Highlights: Late Medieval - Week 9

Notes:

Relations with Islam

- Crusades: Notable interactions between the study region and Islam, characterized by a series of religious wars.

- 1st Crusade (1095): Launched by Pope Urban II to free the Holy Land from Muslim control.

- Outcome: Establishment of Crusader states in the Middle East under feudal governance.

- 3rd Crusade: Featured key figures like Frederick Barbarossa, Philip II Augustus, and Richard the Lionheart.

- Attempted negotiations led to a truce where Saladin retained control over Jerusalem but allowed safe passage for Christian visitors.

- 5th Crusade: Involved leaders like Ranulf of Chester and Simon de Montfort (1217-1221).

- Saladin: Key Islamic military leader.

- Achieved significant victories against Crusaders, including the capture of Jerusalem in 1187, which catalyzed the 3rd Crusade.

Impact on Learning

- Cultural Exchange: Increased commercial ties and the survival of classical literature (Greek & Roman) through Islamic scholarship.

- Key Figures:

- Ibn Sina (Avicenna): 980-1037; wrote influential medical texts translated into Latin.

- Ibn Rushd (Averroes): 1126-1198; contributed to a fusion of Greek and Islamic thought.

- Scholasticism:

- Integration of knowledge from Greek, Roman, Islamic, and Jewish traditions to address universal questions using logic.

Adelard of Bath (1090-1150)

- Prominent scholastic who introduced Eastern scholarship to England.

- Translated essential mathematical works, notably Euclid’s Elements and texts by al-Khwarizmi.

- Possibly introduced the astrolabe to Western Europe, and was instrumental in the introduction of the concept of zero.

Judaism in the Study Region

- Jewish Population: Urban presence in towns like London and York; significant roles as money-lenders due to Church prohibitions against usury.

- Complex Relationships: Monarchy had control over Jewish properties post-mortem; anti-Semitic sentiments escalated in the 12th-13th centuries.

Increasing Problems for Jews

- Anti-Semitism: Calls for expulsion and increasing derogatory rhetoric during the 13th century.

- Economic shifts with Italian banks starting to dominate money-lending led to decreased reliance on Jewish financiers.

- Expulsion from England (1290): Ended a relatively small Jewish presence until the 17th century.

Anti-Semitism (1096-1308)

- Mass Expulsions Across Europe: Occurred in Southern Italy (1288), England (1290), France (1306), and the Rhineland (14th century), culminating with Spain (1492).

Movement of Goods & Disease

- Economic Structure: Dominated by agriculture, with significant towns like Lincoln, York, and London operating under charters separate from feudalism.

- Guilds: Central to town life, focused on training and quality control.

- Trade Imbalance: Exports of raw materials (tin, wool) contrasted with imports of luxury goods (wine, silk).

Famine

- The Great Famine (1315-1319): Resulted from widespread crop failures; government attempts to manage inflation had limited impact.

Black Death

- Spread and Impact: Bubonic plague that originated in Asia and reached England in 1348. Cities were particularly hard hit due to density.

- Social Effects: Priests and labor shortages led to changes in societal structures, increased demand for labor, and disruptions to the feudal system.

- Legal Changes: Laws like the Ordnance of Labour attempted to control wages but also showed cracks in the feudal framework, leading to increased secular knowledge.