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1. The Middle Ages
- 1. History of Europe: Renaissance to 1815
- 2. History is a people’s memory, and without a memory, man is demoted to the lower animals. ∼ Malcolm X
- 3. Overview: Early Modern Europe
- 4. The Middle Ages • Feudalism • Landowner (lord) gave to a person (vassal) • A unit of land (fief) • Promise of military and legal protection • In return, the vassal gave the lord payment, which could be • Military service or • Payment of produce or money • Unfree peasantry (serfs) worked the land The three estates appointed by God: cleric, knight and peasant
- 5. The Middle Ages • Feudalism • Fall of Roman Empire created vacuum • Political, economic, social structures fragmented • Basic services disappeared • Over the centuries, feudalism prevalent • Established social hierarchy • Based on local administrative control • And distribution of lands into units – fiefs
- 6. The Middle Ages • Claims ownership of all land under his dominion, military, other service • Pledge of loyalty & service in return for use & profit off a parcel of land from monarch; needs people to work, protect • Pledge of loyalty & share in profits, in return for right to use & profit from parcel of land from noble • Worked without pay on land owned by others, to produce food for themselves, profit for others Monarch Nobles Tenant Vassals Peasants (serfs)
- 7. The Middle Ages • Feudalism: Consequences • Created localized communities • That owed loyalty to a specific lord • Absolute authority in his/her domain • Lack of social mobility • Didn’t always lead to social stability • Barons’ Revolt – Magna Carta A silver seal of Robert Fitzwalter showing a mounted knight. 1213-1219 CE.
- 8. The Middle Ages • Role of the Church • Central institution in medieval society • Regulated, defined individual’s life • From birth to death • Controlled vast amounts of wealth • Land ownership, collection of tithes (taxes) • Monopolized education & learning • Advisors to Kings and Emperors • Power of excommunication
- 9. The Middle Ages • By the Late Middle Ages • A lot of tension in feudal arrangements • Church vs. State • Example: Henry II and Thomas Becket • Aristocrats vs. Monarchs • Growing middle class embraced by monarchs • Europe in transition from feudal to modern society • Growth in population • Expanding economy • Emerging towns, emerging states • Consolidation of states under a monarchy Sculpture of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, who became a saint following his death at the hands of the King’s knights
- 10. The 14th Century
- 11. The 14th Century • 14th c. Europe: multiple calamities • Including • War • Climate change (drought) & famine • Pandemic – The Black Death • Social conflict & violent uprisings • Fundamentally changing Europe • Altering social structure & institutions • Growing challenges to authority • Opening door for new way of thinking
- 12. 14th century • 14th c. Challenges: Hundred Years’ War • France vs. England (1337-1453) • Series of long, deadly wars • English kings claimed territories in France • French King Charles IV died without an heir • France’s Philip IV & England’s Henry III both claimed Flemish throne
- 13. 14th century • Impact of Hundred Years’ War • Military Technology • Longbow • Longer range, faster firing • Vital to English victories • Guns & gunpowder • Increasingly effective • French used to defeat English archers
- 14. 14th century • Impact of Hundred Years’ War • Total War • Connection between taxpayers & military • Consciously “national” struggle • By attacking non-combatant taxpayers • Attacking military resource • Undermined military effectiveness • Destroyed countryside & cities to impair army • Example: grande chevauchée • Raid across southern France • 6,000 English soldiers destroyed 500 French settlements A medieval town under assault.
- 15. 14th century • Impact on England • Permanent loss of territories • In French region • And associated revenue • Greater identity as a nation • Stronger central government • Centered around monarchy • Impact on France • Destruction by armies, pillagers • Damage to economy • Destroyed farmland • Displaced populations • Stronger central government • Increased tax revenue, standing army
- 16. 14th century • 14th c. Challenges: Climate Change & Famine • Weather – cooling trend, increased rainfall • Frequent storms, floods • Also – soil exhausted • Famine – mass starvation – repeatedly • 1305-1314: poor harvests, mass hunger • 1315-1316: things so bad, ate the seed stored for Spring planting, perpetuating poor crop production • 1315-1322: famine devastated most of Europe • At same time, livestock dying of epidemic disease • Depriving Europeans of meat and dairy Death astride a lion, whose tail end is in flame (Hell). Famine points to her hungry mouth.
- 17. 14th century • 14th c. Challenges: Climate Change & Famine • Impact – 10% of Europe’s population perished • Between 1315 & 1316 • Some starved outright • Others from weakened resistance and disease • Meanwhile: supply low, demand high, and prices soared • Wealthy lived well, but rural and urban poor suffered
- 18. 14th century • The Black Death: 1347 Pandemic • an epidemic of infectious disease spread across a large region, even worldwide • Flu-like symptoms • Swelling in groin, or in the armpit • Moved swiftly, haunted the continent • Estimated 200 million killed in Asia and Europe
- 19. 14th century • Progress of the Black Death • Through Asia • To Baghdad & Constantinople • Throughout Egypt, Syria • Entered Europe through Italy • Carried by rats • On Genoese trading ships • Sailing in the Black Sea
- 20. 14th century • The Black Death • Bubonic Plague: Swelling in groin, armpits • Attacking the lymph nodes • Which took on sickening black color • Black sores covered the body • If untreated, 30-75% died • Within 72 hours • 2 other forms usually fatal • Pneumonic – attacked the lungs • Septicemic – in the bloodstream
- 21. 14th century • Black Death in Europe • Around ½ of Europe’s population died swiftly • Indiscriminate killing • Wealth, social standing, piety didn’t matter • Some areas hit harder than others • Florence lost 50,000 of its 85,000 • Paris buried 800 a day at its peak • Profound influence on people • Their values, actions, beliefs impacted
- 22. 14th century • The Decameron • Written by Giovanni Boccaccio • 100 stories in 10 days • Set in Florence, northern Italy • Gives us a sense of what Europeans experienced during Black Death • Moral running throughout the stories: • People can be happy, prosperous, creative • EVEN in the worst of times • Nothing quenches the life force Coat of Arms of Florence: the Fleur-de-lis, or Florentine lily
- 23. 14th century • Black Death in The Decameron • Boccaccio describes social unraveling: • In the face of this pestilence no human precaution or remedy was of any avail. … • Few of the sick recovered, and almost all died after the third day… • Reverence for law, whether divine or human … virtually disappeared Burying plague victims in Florence, 1350
- 24. 14th century • Impact of the Black Death in Europe • Challenging established authority • Church and Government • Socioeconomic • Shortage of workers led to demand for higher wages • Peasants leaving the land to work in cities, eroding feudal divisions • Social unrest & public protests • Urban & rural Defeat of the Jaquerie
- 25. 14th century • Black Death in Europe • The people and the Church • Initially – revivalism & extremism • To degree of fanaticism • In the long run, undermined religious orthodoxy • Deaths of priests, nuns, monks led to lower standards in recruitment • Failure of religion to stop the spread of plague • Opened door for more overt criticism of the Church Flagellants in the Netherlands scourging themselves in atonement, believing that the Black Death is a punishment from God for their sins, 1349.
- 26. 14th century • Black Death in Europe • Social-Cultural Shifts • Social Mobility – opportunities for life change • Laborers became merchants • Merchants became members of new nobility • Increasing focus on merits or abilities, not status at birth • Dramatic commercial expansion • Less reliance on feudal land-based structures • Italian & German cities led the way • Modernizing trends: joint-stock corporations, financial innovations