Late Medieval Europe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7qT-C-0ajI.
Setting the Stage…
• The AP European History test asks us to begin chronologically with an analysis of the
Renaissance in Europe and the Age of “Discovery” outside of it from about 1450...
• But what was the Renaissance? How do we define it?
• Similarly, how do we define the Age of “Discovery”?
Crisis I: The Great Famine
• Booming economy in early 14th century leads to marginal
lands being developed.
• Changes in climate precipitate a series of devastating
famines in the early 14th century.
• Famines are interpreted as sign of biblical disfavor.
Crisis II: The Black Death
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcbR1J_4ICg.
• Spread from Asia through trade routes (fleas/rats…giant gerbils!?).
• Hit Europe hard – overpopulation, malnutrition, poor hygiene practice.
• Some remedies discovered, but high fatalities (~1/3 of Europe killed).
• Massive casualties led to:
• Increased wages
• Less overcrowding
• Better opportunities for artisans/craftsmen and merchants
• Loss of trust in church
• Decline of the feudal system
The Burying of Plague Victims in Tournai - 1349
1.
What does this
image tell you
about the impact of
the plague?
2.
What are the limits
of this source?
3.
What is the intent
of the creator?
Michael Wolgemut, The Dance of Death (1493)
• 1. What sort of figures are portrayed in the
painting?
• 2. What sorts of contemporary events might
have influenced the creation of this genre of
artwork?
• 3. What do the pictures tell us about late
medieval sensibilities regarding death?
Ivan of Kastav, Dance of Death, 15th Century
Crisis III: Peasant Revolts
• Taxation and class resentments led to peasant
revolts across much of Europe in the 14th
century.
• Short but sharp peasant revolts threaten noble
power – but are brutally suppressed by knights
and lords.
John Ball’s Sermons
• John Ball: itinerant preacher who gained a large following in the 1360s-1370s. One of his followers was Wat
Tyler, the leader of the English Peasant Revolt.
• TEXT: “My good friends, matters cannot go on well in England until all things shall be in common; where there
shall be neither vassals nor lords; when the lords shall be no more masters than ourselves. How ill they behave
to us! For what reasons do they thus hold us in bondage? Are we not all descended from the same parents, Adam
and Eve? When Adam delved and Eve span, who then was the gentleman? What reason can they give, why they
should be more masters than ourselves? They are clothed in velvet in rich stuffs, ornamented with ermine and
other furs, while we are forced to wear poor clothing. They have wines, spices, and fine bread, while we have
only rye and the refuse of straw, and when we drink it must be water. They have handsome seats and manors,
while we must brave the wind and rain in our labors in the field; and it is by our labor that they have wherewith
to support their pomp. We are called slaves, and if we do not perform our service we are beaten, and we have no
sovereign to whom we can complain or who would be willing to hear us. Let us go to the King and remonstrate
with him; he is young, and from him we may obtain a favorable answer, and if not we must ourselves seek to
amend our condition.”
John Ball Questions
• 1. What is the tone of Ball’s sermon?
• 2. What does he mean when he says, “When
Adam delved and Eve span, who then was the
gentleman?”
• 3. Why would this sermon be aggravating to
the nobles, clergy, and other powerful figures
in late medieval English society?
Hundred Years’ War: 1337-1453
• Largely caused by an English claim to the French throne and an age old land dispute.
• English military superiority and a disunified French kingdom led to numerous English
victories but France (Valois family) was the overall victor (stronger land claims and a
larger population).
• Most famous figures:
• Henry V: the English king who won the battle of Agincourt. Made famous by William
Shakespeare’s St. Crispin’s Day Speech.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-yZNMWFqvM.
• Joan of Arc used nationalism to evoke stronger fighting from French forces and took back
Orleans for the French; taken by the English inquisition and executed for heresy.
Peter Paul Rubens, Joan of Arc (1620)
Questions
• 1. How do these pieces present the exploits of Henry V and Joan of Arc?
• 2. Who was the audience of Shakespeare’s play?
• 3. What do these various “heroic” episodes in the conflict teach us about the Hundred
Years’ War?
Effects of the Hundred Years’ War
• New sense of nationalism for the French and English; population and trade
devastation; no major territorial gains were made; cost both sides a lot of money.
• French and English peasantry suffered most.
• Tradition of modern state building in France and England began.
• Peasant revolts in both regions continued (England eventually abolishes serfdom
in 1550).
Medieval Russia
• Vladimir of Kiev (980-1015) adopted Eastern Orthodox Christianity (strong
cultural ties to Byzantine Empire)
• Russia became a booming cultural center of trade
• Mongol conquest and control brought fragmented states into one empire which
remained after Mongols were expelled (1480) under Ivan the Great
• Mongol influences divided Russia from Western Europe culturally and politically,
but strong practices of E. Orthodoxy remained (which also differentiated Russia
from Latin Christendom).
Important Vocab
• Caesaropapism – political and religious power in emperor’s hands (Byzantine)
• Canon Law – moral boundaries set by the church
• Charlemagne – most famous of the Carolingians, conquered most of W. Europe and temporarily unified it;
crowned emperor by pope in 800 (church > political leaders)
• Guilds – associations of craftsmen working the same occupation
• Hanseatic League – facilitated trade in Northern Europe
• Magna Carta – 1215 in England during the reign of King John; limited king’s power by giving rights to nobility
• Manorialism – econ system where peasants were tied to the land to supply labor to lords; focused on bartering