The Black Death Spreads Across Europe

The Arrival: In the autumn of

1347, a fleet of Genoese trading fleet: large
group of
ships loaded with grain left the
ships
Black Sea port of Caffa and set
sail for Messina, Sicily. By mid-
voyage, sailors were falling sick
and dying. Soon after the ships
tied up at Messina, townspeople,
too, began to fall sick and die.

Within months, the disease that

Europeans called the Black
Death was raging through Italy.
By 1348, it had reached Spain
and France. From there, it ravaged the rest of Europe. One in three people ravaged:
died—a death rate worse than in any war in history. destroyed

This pestilence was so powerful that it spread from the ill to the healthy like fire among
dry or oily materials. It was so bad that it could be communicated not only through
speaking or associating with the sick, but even by touching their clothing or anything
else they had touched.

–Giovanni Boccaccio, The Decameron vol. I, 1348

A Global Epidemic: The deadly illness was bubonic plague, a disease

spread by fleas carried on rats. In the pre-modern world, rats infested ships, infest: fill
up with
towns, and even the homes of the rich and powerful. Fleas jumped from rats
large
to infest the clothes and packs of traders traveling west. As a result, the numbers
disease spread from Asia to the Middle East and then to Europe.

Social Upheaval: In Europe, the plague brought terror and bewilderment, as

people had no way to stop the disease. Some people turned to magic and
witchcraft for cures. Others plunged into wild pleasures, believing they would
soon die anyway. Still others saw the plague as God’s punishment. They beat
themselves with whips to show that they repented their sins. Normal life broke repented:
down as people fled cities or hid in their homes to avoid contracting the ask for
forgiveness
plague from neighbors and relatives. Some Christians blamed Jews for the
plague, charging unjustly that they had poisoned the wells to cause the hysteria:
disease. In the resulting hysteria, thousands of Jews were murdered. panic and
madness
The Black Death Spreads Across Europe
Economic Impact: As the plague kept recurring in the late 1300s, the
European economy plunged to a low ebb. When workers and employers died,
production declined. Survivors demanded higher wages, but as the cost of
converted:
labor soared, prices rose, too. To limit rising costs, landowners converted
changed
croplands to land for sheep-raising, which required less labor. Villagers forced
off the land looked for work in towns. With a shortage of labor after the Black
Death, market forces gave peasants in western Europe more bargaining bargaining:
power. They were able to demand higher wages. The shift to a market making a
deal
economy in western Europe brought the end of the medieval order and
ushered in the Renaissance and the modern age.

At the same time, the growth of a market economy supported a growing

middle class of artisans and merchants in Europe’s towns and cities. In
kingdoms such as England, France, and Castile, kings were able to raise
thriving:
taxes from the middle classes in thriving cities to protect them and their trade
successful
from bandits and nobles. In this way, the Black Death led indirectly to a growth
in the power of kings and centralized states and the gradual breakdown of the gradual:
slow and
feudalism that was the key feature of medieval Europe.
ongoing
The Black Death Spreads Across Europe

The Triumph of Death, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, c. 1562

Discussion Starter: Examine the painting and point out the effects of the Black Death that led to the end of the
Middle Ages. Which effects do you believe had the greatest impact on the fall of the Middle Ages? Share your
response with a partner and defend your answer with evidence from the readings.
Crisis in the Church
The late Middle Ages brought spiritual crisis, scandal, and division to the
Roman Catholic Church. Many priests and monks died during the plague.
Their replacements faced challenging questions. Survivors asked, “Why did
God spare some and kill others?”

Divisions in the Church: The

Church was unable to provide
the strong leadership needed in
this desperate time. In 1309,
Pope Clement V had moved the
papal court to Avignon outside
the border of southern France. It
remained there for about 70
years under French domination. domination:
In 1378, reformers within the control
Church elected their own pope to
rule from Rome. French
cardinals responded by choosing
a rival pope. The election of two
and even three rival popes
created a schism, or divide, in
the Church. This second Great
Schism hurt the Church and weakened its moral authority, contributing to the contributing:
gradual end of medieval Europe. A Church council at Constance finally ended part of the
cause
the crisis in 1417.

New Heresies Threaten the Church: With its moral standing and leadership
in decline, the Church faced still more problems. In England, John Wycliffe, an
Oxford professor, attacked corruption in the Church. Wycliffe insisted that the
Bible, not the Church, was the source of all Christian truth. He supported the
idea of translating the Bible into English so that people could read it
themselves rather than rely on the clergy to read and interpret it for them. rely:
depend on
Czech students at Oxford carried Wycliffe’s ideas to Bohemia—today’s Czech
Republic. There, Jan Hus led the call for reforms, supported by his followers,
known as Hussites. The Church responded to these calls for reform by
persecuting Wycliffe and his followers and suppressing the Hussites. Hus was persecuting:
hunting
Crisis in the Church
tried for preaching heresy—ideas contrary to Church teachings. Found guilty,
he was burned at the stake in 1415.

The ideas of Wycliffe and Hus survived. Their calls for reform had taken root
in response to the worldliness of the Church and feuds among its leaders. feuds:
These reformers looked on the Bible, rather than the pope or bishops, as the arguments
source of Christian faith. In the next century, other reformers echoed similar
demands, calling for the faithful to rely on the Bible and for limiting the role of
the clergy. This new reform movement would split the Roman Catholic Church
forever and transform Western Europe.

Discussion Starter:
Which do you believe had a greater impact on the fall of the Middle Ages: the Black
Death or the Great Western Schism? Share your response with a partner and defend
your answer with evidence from the readings.
The Hundred Years’ War
On top of the disasters of famine, plague, and economic decline came a long,
destructive war. Between 1337 and 1453, England and France engaged in a
series of conflicts, known as the Hundred Years’ War. The fighting
devastated France and drained England.

Rival Powers—England and France: English rulers had battled for centuries
to hold on to the French lands of their Norman ancestors. But French kings
were intent on extending their own power in France. When Edward III of extending:
England claimed the French crown in 1337, war erupted anew between these growing

rival powers. Once fighting started, economic rivalry and a growing sense of rivalry:
national pride made it hard for either side to give up the struggle. competition

Early Victories for England: At first, the English won a string of victories—at
Crécy in 1346 (picture above), Poitiers in 1356, and Agincourt in 1415. They
owed much of their success not to braver or more skillful knights but to the
longbow, a powerful new weapon wielded by English archers. The longbow
was six feet long and took years to master. But it could discharge three arrows discharge:
in the time a French archer with his crossbow fired just one. Its arrows pierced release
all but the heaviest armor.
The Hundred Years’ War
The English victories took a heavy toll on French morale, or spirit. England, it
seemed, was likely to bring all of France under its control. Then, in what
seemed like a miracle to the French, their fortunes were reversed.

Joan of Arc: In 1429, a 17-year-old peasant woman, Joan of Arc,

appeared at the court of Charles VII, the uncrowned king of France. She
told him that God had sent her to save France. She convinced the
desperate French king to let her lead his army against the English.

To Charles’s amazement, Joan inspired the battered and despairing

French troops to fight anew. In one astonishing year, she led the French
to several victories and planted the seeds for future triumphs.

Joan paid for success with her life. She was taken captive by allies of the
English and turned over to her enemies for trial. To discredit her, the English discredit:
disgrace
had Joan tried for witchcraft. She was convicted and burned at the stake. That
action, however, only strengthened her value to the French, who saw her as a
martyr. Much later, the Church declared her a saint.

Results of the Long War: After Joan’s death, the French took the offensive. offensive:
attack
With a powerful new weapon, the cannon, they attacked English-held castles.
By 1453, the English held only the port of Calais in northwestern France.

In the end, the Hundred Years’ War set France and England on different
paths. The war created a growing sense of national feeling in France and
allowed French kings to expand their power.

On the other hand, during the war, English rulers turned repeatedly to
Parliament for funds, which helped that body win the “power of the purse.”
England ended up losing its French lands, but that setback was not disastrous
for them. With their dreams of a continental empire shattered, English rulers
turned to new trading ventures overseas. ventures:
projects
Change and Recovery: The Hundred Years’ War brought many changes to
the late medieval world. The longbow and cannon gave common soldiers a
new importance on the battlefield and undermined the value of armored undermined:
weakened
knights on horseback. Although neither nobles nor commoners knew it then,
feudal society was changing and medieval Europe was coming to an end.
Knights and castles were doomed to disappear. Strong monarchs needed
large armies, not feudal vassals, to fight their wars.
The Hundred Years’ War
As Europe recovered from the Black Death, the population expanded, and
manufacturing grew. These changes led to increased trade. Italian cities
flourished as centers of trade and shipping. Europeans borrowed and flourished:
succeeded
developed new technologies. This recovery set the stage for further changes
during the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the Age of Exploration.
The Hundred Years’ War

Le siège d'Orléans, miniature from the Vigiles du roi Charles VII by Martial d'Auvergne, 1490s

Discussion Starter: Examine the painting to locate some of the changes made during the Hundred
Years’ War. Which of these changes do you think had the greatest impact on the fall of the
Middle Ages? Share your response with a partner and defend your answer with evidence from the
readings.
The Effects of the Crusades
The Crusades failed in their chief goal—the conquest of the Holy Land. They
also left a bitter legacy of religious hatred. In the Middle East, both Christians
and Muslims committed atrocities in the name of religion. In Europe, atrocities:
crusaders sometimes turned their religious fury against Jews, killing entire murders
communities.

The Crusades did have positive effects on Europe, however. They began just
as Europe was undergoing major economic and political changes, and the
Crusades helped quicken the pace of those changes, contributing to the end
of medieval Europe.

A Growing Demand for Goods:

Even before the Crusades,
Europeans had developed a taste
for luxuries that merchants luxuries:
brought from the Byzantine treats

Empire. The Crusades increased

the level of trade. Returning
crusaders brought even more
fabrics, spices, and perfumes from
the Middle East to a larger market.
Even after the Muslims recaptured
Acre, Italian merchants kept these
trade routes open. Our
words sugar, cotton, and rice,
borrowed from Arabic, show the
range of trade goods brought back
to Europe.

The Crusades further encouraged the growth of a money economy. To

finance a journey to the Holy Land, nobles needed money. They therefore finance: to
allowed peasants to pay rents in money rather than in grain or labor. Peasants back, pay
for
began to sell their goods in towns to earn money, a practice that helped to
undermine serfdom.

Changes for Monarchs and the Church: The Crusades helped to increase
the power of monarchs. They managed to gain the power to levy, or collect,
taxes in order to support the Crusades. Some rulers, such as French King
The Effects of the Crusades
Louis IX and English King Richard I the Lionheart, led crusades which added
greatly to their prestige. prestige:
status,
Enthusiasm for the Crusades brought papal power to its greatest height. The respect
growing power of the Church, however, soon brought popes into a bitter
struggle with feudal rulers in Europe. Also, the Crusades did not end the split
between the Roman and Byzantine churches as Pope Urban had hoped. In
fact, Byzantine resentment against the West hardened as a result of the resentment:
Fourth Crusade, which ended in the sack of Constantinople. anger

Europe Gains a Wider View of the World: Contacts with the Muslim world
led Christians to realize that millions of people lived in regions they had never
even known existed. Soon, a few curious Europeans left to explore far-off
places such as India and China. In 1271, a young Venetian, Marco Polo, set
out for China with his merchant father and uncle. After many years in China,
he returned to Venice and wrote a book about the wonders of Chinese
civilization. Europeans who heard his stories dubbed him a liar, rejecting his dubbed:
incredible tales of government mail service and black stones (coal) that were named
burned to heat homes.

The experiences of crusaders and of travelers like Marco Polo expanded

European horizons and contributed to the end of medieval Europe by bringing horizons:
Europe into a wider world from which it had been cut off since the fall of limits
Rome. By the 1400s, a desire to trade directly with India and China would
lead Europeans to a new age of exploration.
The Effects of the Crusades
Impact on the Middle East and the Byzantine Empire: The Crusades
occurred during a time when Muslims in the Middle East were locked in
frequent local power struggles. On occasion, rival Muslim rulers joined forces
to fight the European invaders. Saladin briefly united lands from Egypt to
Syria, but divisions soon reappeared. The Fourth Crusade further weakened
the Byzantine Empire, which had already lost most of its lands. As the empire
continued to decline, it faced a new threat, this time from the Ottoman Turks.
In 1453, the empire finally fell to the invading Ottoman Turks led by Mehmet II.

Discussion Starter:
Which do you believe had a greater impact on the fall of the Middle Ages: the
growing demand for luxury goods or the realization that Europe was part of a larger
world? Share your response with a partner and defend your answer with evidence
from the readings.