Post on 17-Jan-2016
The
High
Middle
Ages
in
Europe
High Middle Ages: Transition to the
Renaissance800-1500
The
High
Middle
Ages
in
Europe
The Black Death
• What was it?• Deadly plague caused by bacteria that
spread across Europe from 1346-1352• 3 forms: pneumonic (attacked lungs),
septicemic (in blood), & bubonic (caused buboes on body)
• How did it spread?• Originated in China & spread along the
Silk Road & on Italian merchant ships by black rats carrying bacteria-laden fleas (first seen in Sicily & then spread to the rest of Europe)
The
High
Middle
Ages
in
Europe
• Why couldn’t it be stopped?• People ignorant about the cause, so
blamed the stars, God’s anger, & the Jews• Tried ineffective cures such as pomanders
(oranges/cloves), flagellation (whipping with iron spikes), & repentance of sins
• How did it change life in Europe?• Killed 25 m people (1/3 of population)• Forced farmers to diversify crops, b/c
demand for wheat ↓ (grew fruit, raised meat, made cheese)
• Peasants revolted & demanded freedom• Working class moved to cities to earn
better wages• Reduced the power of feudal lords
The
High
Middle
Ages
in
Europe
The Hundred Years’ War• How did it begin?
• 1328 French king (Charles IV) died with no male heir—Edward III of England (son-in-law) & Philip of Valois, France (nephew) claimed the throne
• English armies attacked France• Joan of Arc: “inspired by God” to save France
• Convinced crown prince to let her lead an army against the English in 1429
• Pushed out the English, but was captured by English allies in Burgandy & sold to the English, accused of heresy, & burned at the stake in Rouen 1431—sainted as a martyr by the Catholic Church in 1922
The
High
Middle
Ages
in
Europe
• How did the war help end feudalism in France & England?• People became more patriotic,
more devoted to the king than their feudal lord
• French kings built huge armies w/taxes collected (again, reducing power of nobles)
• Losing French possessions allowed English kings to concentrate on running their country
The
High
Middle
Ages
in
Europe
The Revival of Trade• Despite plagues & wars, medieval trade
& manufacturing flourished as Europe renewed contact with the eastern world• Crusades increased demand for
luxury goods (silk, spices, ivory, porcelain)
• demand for gold & silver coins arose, so a money economy & banking developed.
• Kings & lords borrowed money to finance wars; merchants became the new “middle class”
The
High
Middle
Ages
in
Europe
• Led to the rise of commercial capitalism–people invested in trade & goods to make a profit (“commercial revolution”)
• Artisans followed (had the skills to make the items that merchants could sell.)
• Florence became most influential city:• thriving wool & silk trade• sold insurance to sea traders• bankers made loans & exchanged
currencies• wealthy Medici family promoted trade,
banking, the arts, scholarship, & civic pride
The
High
Middle
Ages
in
Europe
The Rise of Universities• Universities: faculty, students, & degrees
produced educated & trained individuals • 1st European university was in Bologna,
Italy. • By 1500, Europe had 80 universities
• traditional liberal arts curriculum, which included grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, music, & astronomy• lecture method– read from a basic text &
then added their explanations• earned degrees by passing an oral exam
given after four- six-years of study• after completing the liberal arts
curriculum, a student could continue to study law, medicine, or theology.