A History of Western Society: Chapter 11 - The Later Middle Ages 1300–1450

Comprehensive practice flashcards covering the social, economic, and religious upheavals of the Later Middle Ages (1300–1450) based on Chapter 11 of 'A History of Western Society'.

What period of climate change in the late Middle Ages was characterized by storms and poor harvests that led to the Great Famine?

The Little ice age

What were the major social consequences of the agrarian crisis and climate change in the 14th century?

Population decline, unemployment-driven crime, and increased hostility toward the rich, speculators, and Jews.

What is the name of the biological agent responsible for the Black Death?

Bacillus $Yersinia\,pestis$

According to the transcript, how long after coughing and spitting blood did death typically follow for plague victims?

Two or three days

From where did the plague originate in 1331 before reaching the Black Sea in the 1340s?

Southwestern China

What was the estimated mortality rate during the first wave of the Black Death in Europe?

One-third

Which antibiotic, used to treat the plague, was discovered in 1947 by Selman Waksman?

Streptomycin

What did medieval physicians believe caused the body's fluids to become unbalanced during the plague?

Corrupted air

Who were the religious groups that whipped themselves as penance for what they believed was God's punishment?

Flagellants

Why were universities established in the wake of the Black Death?

To address the shortage of priests and the decay of learning.

Who was the French king whose reign (r. 1328–1350) and confiscation of the duchy of Aquitaine helped trigger the Hundred Years’ War?

Philip VI of Valois

What specific weaponry gave the English an advantage over French knights in 1346?

Cannon and longbow

In what year did the voices heard by Joan of Arc lead to the crowning of Charles VII at Reims?

1419

What was the total estimated cost of the Hundred Years’ War for England?

Over $\pounds 5$ million

The 1341 parliamentary statute in England acknowledged that the king could not levy taxes without whose consent?

Parliament

What was the 'Babylonian Captivity' (1309-1376) in church history?

The period when the papacy was pressured by King Philip to settle permanently in Avignon, France.

Which 1378 event divided Western Christendom until 1417 as European powers aligned with different popes?

The Great Schism

Who were the two thinkers whose ideas on limited government power were condemned as heresy?

William of Occam and Marsiglio of Padua

Which reformer was burned at the stake as a heretic in 1415?

Jan Hus

What was the title of the influential work written by Thomas à Kempis during the rise of lay piety?

The Imitation of Christ

What was the 1358 peasant uprising in France known as?

The Jacquerie

What 1351 English statute attempted to freeze wages at pre-plague levels?

Statute of Laborers

What term is used to describe the crimes committed by noble bandits who used their status to extort and avoid punishment?

Fur-collar crime

What 1366 Irish law was enacted to prevent intermarriage and maintain ethnic purity between the English and the Irish?

Statute of Kilkenny

Which 14th-century literary work by Dante Alighieri was one of the first major works written in the vernacular?

The Divine Comedy

Geoffrey Chaucer’s 'Canterbury Tales' is noted for presenting what aspect of 14th-century life?

A rich panorama of English social life