Medieval Europe: Moving Towards Renaissance

1. Medieval Europe: Moving Towards Renaissance

2. Medieval Universities • By the 1100s, schools had arisen around the great cathedrals to train clergy • Quickly became a status symbol for European cities • Women were not allowed to attend university • Knowledge of classical Greece, which had been preserved by Muslim scholars, returned to Europe during Crusades

3. University Life • 6 days a week • 5 AM: attend prayers • 5 – 10 AM: attend classes • lessons were in Latin, students sat for hours on hard wooden benches, expected to memorize what they heard, students paid teacher for each class • 10 AM: first meal of day • 11 AM – 5 PM: attend classes • 5 PM: last meal of day • after dinner, studied until bed • all exams were oral

4. A Medieval Classroom

5. St. Thomas Aquinas • Aquinas used logic and reason to defend Christian teachings – united Christian faith with Greek philosophy to argue that God rules over an orderly universe and that the laws of nature prove intelligent design • Marks the return of logic and reason to European thinking and a move away from emotional superstition

6. Science and Math • Little truly “European” development, but returning Crusaders brought back: • Arabic numbers which replaced outdated Roman numerals • Scientific knowledge of the classical Greeks + the scientific achievements of Islamic scholars (like algebra)

7. Medieval Literature • Heroic epics • France’s Song of Roland • Spain’s Cantar de Mio Cid • Dante’s Divine Comedy, including its most famous book, The Inferno (from Italy) • Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales (from England)

8. Gothic Cathedrals • Massive churches which major cities constructed as a sign of their wealth • Defining features: • flying buttresses (to carry weight of stone) • stained glass windows, bas relief door panels (to illustrate Bible stories for the illiterate) • built in the shape of a cross • gargoyles (scared away evil spirits, helped with water drainage from roof)

9. Notre Dame Cathedral

10. The Black Death • Plague began in China, killing 35 million there • Plague spread across Asia, carried by fleas on Mongol caravans, killing millions more at a rate of about 7000 per day • Rats carrying plague arrived in Italy via merchant ships in 1347 • By 1348, plague had spread from Italy to Spain and France; over the next few years it reached all corners of Europe

11. Plague & The Silk Roads

12. Consequences of Plague • Caused a collapse of social systems • many lost faith in the Church • many blamed the Jews, deepening religious persecution • many abandoned their families to flee plague • too many workers died, damaging the economy • As many as 50% of Europeans may have died

13. A Weakened Church • Papal seat had been moved to Avignon, France • The French popes were largely corrupt and favored French interests • Angered, some bishops elected a new pope in Rome in 1378; until 1417 there were two popes, each claiming authority over the Catholic Church • Eventually the Papal seat returned to Rome, but power of the pope had been badly damaged by the infighting

14. The Hundred Years War • 1337-1453 (really, that’s 116 years) • Fought mainly between England and France in French territory • First European war to see the use of guns and cannons thanks to introduction of Chinese gunpowder

15. Joan of Arc • In 1429, 17 year old Joan of Arc (a girl) convinced King Charles VII of France that God had sent her a vision telling her to lead his army to victory • She led French to numerous victories for the next year, but then was captured by the English and burned at the stake for witchcraft • The angry French considered Joan a martyr (someone who dies for their beliefs) and rallied to drive the English out of France

16. Consequences of War • Temporarily broke English power and allowed France to dominate Europe • Cannons made knights and castles obsolete because they could not stand up to them • Since knights no longer afforded protection to the serfs from cannons, the feudal system in Europe began to fail