thought it was a punishment from God for the sins of the people Virtually nobody suspected the ever-present rats and fleas Some cities believed that dogs and cats were spreading the plague; therefore, all the cats and dogs were killed within the city. This eliminated the rats biggest predator.