Chapter 12
The Crisis of the
Later Middle Ages,
1300–1450
Death from Famine
In this fifteenth-century painting, dead bodies lie in the middle of a path, while a
funeral procession at the right includes a man with an adult’s coffin and a woman with
the coffin of an infant under her arm. People did not simply allow the dead to lie in the
street in medieval Europe, though during famines and epidemics it was sometimes
difficult to maintain normal burial procedures.
Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY
Procession of Saint Gregory
According to the Golden Legend, a thirteenth-century collection of saints’ lives, the bubonic
plague ravaged Rome when Gregory I was elected pope (590–604). This fourteenth
century painting, produced at a time when plague was again striking Europe, shows
Gregory leading a procession around the city as new victims fall (center). The artist shows
everyone in fourteenth-century clothing and may have seen similar plague processions in
his own city.
Musée Condé, Chantilly/Art Resource, NY
The Course of the Black Death in Fourteenth-Century Europe
Use the map and the information in the text to answer the following questions:•1 How did the
expansion of trade that resulted from the commercial revolution contribute to the spread of
the Black Death?•2 When did the plague reach Paris? Why do you think it got to Paris before it
spread to the rest of northern France or to southern Germany? •3 Which cities were spared? What
might account for this?•4 Which regions were spared? Would the reasons for this be the same as
those for cities, or might other causes have been operating in rural areas?
Patients in a Hospital Ward, Fifteenth Century
In many cities hospitals could not cope with the large numbers of plague victims. The
practice of putting two or more adults in the same bed, as shown here, contributed to
the spread of the disease. At the Hôtel-Dieu in Paris, nurses complained of being
forced to put eight to ten children in a single bed in which a patient had recently died.
Giraudon/The Bridgeman Art Library
Flagellants
In this manuscript illumination from 1349, shirtless flagellants scourge themselves
with whips as they walk through the streets of the Flemish city of Tournai. The text
notes that they are asking for God’s grace to return to the city after it had been
struck with the “most grave” illness.
HIP/Art Resource, NY
English Merchants in Flanders
In this 1387 illustration, an English merchant requests concessions from the count of
Flanders to trade English wool at a favorable price. Flanders was officially on the
French side during the Hundred Years’ War, but Flemish cities depended heavily on
English wool for their textile manufacturing. Hence the count of Flanders agreed to
the establishment of the Merchant Staple, an English trading company with a
monopoly on trade in wool.
British Library
Siege of the Castle of Mortagne Near Bordeaux (1377)
Medieval warfare usually consisted of small skirmishes and attacks on castles. This
miniature shows the French besieging an English-held castle, which held out for six
months. Most of the soldiers use longbows, although at the left two men shoot
primitive muskets above a pair of cannon. Painted in the late fifteenth century, the
scene reflects military technology available at the time it was painted, not the time of
the actual siege.
British Library
English Holdings in France
During the Hundred
Years’ War
The year 1429 marked the greatest
extent of English holdings in France.
Fourteenth-Century Peasant
Revolts
In the later Middle Ages, peasant and
urban uprisings were endemic, as
common as factory strikes in the
industrial world. The threat of
insurrection served to check unlimited
exploitation.
Same-Sex Relations
This illustration, from a
thirteenth century French book of
morals, interprets female and male
same-sex relations as the work of
devils, who hover over the couples.
This illustration was painted at the
time that religious and political
authorities were increasingly
criminalizing same sex relations.
Austrian National Library, Vienna, Cod. 2554, fol. 2r
Opening Page from the
Dalimil Chronicle
This history of Bohemia (now part of
the Czech Republic) was the first
book to be written in the Czech
language, and was an important tool
in the creation of a Czech national
identity. The section reproduced here
includes references to “our people”
and “our land.” The book remains an
important part of Czech identity; in
2005 the National Library of the Czech
Republic purchased a fragment of an
illustrated fourteenth-century Latin
translation for nearly half a million
dollars. Similar historical chronicles
were written in the vernacular
languages of many parts of Europe in
the fifteenth century and contributed to
a growing sense of ethnic and
national distinctions.
Austrian National Library, Vienna
Several manuscripts of
Christine’s works included
illustrations showing her
writing, which would have
increased their appeal to the
wealthy individuals who
purchased them.
Several manuscripts of Christine’s
works included illustrations showing
her writing, which would have
increased their appeal to the
wealthy individuals who
purchased them.
British Library