The Late Middle Ages Flashcards
This deck describes the state of religion, culture, and government in the Late Middle Ages.
What caused the bubonic plague, or Black Death, which ravaged Europe in the mid-1300s?
Bubonic plague was a bacteria carried into Europe by fleas that lived on black rats. The Black Death, as the plague was called, killed at least a third of Europe’s population.
Why did the Black Death spread so rapidly and kill so many Europeans?
During the Middle Ages, European cities were ideal centers for the disease. They were filthy, with poor sanitation. Even the wealthy lived in cramped quarters and had limited personal hygiene. Although rural populations suffered as well, the death toll in the cities was catastrophic.
How did workers and peasants who survived the plague benefit from the Black Death?
Millions of workers died from the Black Death, resulting in a labor shortage. Surviving workers were able to demand higher wages. In the countryside, many serfs and free peasants simply left the farms in search of better opportunities, or were able to extract concessions from their superiors.
Practitioners of what religion were targeted as causing the Black Death?
Blame for the Plague fell upon the Jews. Jews suffered a lower mortality rate (aided by Jewish isolation in the ghetto and kosher practices), and were easy targets for those looking to assign blame. Jews were accused of poisoning wells and sacrificing children.
In the period’s worst massacre, some 900 Jews were burned at the stake in Strasbourg, France in 1348.
The Dance Macabre, an artistic genre of the late Medieval period, visually represented the universality of _____.
death
Life in the late Middle Ages could be nasty, brutish, and short, with famines, plagues, and wars emphasizing that death could be sudden and painful. Dance Macabre style was featured in many works of art during the late Medieval period as well as the earliest printed texts.
What act caused the Hundred Years’ War in 1337?
In addition to being the King of England, Edward III was the Duke of Normandy, and as such was required to pay homage to Philip VI of France. Edward III refused to do so, and the French king confiscated Edward’s lands in Aquitaine.
How did Edward III respond to Philip VI’s confiscation of his lands in Aquitaine?
Edward III declared himself the legal king of France (a claim with some backing in dynastic law), and dispatched an army to France. Initially, the English were successful, with victories at Crecy (1346), Poitiers (1356), and Agincourt (1415).
The Hundred Years’ War is a term by historians coined to describe the conflict that ranged off and on between France and England from 1337 to 1453.
In 1429, the French defeated English forces laying siege to the town of Orleans. Who led the French forces?
Joan of Arc, a French peasant girl who claimed she spoke with God, led the French. The victory strengthened the French cause, and proved the turning point in the Hundred Years’ War.
How did Joan of Arc die?
Burgundy, an English ally located in the northeast of modern-day France, captured Joan and turned her over to the English, who burned her at the stake as a witch. After Joan’s death, English fortunes plummeted, and they were steadily driven out France.
Historians date the end of the Hundred Years’ War to 1453, although peace was not formally declared until twenty years later. Who won the war?
Victory in the Hundred Years’ War belonged to the French, who conquered all of the English possessions in modern-day France except for Calais.
Some twenty years later the French defeated Burgundy’s forces at the Battle of Nancy, and France emerged as a strong monarchical state with a centralized government.
How did the English Kings meet the expense of the Hundred Years’ War?
In England, the King had to ask Parliament for taxes to fund the conflict. Throughout the War, Parliament reserved to itself the power to debate taxes, and required the King to continually request funds. Parliament’s taxing power proved to be a strong check on any absolutist ambitions harbored by English monarchs.
How did the French Kings meet the expense of the Hundred Years’ War?
In France, the King convinced France’s legislative assembly, the Estates General, to authorize the King to collect a tax on land (the taille) and a tax on salt (the gabelle). The French nobility and clergy supported the taxes in large part because they were exempt from both taxes.
The tax revenue ensured that the French Kings were not beholden to the Estates General, and they quickly became absolute monarchs. As Louis XIV expressed it, “I am the State.”
Who are generally considered the most powerful political figures in the late Medieval period?
Popes and the Catholic Church dominated Western and Central Europe during the late Medieval period. The Church had vast landholdings, extensive revenues, and significant moral power.
Henry IV, the Holy Roman Emperor, once stood barefoot in the snow for three days until the Pope responded to his request to have his excommunication lifted.
Define:
simony
“Simony” refers to paying the Catholic Church for appointment to Holy Offices, such as Cardinal or Bishop. The practice was prevalent during the late Medieval period, and was a significant source of revenue for the Church.
In his Divina Commedia, Dante accused simonists of buying and selling the grace of God and placed them in hell, where they were buried headfirst in pits while flames lapped endlessly at their feet.
Who was John Wycliffe?
John Wycliffe (1321-1384) was an English advocate for Catholic Church reforms. Contending that the Church should follow Scriptural law, Wycliffe denounced the extravagance of bishops, cardinals, and the Papacy, with whom lavish expenditures of wealth were commonplace.
Wycliffe also translated the Bible into English so that the common people could understand God’s Word.
