History of Western Civilization: The High and Late Middle Ages

Christianity and the Unification of High Medieval Europe

• The Unifying Force of Christianity: Between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries, known as the High Middle Ages, Christianity and the Roman Church provided the primary unifying force distinguishing Europe from the rest of the world.
• Expansion of Church Authority: The Catholic Church asserted greater claims to power, authority, and influence during this era. Christian theology concerning the relationship between God and humanity shaped the entire cultural vision of the period.
• Educational Renaissance:
  • Economic and population growth allowed for more time dedicated to education and cultural pursuits.
  • This period saw the rise of cathedral schools in towns and cities, eventually leading to the creation of the first universities.
  • Educational advancements resulted in innovations in philosophy, art, architecture, and new forms of literature.
  • Political applications of new ideas led to stronger rationales for royal governance and the creation of representative institutions.

Agricultural Expansion and Urban Development

• Agricultural Growth:
  • Agriculture and urban growth were mutually dependent; agriculture sustained cities, while urban demand drove productivity.
  • Large-scale land reclamation included clearing forests, draining swamps, and reclaiming land from the sea (from England to Sicily).
  • In England, the demand for land was so intense that people encroached on royal lands, with monarchs prioritizing agricultural expansion over territorial defense.
• Growth of Towns:
  • The end of invasions and increased political stability allowed for population growth and the development of urban life in the eleventh century.
  • Many medieval towns were built on the foundations of former Roman administrative and trading centers.
  • Cathedrals established by the church acted as magnets for growing populations.
• Urban Demographics:
  • Southern Europe initially had more developed urban life due to Mediterranean trade routes.
  • Córdoba, Spain: One of the most populous cities, with over $300,000$ people by the tenth century.
  • Thirteenth-Century Metropolises: Paris, Milan, Florence, Venice, and Palermo grew to populations over $100,000$.
  • General Town Size: Most European towns did not exceed $6,000$ residents.
  • Rural Dominance: Even in heavily urbanized areas like Flanders and northern Italy, more than $80\%$ of the population lived in the countryside and worked in agriculture.

Social Changes and the Rise of the Burgher Class

• Peasant Mobility:
  • Towns offered incentives for serfs to leave the countryside to attract labor.
  • Traditional tradition: A serf who resided in a city for a year and a day was considered free.
  • Some lords granted freedom to serfs to allow for flexible land use, such as converting arable land to pasture for wool production.
• The Burgher Class:
  • The rise of towns created a new class known as burghers (or bourgeoisie in French) who did not fit the traditional triad of clergy, nobles, and peasants.
  • Monarchs relied on income from towns to strengthen central governments, forming a critical political alliance with the burghers.

Guild Systems and Urban Life

• Definition and Purpose of Guilds:
  • Guilds were organizations of merchants and craftsmen that provided a sense of belonging and economic security.
  • They were strongest in areas with deep urban traditions, such as Flanders and northern Italy.
  • Guilds functioned as monopolies: no one outside the guild could set up shop within city limits.
  • The system prioritized collective identity over competition.
• The Training Hierarchy:
  • Apprentices: Young adolescents who learned under a master for an average of $5$ years.
  • Journeymen: Paid workers who earned a daily wage after completing an apprenticeship.
  • Masters: To become a master and join the guild, a journeyman had to accumulate enough money to open a shop and produce a "masterpiece."
• Regulation and Pricing:
  • Guilds regulated product quality, material prices, working hours, and wages.
  • Just Price: A concept where prices were set based on the cost of production plus enough profit to maintain an adequate standard of living.
• Municipal Responsibilities: Guilds managed local government positions and were responsible for maintaining roads, docks, harbors, and the food supply.

The Rise of Capitalism and International Trade

• Tension with Guilds: Capitalism involves open competition in a free market, which was initially antithetical to the cooperative, regulated nature of guilds.
• Drivers of Capitalism: Individual merchants seeking larger profits through aggressive trading practices contributed to the rise of the system.
• Long-Distance Trade expansion:
  • Europeans sought luxury goods from the East following the Crusades.
  • Imports: Spices from the Near East, silken fabrics from China.
  • Regional Trade: Furs, lumber, amber, and grain from Russia and the Baltic; timber, iron, and fish from Scandinavia.

Political Leadership in Sub-Saharan Africa

• State Formation (10th–14th Centuries):
  • Economic changes and trade with Islamic territories in the north and east led to the replacement of tribal chieftains with large political states.
  • Empire of Ghana: Fell in $1076$ to the Almoravids.
  • New States: Takrur (Senegal River Valley), Sosso, Kanem, the Seven Hausa city-states (northern Nigeria), and the first Yoruban kingdom.
  • Religion: Ruling classes frequently converted to Islam (Mali, Songhai), but local village leaders often retained traditional beliefs.
• Kingship Dynamics:
  • Monarchs required charisma and strength to maintain the allegiance of lesser chieftains.
  • Mali Empire: Founded by Sundiata (r. $1235$–$1255$), known as "Mali's Charlemagne." He defeated the Sosso king Sumanguru in $1235$.
  • Economic Strategy: Mali kings taxed all imports and exports, dominating the gold and salt trade throughout the $13th$ and $14th$ centuries.
• Administrative Sophistication:
  • Kingdoms like Kanem and Mali used educated Muslims to staff administrations and maintain written records.
  • Marriage Alliances: African monarchs used marriages with various lineage groups to legitimize rule, sometimes resulting in hundreds or thousands of wives.
  • Dynamic of Succession: Unlike strict European primogeniture, African systems often allowed for the selection of the most capable child to rule, though this still led to competition.

The Development of European Monarchies

• England:
  • William I (r. 1066): Combined Norman feudalism with Anglo-Saxon institutions like shire courts and "writs" (administrative decrees).
  • Henry II (r. 1154–1189): A charismatic military leader who controlled an empire spanning England and vast French territories (Normandy, Anjou, Aquitaine).
  • Financial Reforms: Collected "feudal aids," imposed "scutage" (monetary payment in lieu of military service), and granted charters to towns to bypass the nobility.
• France (Capetian Dynasty):
  • Stability was based on hereditary succession; from $987$ to $1316$, every king left a male heir.
  • Philip II (r. 1180–1223): Expanded power at the expense of English kings. Defeated King John of England at the Battle of Bouvines in $1214$.
  • Administration: Used "seneschals" (educated lawyers) to extend royal justice.
• Holy Roman Empire:
  • Frederick I "Barbarossa" (r. 1152–1190): Focused on taxing wealthy northern Italian towns. Defeated at Legnano in $1180$ due to the betrayal of Henry the Lion.
  • Frederick II (r. 1215–1250): A strong monarch who focused more on his lands in Sicily than in Germany, making concessions to German princes that weakened imperial power there.
• Eastern Europe and Scandinavia:
  • New monarchies in Bohemia, Poland, and Hungary were modeled on church bishoprics.
  • Golden Bull of 1222: Andrew II of Hungary granted concessions to barons, similar to England's Magna Carta ($1215$).
  • Christianization: Harald Bluetooth (Denmark) and the Norwegian kings Olav Tryggvason and Olav Haraldsson used Christianity to provide literate clerics and organizational models.

Church and State Conflicts

• The Gregorian Revolution:
  • Pope Gregory VII (Hildebrand, r. 1073): Aimed to end lay investiture (laymen appointing church officials), enforce clerical celibacy, and end simony (selling church offices).
  • Conflict with Henry IV: Henry IV ignored Gregory's demands. Gregory issued a letter of deposition, freeing Henry's subjects from obedience.
  • Canossa (1077): Henry IV waited in the snow for three days to beg forgiveness; a temporary moral victory for the Pope.
• The Concordat of Worms (1122):
  • Compromise between Pope Calixtus II and Emperor Henry V.
  • The Pope invested clerics with spiritual authority; the Emperor had the right to veto appointments and receive feudal allegiance.
• The Zenith of Papal Power:
  • Pope Innocent III (r. 1198–1216): Claimed the right to depose kings ratione peccati ("by reason of sin").
  • Canon Law: Legal tools developed to support papal supremacy over both spiritual and temporal affairs.
  • The "Two Swords": The theory that God gave both spiritual and temporal power to the Church, allowing the Pope to intervene if secular rulers became tyrants.

The Crusades: A Clash of Civilizations

• Origins:
  • Pope Urban II (1095): Called for the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont following a request for help from Byzantine Emperor Alexis I.
  • Motivations: To aid Byzantium, affirm papal leadership, and reclaim the Holy Land.
• Ideology and Violence:
  • Urban framed the war as a "holy war" and granted an "indulgence" (forgiveness of sins) to those who died in battle.
  • Anti-Semitism: Crusaders first attacked Jewish communities in Germany and Bohemia.
  • Capture of Jerusalem (1099): Resulted in the slaughter of approximately $40,000$ Muslims.
• Major Crusades:
  • First Crusade: Established four principalities (Edessa, Antioch, Tripoli, Jerusalem) based on feudal principles.
  • Second Crusade: Triggered by the fall of Edessa; ended in failure despite the inspiration of Bernard of Clairvaux.
  • Third Crusade: Richard the Lionheart negotiated a treaty with Saladin to allow Christian pilgrims access to Jerusalem.
  • Fourth Crusade (1204): Resulted in the sack of Christian Constantinople, damaging relations between Rome and the Eastern Church.
  • End of the Movement: The last stronghold, Acre, fell to Muslims in $1291$.

Medieval Thought and Philosophy

• The Quest for Synthesis: Philosophy sought to reconcile Christian revelation with classical Aristotelian reason.
• Anselm of Bec (1033–1109): Formulated the "ontological proof" for the existence of God, arguing God is the greatest being that can be imagined, and existence is greater than non-existence.
• Peter Abelard (1079–1142): Author of Sic et Non ("Yes and No"), which used logic to examine conflicting theological questions. His tragic love for Heloise was chronicled in A History of My Misfortunes.
• Averroës (1126–1198): Islamic philosopher who championed Aristotle and argued that faith and reason could be completely reconciled.
• Moses Maimonides (1135–1204): Spanish Jewish thinker who wrote A Guide for the Perplexed, applying Aristotelian logic to the Old Testament.
• Thomas Aquinas (ca. 1225–1274): The culmination of the synthesis. He used Aristotle's "prime mover" to prove God's existence. In $1277$, the Bishop of Paris prohibited some of his teachings in a conservative reaction.

Medieval Art and Literature

• Gothic Architecture:
  • Features: Pointed arches, ribbed vaults, flying buttresses, and expansive stained glass.
  • Aesthetics: Focused on "divine light" as a representation of God. Contrast to Romanesque's thick walls and rounded arches.
  • Chartres Cathedral: Begun in $1194$, a prime example of the Gothic style.
• Vernacular Literature:
  • Song of Roland (French): Epic poem celebrating a Christian knight's sacrifice for his king.
  • Nibelungenlied (German): Combined warrior ethos with courtly values via the hero Siegfried.
  • El Cid (Spanish): Portrayed Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar as a definitive Crusader.
• Courtly Love and Romance:
  • Andreas Capellanus: Wrote The Art of Courtly Love, which argued true love was only possible outside of marriage.
  • Romance of the Rose: An allegory of love; the second part by Jean de Meun added social criticism and misogyny.
  • Arthurian Legends: Chrétien de Troyes wrote popular romances depicting ideal courtiers.
• Dante Alighieri (1265–1321):
  • La Vita Nuova: Celebrated his divine love for Beatrice.
  • The Divine Comedy: A journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven, reflecting a cosmological vision of spiritual reality.

The Black Death (Beginning 1348)

• Pathology: Caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, spread by fleas on rats from the Black Sea area.
• Mortality Rates: Estimates range between $35\%$ and $45\%$ of the European population.
• Social Responses:
  • Quarantine: Learned from Muslims in North Africa.
  • Psychological Shift: Death was no longer a transition but a cruel master ("Macabre Dance").
  • Scapegoating: Increased pogroms against Jews and the beginning of the persecution of witches.
• Islamic World Impact:
  • Spread to Alexandria, Gaza, and Mecca by $1348$.
  • Ibn Khaldun (historian) noted the decline in civilization and erosion of political authority.
  • The plague weakened the Mamluk army in Egypt, paving the way for the Ottoman Turks.

Social Upheaval and Rebellions

• Labor Shortages: Massive population loss gave laborers leverage, leading upper classes to pass laws like England's Statute of Laborers (1351) to fix wages.
• Major Revolts:
  • Jacquerie (1358): French peasant revolt against taxes and the devastation of the Hundred Years War; resulted in $20,000$ peasant deaths.
  • Revolt of the Ciompi (1378): Florence's wool workers demanded the right to form unions and join guilds.
  • English Peasants' Revolt (1381): Led by $60,000$ rebels from Kent and Essex marching on London against a new poll tax.
• China (Yuan to Ming):
  • Red Turban Rebellions (1351): Opposed Mongol rule.
  • White Lotus Rebellion (1352): Buddhist-led sect contributing to the downfall of the Yuan dynasty.
  • Mandate of Heaven: Natural disasters (droughts, famines, earthquakes) in the $1330s$ signaled to the Chinese that the Mongols had lost divine sanction.

The Hundred Years War (1337–1453)

• Military Transformation:
  • The Longbow: Capable of piercing plate armor; gave English infantry a massive advantage at the Battles of Crécy (1346) and Poitiers (1356).
  • Cavalry Decline: Heavier armor made knights less mobile; cannons emerged as "superweapons."
  • Standing Armies: Kings began relying on permanent armies of peasants rather than noble vassals.
• Key Figures:
  • Henry V (r. 1413–1422): Resumed conflict and won the Battle of Agincourt (1415).
  • Joan of Arc (1412–1431): A teenage visionary who ended the siege of Orléans in $1429$. She helped crown Charles VII at Rheims but was betrayed and burned as a heretic at age $19$.
• Political Aftermath:
  • France: Strengthened the monarchy; the king retained the right to collect the "taille" (land tax) without consent.
  • England: Defeat led to the War of the Roses, a civil war between York and Lancaster factions. Eventually resolved by Henry VII (Tudor), who suppressed private armies and the power of the nobility.

Decline of the Western Church

• Pope Boniface VIII vs. Philip IV:
  • Boniface issued Clericis Laicos (1296) forbidding taxes on clergy and Unam Sanctam (1302) claiming salvation only existed under papal leadership.
  • Philip IV sent soldiers to seize the Pope, leading to Boniface's death in $1303$.
• The Avignon Papacy (1309–1377): Known as the "Babylonian Captivity," popes lived in Avignon rather than Rome, leading to a loss of prestige despite administrative efficiency.
• The Great Schism (1378–1417):
  • The election of two (and later three) rival popes in Rome and Avignon.
  • Supported by different nations: England/Germany for Rome; France/Spain for Avignon.
  • Council of Constance (1414–1418): Resolved the schism by deposing all rival claimants and electing a single pope.

Religious Reform and Popular Piety

• Reformers:
  • John Wycliffe (1329–1384): English scholar who called for the church to give up property; his followers were the "Lollards."
  • John Huss (1369–1415): Bohemian priest who argued Christ, not the Pope, was the head of the Church. Burned as a heretic in $1415$.
• Spirituality and Mysticism:
  • Catherine of Siena (1347–1380): A visionary who lived in apostolic poverty and received the "stigmata."
  • Devotio Moderna: A movement emphasizing the "modern devotion" of living a Christian life within the world.
  • Thomas à Kempis: Wrote The Imitation of Christ (1425), urging devout laypeople to suffer as Christ did.
• Lay Orders: The Béguines were women in Belgium who performed charitable works without joining a formal religious order.