ADVANCED PLACEMENT EUROPEAN HISTORY
EASTVIEW HIGH SCHOOL
Required Summer Reading
1. A History of Western Society, McKay, et al., Chapter 11. Students are expected to read these pages
during the summer as they serve as a brilliant introduction to the course. Students must also
complete the accompanying Study Guide – the Study Guide will be collected and scored during the
first week of school in September.
2. Read ONE of the following books:
o History of the World in 6 Glasses, by Tom Standage (ISBN-10-0-8027-1552-4)
o Brunelleschi’s Dome, by Ross King (ISBN 978-0-14-200015-1)
You will participate in a Socratic Seminar the first week of school. You are responsible for
obtaining a copy of the book you select.
ORIGINAL SCHOLARSHIP ONLY! SHARING OF RESPONSES IS UNACCEPTABLE – SUBJECT TO THE EASTVIEW HONOR CODE.
AP EUROPEAN HISTORY
McKay, et. al. 11e, Chapter 11 – Study Guide
The Later Middle Ages (ce 1300-1450)
Study Guides are scored HOLISTICALLY using the following criteria:
1) Student’s original scholarship only!!
2) Product represents pride of effort and scholarship – it must be your BEST work!
3) Correctness, thoroughness, and thoughtfulness of responses are essential.
4) TIMELINE must be comprehensively completed.
Chapter Timeline
--1300
--1325
“O human race, born to fly upward, wherefore at a little wind dost thou so fall?”
- Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy
--1350
CHAPTER SUMMARY
The fourteenth century was a time of disease, war, crime, violence, and ethnic-racial conflicts.
The art and literature of the period are full of the portrayal of death, just as the historical
accounts are full of tales of conflict and violence. There were several major causes for this
century of human suffering. Natural disaster—including changes in climate and horrible new
diseases—attacked Europe. A long series of wars between France and England not only
brought death and economic ruin but increased personal violence and crime as well. In
addition, a serious shortage of labor, created by the bubonic plague, resulted in intense social
conflict among landlords. Economic crisis during the century also resulted in a bitter struggle
between urban workers and their guild masters.
Amid such violence the church lost power and prestige, partly because of the religious
disillusionment that accompanied the plague. In short, the institutional church failed to fill the
spiritual vacuum left by the series of disasters. A more immediate reason for the decline of the
church’s influence and prestige was the Babylonian Captivity and the Great Schism. The call
for reform, often in the form of the conciliar movement, by people such as Marsiglio of Padua
and John Wyclif, was a signal of things to come in the sixteenth century. The disillusionment
with the organized church also led to greater lay independence and, ultimately, ideas of social
and political equality. The wars actually fostered the development of constitutionalism in
England.
But the century of disaster was also a century of change, some of it for the good of ordinary
people. It is in this light that the chapter examines some important changes in marriage
practices, family relations, and the life of the people. The decline in population meant that
those who survived had better food and higher wages. Peasants in western Europe used the
labor-shortage problem to demand higher wages and freedom from serfdom. Meanwhile,
landlords tried to shift the cost of war and the increase in expenses to their peasants. These
circumstances often resulted in conflict with their lords.
--1375
--1400
--1425
The migrations of peoples from European heartland to the frontier regions of Ireland, the
Baltic, eastern Europe, and Spain led to ethnic frictions between native peoples and new
settlers. Economic difficulties led to ethnic consciousness and spawned vicious racism.
--1450
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PRELUDE TO DISASTER (11.1)
Before you read:
th
1. Climate change and famine affected most Europeans in the 14 century leaving them susceptible to disease.
True or False or I don’t know
2.
th
Government responses to the crises of the 14 century were highly effective in helping Europeans.
True or False or I don’t know
While you read:
1. What were the causes and consequences of the Great Famine (1315-1322)?
th
2.
As life became difficult for Europeans in the 14 century, what groups of people became convenient scapegoats?
Explain.
3.
How did the French and English kings respond to the crises and how affective were their policies?
After you read:
1. In Europe, the period from 1315 to 1322 is best characterized as:
A) a time of scarcity and starvation.
B) a time of plenty and prosperity.
C) stable and peaceful.
D) a time of civil war and bloodshed.
THE BLACK DEATH (11.2)
Before you read:
In 1679, the city of Vienna experienced one of the last plague
epidemics which entered Europe through Genoa, Italy in 1347.
The Austrian Emperor, Leopold I, fled the city and vowed to
erect a ‘mercy column’ if/when the epidemic ended. Several
designs were constructed, but the final Plague Column design,
which is located in the old city of Vienna today, memorializes
this history.
1.
2
Why do you think European cities were
especially vulnerable to epidemics like the
plague?
ORIGINAL SCHOLARSHIP ONLY! SHARING OF RESPONSES IS UNACCEPTABLE – SUBJECT TO THE EASTVIEW HONOR CODE.
While you read:
1. What was the source of the bubonic plague and why did it spread so rapidly in Europe?
2.
What impact did the plague have on wages and the demand for labor? What happened to land values?
3.
Describe the psychological effects of the plague. How did people explain this disaster?
Mapping the Past (Map 12.1):
1. When did the plague reach Paris? How much time passed before it spread to the rest of northern France and
southern Germany? Which cities and regions were spared?
2.
How did the expansion of trade that resulted from the commercial revolution contribute to the spread of the Black
Death?
After you read:
1. In a time where clerics were often criticized, their behavior during the plague is characterized as
A) exemplary, as priests, monks, and nuns cared for the sick and buried the dead.
B) shameful, as priest, monks, and nuns fled to monasteries in the countryside.
C) normal, as everyone was simply trying to survive so leaving the city was common.
D) indifferent, survival was the only thing on people’s minds.
2. Economically, the Black Death resulted in
A) a complete economic collapse.
B) a sharp drop in per capita wealth.
C) a sharp increase in per capita wealth.
D) a sharp increase in urban unemployment.
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Living in the Past – Treating the Plague (11.2)
1- In the background of the plague doctor engraving, the artist shows a group of children running away as the plague
doctor approaches. What aspects of his appearance or treatment methods contributed to this reaction?
2-
Many people who lived through the plague reported that it created a sense of hopeless despair. Do the
quotations from medical treatises and the objects depicted here support this idea?
THE HUNDRED YEARS’ WAR (11.3)
Before you read:
1. One reason the Hundred Years’ War lasted so long was because it became a French civil war.
True or False or I don’t know
2.
One of the primary causes of the Hundred Years’ War was a dispute over succession to the French throne.
True or False or I don’t know
While you read:
1. What were the immediate and other causes of the Hundred Years’ War?
2.
Why did the people support their kings in war?
3.
What role did Joan of Arc have in the Hundred Years’ War? Why is her story significant in this history?
4.
What were the results of the Hundred Years’ War?
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After you read:
1. The English victory at the Battle of Crécy resulted from
A) the chivalric superiority of the English knights.
B) their alliance with the Germans.
C) the cowardice of the French knights.
D) the effective use of longbows.
2. One important mode of influencing public opinion used by the English and French kings during the Hundred Years'
War was
A) publishing broadsheets.
B) distribution of free grain to the populace.
C) proclaiming a crusade.
D) instructing priests to deliver patriotic sermons.
3. The effect of the Hundred Years’ War on England was that it
A) Brought great wealth in the form of cash reserves to England.
B) Caused a great increase in wool exports.
C) Allowed many English knights to become very rich.
D) Resulted in a great net loss in cash.
Primary Source – The Trial of Joan of Arc (11.2)
1- How does Joan explain the way that she chose to answer the interrogators’ questions, and her decisions about
clothing and actions in battle?
2-
th
Thinking about the structures of power and authority in 15 century France, how do you believe the interrogators
would have regarded Joan’s answers?
CHALLENGES TO THE CHURCH (11.4)
Before you read:
th
1. The Catholic Church experienced tremendous division due to having three popes at one time in the early 15
century. True or False or I don’t know
2.
th
What do you already know about the role of the Catholic Church in the life of Europeans in the 15 century?
While you read:
1. How did the Babylonian Captivity weaken the power and prestige of the church?
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ORIGINAL SCHOLARSHIP ONLY! SHARING OF RESPONSES IS UNACCEPTABLE – SUBJECT TO THE EASTVIEW HONOR CODE.
2.
What was the conciliar movement and who were its advocates? Was this a revolutionary idea? Explain.
3.
Why was John Wyclif a threat to the institutional church?
4.
What political and cultural interests did the martyred Jan Hus serve?
After you read:
1. The conciliar movement was
A) an effort to give the pope the power to use councils to wipe out heresy.
B) the effort by the French lords to establish a parliament.
C) a new monastic order vowing poverty and care to the sick.
D) an attempt to place ultimate authority of the Catholic Church with a general council.
2. The great council that met at Constance from 1414 to 1418
A) implemented a series of important reforms.
B) did little more than elect a pope.
C) abolished the Inquisition.
D) reformed the monastic and mendicant orders.
Primary Source – Raimon de Cornet on the Avignon Papacy (11.3)
1- What actions of the church hierarchy does Raimon de Cornet view as particularly worthy of critisicm?
2-
th
How did popular poems such as this one both reflect and shape attitudes toward the church in the 14 century?
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SOCIAL UNREST IN A CHANGING SOCIETY (11.5)
Before you read:
1. There are frequent ‘peasant revolts’ throughout European history. Hypothesize – why is this social group often in
revolt?
While you read:
th
th
1. Did peasants’ lives improve or deteriorate in the 14 and 15 centuries? Explain.
th
2.
Why did a great amount of conflict and frustration among guild members develop in the 14 century?
3.
What was fur-collar crime and why did it occur?
4.
What were the reasons for the French of 1358 and the English Peasants’ Revolt of 1381?
5.
Describe and explain the increase in ethnic-racial tensions in the frontier areas of Europe in the late Middle Ages.
6.
Summarize the development of literacy and vernacular literature during this time in history.
After you read:
1. The English Statute of Laborers (1351)
A) fixed the number of new members of guilds.
B) forbade the migration of day laborers.
C) forbade the creation of craft unions.
D) attempted to freeze salaries and wages at pre-1347 levels.
2. In the Middle Ages, who and when a person married were determined by
A) economic considerations and parental direction.
B) romantic love.
C) accidental pregnancies.
D) the manorial lord.
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Primary Source – Christine de Pizan- Advice to the Wives of Artisans (11.5)
1- How would you describe Christine’s view of the ideal artisan’s wife?
2- The regulations of craft guilds often required that masters who ran workshops be married. What evidence does
Christine’s advice provide for why guilds would have stipulated this?
3- How are economic and moral virtues linked for Christine?
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