1. Crisis and Change in Late Medieval Europe

Vocabulary flashcards covering major people, events, and concepts from the lecture on late medieval Europe, the Black Death, Hundred Years’ War, church crises, social upheavals, and the transition toward the Renaissance.

Black Death

A mid-14th-century pandemic of bubonic plague that killed about half of Europe’s population.

Yersinia pestis

The bacterium that causes bubonic plague, responsible for the Black Death.

Bubonic Plague

Infectious disease marked by swollen lymph nodes, high fever, and high mortality; spread by fleas on rats.

Little Ice Age

Period of cooler temperatures beginning in the 14th century, leading to poor harvests and starvation.

Hundred Years’ War

Series of conflicts (1337-1453) between England and France over continental territories and the French crown.

Chivalry

Medieval knightly code stressing honor, courtesy, and respectful treatment of noble foes; declined during late Middle Ages.

Mercenary

Professional soldier for hire; widespread use in the Hundred Years’ War undermined feudal loyalties and chivalry.

Longbow

Powerful English and Welsh bow famed for speed and accuracy, crucial at battles such as Agincourt.

Cannon

Gunpowder-powered artillery piece first used by French on ships and later in land battles of the Hundred Years’ War.

Gunpowder

Chinese-invented explosive mixture that enabled firearms and cannons in late medieval European warfare.

Joan of Arc

French peasant visionary who led troops, secured Charles VII’s coronation, and was executed by the English in 1431.

Treaty of Troyes (1420)

Agreement recognizing the English king as heir to the French throne, temporarily uniting the crowns.

Battle of Agincourt (1415)

Decisive English victory where longbowmen devastated French knights during the Hundred Years’ War.

Great Schism

1378-1417 split in the Catholic Church when rival popes reigned in Rome and Avignon (and briefly Pisa).

Avignon Papacy

Period (1309-1377) when popes resided in Avignon under strong French influence, diminishing papal prestige.

Pope Boniface VIII

Early 14th-century pope who asserted papal supremacy, clashed with Philip IV, and died after being abducted.

Philip IV of France

French king who opposed Boniface VIII, taxed clergy, and helped install a French pope in Avignon.

Catherine of Siena

Italian mystic who urged Pope Gregory XI to return the papacy to Rome and called for church reform.

Martin V

Pope elected in 1417 by the Council of Constance, ending the Great Schism.

Ottoman Capture of Constantinople (1453)

Fall of Byzantine capital to Ottoman Turks, marking the end of the Eastern Roman Empire.

Hagia Sophia Mosque

Former Byzantine cathedral converted to a mosque after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople.

Feudalism

Medieval social system based on mutual obligations between lords and vassals; weakened by plague and wars.

Serfdom

Condition of peasants bound to a lord’s land; labor shortages after the Black Death allowed many serfs to demand freedom.

Peasants’ Revolt (1381)

English uprising in which rural workers attacked nobles, demanding better conditions and lower taxes.

Ciompi Revolt (1378)

Florentine uprising of wool-workers seeking higher wages and political representation.

Stunting

Impaired growth in children due to chronic malnutrition, common during the Little Ice Age.

Child Mortality

High medieval rate at which children—up to 50 %—died before age five.

Renaissance

Cultural “rebirth” beginning in late medieval Italy, marked by revived interest in classical learning and art.

Florence Cathedral

Iconic Renaissance church whose massive dome was completed before the end of the Hundred Years’ War.