MED - The Big Three (Lesson)
The Big Three.
Below are the the main events that will have the largest impact on your studies in this course.
100 Years War.
Read over the information in the presentation below.
A closer look at Joan of Arc.
Joan is a 13 year old French girl who had a vision and heard the voices of angels. These voices told her to:
- crown the French dauphin (crown prince) as King
- lead the French to victory
She told the local military general this and asked him to take her to the prince. He laughed her off at first, but eventually gave in. The prince agreed to meet with her. Keep in mind, it was very common during this time for young girls to get "visions" or hear "voices;" Joan is just one of the many who ended up at the castle. What makes Joan unique is that the Prince decided to "test" her. He stood in a crowded room dressed like everyone else. Joan was brought in the room and walked right up to him, declaring him to be the true prince though she had never seen him before.
She then convinced him to let her go fight. The dauphin had nothing to lose in granting her request. If she dies, she was just a peasant girl who chose to fight (no loss for him), and if she is correct and she wins, he gains the victory. She dressed in men's clothing and rode out to the front. Once there she inspired the French troops and the tide began to turn. The French began winning battle after battle . . . then Joan was captured by the Burgundians and sold to the English. They offered her up to the French prince for ransom, but the prince refused to pay (by this time he was king) and Joan was put on trial. Joan maintained that God had directed her to do the things she had done. When offered the opportunity to attend Mass and show her devotion, she refused to go as they required she wear a dress in church. Without appearing in church, she was condemned for being a witch and burned at the stake.
Great Schism.
Schism means split; therefore the Great Schism is a split within the Church.
Pope Boniface and King Philip IV (of France) clashed over the role of the Church in France. Boniface issued the Unum Sanctam, declaring the Pope to be the ultimate authority in all matters regarding the Church. Their disagreement resulted in Philip arresting and imprisoning Boniface. Though he was soon freed, the experience left him broken and he died shortly thereafter. In 1305, Clement V became Pope. As he was French, he moved the seat of the papacy from Rome to Avignon on the French border. The papacy remains there for 70 years before it is finally returned to Rome. Shortly after its return, when electing a new pope, the cardinals feel pressure to elect an Italian. They do, but later regret their choice. Asking the original pope to resign, they elect a new pope. Unfortunately, the first one refuses to resign which means there are now two men claiming to be the true pope and to make matters worse, they are bickering amongst themselves. Whom do you support? Which one is the real pope? People begin to take sides. In order to prevent a permanent split, the cardinals meet again, ask for the resignation of the two, and appoint a third. Now there are three (as the other two refuse to resign!) Eventually the two are forced out and the third becomes the sole pope, but the damage is done. The once unquestionable church has proven that things can be questioned and that it is vulnerable. The entire situation paves the way for movements that question the church and call for reform (heretical groups) and eventually leads to the Reformation.
The above is a very general summary and not fully sufficient for your notes. You will need to look over this in much greater detail as it plays a major role in later modules. Please read the notes below from Lynn Harry Nelson, Emeritus Professor of Medieval History at the University of Kansas. The lecture notes are concise, but packed with all the info you need.
- Click here to download The Avignon Papacy notes. Links to an external site.
- Click here to download the Great Schism notes. Links to an external site.
Plague or Black Death.
Though arriving earlier, 1349 is typically marked as the year the Black Death really destroyed Europe.
It begins in Asia, but spreads to Europe on a merchant ship (the ship lands in Italy, the disease spreads.) It quickly spreads through trade routes though it is not uncommon for soldiers trying to take over a castle to catapult a plague-infected cow or pig over the castle walls.
Disease spread quickly due to close quarters and lack of sanitation. Misunderstanding about the disease also contributed to its spread.
Three types:
- Bubonic – least deadly, die within 2-3 weeks, symptoms include black bulbous on lymph nodes (usually under armpit) the big black marks give it the name – the Black Death
- Pneumonic – die within 2-3 days, flu like symptoms
- Septicemic – always deadly, you usually die before you get the symptoms (1 day)
The Black Death killed of 1/3 of Europe's population. Remember there were some areas of Europe that were untouched. . . others that were completely devastated.
Many saw the death all around them and began to realize it was unavoidable . . . "we all might die tomorrow so why not live life to its fullest." This resulted in several increasing alcohol consumption as well as an uptick in thefts and fights, but also saw many doing what before was considered unacceptable for their place – writing, painting, etc.
Reaction of the nobles was to flee and save themselves which resulted in the peasants and serfs being left to themselves. For the first time, many serfs began to walk away from the land. Without the nobles there, there was no way to tell who was a serf and who was a peasant. . . this helped lead to freeing of the serfs.
With massive amounts of death around, it left fewer and fewer people to work the fields. Those nobles that did stay found themselves trying to please the serfs in order to keep them (higher demand for workers led to higher pay, helped pave the way for leisure money in the Renaissance.)
The Church reacted in two different ways: higher members of the clergy tended to flee much like the nobles. Lower clergy remained to care for the ill and administer last rites – which meant many of them also contracted the disease and died. You begin to see a disconnect in the perception of the Church. Many people began to resent the upper clergy, seeing them as corrupt and uncaring. Meanwhile there is a deepening relationship between the town and their local priest (the one who quite literally is there for every major part of your life.) The quick onslaught of the plague made many question religion as a whole. Throughout the Middle Ages people were living for the possibility of an afterlife. Now death is an assured part of life – and one that will come quickly and painfully. The Church has no answers and prayer can not shield you (especially if priests, monks and nuns are dying as well.) This is a culture that must have an answer to what is going on - some sort of rationale and the Church is unable to provide one. It leads many to question the infallibility of the Church.
About the image above - Believing that God sent the plague to punish man, many determined they needed to cleanse themselves of impurities. Groups, known as flagellants, would march through towns, whipping themselves on their backs. They would continue until in a frenzy and passed out on the blood stained streets.
RESOURCES IN THIS MODULE ARE OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES (OER) OR CREATED BY GAVS UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED. SOME IMAGES USED UNDER SUBSCRIPTION.