Ch. 14- Sec 5-6: Hundred Years War; Babylonian Captivity

1300s-a bad time-3 crises The 1300s were a terrible time in Europe. If the human race could survive the 1300s, it can probably survive anything. – Bubonic plague – killed 1/3 of the people. – Hundred Years War – war between England and France – Crisis in the Church- “Babylonian Captivity & multiple Popes.

POLITICAL SITUATION IN THE EARLY 1300s in England. Feudal lords had lost some of their power to the king. The country had become more centralized. Parliament had also become important, and Parliament represented both the nobility (House of Lords) and the Middle Class (House of Commons). During the 1100s, the English Kings controlled almost half of France, but in the early 1200s, the French king had won back most of this land from England. However, in the early 1300s, the English King still controlled some land in France.

HUNDRED YEARS WAR: How it began – 1328, the last Capetian king of France died without a direct heir. – The closest male relative of the dead French king was his nephew, Edward III, king of England. Edward III claimed the French throne. – The French, who did not want an Englishman as king, chose Philip VI, a more distant cousin of the dead French king, as their next king and crowned him. – 1337 The Hundred Years War began. Edward III hoped to claim by force of arms what he believed was rightfully his.

HUNDRED YEARS WAR-4 phases – : English won stunning victories & took much of France. – : French started winning & drove the English back. – : English won more stunning victories & retook much of France. – : French started winning again, drove the English out (except Calais), and won the war.

HUNDRED YEARS WAR-WEAPONS-LONGBOW – The English won several stunning victories against the French including: Crecy (English outnumbered by 3 to 1) Agincourt (English outnumbered by 5 to 1) These victories were achieved with the longbow – Looked like a traditional bow, but was longer & tighter, 6 + feet tall with a pull of lb. – Invented in Wales & adopted by the English. Used by peasants. – Extremely difficult to use, but accurate at 200 yards, could pierce plate armor, & could fire 5 + arrows per minute.

HUNDRED YEARS WAR-WEAPONS- LONGBOW In these victories of the English over the French, the main part of the French force was mounted knights supported by crossbowmen. The main part of the English force was longbow-men, supported by knights. The longbow mowed down the French knights

HUNDRED YEARS WAR-WEAPONS- CANNON By the 2 nd half of the Hundred Years War, both sides used cannon. Cannon & gunpowder meant castles no longer protected a feudal lord. A powerful cannon blast could break through a castle wall. Longbow, cannon & gunpowder meant the knight was less important in war.

HUNDRED YEARS WAR-JOAN OF ARC In 1429, the English were winning & the French were loosing: English were in control of much of France The French king was dead, and the dauphin (heir to the French throne) hadn’t even been crowned king. The Duke of Burgundy had allied with the English against the French. The French people suffered more than the English during this war, because most of it took place on French soil.

HUNDRED YEARS WAR-JOAN OF ARC * A peasant girl named Joan of Arc appeared in the court of the Dauphin (title of the heir to the French throne) & said that the voices of Saints had told her to lead the French army. The Dauphin finally agreed. Joan began winning victories. She saw to it that the Dauphin was crowned and France had a French king, Charles VII.

HUNDRED YEARS WAR-JOAN OF ARC Joan was captured by the Burgundians & sold to the English, who put her on trial, convicted her of witchcraft, and burned her at the stake. Nevertheless, Joan had turned the tide and the French were on a roll. Charles VII, the French King, continued winning victories. Joan became a French national hero, and later a Catholic saint.

By 1453, The French had pushed the English out of all of France except the port of Calais, which they held for 200 more years. The French had won.

Developments in France during & after the 100 Years War During the 100 Years War, the Estates General (like a Parliament) assumed a lot of power. It consisted of representatives of the 3 Estates: Nobles, Clergy, Commoners. After the 100 Years War, the Estates General lost much of its power. Louis XI (who succeeded Charles VII) was a very strong leader. France became more unified, with the King holding almost total power. The French peasants, unlike those in England, gained few rights.

SPAIN – Spain was ruled by Muslims during early Middle Ages. – About 1100, Christians began fighting the Muslims and began winning back more and of Spain. This was called the “Reconquista”. Christian Spain was divided into several kingdoms.

SPAIN-RECONQUISTA – By 1479, Christian kingdoms controlled most of Spain & there were 2 main kingdoms, Castile & Aragon. – 1479: the King & Queen (Ferdinand, king of Aragon & Isabella, Queen of Castile) of the largest Spanish kingdoms married & united Spain. – In 1492 (same year that Columbus sailed) Ferdinand & Isabella conquered the last Muslim stronghold, Grenada.

INQUISITION Ferdinand & Isabella passed laws ordering all non-Christians (Jews & Muslims) to leave Spain. Most left, but some tried to stay., and converted, or pretended to convert, to Christianity. F. & I. authorized the Catholic Church to put people on trial before a Court called the “Inquisition”, to determine whether people were really Christian. Those who were found guilty of not being Christian were expelled or burned at the stake. Spain lost many of its scholars and leaders in trade.

HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE During the Late Middle Ages, the Holy Roman Empire (Germany, Switzerland, Austria & Northern Italy) became less and less centralized. The Princes and Dukes who governed the states of the H. R. E. controlled their own areas. The position of H.R. Emperor came to have little power, and was mostly an honor. After 1356, the H. R. Emperor was elected by 7 electors, the Princes of 4 states within the H. R. E. and 3 Archbishops. These were the “Electors”. The Hapsburg family became very powerful in the H.R.E. They controlled the Duchy of Austria, & and one of them was almost always elected H.R. Emperor.

Crisis in the Church Under Pope Innocent III ( ), the Papacy was at the height of its power. After Pope Innocent III, the worldly power of the Pope began to weaken. France, England and Spain were becoming more unified countries with strong kings and governments. A series of events in the 1300s-1400s seriously weakened the Papacy.

POWER STRUGGLE: FRENCH KING v. POPE 1294: King Philip IV of France ordered the clergy in France to pay taxes to the French government. Pope Boniface VIII ordered the French clergy NOT to pay taxes to the French government. He issued an order called “Unum Sanctum”, that said clearly that the Pope has authority over all Christian rulers. “We declare, we proclaim, we define that it is absolutely necessary for salvation that every human creature be subject to the Roman Pontiff.”

POWER STRUGGLE: FRENCH KING v. POPE Pope Boniface VIII excommunicated King Philip IV King Philip IV called the first ever meeting of the Estates General, and accused the Pope of heresy and selling Church offices. King Philip IV sent agents to Rome who kidnapped Pope Boniface VIII. Pope Boniface VIII escaped, but died from injuries and the shock of what had happened.

BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY King Philip IV used his influence to get a French bishop elected as the next Pope: Pope Clement V. Pope Clement V moved the headquarters of the Catholic Church from Rome to Avignon, a city near the French border. It appeared to many people that this Pope was a puppet of the French King. The next 6 Popes also lived in Avignon. The period , when the Popes lived in Avignon, came to be called the “Babylonian Captivity” (comparing it to when the Jews were held captive in Babylon).

GREAT SCHISM& MULTIPLE POPES Finally, a in 1377, Pope Gregory XI moved back to Rome, and soon died. Cardinals in Rome elected an Italian as the next Pope. Another group of Cardinals in Avignon elected a French Pope. There were 2 men claiming to be Pope. It got worse. A group of Cardinals (trying to solve the problem) elected a 3 rd Pope, but the others did not resign, so there were 3 Popes : “Great Schism”, “Multiple Popes” There can only be one true Pope, so some people began to question the truth of the position of Pope.

COUNCIL OF CONSTANCE 1417: The Church called a council, the Council of Constance, that forced all 3 Popes to resign, and elected a single Pope. The damage, however, was done. After that, the position of Pope was never held in such high esteem.

Dissent in the Catholic Church. 1324: Teachers at the University of Paris wrote a document that said that the Pope had authority over the Church, but not over worldly rulers.

DISSENT IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH 1300s: John Wycliffe, a priest & university professor at Oxford University in England, said that the Church & clergy were too rich; the Bible, not the Pope, should be the main authority in the Church; individuals should read and interpret the Bible for themselves; translated the New Testament into English. The Church accused him of heresy. The English government protected him. He was not arrested. He was forced to retire stay quiet.

DISSENT IN THE CHURCH: Jan Hus-1300s; Professor at the University of Prague in the H.R.E. Said the same things as John Wycliffe Arrested & burned at the stake