2. The Black Death
• The Black Death came to Europe in 1347
when a fleet of Genoese trading ships headed
for Sicily.
• The Black Death was the bubonic plague spread by
fleas and carried by rats. The plague had broken out
before and subsided. The new epidemic was spread by
Mongols in Asia.
• Some Europeans saw the plague as God’s punishment
for their sins. Some Christians blamed Jews for the
epidemic.
• The workforce diminished. The remaining workers
asked for higher wages and inflation, a rise in prices,
set in.
3. Upheaval in the Church
• The church was unable to provide strong
leadership during the plague’s outbreak. Pope
Clement V moved the papal court from Rome
to Avignon in southern France for 70 years.
• A schism , or split, occurred during this time
and several popes claimed the position.
• In 1417 Pope Martin V returned the papal
court to Rome.
4. The Hundred Year's War
• Between 1337 and 1453 Britain and France
engaged in a series of wars known as the
Hundred Year’s War.
• Edward III of England claimed the French
throne in 1337. The two nations also fought
over control of the English Channel.
• Initially the English won a series of wars due
to their longbow.
5. The Hundred Year's War
• Joan of Arc told France’s King Charles VII that
God sent her to save France.
• Joan led France to a several victories. She was captured
by the English, put on trial for witchcraft, and burned at
the stake. France won the series of wars. Joan of Arc
was later declared a saint.
Results of the Hundred Year’s War
• In France nationalism erupted.
• Britain’s monarchs lost ” the power of the purse” to
Parliament.
• New weaponry like the cannon and longbow made
knights and castles obsolete.
