Crises of the
th
14
Century
War, Plague, and Chaos in the Church
Hundred Years War
1337-1453
• Causes:
– English control of French lands
– Conflict over Flanders
– Traditional conflicts at sea
– Edward III’s claim to the French
throne
France in 989 – the beginning of the Capetian
Dynasty
France in 1154 – Louis VII
France during the reign of Philippe II
Augustus
Edwards Claim to the French Throne
Philip III
(1270-85)
Philip IV
(1285-1314)
Louis X
(1314-1316)
Philip IV
(1316-22)
Charles of Valois
(1325)
Charles IV
(1322-28)
Isabella = Edward II
Edward III
Philip VI
(1328-50)
Why did it take more than 100 years
for the French to drive out the English?
• The need for funds led to concession by the
king to powerful nobles
– 1355 – The Estates General
• English military superiority
– English infantry
– The longbow
• Weak leadership
The War during Edward’s reign
• 1340 – Flanders allied with England
• English victories
– Battle of Crécy (1346), Battle of Poiters (1356),
French king captured
• Political chaos in France
– Poor management by Estates General
– The Jacquerie rebellions
• 1360 – The Peace of Brétigny
– Vassalage to French monarchy ended
– Sovereignty over lands in France affirmed**
The War under Richard II
• Limited conflicts
• Peasants Revolt (1381)
The War Under Henry V
• English victories – Battle of Agincourt (1415)
• Burgundian betrayal of the French monarchy
• Treaty of Troyes (1420)
• Henry V proclaimed as the legitimate
successor to King Charles VI of France
The War Under Henry VI
• Crowned King of England and Frances as an
infant
• Most of the French recognized Charles VII as
king
• The “successes” of Joan of Arc inspired French
unity and confidence
– Burgundians rejoined the French
• English dispossessed of all French lands except
Calais
Consequences of the Hundred Years
War
• For France:
• For England
• For European Society:
The Black Death
Why?
• Population growth
• Crop failures – famine
• Lack of food, economic depression gradually
weakened the population
Death Toll
40
35
30
25
Southern Europe
20
West/Central
Slavia
15
10
5
0
500
650
1000
1340
1450
Response/Reactions
• Flagellants
• Changes in lifestyles
– Increased piety for some
– Riotous and decadent living
for others
• Pessimism and an obsession
with death
– The Danse Macbre
• Persecution of Jews
Consequences/Effects of the Plague
• Demands by peasant and serfs for more
freedom and wages
• And . . . . (pages 298-301):
Chaos in the Church
Background– the growth of the “Papal
Church”
• Innocent III (1198-1216)
– “plenitude of power”
• Increased the church’s secular power
• Urban IV (1261-1264)
– Created church courts and continued to centralize
power in the papacy
• Political factions and intrigue within the
church leadership
– Eg. Pope Celestine V (1294)
•
Trouble in the Church
The Babylonian Captivity (1309-1377)
1. Causes
a. dispute over the taxation of the clergy by monarchs
b. Dissatisfaction by local clergy with Papal authority
c. Issuance of the Unam Sanctum
2. Results
a. Expansion of papal taxes and other fundraising
- annates, indulgences (along with the doctrine of
purgatory
b. Decline of papal reputation – controlled by the French
and materialistic
c. Increased independence of monarchs
-- William of Ockham, Marsilius of Padua (Defender of
Peace), Gallican liberties
d. Lay religious reform movements – Wycliffe and Huss
Popular Response to the Babylonian Captivity
• John Wycliffe (England)
– Key ideas
• “clergy should not have land or wealth”
• “Religious authority should be based on piety”
• “scripture is superior to the Pope’s or the Church’s
teaching”
• “the head of the Church is Christ, not the Pope”
– Followers were known as Lollards
• A factor in the peasants revolt of 1381
Popular Response to the Babylonian Captivity
• John Huss (from Bohemia)
– Key ideas
• “the Bible should be available in the vernacular”
• “the pope is not supreme in matters of faith”
• “clergy are not superior to laity”
– 1410 – Huss was excommunicated
– 1414 – executed by the Council of Constance
– Revolt broke out in Bohemia
• Hussites eventually greater control of the church in
Bohemia
The Great Schism of the Catholic Church
• 1377 – Rome reestablished as the
headquarters of the Church
• 1378 – Pope Urban VI began an effort to
reform the governing of the church
• Sept., 1378 – French cardinal elected an
alternative pope, Clement VII who ruled from
Avignon
• The kingdoms of Europe chose sides
The Conciliar Movement – an effort to
end the schism
• Conciliarists claimed councils were superior to
the pope
• Council of Pisa (1409-1410)
– Chose a third Pope
• Council of Constance (1414-1417)
– Removed the 3 popes
– Elected Martin V
• 1460 Pope Pius condemned the actions of
independent councils and declared their action
void
Impact of the Captivity and Schism
• disillusionment and confusion
•A severe decline in Papal influence events
•Increased national control of the Church
• An openness in much of Europe to new ideas
•Increased role of the local authorities in the religious life
• Higher expectation of Papal leadership. [Not often
satisfied!]
•The Papal states came to be seen as “just another Italian
principality”