1. Social and Political Breakdown (1300–1453)
Chapter 9
The Late Middle Ages:
Social and Political Breakdown (1300–1453)
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2. A procession of flagellants at Tournai in Flanders in 1349, marching with the crucified Christ and scourging themselves in imitation of his suffering.
© ARPL/HIP/The Image Works
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3. Black Death, 1348–1350 Precursor: overpopulation & malnutrition
Agricultural improvements increase food supply; European population doubles, 1000–1300, thereafter outstripping food production
1315–1317: crop failures produce worst famine of Middle Ages
Bubonic plague (“Black Death”) followed trade routes from Asia into Europe, probably via fleas on rats from Black Sea area
Popular remedies: relevant medical knowledge absent
Aromatic amulets
Temperance & moderation
Promiscuity & abandon
Flight & seclusion
Self-flagellation
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4. Map 9–1 SPREAD OF THE BLACK DEATH Apparently introduced by seaborne rats from Black Sea areas where plague-infested rodents had long been known, the Black Death brought huge human, social, and economic consequences. One of the lower estimates of Europeans dying is 25 million. The map charts the plague’s spread in the mid-fourteenth century. Generally following trade routes, the plague reached Scandinavia by 1350, and some believe it then went on to Iceland and even Greenland. Areas off the main trade routes were largely spared.
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5. Black Death (cont.) Economic consequences:
Dramatic labor shortage, climbing wages for laborers & artisans
Falling agricultural, climbing luxury prices—noble landowners hardest hit
Attempts to freeze wages & force peasants to stay on land  peasant revolts
Cities (artisans) benefit from demand for luxury goods
Political/social consequences:
Artisan guilds win some political power
Kings take advantage of weakened nobility & church
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6. The Prince of the World, a sandstone sculpture, vividly portrays the transitory nature of life. When viewers look behind the attractive young prince, they discover his beauty to be only skin deep. His body, like every human body, is filled with death, here symbolized by worms and flesh-eating frogs. A serpent spirals up his left leg and enters his back, an allusion to the biblical teaching that the wages of sin are death.
Stadt Nürnberg
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7. A caricature of physicians (early sixteenth century)
A caricature of physicians (early sixteenth century). A physician carries a uroscope (for collecting and examining urine); discolored urine signaled an immediate need for bleeding. The physician/surgeon wears surgical shoes and his assistant carries a flail—a comment on the risks of medical services.
Hacker Art Books Inc.
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8. This illustration from the Canon of Medicine by the Persian physician and philosopher Avicenna (980–1037), whose Arabic name was Ibn Sina, shows him visiting the homes of rich patients. In the High Middle Ages, the Canon of Medicine was the standard medical textbook in the Middle East and Europe.
Biblioteca Universitaria, Bologna, Italy. Scala/Art Resource, NY
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9. Hundred Years’ War (1337–1453)
Nominal cause: English king Edward III’s claim on French throne, thwarted by accession of first Valois king, Philip VI (r. 1328–1350)
Larger cause: English-French territorial, commercial, & cultural rivalry
French weakness: larger & wealthier, but more internal discord
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10. Edward III pays homage to his feudal lord Philip VI of France
Edward III pays homage to his feudal lord Philip VI of France. Legally, Edward was a vassal of the king of France.
Archives Snark International/Art Resource, NY
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11. Hundred Years’ War (cont.)
First phase (under Edward III)
Flanders allies with England, recognizing Edward as king of France, 1340
English seize Calais, 1346
English rout near Poitiers, 1356; French king John II taken captive
1360 treaty: John II ransomed, English claims in France recognized, Edward renounces claim to French throne
Second phase (Treaty of Troyes)
English war effort flags due to peasant revolts
Recommences with English victory at Agincourt, 1415
Duchy of Burgundy joins English
Treaty of Troyes, 1420: named English Henry V successor to French Charles VI, but both soon die
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12. of the French by the forces of Joan of Arc in 1429.
Map 9–2 THE HUNDRED YEARS’ WAR The Hundred Years’ War went on intermittently from the late 1330s until These maps show the remarkable English territorial gains up to the sudden and decisive turning of the tide of battle in favor
of the French by the forces of Joan of Arc in 1429.
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13. Hundred Years’ War (cont.)
Third phase (Joan of Arc)
French teenage peasant Joan of Arc declares call from God to deliver besieged Orléans from English
Tired English repulsed, followed by string of French victories
Joan captured 1430, tried & burned as heretic at English-held Rouen
English forced back, conclude war with Calais as only French possession (1453)
Summary: 68 years of peace, 44 of war; France devastated, but national feeling awakened; English & French peasants suffer most from taxes & services
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14. A contemporary portrait of Joan of Arc (1412–1431).
Anonymous, 15th century. “Joan of Arc.” Franco-Flemish miniature. Archives Nationales, Paris, France. Photograph copyright Bridgeman-Giraudon/Art Resource, NY
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15. Late Medieval Church
Papal monarchy established by Pope Innocent III strengthened the church politically, but weakened it spiritually—undermined popular support
Innocent’s successors: tightened & centralized church legal proceedings; elaborated clerical taxation; broadened papal powers of appointment
Demise of Hohenstaufens took away galvanizing enemy of church, made it vulnerable
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16. Boniface VIII (r. 1294–1303) vs. Philip the Fair (r. 1285–1314)
French & English kings raise taxes on clergy; Boniface decrees new taxes need papal consent
French king Philip the Fair cuts off flow of money to Rome; Boniface concedes
Boniface issues Unam Sanctam (1302), as confrontation with Philip ramps up, asserting subordination of temporal to spiritual power
French army assault & molest Boniface, who later dies
Result: popes never again seriously threaten European rulers
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17. Pope Boniface VIII (r. 1294–1303), depicted here, opposed the taxation of the clergy by the kings of France and England and issued one of the strongest declarations of papal authority over rulers, the bull Unam Sanctam. This statue is in the Museo Civico, Bologna, Italy.
Statue of Pope Boniface VIII. Museo Civico, Bologna. Scala/Art Resource, NY
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18. Papal ring: gold with an engraving on each side and set with a square stone.
Dorling Kindersley Media Library. Geoff Dann © The British Museum
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19. Avignon Papacy (1309–1377)
Pope Clement V moves papal court here to escape strife of Rome
To get needed revenue, papal taxes go up, and sale of indulgences begins
Pope John XXII (r. 1316–1334)—most powerful Avignon pope
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20. John Wycliffe (d. 1384) and John Huss (d. 1415)
Lollards: followers of Wycliffe, English spokesman for rights of royalty against popes; challenged indulgences, papal infallibility, transubstantiation—anticipates Protestantism
Hussites: followers of Huss, rector of University of Prague—similar to Lollards
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21. A portrayal of John Huss as he was led to the stake at Constance
A portrayal of John Huss as he was led to the stake at Constance. After his execution, his bones and ashes were scattered in the Rhine River to prevent his followers from claiming them as relics. This pen-and-ink drawing is from Ulrich von Richenthal’s Chronicle of the Council of Constance (ca. 1450).
CORBIS/Bettmann
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22. Justice in the late Middle Ages
Justice in the late Middle Ages. Depicted are the most common forms of corporal and capital punishment in Europe in the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. At top: burning, hanging, drowning. At center: blinding, quartering, the wheel, cutting of hair (a mark of great shame for a freeman). At bottom: thrashing, decapitation, amputation of hand (for thieves).
Herzog August Bibliothek
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23. Great Schism (1378–1417)
Urban VI and Clement VII—rival popes; England & allies support Urban, France & allies support Clement
Conciliar Theory: idea that a representative council could regulate actions of pope
Council of Pisa (1409–1410): deposed Urban & Clement (who refused to step down), elected Alexander V—three contending popes
Council of Constance (1414–1417): provided for regular councils every few years
Council of Basel (1431–1449): height of conciliar government of church; negotiated directly with heretics (Hussites)
Results of conciliar movement: greater religious responsibility to laity & secular governments
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24. Mongol Rule in Russia (1243–1480)
Mongols, or Tatars, sweep through China, Islamic world, & Russia, 13th c.
Ghengis Khan (1155–1227) invades Russia, 1223
Russian cities become tribute-paying principalities of part of Mongol Empire known as the Golden Horde
Russians impressed into Mongol military service, women taken as wives/concubines, some sold into slavery
Partial Islamization of Russian society
1380: beginning of Mongol decline in Russia; ends 1480 under Ivan the Great
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25. Genghis Khan holding an audience
Genghis Khan holding an audience. This Persian miniature shows the great conqueror and founder of the Mongol empire with members of his army and entourage as well as an apparent supplicant (lower right).
Picture Desk, Inc./Kobal Collection
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26. The Encampment of the Imperial Army
The Encampment of the Imperial Army. This fifteenth-century scene, drawn by a skilled and imaginative artist, depicts an imperial Habsburg army. Because every army marches on its stomach, the wagons carrying provisions make up the inner circle, which is protected by a wider circle of war wagons.
Kunstsammlungen der Fursten zu Waldburg-Wolfegg.
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