Late Medieval Times
Below are what I take to be the major developments of the times.
1. The Black Death 1347 - 1351
2. The Peasant's Rebellion 1381
3. John Wyclif c. 1330 - 1384
4. The Hundred Years' War 1337 - 1453
5. The Italian Renaissance 1350 - 1550
6. The Thirty Years' War 1455 - 1485
7. Modern Printing c. 1445
The Black Death was a bubonic-pneumonic plague which killed at least 25 million persons in Europe; in other words, something like a quarter of the population perished. Up to that time, this was the largest loss of life due to any single disaster.
The origin of the disease was China and Inner Asia: the plague had slowly, but steadily, moved along the Silk Road reaching the Crimean (southern Ukrainian) area by 1341. A bizarre instance of early "biological warfare" was the actual mechanism by which the plague was carried to the rest of Europe: a Turkish army besieging an Italian trading post in the Crimea hit upon the somewhat novel idea of catapulting diseased corpses into the enemy camp. The "success" of this inhumanity exceeded, no doubt, everyone's wildest nightmares.
The classic firsthand description of the Black Death is found in the introduction of The Decameron. Boccaccio details not only the horrid physical effects of the sickness, but, more importantly, vividly sketches the social climate. For example, particularly frightening are his reports of how "…brother abandoned brother, uncle abandoned nephew, sister left brother, and very often wife abandoned husband, and - even worse, almost unbelievable - fathers and mothers neglected to tend and care for their children, as if they were not their own."
By the early 1350's the disease had begun to recede; the psychological effects on the European consciousness, however, were far more long lasting. Most famously, shortly after this time, the art form of the Danse Macabre (The Dance of Death) appears: whether in dramatic, pictorial, or poetic form, the essential scene shows Death, often personified as a grinning skeleton, in the act of seizing and dragging away his victim. An important element to note in these representations is the ubiquity of death : all persons, regardless of social position, from king to beggar, not only will be taken by Death, but can be taken at any time.
The classic examples of the Danse Macabre are found in the woodblock prints of the German artist Hans Holbein. A wonderful collection of his works, and related materials, can be found at: http://www.godecookery.com/macabre/holdod/holdod.htm
2. The Peasant's Rebellion 1381
As a result of the Black Death and the (ongoing) Hundred Years' War, the financial condition of the English government was weak. To make up for this deficiency (wars cost money!), a tax was levied on all working persons in 1831; this, however, was but the immediate cause of the rebellion. For many years prior to this John of Gaunt (a principal government official) had been harshly dealing with the peasantry. Thus, slowly but steadily, the background of discontent for this uprising was built.
The Peasant's Rebellion, which was the first of its kind in English history, was a failure, as the repressive feudal system remained unchanged. It did, however, have the minor effect of making the Crown a bit more cautious in its domestic taxation practices (this caution, however, did not extend to its colonial taxation policies, as the American Revolution demonstrates).
The most famous reference in literature to the Peasant's Rebellion was penned by one of its leaders, the preacher John Ball:
When Adam delved and Eve span,
Who was then a gentleman?
Meaning, apparently, that under "natural" social conditions equality, not hierarchy, is the norm.
3. John Wyclif c. 1330 - 1384
Wyclif is significant in two respects: 1) the earliest English translations of the Bible were carried out by followers of his under his directions, and, 2) in his attacks on the abuses of the church and their interference in non-religious matters he is viewed, by some scholars, as anticipating the Reformation.
4. The Hundred Years' War c. 1337 - 1453
Perhaps better described as a series of wars, the essential point of dispute being the legal (if, indeed, the word "legal" can be applied to the Middle Ages at all) successor to the French throne. The English kings of this time held themselves to be so; the French kings, naturally enough, disagreed.
There are only two points I want to make on this long, complex, and basically disorganized, conflict. First, when Henry VII removes his forces from France, there follows not only a political but also a cultural disassociation from the French. Thus, the English being to see themselves as a separate cultural entity, with the emphasis then being, naturally, on the development of the English language and English culture. Second, this is the time of Joan of Arc (c. 1412 - 1431); she was the leader of the victorious French forces at the decisive battle of Orleans (1429). After the loss at Orleans, though the war will drag on for another 24 years, the English will be on the constant retreat. Joan, it must be noted, is certainly one of the most fascinating, and tragic, figures not only of the medieval times, but indeed, of all history.
5. The Italian Renaissance c. 1350 - 1550
The Italian, and following European, Renaissance is actually the next major phase of western history; in the European culture course I devout two entire lectures to this period, and thus can in no way do it justice with this note! What follows are the barest of essentials.
Renaissance means "rebirth" - the rebirth of classical Greek and Roman culture (arts and sciences). In brief, as a result of the fall of Rome, the ensuing Dark Ages (c. 500 - 1000), and the dogmatism of the Holy Roman Catholic Church, much of the ancient learning had been lost. With the Crusades ( 1096 - 1270), however, western Europe is reintroduced, by the Byzantine Empire, to Greco-Roman civilization. Initially, it was the artists and scholars of Italy who made the most of this reintroduction, thus beginning the Renaissance.
This movement started with literary work, the poet and classics translator Petrarch now being called the Father of the Renaissance. Boccaccio's Decameron, as a work in its own right and as a major influence on Chaucer, is notable. Finally is the masterpiece of Renaissance literature, Dante's Divine Comedy. The High Renaissance (1490 - 1530) is justly famous for its painting, sculpture, and architecture: the "Big Four" being, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Titian.
6. The Thirty Years' War (a.k.a., The War of the Roses) 1455 - 1485
A civil war between the two main English groups of the time, the Houses of Lancaster (whose symbol was the white rose) and York (using the red rose). Lancaster, with Henry Tudor (Henry VII on taking the throne) as their leader, was victorious. York, however, was still a power to be reckoned with, and so Henry, in true medieval fashion, took Elizabeth of York as his queen.
8. Modern Printing c. 1445
After a great of experimentation (and failure) Johann Gutenberg devises the first moveable-type printing press; his key development was the casting of reliable types (the press, though modified by Gutenberg, had been known for some time).
The essentials in the early history of printing are as follows. The Chinese, c. 800 AD, invent the woodblock printing (xylography) technique; some two hundred years after this a rudimentary moveable-type is created but never fully developed (the structure of written Chinese makes the project wholly impractical). Xylography, possibly imported from Asia, appears in Europe in the fourteenth century. Very soon after this the idea of moveable-type occurs to European printers ~ the manufacture of a reliable type-die, however, would take roughly 100 years of experimentation.
The Information Age is actually born here, 1445, with Gutenberg's press. The latest development is the internet.
Robert T. Tuohey
jadedragon61@hotmail.com
http://jadedragon.250x.com/welcome.htm