HIS 101

Chapter 10

Crisis, Unrest, Opportunity:

1300-1500

The B

lack

Pla

gue in

Euro

pe

“Rin

g a

round t

he R

osy

”

Tim

elin

e China: Hubei Province

1334Constantinople: 1347Genoa, Italy 1348Europe: 1348-1351England: 1348-50

Adva

nce

ment

of

Bla

ck P

lague

Trade R

oute

s

Transm

issi

on o

f Ye

rsin

ia P

est

isRat fleas

Transm

issi

on o

f Ye

rsin

ia P

est

is

Sym

pto

ms

Fever between 101-105 F

headaches, aching joints,

nausea and vomiting,

and a general feeling of

malaise.First symptoms include

swollen lymph glands in

the neck, armpits and

groin. The glands fill

with puss until they turn

black and cause the skin

to rot.

Sym

pto

ms

Sym

pto

ms

Progre

ssio

n

Medie

val

Docto

r’s

Prote

ctive G

ear

Long robe to

protect skin.

Gloves or a stick

to poke the

patient to

determine where

it hurt.

Hat to protect

head.

Cone filled with

medicinal (&

strong smelling)

herbs.

Glass to cover

the eyes.

Bio

logic

al

Warf

are

: M

edie

val S

tyle

† Traditional tale: Tartars vs. Genovese

Tartars dying of plague and losing the battle, strap dead plague victims to catapults and fling them over the city walls to the Genovese.

† Genovese contract the plague and begin dying themselves.

Genovese escape by means of ships to ports around the Mediterranean carrying the plague with them.

Bio

logic

al

Warf

are

: M

edie

val S

tyle

Wrapping the clothing

of a plague victim in

pretty paper and sending it to one’s enemy.Of course, the sender

usually died as well.

Dra

win

g o

f Je

ws

Pois

onin

g W

ells

fro

m

1349

Illuminated manuscript showingJews burned by townspeople in GermanyDuring an outbreak of the plague.

Relig

ion v

s.

Sci

ence

The Roman Catholic

Church taught that sickness was brought on

by sin. Relics, holy water, prayer

and penance were considered to be means to

cure illness. The Roman Catholic

Church often forbade

scientific research as

witchcraft. Use of Cadavers was

prohibited and punishable

by death.

Pieter Bruegel, The Triumph of Death, c. 1562

They died by the hundreds, both day and night, and all were thrown in ... ditches and covered with earth. And as soon as those ditches were filled, more were dug. And I, Agnolo di Tura ... buried my five children with my own hands ... And so many died that all believed it was the end of the world.—The Plague in Siena: An Italian Chronicle

Eff

ect

on

Euro

pe’s

Po

pula

tion

The low estimate is that the Plague

killed 1/3 of Europe’s population.

The high estimate is that it killed

2/3 of Europe’s population.

Some countries/city states kept

better records. England’s population dropped

from 7 million to 2 million

people. The population of Florence, Italy

(birthplace of the Renaissance)

dropped from 120,000 to 50,00

between 1348 and 1350.

There were 60% fewer “fiscal

hearths” from which to collect

taxes in Normandy, Burgundy &

Provence (France).

Eff

ect

on t

he R

om

an

Cath

olic

Churc

h

A shortage of clergy. The new clergy demanded

more money for their

parishes. The new clergy were

either not as well trained

or not as devoted to

Church doctrine. England’s clergy were

some of the leading

figures of pre-reformation

disputes in the Church:

John Wycliffe is a leading

example of this.

Labor

Short

ages

In England more than 40% of

the peasant population died

There were not enough

peasants to farm the land.

Peasants were able to

command higher wages and

to move from manor to

manor. Rise of the Yeoman farmer

a small farmer who owned up to

100 acres of land sold rather than gave his

produce to the Lord and to other

buyers.

Genera

l Eff

ect

s of

the P

lague

Cardinal Gasquet, an English

Benedictine Monk, noted that the

plague furthered the rise of the Middle

class who “chatter and challenge

authority”. Shattered the tri-partate structure of

medieval society: those who fought,

those who prayed and those who

worked. Set the stage for revolutionary changes

in western society: Renaissance,

Reformation and Revolution.

The roots of the Holocaust in Germany

and Austria Nobility used Jews as scapegoats

Nobility looted Jewish wealth or

defaulted on debts to Jewish

bankers wholesale destruction of ghettos

Expulsion of Jews from specific

countries

Impact

of

Bla

ck

Pla

gue o

n

Hum

anit

ies

Hieronymous Bosch, Death and the Miser, 1490

New

Realis

m in

Li

tera

ture

Giovanni Boccaccio Decameron

Short stories Framework: the Plague Realistic High spirited Prize cleverness, good humor,

and sensory pleasures over

idealism and piety, chivalry

and humility Christine de Pisan First feminist writer Supported her children by writing

Attacked the anti-female tradition

of Aristotle and the Church

“Epistle to the God of Love”

Geoffrey Chaucer Wrote in the vernacular

Canterbury Tales

The H

undre

d

Years

War

Fought between England and

France 1337-1453 On French soil English claim to continental lands

and the French throne French outnumbered English by 3:1

English won most of the early battles

“Secret” weapons of the English

Foot soldiers Longbows: more accurate and quick

than the crossbow Gunpowder Introduced to Europe by Muslims who

acquired gunpowder from the Chinese

Fired by artillery

English Longbow over 6 feet long

Joan of Arc

Englis

h D

efe

at

in t

he

Hundre

d Y

ears

War

Joan of Arc 17 year old female peasant

Wore men’s clothing Heard voices of Christian Saints

Led French victory at Battle of

Orleans Burned at the stake by English for

heresy Heresy was her support for coronation of

a rival monarch Most of evidence surrounded why she

wore men’s clothing “If I am not, may God put me there and

if I am may God so keep me.”

English could not support physical

and financial burdens of

maintaining army on French soil

Withdrew in 1450

Herman Stilke, Joan of Arc’s Death at the Stake

Statue of Joan of ArcIn Notre Dame Cathedral

Decl

ine o

f th

e

Churc

h

• Undermined Church authority regarding science, sin and the causes of misfortune

• Shortage of Priests • Younger Priests showed more

intellectual curiosity

The Black Death

• Relocation of papacy from Rome to southern France pressured by French King Philip IV• Simony (selling church lands

and taxing the clergy)• Indulgences (purchasing

“leftover grace” from the lives of Saints)

Avignon

Papacy (1309-1377)

• College of Cardinals conflict between French and Italian interests• Election of two popes• Avignon• Rome

Great Schism (1378-1417)

Illu

min

ate

d

Manusc

ripts

From Tres Riches Heures (Very Precious Hours) ca. 1413-1416

Earl

y D

isse

nte

rs in

Engla

nd a

nd

Bohem

iaJohn Wycliffe

Jan Hus