Chapter 12: The Crisis of the Later Middle Ages — Key Terms (Vocabulary)

Vocabulary flashcards covering major terms and concepts from Chapter 12: The Crisis of the Later Middle Ages.

Great Famine (1315–1322)

A Europe‑wide famine caused by price inflation, poor harvests, and the Little Ice Age weather, setting the stage for later crises.

Little Ice Age

A period of cooler climate causing severe weather and harvest failures across northern Europe in the early 14th century.

Black Death

The devastating outbreak of bubonic plague that arrived in Europe around 1347–1348, caused by Pasteurella pestis, killing millions.

Buba (bubo)

A swollen lymph node in the armpit, groin, or neck, a classic symptom of bubonic plague.

Bubonic plague

A form of plague transmitted by fleas that infects the bloodstream and lymphatic system.

Pneumonic plague

A form of plague spread directly from person to person via respiratory droplets.

Typhoid fever

A disease that contributed to mortality alongside the plague during mid‑14th century crises.

Little Ice Age

(See above) A period of cooling contributing to harvest failures.

Babylonian Captivity

The Avignon Papacy (1309–1376), when the popes resided in Avignon instead of Rome, damaging papal prestige.

Great Schism

The division within Western Christendom (1378–1417) with rival popes in Rome and Avignon, undermining church authority.

Conciliar movement

Doctrine that reform could be achieved through general councils, not solely by the pope.

Marsiglio of Padua

Author of Defensor Pacis, arguing that the state is the primary unifying power and that the church is subordinate to the state.

Defensor Pacis

Marsiglio’s work asserting state sovereignty and limiting papal authority; influential in late medieval reform debates.

John Wyclif

English theologian whose writings urged Scripture as the ultimate authority and criticized papal power; sparked the Lollard movement.

Lollards

Followers of Wyclif who advocated vernacular scripture and church reform; spread ideas beyond England.

Jan Hus

Bohemian reformer (c. 1369–1415) who challenged church abuses and was executed at Constance; precursor to Hussite movements.

Council of Constance

(1414–1418) Church council that ended the Great Schism by deposing popes and electing Martin V; condemned Hus.

Joan of Arc

French peasant girl whose leadership boosted French morale and helped turn the Hundred Years’ War; later canonized.

Hundred Years’ War (ca. 1337–1453)

Prolonged conflict between England and France over feudal claims and territory; spurred nationalism and state centralization.

Crécy (1346)

English victory in northern France aided by longbowmen and early artillery; a turning point in the war.

Agincourt (1415)

English victory under Henry V, notable for superior tactics and the capture of the French king.

Orléans relief (1429)

Joan of Arc’s lifting of the English siege of Orléans, renewing French morale and momentum.

Parliament (representative assemblies)

Growth of representative assemblies (notably England’s Parliament) that granted consent to taxation and advised rulers.

Nationalism

Growing sense of national identity and unity following military success and centralized governance.

Statute of Laborers (1351)

English law attempting to freeze wages after the Black Death’s labor shortages; largely ineffective.

Jacquerie

Mass peasant uprising in 1358 France during the Hundred Years’ War, crushed violently.

Peasant Revolt (England) (1381)

Large English uprising protesting taxes and manorial obligations; suppressed but signaling class tensions.

Fur‑collar crime

Noble crimes of extortion and kidnapping amid war and inflation; eroded trust in the aristocracy.

Robin Hood

Legendary figure representing popular resentment of aristocratic corruption and social injustice.

Jacques Bonhomme

Symbolic name for the French peasant in uprisings like the Jacquerie.

Dance of Death

Morbid artistic motif depicting death as a universal equalizer in late medieval culture.

Dalimil Chronicle

14th‑century Czech chronicle reflecting national identity and anti‑German sentiment.

Vernacular literature

Rising use of national languages (Italian, English, French) in literature and writing.

Divine Comedy

Dante’s epic in Italian (Hell, Purgatory, Paradise) critiquing contemporary society and church; foundational Italian literature.

Canterbury Tales

Geoffrey Chaucer’s collection of stories told by pilgrims; portraits English society in the late Middle Ages.

Grand Testament

François Villon’s major poetry work; themes of life, mortality, and social critique in the vernacular.

Christine de Pisan

French writer who defended women’s status and contributed to early female‑centered literature.

City of Ladies

Christine de Pisan’s pioneering feminist work celebrating women’s contributions to society.

New universities founded after the plague

Institutions such as Prague (1348), Florence (1350), Vienna (1364), Cracow (1364), and Heidelberg (1385) that emerged in the wake of the crisis.

Longbow

English weapon enabling rapid, massed arrow fire; pivotal at Crécy and Agincourt.

Cannon

Introduction of artillery in Western Europe; shortened siege warfare and favored centralized states.

Quarantine

Forty‑day isolation of ships and people to prevent plague spread; origin of the term from Italian.