Western Civilization

Chapter Nine

The Late Middle Ages

(1300 - 1527)

The Four Horsemen

n An important image of the Middle Ages was the “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.”

n These riders represented the primary fears of the people of the Middle Ages: famine, war, pestilence, and death.

– Their appearance signaled the end of the world.

n During the 1300’s it seemed as if the four horsemen had come to Western Europe.

Famine

n After 1300, Western Europe suffered a dramatic population decline.

n Surviving evidence suggests that by 1300, the population level had begun to outstrip the food supply.

n That coupled with unfavorable climatic conditions, produced a succession of famines in the early decades of the 14th century, that began to reduce the population.

War

n The most devastating war of Europe during this period was called the “Hundred Years’ War.”

n The Hundred Years’ War which began in 1337 had three basic causes:

– Rivalry over the provinces of Aquitaine and Gascony.

– The English king’s attempt to take the French throne when the male Capetian line died out.

– Rivalry over the commercially rich territory of Flanders.

n The English king, Edward III, the grandson of Philip the Fair (Fr.) may be said to have started the war by asserting a claim to the French throne when the French king Charles IV, the last of Philip the Fair’s sons, died without a male heir.

English Conflicts with France

n The struggle was an extension of a conflict that had begun in the 12th century over possessions held on the continent by English kings as fiefs from the French kings.

n Although the French rulers had reclaimed most of these territories by the early 13^th century, England still held important possessions in Aquitaine and Gascony.

n French and English interests also clashed in Flanders, where he English sought to check French expansion in order to protect the Flemish woolen industry, which depended on English raw wool.

n Conflict also grew in Scotland where the French supported the efforts of the Scots to win independence from England.

Beginnings of the War

n Although Edward had the best hereditary claim, the Estates General of France selected as king, Philip of Valois, who represented a collateral line of the Capetians.

n Philip confiscated Aquitaine from Edward in 1337 on the grounds that Edward had refused to honor his obligations as a vassal led Edward to assert his claim to the French throne and to undertake a war to make good his claim.

First Phases of the War

n The first phase of the war which lasted until 1360 was nearly fatal to France.

n English armies won great battles at Crecy in 1346 and Poitiers in 1356.

– French knights were completely routed by English longbow men.

– This helped put an end to knights on horseback as the dominant weapon of warfare.

Battle of Poitiers & Its Effects

n At Poitiers, King John of France was captured and taken to England.

n Power in France now lay with the Estates General.

– In an attempt to increase their own power, the privileged classes forced the peasantry to pay higher taxes and to repair war-damaged property without being paid.

– A peasant revolt soon followed called the Jacquerie.

Treaty of Bretigny

n Eventually, John bought his release by accepting the Treaty of Bretigny (1360).

n John agreed to pay a huge ransom and to give Edward III full title to Guienne as well as a small territory in northern France, including the key port of Calais.

n In exchange, Edward, renounced his claim to the throne of France.

The Middle Years

n The Treaty of Bretigny did not however, end the ancient rivalry.

n The next phase of the war, which extended from 1364 to 1415 saw sporadic but indecisive fighting.

n Effective military action was impeded by serious internal problems in both of the rival kingdoms.

n France enjoyed a brief recovery under the reign of Charles V, who rebuilt French military power, but these gains were negated during the reign of Charles VI.

Civil Wars

n France

– Charles VI was only 15 when he came to the throne and was the victim of bouts with insanity.

– Rivals to the throne (Duke Philip of Burgundy and Duke Louis of Orleans) put France into a civil war.

n England

– After Edward III’s death, the English war effort lessened partly because of domestic problems within England.

– During the reign of Richard II, England had its own version of the Jacquerie, when in 1381, lead by John Ball and Wat Tyler, peasant and artisans joined in a great revolt.

– Eventually, Parliament deposed Richard and elected Henry IV, whose sole right to rule was based on Parliament’s approval.

The English Resurgence

n In 1415, Henry V reopened the Hundred Years’ War, when England invaded France and crushed a French army at Agincourt.

n With the help of the Burgundians, he established control over most of France north of the Loire River.

n In 1420, he forced the humiliating Treaty of Troyes on Charles VI. (Henry V married the daughter of Charles VI and was made the heir to the French throne.)

n Both Henry V and Charles VI died in 1422, leaving the infant Henry VI as king of both nations.

Joan of Arc

n France will recover from what seemed like a disaster.

n In 1429, the dauphin Charles was visited by a young girl named Joan of Arc, who told him that she had seen a vision from God, revealing that Charles must free France and assume the throne that rightfully belonged to him.

n Joan’s message stirred hope into Charles.

n In 1429, the French along with Joan of Arc defeated the English at Orleans.

n This victory led to the coronation of Charles.

Trial of Joan of Arc

n These events marked the beginning of a series of French victories that Joan of Arc would not live to see.

n In 1430, Joan was captured by the Burgundians and handed over to the English.

n The English put Joan on trial before an ecclesiastical court that convicted her of heresy and ordered her burned at the stake in 1431.

n At her execution, one onlooker cried: “We are lost, we have just killed a saint.”

– Joan was granted sainthood in 1920.

n

French Victory

n In 1435, the duke of Burgundy made peace with Charles VII, and a united France went on a drove the English out of France except for the port city of Calais.

n The war officially ended in 1453.

n While France ended the war as a united country, England collapsed into a civil war.

English Civil War

n This conflict was known as the War of the Roses.

n It was a struggle for the throne by two families, the Yorks (represented by the white rose) and the Lancasters (represented by the red rose).

n In 1485, Henry Tudor, a member of the Lancaster family defeated the Yorkist king and married the daughter of a York unifying both families.

n The English people, tired of war and disorder, were willing to accept the strong government that Henry VII established.

Death

n Although famine and war killed thousands of people, the most devastating catastrophe to Western Europe was called the Black Death.

n The Black Death was an epidemic of the Bubonic Plague that first spread over Europe and then returned periodically during the next two centuries.

n The disease was brought to Europe from the east by rats infested with fleas whose bites transmitted the bacilli to the human blood.

n Once the disease was loosed in western Europe, it caused and immense loss of life among a population made vulnerable by malnutrition and primitive sanitation conditions.

Effects of the Plague

n The disease struck with stunning speed.

– It took little more than 3 days to die from the disease.

– First there would be swelling and black bruises on the body.

» It attacked the lymph node system.

– Victims suffered heavy sweats and convulsive coughing.

– You would then vomit blood and die an agonizing death.

Results of the Plague

n The best estimate suggests that a third of Europe’s population was wiped out between 1347 and 1350.

n Periodic recurrence of the plague continued the downward spiral of the population, so that by the early 15th century western Europe had barely half as many people as it had in 1300.

n Some people turned to witchcraft and magic to stop the disease.

n Others believing that they would die soon anyway, plunged wildly into wild human pleasures.

n Others saw the plague as God’s punishment and whipped themselves to show they repented their sins.

n Many Christians blamed Jews for the disease saying that they had poisoned the well.

– Thousands of Jews were killed during this period.

Death

n The appearance of the “Four Horsemen” may have been for real during this period in European history.

n Overall, estimates are made that Europe lost over 40% of its population during the 14^th and early 15^th century.

n The effects of the of the “Four Horsemen” had a dramatic effect on Western Europe in regards to levels of production, the demand for goods, the labor supply, prices, social relationships, and mass psychology.

Problems Beset the Church, and its Temporal Power Declined

Changes in Europe and Criticism of the Church

n Europe was changing during the 11^th century.

– Development of strong national monarchies.

» Challenged the Church for authority.

– A growing middle class.

» Believed the Church hampered trade and industry.

– A new learning appeared.

» Teachings of Moslems and Greeks caused skepticism concerning Church teachings.

n The Church also was receiving criticism because of its vast wealth, its methods for raising money, and the worldly lives of some of the members of the clergy.

Boniface VIII versus Philip IV

n As nationalism increased, papal claims to authority met with opposition.

n In 1294, Philip IV (the Fair) demanded that the clergy pay taxes to the national treasury.

n Boniface VIII hesitated to challenge Philip since France had long supported the popes against the German emperors.

– Still he feared that taxation of the clergy by national governments would weaken the power of the Church.

n In 1296, Boniface issued the Clericis Laicos, ordering the clergy not to pay taxes to Philip.

The Conflict Begins

n Philip struck back at the Clericis Laicos by forbidding the export of gold and silver from France, thus cutting off payments to Boniface.

– Boniface was forced to modify his pronouncement by permitting the clergy to make voluntary contributions for the necessary defense of their lands.

n In 1302, Boniface issued the Unam Sanctum, stating that the power was supreme on earth in both spiritual and temporal matters.

n Philip called for a general council of the Church to bring Boniface to trial for heresy.

– Though seized by Philips’s envoy, Boniface was quickly released but died soon after.

The Babylonian Captivity

n Shortly, after the death of Boniface, Philip IV managed to have one of his French councilors elected pope.

n The new pope moved the seat of the papacy from Rome to Avignon, in southern France.

– Known as the Avignon Papacy.

– This period from 1309 to 1377 is called The papacy would remain here for the next 70 years.

– the Babylonian Captivity, from the time when the Hebrews were prisoners in Babylonia.

Who is the Pope?

n In the 1270s, the papacy fell on especially evil days.

n A French pope, Gregory XI, was persuaded to leave Avignon and return to Rome, where he died.

– The threats of the Roman mobs forced the College of Cardinals to elect an Italian pope.

n The French cardinals then left The Italian pope excommunicated the French pope and cardinals while the French pope returned the favor and excommunicated his Italian counterparts.

n Rome, declared the election void, and in 1378 elected a French pope.

The Great Schism

n The period from 1378 to 1417 is known as the Great Schism.

– Meaning a division into hostile groups.

n Each of the new popes was supported by certain national rulers.

n In 1414, a Church council met at Constance in Germany.

– The Council attempted to heal the schism.

– The Council deposed both popes and elected a new pope, along with a series of reforms for the Church.

n The Babylonian Captivity and the Great Schism weakened the authority and prestige of the papacy and increased the criticism of the church.

Criticism of the Church

n Criticism of the Church came for within the Church.

– Marsilius of Padua and John of Jandun (Fransiscan monks) wrote an influential work called Defender of the Peace.

» It criticized the power of both the Church and monarchs.

» The work also expressed original ideas about the Church.

– John Wycliffe of England attacked the wealthy and the immorality of the Church.

» Wycliffe best known for translating the Bible into English.

– John Huss was a teacher at the University of Prague.

» Denounced various abuses by the Church.

» Huss was tried by the Council of Constance as a heretic and burned at the stake.