Were the “Dark Ages” really that Dark?
Periodization
Early Middle Ages: 500 – 1000
High Middle Ages: 1000 – 1300
Late Middle Ages: 1300-1450
Feudalism
Knights
The “Dark” Ages: Key
Characteristics
Manor/Manorialism
Serfdom
Castles
Heavy Plow
Chivalry
Horseshoe
Canon Law
Horse Collar
Cathedrals
Three-Field
System
Stained Glass
Windows
Monasticism
Guilds
Crusades
Scholasticism
Universities
Commercial Revolution
Plagues/disease
Superstition
Church Hierarchy
Poor hygiene &
sanitation
Widespread illiteracy
Feudalism
A political, economic, and social
system based on loyalty and
military service.
Parts of a Medieval Castle
The Road to Knighthood
KNIGHT
SQUIRE
PAGE
Chivalry: A Code of Honor and Behavior
 Displays of
courage & valor in
combat
Respect toward
women
Devotion to a
feudal lord &
heavenly lord
The Medieval Church
Hierarchy
Pope
Cardinals (Curia)
Archbishops
Bishops
Parish Priests
filled the power vacuum left from the
collapse of the classical world.
The Power of the Medieval Church
 bishops and abbots played a large part in
the feudal system.
 the church controlled about 1/3 of the
land in Western Europe.
 tried to curb feudal warfare  only 40
days a year for combat.
 curb heresies  crusades; Inquisition
 tithe  1/10 tax on your assets given to
the church.
 Peter’s Pence  1 penny per person
[paid by the peasants].
Cathedrals: Two Architectural Styles
Romanesque
Gothic
Stained Glass Windows
 For the Glory of God
 For Religious Instruction
Late Medieval Church Art
Chalice, paten, and
straw, mid-13c
Relinquary, late 12c
Monasticism
 Goal: create communities
of men & women dedicated to
God; serve as moral example
to rest of world
St. Benedict – Benedictine
Rule of poverty, chastity,
and obedience.
 provided schools for the
children of the upper class.
 inns, hospitals, refuge in
times of war.
 libraries & scriptoria to
copy books and illuminate
manuscripts.
 monks  missionaries to
the barbarians. [St.
Patrick, St. Boniface]
Illuminated Manuscripts
The Medieval Manor
Life on the Medieval Manor
Serfs at work
An Agricultural Revolution (1000-1300)
 The heavy plow
Horseshoe
 Horses could now be used to plow fields
 plowed 3 times more land a day
 Horse Collar
 transferred strain from animals neck to withers
 did not strangle animal
Three-Field System
 two-fields planted each season
 one left fallow
Medieval Guilds
Guild Hall
 Commercial Monopoly:
 Controlled membership
apprentice  journeyman  master craftsman
 Controlled quality of the product [masterpiece].
 Controlled prices
Pope Urban II: Preaching a Crusade
Christian Crusades: East and
West
Medieval Universities
Medieval Trade
“The Medieval Mind”: William Manchester

Violent
 Devoutly Christian (in name
rather than deed)
 Lack of Ego (no sense of self)
 No awareness of time
 Nothing would ever change
(until death)
What caused the down fall of the three pillars
of the Middle Ages? Why?
The Culprits
Symptoms
Buboe
Dark Blotches on
Skin
Causes of the Black Death:
 “Little Ice Age” in Europe (1300-1450)
 Great Famine (1315-1322)= chronic malnutrition
 Gov’ts ineffective in famine relief
 Little land left in Europe for agriculture
 New long-distance trade routes opened
(Italians); acquire grain from abroad
1346: Plague Reaches Caffa
Attempts to Stop the
Plague
A Doctor’s
Robe
“Leeching”
Attempts to Stop the
Plague
Flagellanti:
Self-inflicted “penance” for our sins!
Attempts to Stop the
Pogroms against the Jews
Plague
“Jew” hat
“Golden Circle”
obligatory badge
Medieval Art & the
Plague
An obsession
with death.
Consequences of the Black Death:
 Killed 1/3 of European population (19-38 million)
 Trade declined; prices rose (inflation); rise in
real wages
 Guilds opened up to new members
 Serfdom ends in Western Europe
 Nobles resist demands for higher wages (English
Statute of Laborers (1351)
 Peasant Revolts (English Peasants’ Revolt of
1381)
Standard of living in towns & per capita income
rose
Causes of the
Hundred Years’ War:
 Controversy over
succession to French throne
(Edward III vs. Philip VI)
 Dispute over Gascony
 Conflict over Flanders
 Struggle for National
Identity in France (King vs.
French nobles in a Civil
War)
Controversy Over Succession
Edward III
Philip VI of Valois
Hundred Years’ War: A Tale of Two Styles
France
100 Years’
War
 Pop.= 16 million
 Army over 50,000
Far richer than England
Strategy = heavilyarmored cavalry of knights
England
 Much smaller than France
 Army = 32,000
 New Weapons Technology
 Strategy = sneak attacks
& guerilla raids
English Weapons Advantage #1
Battle of Crécy (1346)
English Weapons Advantage #2
Battle of Poitiers (1356)
The Turning Point for France!
France Becomes Unified!
France in 1453
France in 1337
Consequences of the 100 Years’ War:
 Death toll was huge on both sides; Economies of
both countries (+ Low Countries) devastated
Ended feudal tactics & chivalrous rules of war
(knights & castles now obsolete)
 Formation of national identities in England &
France
 People in both countries now saw king as a
national leader
 Fostered development of Parliament in England
(Power of the Purse!)
Background: King Philip IV vs. Pope Boniface VIII
Pope Boniface issues
Unam Sanctam (1302)
The Babylonian Captivity (1309-77)
Clement V moved papacy from Rome to
Avignon. Becomes powerful symbol of
abuses w/in the Church.
The Great Schism (1378-1415)
Now Europe has TWO Popes!
Clement VII (Avignon) vs. Urban VI (Rome)
Council of Pisa (1409)
Cardinals hope to end Schism by electing new pope (Alexander V)
Now there are THREE popes!!!!
Council of Constance (1414-1418)
Ends Schism: Martin V elected as new Pope
Consequences of the Great Schism:
 Badly damaged the faith of many
Christians
 Weakened the power & prestige of papacy
 Call to restructure Church from papal
hierarchy to councils made up of clergy
(conciliarism)
 growth of lay piety & mysticism (ex. Thomas à
Kempis, Imitation of Christ & Bridget of
Sweden)
 Scholars such as Wyclif & Hus began to
challenge church practices