late medieval europe

basically just the notes but in flashcard form :)

feudalism/manorialism

economic, social, and political system where serfs were tied to the land to supply labor to lords; focused on bartering/service rather than money-based economy

life in medieval europe

a vast majority of the population was rural and agrarian (worked on farms planting crops or raising livestock), literacy rates were very low and reading/writing was only practiced by the clergy (religious authority) and upper classes, religion was a very prominent part of most Europeans’ lives

religion

the main religion was christianity: Abrahamic, monotheistic religion (minor religions: islam - muslims, jewish communities - diaspora); by the late middle ages, most ppl in western/central europe were catholics (this would soon be challenged by critiques of the catholic church’s corruption during the Reformation)

why was there so much antisemitism?

jews were blamed for jesus’ death and referred to as christ-killers

“great schism“ of 1054 (east-west schism)

split between the latin roman catholic church (based in papal states around rome, roman) and the greek eastern orthodox church (based in constantinople, modern istanbul, byzantine) due to conflicts with who the true head is; rome believed the pope should have authority over the patriarch

leader of the roman catholic church

the bishop of rome/the pope; the papacy claimed power over spiritual and worldly matters

christian stance on peace/violence

christianity was nominally supposed to be peaceful in teaching and discouraged fighting between christians, but christian religions and political authorities often involved in warfare among themselves, against “heretics“ (ppl with opposing beliefs), and versus non-believers

the crises

the great famine, black death, peasant revolts

the great famine

changes in climate precipitated a series of devastating famines (extreme scarcity of food) in early 14th century; famines were interpreted as signs of biblical disfavor, idea that christians had somehow displeased god through sinful behavior —> some people became increasingly pious while others turned away from god/the church and started to question the church; people start to question the feudal systems (knights/vassals aren’t protecting serfs, systems starts collapsing)

the black death

spread from asia through warfare and trade routes (from fleas/rats, marmots, giant gerbils; could also be spread from one person to the next); arrived in europe in 1346 and swept across until 1353 (bubonic plague would revisit periodically until 17th century); hit europe hard since there was overpopulation, malnutrition, and poor hygiene practices; extreme mortality rates (around 1/3+ europeans killed)

massive casualties of black death led to…

tremendous human suffering, trauma, increased wages for surviving workers, less overcrowding in cities - more land available for peasants, better opportunities for surviving artisans/craftsmen/merchants (less competition), loss of trust in church, decline in the feudal system (bc there were less knights, lords, etc to enforce the system)

peasant revolts

heavy taxation led to growing class resentment and peasant revolts across much of europe in the 14th century; short but sharp peasant revolts threaten aristocratic and monarchical power - but are brutally suppressed by knights and lords (the upper classes have actual weapons)

the hundred years’ war

largely caused by an english claim to the french throne and traditional land disputes dating to Norman conquest (there were issues with the succession to the french throne); english military superiority and a disunified french kingdom —> numerous english victories but france was the overall victor (bc of stronger land claims and a larger population); war ended with england losing almost all territorial claims on continental europe; historical animosity between france and england lasts until 20th century

most famous figures of the hundred years’ war

henry v: english king who won the battle of agrincourt (1415), made famous by shakespeare’s st crispin’s day speech; joan of arc: used religious fervor and proto-nationalism to evoke stronger fighting from french forces and took back orleans for the french, eventually captured and executed for heresy

effects of the hundred years’ war

new sense of nationalism for the french and english; population and trade devastation; no major territorial gains were made; cost both sides a lot of money; french and english peasantry suffered most (taxes, going into war, etc); tradition of modern state in france and england began - both sides eventually implemented more centralized/consolidated royal control

medieval russia religion

orthodox christianity was the state religion; vladimir of kiev (980-1015) adopted eastern orthodox christianity (strong cultural ties to byzantine empire); there was a different calendar, used greek instead of latin, different leader (not pope)

mongols and medieval russia

mongols conquered russia (capital kyiv) between 1236-1242 CE; rules ~200 years; isolated russia from europe; princes of moscow collected taxes for mongols in order to gain more prestige; mongols only killed those necessary and kept the usual structure when conquering

after the fall of constantinople…

after the fall of constantinople to the turks in 1453, russian religious and political rulers saw themselves as heir of orthodoxy christianity and caesars; churchmen spoke of “holy russia“ and “third rome“

caesaropapism

political and religious power in emperor’s hands (byzantine)

canon law

religious and moral boundaries set by the church

guilds

associations of craftsmen working the same occupation; creates professional standards (serfs, jews, and women were oftentimes not allowed to join guilds)

hanseatic league

german merchant association that facilitated trade in northern europe across international borders

magna carta

signed in 1215 in england during the reign of king john at the behest of the barons; limited the king’s power by giving rights to nobility (first step to parliament), did not apply to commoners/serfs