High Middle Ages

High Middle Ages By the end of the Middle Ages Western European nations gained much of the shape by which we know them today They became more stable and began concentrating on establishing stronger political structures In addition to this, 6 major developments marked up history: The hundred years war The Papal Schism Famines The Fall of Constantinople The Black Death New ideas and the re-awakening of culture

1)The Hundred Years War It was a series of separate wars lasting from 1337 to It was between two royal houses for the French throne, one living in France and the other one in England. The conflict lasted 116 years but was punctuated by several periods of peace, before it finally ended in the expulsion of English royal house from France. It was massively destructive consisting in the use of gun powder and heavy artillery

2) The Papal Schism It was a split within the Roman Catholic Church from 1378 to By its end, two men simultaneously claimed to be the true pope. Driven by politics rather than any real theological disagreement, the schism was ended by the Council of Constance (1414–1418). The simultaneous claims to the papal chair of two and later on of a three different men hurt the reputation of the office. As consequence, in believers there was loss of respectability due to political involvements.

3) The Fall of Constantinople The Fall of Constantinople was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire which occurred after a siege laid by the Ottoman Empire, under the command of Sultan Mehmed II. The siege lasted from Friday, 6 April 1453 until Tuesday, 29 May 1453 (according to the Julian Calendar), when the city was conquered by the Ottomans. Constantinople was defended by the army of Emperor Constantine XI. The event marked the end of the political independence of the millennium-old Byzantine Empire, which was by then already fragmented into several Greek monarchies.

4) Famines The Great Famine of 1315–1312 was the first of a series of large scale crises that struck Europe early in the fourteenth century, causing millions of deaths over an extended number of years and marking a clear end to an earlier period of growth and prosperity during the eleventh to thirteenth centuries. Starting with bad weather in spring 1315, universal crop failures lasted through 1316 until summer 1317; Europe did not fully recover until It was a period marked by extreme levels of crime, disease, mass death and even cannibalism and infanticide. It had consequences for Church, State, European society and future calamities to follow in the fourteenth century.

5) New Ideas and Culture Effects of Crusades Guild and communes Towns, cities and manors New thinkers (Thomas Aquinas) and writers Creation of universities New art and architecture (gothic, castles) Knighthood and chivalry Courtly entertainment (fables, playwrights)

5) Black Death: The Bubonic Plague It was a devastating worldwide pandemic that first struck Europe in the mid 14 th century It killed about a third of Europe’s population, an estimated 34 million people. Called “black death” because of striking symptom of the disease, in which sufferers' skin would blacken due to hemorrhages under the skin Spread by fleas and rats painful lymph node swellings called buboes buboes in the groin and armpits, which ooze pus and blood. damage to the skin and underlying tissue until they were covered in dark blotches Most victims died within four to seven days after infection

EFFECTS OF THE BLACK DEATH: Caused massive depopulation and change in social structure Weakened influence of Church Originated in Asia but was blamed on Jews and lepers