Chapter 13:
Crisis and Rebirth in Europe
The Bubonic Plague
Referred to as the Black Death, this
epidemic originated in China where it killed
an estimated 35 million people. The
Mongol control of the Asian Silk Roads
increased the interaction of between Europe
and Asia. First occurring in 1330s, the
epidemic spread westward with traders and
merchants, and arrived in the Italian port
cities as early 1347.
Rapid spread was due to…
• crowded cities
• lack of adequate sanitation
• lack of medical knowledge
Results
• within 50 years a third of Europe’s population
was dead
• traditional feudal hierarchies were obsolete
• religious hatred intensified
• people lost faith in the power of the Church
• sped up social and economic movements
• commercial economy, more individual freedoms,
and development of new industries
The Emergence of NationStates: Power Solidifies
• Remember that during the Middle Ages,
western Europe was divided into feudal
kingdoms. Western Europe was organized
by cultural and linguistic lines.
Germany
The reigning family died out without suitable
successor to the emperorship, so the reign entered
a period known as interregnum (a time between
kings.) Germany and Italy became decentralized
in a group of strong, independent townships and
kingdoms, similar to city-states. In this
environment, merchants and townspeople became
more powerful. In northern Germany the
Hanseatic League led the region’s progress in
international trade and commerce.
England
• Since the time of William the Conqueror,
England had followed a tradition of a strong
monarchy. But during the rule of King
John, powerful English nobles rebelled and
forced him to sign the Magna Carta
(1215). This document reinstated the feudal
rights of the nobles, but also extended the
rule of law to other people in the country,
namely the burgher class.
This laid the foundation for the Parliament.
Initially, an assembly was established made up of
nobles, who were responsible for representing the
views of different parts of England on law making
taxation issues. After a trial period, the
Parliament was established. Later, it was divided
into two branches: the House of the Lords (nobles
and clergy) and the House of Commons (knights
and wealthy burghers).
• The House of the Lords presided over legal
issues and advised the king; the House of
Commons was concerned with issues of
trade and taxation. The result was that
England established its identity early on.
France
• The formation of France was bound with
England. In 987, King Hugh Capet ruled only a
small area around Paris; for the next couple of
hundred years, subsequent French kings
expanded the territory. But beginning in the
twelfth century, England began to claim large
parts of present day France. The English
occupation of the French speaking territories led
to revolts and, eventually, to French statehood (the
goal being to unite France under its own
leadership).
Joan of Arc
• This effort would be spearheaded by an unlikely
candidate. A teenager and farm girl, Joan of Arc
claimed to have heard voices that told her to
liberate France from the hands of the English.
Remarkably, this uneducated youngster somehow
managed to convince French authorities that she
had been divinely inspired to lead the men into
battle, and they surprised her with military
backing. With her army, she forced the British to
retreat from Orleans, but was later captured by
the French, tried by the English, and burned at
the stake by the French.
Hundred Years’ War
• Nevertheless, she had a significant impact on the
Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453) between
England and France, which eventually resulted in
England’s withdrawal from France.
• After the Hundred Years’ War, royal power in
France became more centralized. Under a series
of monarchs known as the Bourbons, France was
united and became a major power on the
European continent.
Spain
• Spain was united by Queen Isabella, the ruler of
Castille (present day central Spain). Power in the
Spanish speaking region of Europe had been
divided for two reasons.
• 1. Castille was one of 3 independent Spanish
kingdoms, therefore no single ruler controlled the
region.
• 2. the peasants were split among religious lines
(Christians and Muslims)
Isabella married Ferdinand
• To overcome these obstacles, Isabella married
Ferdinand, heir to the Spanish Kingdom in
Aragon, in 1469, thus uniting Spain in a single
monarchy. Rather than compete with the church
for authority , Isabella and Ferdinand, both
Christians, enlisted the Catholic Church as a
strong ally. Spanish statehood thrived under the
new monarchy and the alignment with the
Catholic Church effectively ended religious
toleration in the region.
• The result was that non-Christians (predominantly
Muslims and Jewish people) were forced to
convert to Christianity or leave the country. This
marked the beginning of the Spanish inquisition.
The consequences for non-Christian Spaniards
were tragic; the consequences for the Spanish
monarchy were huge. Newly unified and
energized, Spain embarked on an imperial
conquest that led to tremendous wealth and
glory, eventually resulting in the spread of the
Spanish language, Spanish customs, and
Christianity to much of the New World.
Russia
• Recall that Eastern Europe and Russia at this time
were very different from the west. The Eastern
Orthodox Christians of this area spent much time
and effort defending themselves from the
colonization of various western invaders. It wasn’t
until 1242 that Russia succumbed to the Tatars (a
group of Mongols from the east) under Genghis
Khan. The Tatars ruled a large chunk of Russia for
two centuries, leading to a cultural rift that
further split eastern and western Europe.
Russia
• By the fourteenth century the Mongol power
started to decline and the Russian princes of
Muscovy grew in power. By the late 1400’s Ivan
III expanded Muscovy territory (the area
surrounding Moscow) into modern-day Russia and
declared himself czar, Russian word for emperor.
As the center of Eastern Orthodox Church,
Moscow was declared the Third Rome, after the
real Rome and Constantinople.
• By the mid-1500s, Ivan the Terrible had
centralized power over the entire Russian
sphere, ruling ruthlessly and using secret
police against his own nobles. Nationalism
in Russia is well underway.
The Renaissance
• After the Black Death the population in Europe
began to swell, the demands for goods and
services began to increase rapidly. Individuals
moved to cities. A middle class made up of
bankers, merchants, and traders emerged due to
increase in global trade. In short, Europe
experienced an influx of money and much of this
money was spent on recapturing and studying
the past.
Humanism: A Bit More Focus
on the Here and Now
• In medieval Europe, thoughts of salvation and the
afterlife so dominated the personal priorities that
life on earth was, for many, something to be
suffered through on the way to heaven rather than
lived As the Europeans rediscovered ancient
texts, they were struck with the degree of
humanity- personal accomplishment and
personal happiness- formed the central core of so
much literature and philosophy of ancient writers.
• The emphasis began to shift from fulfillment in
the afterlife to participating in the here-and now.
Europeans were fascinated with the ancient
Roman and Greek concepts of beauty and
citizenship, and as a they began to shift there focus
to life on earth celebrating human achievements in
the scholarly, artistic, and political realms. The
focus of human endeavors became known as
humanism. Its impact was far reaching because a
focus on the present-day life leads to a focus on
the individuals, and a focus on individuality
inevitably leads to a reduction in the authority of
institutions.
The Arts Stage a Comeback
• Renaissance literally means rebirth, and it was
nowhere more apparent than in the arts.
• Who were the Medici’s?
• The Medici family in Florence not only ruled the
great city and beyond (several family members
became popes!), but turned it into a showcase and
beauty by acting as patrons for some of the
greatest artist of all time, including Michelangelo
Michelangelo
• Painter, sculptor, architect,
and poet
• Most famous for the way he
portrayed the human body in
painting and sculptor
• Explored the Renaissance
theme of human potential
1501-1504 sculpted the Statue of David
1508-1512 Painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel
Filippo Brunelleschi
• Architect and artist
• Famous for bronze
doors for the
baptistery in Florence
Leonardo da Vinci
•Painter, sculptor, inventor,
and scientist
•True “Renaissance Man”
•Famous paintings: Mona Lisa
and The Last Supper
Donatello
• Artist and sculptor
• known for his work in
basso rilievo, a form
of shallow relief
sculpture
Van Eyck Brothers
• Artists
• Two of the first
painters to use oil
paints regularly
Albrecht Durer
• Painter and print
maker
• Part of the Northern
Renaissance and
known for his wood
cuts
Western Writers Finally Get
Readers
• Although printing was developed in China
centuries earlier (The Song Dynasty, remember)
movable type wasn’t invented in Europe until the
mid-1400s, when Johannas Gutenberg invented
the printing press. With the invention of the
printing press books became easy to produce and
affordable. The growing middle class fueled the
demand for books on a variety of subjects that
were written in their own vernacular, or native
language.
Machiavelli
•Wrote The Prince
•It examines the imperfect
conduct of humans in the
form of a political
guidebook
Erasmus
•Wrote In Praise of Folly
•It examines the
corruptness of the
Catholic Church in a
satirical manner
Sir Thomas More
•Wrote Utopia
• It examines the ideal
political – legal society
William Shakespeare
•Wrote plays and sonnets
• He uses his works to
discuss themes of love,
conflict, and tragedy