Final Review: The Middle Ages 1250-1500

9. Feudalism Relationships between lord and vassal based on specific contractual obligations of loyalty and protection Peasants provided labor in return for security Controlled through an intricate set of obligations, fees, rituals and taxes Only the wealthy could engage in warfare, and society became divided Those who fought (nobles and knights) Those who prayed (the clergy) Those who worked (peasants and artisans)

12. National Monarchies City-states lacked complexity of modern nations Rulers began to establish hereditary claims to the thrones Bureaucracy of modern nation-state can be seen in several nations Monarchs had to establish the power to tax subjects Usually had to get support and approval from other political bodies

14. The Hundred Years� War1337 to 1453 A series of wars fought by England and France over the French throne Challenged ideas of medieval warfare as English longbows and infantry destroyed French mounted knights 1429 � Joan of Arc helped the French Army break the siege of Orleans Her success threatened the French Dauphin, so Joan was killed By 1453, England held only the city of Calais

16. Schools and Universities Growth of cities quickened intellectual life Universities taught a variety of subjects, without the separation of spiritual and material subjects Theology was the �queen of the sciences� and liberally borrowed from other disciplines to elaborate its truths Led to the creation of Scholasticism

18. Mid-13th Century: Aristotle�s philosophies were rediscovered Pagan ideas regarding logic and the natural world were synthesized into Christian dogma to explain divine truths This intellectual system came to dominate the universities until the 18th century St. Thomas Aquinas � Christian scholar who embraced scholasticism Note: much of the Renaissance was directed against what was perceived as the Scholastics� focus on stale logic and impractical learning

20. The Medieval Catholic Church At the height of its political, spiritual and cultural influence Pope and Holy Roman Emperor vied for power in Central Europe, essentially checking each other Growing criticisms of the behavior of the clergy and the lack of regularity in church doctrine and practice Led to the crisis of the Babylonian Captivity

21. The Babylonian Captivity and the Great Schism 1307 � Pope began exile in France Not a captive of the French, but prestige of the pope decreased due to increased bureaucratic apparatus necessary to run the Church and increased material wealth Great Schism (1378-1417) resulted from efforts by French and Italian cardinals to elect a pope Ended up with two popes, then three Nations of Europe were forced to chose sides

22. Opposition to the Catholic Church Reformers used the Great Schism as an example of why the Church had to change John Wyclif (the Lollards) � England Jan Hus (the Hussites) � Bohemia Attacked the institutional power and wealth of the church and began a call for a simpler Christianity Council of Constance ended the Great Schism, but the foundation was laid for the Protestant Reformation

25. Pointed arches. High, narrow vaults. Thinner walls. Flying buttresses. Elaborate, ornate, airier interiors. Stained-glass windows Designed to educate the illiterate population

26. Obsession with Death and Dying Representations of death became a prominent theme in European arts throughout the plague years Apocalyptic images featuring the allegoric figure of Death attempted to explain the importance of the Black Death for European society

29. Cannons Petrarch wrote "these instruments which discharge balls of metal with most tremendous noise and flashes of fire...were a few years ago very rare and were viewed with greatest astonishment and admiration, but now they are become as common and familiar as any other kinds of arms.� Beginning of the end for walled fortifications Allowed New Monarchs to consolidate power by eliminating fortified towns and castles of nobility

30. Longbow High rate of fire and penetration power Contributed to the eventual demise of the medieval knight Used particularly by the English to great effect against the French cavalry during the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453). Longbow helped New Monarchs to create cost-effective standing armies, to maintain and expand power

31. Printing Press Developed in 1439 by Johann Gutenberg Made possible the dissemination of knowledge to a wider population Lead to more egalitarian society Laid the foundation for the Renaissance, Reformation and Enlightenment

33. Towns and Commerce Towns acted as magnets for skilled labor, ideas, and goods Typically lay outside of the feudal structure Banded together in leagues to protect independence and promote commerce Hanseatic League � German trading centers in the Baltic region, controlled the herring market

34. Hanseatic League

37. Agricultural Improvements Three-crop field rotation Iron plow Windmills More land brought under cultivation Helped produce a food surplus Increased trade networks

39. Social Order A new social order had evolved by 900 that was distinctively medieval. Alfred the Great of England: a kingdom needs �men of prayer, men of war, and men of work.� Tripartite view of society The Clergy The Landed Nobility (knights) The Peasantry and Village Artisans A fourth emerged after the 13th century: middle class merchants & townspeople burgesses in English, bourgeoisie in French, burghers in German

40. Gender Roles Women�s roles limited by legal and economic prescriptions Many women did find ways to express autonomy, initiative, and talent within these parameters Noblewomen often ran the manors in the absence of their warrior husbands Younger noblewomen joined convents Allowed them to pursue intellectual and spiritual pursuits outside the control of men Ideal of courtly love and chivalry placed women at the center of an important cultural tradition

41. Chivalry began as the code of conduct for mounted warriors. Chivalry highly esteemed certain masculine, militant qualities. Military prowess Generosity Loyalty, the glue that held feudal society together.

42. Gender Roles Cities and towns relied upon the labor of women in the food preparation, brewing and the production of cloth Peasant and serf women labored alongside husbands in mowing hay, tending the vegetables, or harvesting Domestic chores actually played a minor role for most women

43. The Medieval Manor A powerful lord controlling the lives of an often large number of dependents. He required payments and services from them and regulated their ordinary disputes. The structure of individual manors, and the dues owed by peasants, varied tremendously across Europe. Parallel sets of vertical bonds of associations: Feudal lords and vassals entered into political bonds Lords and peasants entered into economic bonds.

46. The Black Death: Causes By 1300, the large population explosion had outgrown the food supply. Progressively weakened by malnutrition, Europe�s population was highly vulnerable to disease Devastation resulted from the Black Death (1348-1351) Killed about 40% of the European population More important were the psychological and social costs of the disease

48. The Black Death Disease carried by fleas on rats, so urban areas were devastated Many believed that this was God�s punishment for living too well 60% of theclergy diedtreating thedisease, causingpeople toquestion thepower of thechurch

49. The Black Death Led to persecutionof Jews, who wereblamed forpoisoning the wells Caused a laborshortage that undermined the feudal structure Allowed peasants to bargain for improved labor conditions and payment Note: Did not affect Eastern Europe as much as Western/Central Europe, which allowed the feudal system to last much longer