HST 121 - The Later Middle Ages

I. The Hundred Years' War (1337-1453) [Map]
    A. conflict between England and France
    B. as the Angevin Empire declined under John, England 
        was left with only the duchy of Gascony in France
    C. as duke of Gascony, the English king was officially a vassal
        of the king of France
    D. Edward III refused to return to the French king a rebellious
        French vassal who he was protecting AND 
        refused to pay homage to the French King in 1337
    E. the French king, Philip VI, seized Gascony
    F. Edward III declared war
    G. other underlying reasons for these actions:
        1. Edward III had a claim to the French throne when Charles IV died in 1328
            without an heir; thus, he wanted to be king of France
        2. the English king wanted to bring Scotland under his control and the French
            king wanted to bring Flanders in the Low Countries under his control
        3. Scotland then sought France as an ally and Flanders sought England
        4. basically, a "cold war" developed between England and France, with
            each kingdom searching for allies and tensions building throughout the period
    H. the war had various periods of war and peace
    I. the major battles and turning points:
        - 1346 - Battle of Crécy
        - 1356 - Battle of Poitiers
        - 1415 - Agincourt
        - 1428-9 -- the French liberated the city of Orléans (with the help of Joan of Arc)
    J. the English won at Crécy, Poitiers and Agincourt mainly because of the large number of
        peasant footsoldiers who used pikes and the Welsh longbow (as opposed to the 
        heavily armed knights of the aristocratic French army)
    K. rather than fighting in pitched battles, the English usually raided the French countryside
    L. in 1428, the tide turned in favor of the French and from 1429 to 1453, 
        the French retook their land from the English, except for the northern port of Calais
    M. the French were aided by the use of the cannon and the fact that the new English king 
        (Henry VI) was an ineffective ruler
        - Images: bombard, bombard on a sled, cannon, culverin

II. Revolts
    A. Rural Revolts
        1. The Jacquerie in France (1358)
        2. The Peasants' Revolt in England (1381)
    B. Urban Revolts
        1. The Ciompi (wool workers) in Florence (1378)
        2. other cities throughout Europe

III. The Black Death
    A. Bubonic Plague
        1. killed 1/3 to 1/2 of the European population
	2. caused by the bacteria Yersinia Pestis
	3. up to about 40% of those with plague survived
    B. Economic Impact
        1. decrease in supply of workers = wages rise
	2. general standard of living goes up
	3. lords/merchants try to push wages back down
	4. in England this is one of the factors leading to the Peasants' Revolt of 1381
    C. The Response
        1. prevention
		a. bloodletting
		b. avoiding bad air (masks, smoke)
		c. avoiding exercise, bathing, sex
	2. appeasing god
		a. praying, going to church, etc.
		b. the flagellants
	3. fleeing
	4. embracing a carpe diem, seize the day attitude
	5. scapegoating

IV. The Great Schism (1378-1417)
    A. pope moves to Avignon in southern France in 1305  [MAP] [papal palace ]
    B. demand grows over next several decades for the pope to return to Rome
    C. pope returns to Rome in 1377, but dies in 1378
    D. the predominantly French college of cardinals is forced to elect an Italian pope
    E. shortly thereafter they claim the election to be null and void
        and elect a French pope
    F. the new French pope returns with the French cardinals to Avignon
    G. thus, there are two popes = the Great Schism
    H. two popes = two papal bureaucracies = even more taxation
        - the masses are losing faith in the church
    I. in this context, the idea of conciliarism is developed
        1. people came to believe that the church is the community of the faithful
        2. thus, religious authority does not rest in the hands of the papacy
            - it rests in the hands of the entire community of the faithful
        3. people then start calling for a church council to be called to resolve the dispute
    J. Council of Pisa -- 1409
        1. the current popes are deposed and a new one is elected
        2. the two other popes refuse to step down = three popes
    K. Council of Constance -- 1417
        1. the three popes either gave in or were deposed
        2. one new pope was elected = end of the schism