Chapter 11: The Later Middle Ages
- Prelude to Disaster
- Climate Change and Famine
- The Little Ice Age
a)1000 – 1300 the climate was warmer than usual
b)1300 – 1450 “The Little Ice Age” hit Europe
- End of Greenland Colonies
a)Sharp decline in Viking colonies due to ice
- Crop Failures
a)Torrential rain ruined crops
b)Poor harvest led to starvation across Europe
c)Great Famine – 1315 – 1322
- Rise in Food Costs
a)Less food made what food remained expensive
b)Less caloric intake leads to disease
- Social Consequences
- Decline of Agriculture leads to negative consequences
a)Whole villages are abandoned
b)Due to climate change and famine
c)Self-reliant farmers forced to turn to servitude for survival
d)People put off marriage and family
e)Population declines throughout Europe
- Hunger Leads to Anger
a)Peasants blame the rich (moneylenders) and the Jews
b)Rumors blaming Jews and lepers lead to their deaths
- International Trade Spreads the Misery
a)Sheep infection in England leads to suffering throughout Europe
- Government Responses Ineffective
a)French kings forbid the sale of grain outside of France
b)English king Edward II tries to buy grain for his people
c)Looters and the black market prevented grain from reaching people
- The Black Death
- Pathology
- Bacteria – Yersinia Pestis
a)Rats, fleas, and cockroaches transmitted carried on ships
- Transmission
a)Mostly transmitted person to person
b)1/3 of Europe’s population dies
- Symptoms
a)Growth in armpit, groin, or neck
b)If the boil was drained the victim had a chance of recovery
c)Black spots appear on body
d)Death of hands and feet (turning black)
e)Coughing blood
- Spread of Disease
- Origins
a)Began in China
b)Mongols facilitate trade between East and West
c)Mongols spread plague as a weapon
- Arrival in Europe
a)Genoese ships bring the plague to Messina in 1347
b)Quickly spreads to Venice and Genoa
c)Spreads to Germany and France
d)In 1348, the plague arrives in England
- Urban conditions ideal to spread the disease
a)Narrow streets filled with garbage
b)People weakened by famine
c)Abundance of fleas and rats
d)Florence lost up to 2/3 of population in 1348
e)Some cities spared by closing their gates
- Eastern Europe
a)Vienna has 400 – 600 deaths a day
b)Byzantine Empire discovers an effective treatment
- Care of the Sick
- It was understood that it was transmitted person to person
a)Believed to be spread through the air
b)Treatment focused on ridding the air and body of poisons
- Cures
a)Ringing bells and loud sounds to clean the air
b)Magic letters and numbers, cryptograms
- Clergy
a)Clergy work to serve the dying
b)Mortality rate was phenomenally high
- Limits of Care
a)Wealthier people fled cities
b)Houses of the sick were walled up with people inside
c)No one cares for their neighbor
- Economic, Religious, and Cultural Effects
- Plague had positive benefits
a)Europe was overpopulated and couldn’t support itself
- Inflation
a)Fall in production and shortage of goods rises prices
b)Labor shortages meant that workers could demand higher wages
c)Peasants allowed to migrate to find work
- Religious Practices
a)People turn to religion for comfort
b)Many believed the plague was due to their sins
c)Muslims areas also saw an increase in piety
- Flagellants
a)Some believe that punishing themselves would show religious devotion
b)Flagellants go town to town to convert believers
c)Officials tried to forbid the flagellant movement
- Search for Scapegoats
a)People believe that Jews brought the plague
b)1000s of Jews murdered across Europe
c)Many Jews were burned alive
- Literature and Art
a)People become fascinated by death
b)The Dance of Death was common in art
- Growth of Colleges and Universities
a)Universities focused on educating local populations
b)Universities founded to train priests
c)Localized religious education contributes to the schism of the Catholic Church
- The Hundred Years’ War
- Causes…