What do we need to know about the late Middle Ages?
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Transcript of What do we need to know about the late Middle Ages?
Political and Social System
FEUDALISM Arises in times of chaos and
disorder Form of gov’t based on
landholding Strict social hierarchy; little
mobility Land exchanged for loyalty and
military service b/t lords and vassals
Decentralized political structure weak central gov’t
Economic SystemMANORIALISM
MANOR = agricultural estate owned by a lord
Peasants provided labor in exchange for security
Manors were self-sufficient Little trade, few towns Subsistence agriculture 3 field crop rotation and strip
farming
Belief SystemROMAN
CATHOLIC CHURCH
Unified medieval Europe – “Christendom”
Permeated daily life for all social classes
Held great wealth and lands + political power
Frequent conflict b/t church and secular rulers
Suffered from corruption and division in the 1300s and 1400s
Code of BehaviorCHIVALRY
Aristocratic/knightly code of honor
Mandated just and honorable conduct
Called for displays of valor and loyalty in battle
Contributed to a highly militaristic society
Respectful of women “courtly love”
What is Feudalism
? Emerged after the fall of
the Roman Empire and the collapse of Charlemagne’s empire in the 800s
Slowly declined in use across Western Europe after the year 1000 CE; by 1450 serfdom had largely disappeared
After the Black Death, feudalism and serfdom expanded in Eastern Europe
How did this system work?Kings (or lords) gave fiefs (lands and titles) to their supporters in lieu of monetary payment
These supporters then became vassals of the lord owing him military service
Fiefs included agricultural estates, called manors, worked by peasants
Vassals got the right to use the labor of the peasants as part of their fief
Kings also gave charters granting autonomy to towns in exchange for taxes/troops
Many peasants were bound to the estates making them “serfs”
Holy Roman Empire? Originally est. by Charlemagne
in 800 CE At first, Holy Roman Emperors
were relatively powerful Slowly, local lords and princes
gained firmer control over their territories and made their positions hereditary
By the 1300s, emperors were very WEAK and princes had gained autonomy
Constitution of the HRE Confederation of German lands
Empire divided into 300 autonomous princely and ecclesiastical states and self-governing cities
Emperors had little power over princes and free cities Taxes were approved by the Reichstag (assembly of
princes, bishops, and cities) Golden Bull of 1356 = emperors chosen by 7
“electors” Habsburg dynasty continuously elected from 1437 to
1806, but only had direct control of their “hereditary lands” (Austria)
HUNDRED YEARS’ WAR On & off dynastic
conflict between the ruling family of England and the Valois dynasty ruling France
England (led by kings Edward III & Henry V) won major victories in several battles due to the longbow
Joan of Arc and a strengthened monarchy turned things around after 1429, eventually forcing the English out of France
HUNDRED YEARS’ WAR
MAJOR EFFECTS
French monarchy (Valois dynasty) grew in power permanent standing army and regularized taxes
Birth of French nationalism England forced off the
continent of Europe (except for Calais)
VICTIMS OF THE PLAGUE
The symptoms were the following: a bubo in the groin, where the thigh meets the trunk; or a small swelling under the armpit; sudden fever; spitting blood and saliva (and no one who spit blood survived it). It was such a frightful thing that when it got into a house, as was said, no one remained.“
THE BLACK DEATH Bubonic Plague
spread by fleas on rats + poor sanitation & hygiene
Came to Europe on the Silk Road and spread throughout Europe on Mediterranean trade routes
THE BLACK DEATH Bubonic Plague
spread by fleas on rats + poor sanitation & hygiene
Came to Europe on the Silk Road and spread throughout Europe on Mediterranean trade routes
Effected most of Europe; killed 1/3 of the European population
Towns and cities were hit hardest, losing 50%+ of their population
THE BLACK DEATHMAJOR EFFECTS
Depopulated countryside Rural labor shortage
weakened feudalism Religious extremism, priest
shortages, and widespread loss of faith weakened church
Pessimism in art and literature Anti-Semitism and attacks on
Jewish minorities
Trouble in the Church
1309 – 1417
Description and Effects of the Babylonian Captivity and Great
Schism
Trouble in the Church1309 – 1417
BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY
Popes relocated from Rome to the French city of Avignon
Papacy fell under the influence of the French monarchy
Led to a loss of credibility for the Papacy and a decline in the pope’s power
Trouble in the Church1309 – 1417
GREAT SCHISM (1378 – 1415)
Pope Urban VI returned to Rome, French cardinals elected their own pope, Clement VII
Two rival popes controlled the church in different parts of Europe
Trouble in the Church1309 – 1417
GREAT SCHISM (1378 – 1415)
Pope Urban VI returned to Rome, French cardinals elected their own pope, Clement VII
Two rival popes controlled the church in different parts of Europe
Resolved by the Council of Constance in 1415 Meeting of church leaders Deposed the rival popes and elected a new
pope Established conciliar theory
What is “Conciliar Theory”?
Reform movement in 14th, 15th, and 16th century Catholicism that held supreme
religious authority in the church resided with church councils over and above the
pope
Fall of Constantinopl
e Ottoman Turks besieged Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire
The Turks used around 120 warships, about 100,000 soldiers, and dozens of cannons in the siege
Constantinople fell in May 1453; became the capital of Ottoman Turkish empire
Effects of the Fall of
Constantinople Strengthened the
Ottomans Turkish expansion in Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean
Severed overland trade routes with Asia contributing to a desire for voyages of exploration
Greek scholars fled to Italy bringing Greco-Roman texts and knowledge which helped fuel the Renaissance
Growth of Ottoman
Power Rapid conquest of Muslim Syria, Palestine, Egypt by 1520
Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent destroyed the Hungarian army at the Battle of Mohács in 1526
Hungary conquered; Vienna besieged in 1529
Turks put constant pressure on the Habsburg and the HRE
Poland and Russia also faced raids and invasions