Medieval Europe

Medieval Europe period of history encompassing the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century CE to the start of the Renaissance in approximately the 14th century, also known as the Middle Ages

  • shaped by the system of Feudalism, the Crusades, and the devastating Black Plague.

  • Antiquity: A period that encompasses Greek history from Homer’s work in the 8th century BCE to the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century CE

  • Feudalism: A hierarchical system utilized in Medieval Europe, in which land was exchanged for work and protection by those in higher ranks (nobility) to those in lower ranks (peasants/serfs)

    • Manorialism: A system linked to Feudalism in which serfs were dependent on their land and lords. Serfs were given land by their lords and lived off of what they produced on this land, while lords also benefited from their work.

    • Serfdom: The state of being a serf, or a peasant tenant farmer, to a lord in the system of Feudalism. This system shaped Medieval Europe (600 CE-1300 CE)

  • Papacy: The office of the pope. Even after the fall of the Roman Empire, into Medieval Europe, the pope remained a significant authority figure and provided support during the Renaissance. 

  • The Crusades: A series of religious wars occurring from 1096 CE and 1291 CE between Christians and Muslims, often over disputed land of holy sites. Prior to the Crusades, Western Europe was a significant power but still had less power than Mediterranean Empires like the Byzantine Empire and Islamic Empire. The first crusade began when the Turks invaded Byzantium, and the Pope decided to send men to aid the Byzantines. 

  • Avignon Papacy (Babylonian Captivity): Papacy during 1309–77, when the Roman-Catholic popes relocated from Rome to Avignon, France, due to political turmoil in Rome, and protection from the French Monarchy.

  • The Great Schism (the second one): From 1378-1417, cardinals disputed who was the real pope. It arose because many argued that Pope Urban VI’s election was invalid, so another pope, Clement VII was elected, and there was a split of people who sided with each pope. It lessened the power of the papacy because of instability and disunity.

  • (Conciliar Movement) Council of Pisa and Council of Basel: The Council of Pisa met in 1409, consisting of members of the Roman Catholic Church in order to end the Great Schism, with disputes over who was the legitimate Pope. The Council of Basel met in 1431 led by Pope Martin V and consisted of members of the Roman Catholic Church to address the issue of the authority of the papacy. Both meetings addressed the idea the council of the church had more authority over the pope himself. 

  • John Wycliffe: Theologist and church reformer in the late 14th century who disagreed with much of the church’s practices on the basis of predestination and transubstantiation. His work preceded the Protestant Reformation in the early 16th century.

  • Church reformer and leader of the reform movement in Bohemia, and influenced by Wycliffe’s work in the early 15th century. Much of Huss’s work dealt with the Great Schism that was occuring at the time

  • Medieval Universities (Trivium & Quadrivium): Higher education in the Middle Ages that taught the seven subjects split into the trivium and quadrivium. 

    • Trivium: consists of grammar, logic, and rhetoric, and is the lower section of medieval liberal arts. 

    • Quadrivium: consists of arithmetic, astronomy, music, and geometry, and is the upper section of education in liberal arts.

  • Scholasticism: Philosophical and theological thinking during Medieval Europe, aiming to solve philosophical and religious questions.

  • Guilds: A trade association of artists and merchants who worked together in a certain area to mutually benefit and protect their work.

  • Burghers: Citizens owning no or little land who lived in towns, making up a small middle class in between peasants and nobles. Burghers were often merchants or artisan townspeople

  • The Hundred Years War: A series of conflicts between kingdoms of England and France over feudal land and succession of the French crown from 1337-1453 (116 years)

  • The Black Death or Bubonic Plague: A devastating pandemic that occurred from 1346 to 1353 that killed approximately ⅓ to a ½ of Europe’s population. The Black Death significantly changed Europe as it decimated the population, negatively impacting the Feudal system