Western Europe During the
Late Middle Ages
Mr. Wilson
World History AP
Wren High School
The Rise of Regional States
Holy Roman Empire
Loose confederation of states
Tense relationships with the papacy
prevents creation of powerful state
Capetian Dynasty in France
Regional states form in Italy and Spain
Powerful Italian city-states: Florence,
Genoa, Milan, Venice
Lays foundation for the Renaissance
Europe 1000-1300 C.E.
Rise of Feudal England
William of Normandy conquers England in
1066
Feudalism with centralized approach
Monarchy limited by church & aristocracy
Magna Carta signed by King John in 1215
Creates parliamentary system
Parliament must approve changes in taxation
Does NOT create democratic system
European Economic Revival
Growth of Agricultural Economy
Population pressure causes increase in land
devoted to agriculture
Crop rotation and three-field system
New technology: horse collar and horseshoe
Population growth
• 800 CE—29 Million
• 1100 CE—44 Million
• 1300 CE—79 Million
European Economic Revival
Revival of Towns and Trade
Food surplus & population growth led to
urbanization
Urbanization brought increase in specialization
of labor
• Guilds
Specialization of labor caused increase in
manufacturing
• Manufacturing focused on wool textiles
Manufacturing led to increase in trade
• Brings Western Europe back into Afro-Eurasian trade
network
Venetian and Genoese
merchants established
colonies in major trade
ports of Alexandria,
Constantinople, Cairo,
Damascus, etc.
Christianity in the High Middle Ages
Cathedral schools become universities
Rediscovery of works of Aristotle
Increased commerce with Byzantine Empire
provided the West with access to Greek works
Scholasticism and Thomas Aquinas
Combining Aristotle’s logic with Christianity to
create the most truthful system of thought
possible
Christianity in the High Middle Ages
Increased devotion to
the saints
Virgin Mary was ideal
of womanhood, love,
and sympathy
Built magnificent
cathedrals to honor
Virgin Mary
Gothic architecture
• Notre Dame “Our Lady”
Medieval Expansion of Europe
Viking Conquests
Spanish Reconquista
The Crusades
Viking Expansion and
Conversion
Feudalism forced
Vikings to turn
attention to Iceland,
Greenland, and
Vinland (Canada)
Leif Ericsson
Vikings convert to
Christianity in 9th10th centuries
Viking Expansion
Spanish Reconquista 1060s-1492
Began in small Christian
states in northern Spain
By 1150 Christians had
recaptured over half of
Muslim Spain
Ended in 1492 with
conquest of Granada
Successful due to
organization and wealth
of Christian Church
The Crusades
Causes of the Crusades
Byzantine emperor asked Pope for help in
regaining territory lost to Seljuk Turks
Religious zeal
Pope Urban II calls for 1st Crusade in 1095
Forgiveness of sin for those who die in battle
Knights’ willingness to engage in churchsanctioned warfare
Feudal wars in Europe were coming to an end
Economic Motives?
Attraction of gaining spoils from rich Arab
lands
Italian merchants desired to gain control
of trade routes in the Mediterranean from
Muslims
Italian merchants provide needed supplies
to Crusaders
Impact of the Crusades
The impact of the Crusades on the West is
a source of debate among historians
The Crusades “helped expose the West to new cultural
and economic influences from the Middle East, a
major spur to further change and to [increase] the
West’s interaction with the larger world” –Peter
Stearns
“Italian merchants had begun to travel well beyond
Egypt, Palestine, and Syria to avoid Muslim middlemen
and deal directly with the ultimate producers of silks
and spices in India, southeast Asia, and China” –Jerry
Bentley, et. al.
Impact of the Crusades
Brian Tierney presents an opposing view to
causes and impact of the Crusades
“But one cannot claim that without the crusades the
Italian cities would not have not sought the markets
of the East or that they could not have taught the
peoples of Europe to like sugar and spices…
Although some individuals undoubtedly went
crusading in search of fiefs and plunder…it seems
clear that the majority were moved by genuine
religious enthusiasm and complete confidence that the
crusade was the path to salvation”
The Calamitous 14th Century
The Burning of Joan of Arc
Bubonic Plague “The Black Death”
In October 1347 a ship from the Crimea sailed into
Messina. The crew had a "sickness clinging to
their very bones.“
Rats carrying fleas got on shore spreading disease
25 million people died in the next several years,
1/4 to 1/3 of the population of Europe
Ports cities were hit first
Close proximity, unsanitary conditions facilitated
the spread into cities
Bubonic Plague
“…and soon death was everywhere. Fathers
abandoned their sick sons. Lawyers refused to come
and make out wills for the dying. Friars and nuns were
left to care for the sick, and monasteries and convents
were soon deserted, as they were stricken, too.
Bodies were left in empty houses, and there was no
one to give them a Christian burial."
Spread of the Black Death
Victims “ate lunch with
their friends and dinner
with their ancestors in
paradise”
-Geovanni Boccaccio
Reactions to the Black Death
Did it lead to a decline in moral standards?
Rampant Hysteria—Plague “God's Punishment”
Fear—People locked themselves away; some
fled their homes
• Probably carried fleas from town to town
Scapegoats—Any kind of "ungodly" behavior
could result in swift and harsh punishment
• Widows or strange old men might be singled out
and stoned to death
• Foreigners, especially Jews, were persecuted, in
some places burned at the stake in mass executions
Impact of the Black Death
Profound impact on manorial economy
Labor became scarce in some places
Tenants, rent payers, made gains as feudal
obligations were lowered
Some serfs were freed to keep them from
running away to better opportunities
Wages rose in towns to keep workers
happy
Landlords and some towns continued to
prosper
Hundred Years War (1337-1453)
From 1337 to 1453
England and France
periodically engaged in
a series of military
campaigns
Fought with new
military technology
Crossbows, longbows,
pikes, firearms, and
cannons
Joan of Arc, martyred in 1431
Impact of Hundred Years War
End of Feudalism?
Monarchs centralized authority
• More stable permanent boundaries
• Kings began to levy direct taxes
• Weakened the authority of feudal lords
Firearms led to the knight and castle being
outdated
• Monarchs maintained permanent armies
Bibliography
Bentley, Jerry and Herbert Ziegler. Traditions and
Encounters. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2000.
Bulliet, Richard, et al. The Earth and Its Peoples. 2nd ed.
Boston: Houghton-Mifflin Co., 2001.
Stearns, Peter, et al. World Civilizations. 3rd Ed. New York:
Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers, 2001.
Tierney, Brian and Sidney Painter. Western Europe in the
Middle Ages. 5th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1992.