AP European History
AP European History
If the High Middle Ages exhibited dynamic growth, then the 14th century represented the stick in the spokes of this runaway medieval cart that brought it crashing to the ground. Sometimes, however, tragedy can pave the way for the emergence of new cultural trends. In the wake of social, religious, cultural, and economic crisis, there emerged two defining movements of early modem European history-the Renaissance and the Protestant Reformation.
Europe’s peak population in 1300 of 75 million was already pushing up against its natural boundaries, when the continent was hit by the Great Famine of 1315-1317 and the cataclysmic Black Death of 1348-1351. The latter represents one of the great natural disasters in world history, costing Europe upwards of 40% of its people. More important than sheer numbers were the psychological and social costs of the disease. Caused by fleas traveling on rats, the bubonic plague spread quickly along trade routes and especially devastated urban areas. No one could explain the cause of the pestilence. Flagellants took the calamity to be God’s wrath upon man and whipped themselves in atonement. Many blamed Jews for poisoning wells, which led to a notorious persecution of that minority in Nuremberg. Art reflected the obsession with death; paintings featured skeletons performing the danse macabre. The Catholic Church could offer little solace, especially since the disease killed off well over 60% of the top clergy. Perhaps most significantly, the Black Death caused a labor shortage that undermined the feudal structure, as peasants bargained for improved labor conditions, winning lifetime tenures and converting other obligations to cash payments.
Improved peasant conditions did not last long. Governments and nobles reasserted their power throughout the century, which led to the Jacquerie rebellion in 1358 in France and Wat Tyler’s revolt in 1381 in England. Urban revolts also occurred in Florence; each of these revolts was eventually overturned, often with great violence. Of more lasting import was the blow delivered· to the feudal system in the west.
National monarchies were young creations, and therefore fragile. Dynastic instability (e.g., the inability to produce male heirs) plagued many states throughout the 14th century and led most seriously to the Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453). Actually a series of wars, this conflict between France and England over the French throne (and the cloth trade in the Low Countries) dealt a fatal blow to the medieval idea of warfare. Time and again, English longbowmen demonstrated the power of massed infantry against France’s heavily mounted feudal knights. French fortunes revived upon the back of a divinely inspired peasant girl. In 1429, Joan of Arc believed the voice of God called her to break the siege of Orleans. Despite her military success, Joan was tried for witchcraft and burned at the stake (later made a saint in 1920). Yet the tide had turned, and by 1453, .England held only the city of Calais on the continent. Each nation then turned inward to resolve pressing political conflicts.
The Catholic Church also stood in the midst of crisis. Since 1307, the papacy had lived in exile in France during the so-called Babylonian Captivity, where its prestige declined in proportion to the increase in its administrative apparatus and material wealth. When an Italian crowd forced the mostly French cardinals to elect one of their own, the church plunged into the Great Schism (1378-1417), with rival French and Italian popes forcing the nations of Europe to choose sides. Advocates of conciliarism attempted to use church councils (unsuccessfully) to solve the crisis and to check the power of the papacy. Reformers such as John Wyclif in England and John Hus in Bohemia (part of the Holy Roman Empire) attacked the institutional power and wealth of the church and called for a simpler Christianity. Though Hus was burned at the stake in 1415, his ideas set the stage for the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century.
Italy was the first area of Europe to experience the Renaissance. Several reasons account for this early lead:
GEOGRAPHIC Italy was not only the center of the Mediterranean, which made it a crossroads of trade, it also boasted centers of ancient culture. If artists wished to imitate classical motifs, they need look no further than their Roman backyard. Ideas followed in the wake of trade, particularly as humanists escaped the declining Byzantine Empire, being besieged by the Turks (and falling in 1453).
URBANIZATION While in most of Europe only 10% of the population lived in cities, up to 25% of Italians partook directly of the civic culture so essential to Renaissance humanism, Cities attracted trade, ideas, and culture – the lifeblood of the Renaissance.
SOCIAL FACTORS Nobles played a vital role in Italy, just as they did in every European nation, though their attitudes tended to be more oriented to money-making and cultural accomplishments than elsewhere. A common family blending in Italy involved a cash-strapped aristocrat and an ‘up-and-coming wealthy merchant, thus creating a new elite, where wealth and worldly achievement mattered more than merely lineage.
POLITICAL VARIETY In the 14th century, Italy was a collection of small and large city-states. No centralized authority existed to stamp out potentially threatening ideas. If artists or intellectuals found difficulty in one place, they could simply move to another and continue their work. This disunity later became a liability, but at that time, Italy benefited from competing political centers.
With its thriving city-states, Italy imitated the ancient poleis of Greece and the Roman. Republic. Citizenship and freedom in the ancient world sparked intellectual and cultural life, and the same held true of Renaissance Italy. A major concern of Renaissance thinkers was a life of active civic engagement. The life of the mind (otium) must eventually contribute to the bettering of one’s city-state (negotium). Reflection and action promoted virtu, or excellence, in the Renaissance man or woman.
As with today, family served as the central social institution of the Italian Renaissance. Renaissance families were patriarchal, placing a great deal of power in the male head of the family, or patria potesta. Before it man could achieve legal autonomy, his father must officially liberate him before the appropriate authorities. Oftentimes, men were not able to establish an independent existence until their late 20s of early 30s. At the same time, families commonly married off their daughters as early as their mid-teens. Marriages were frequently arranged to the benefit of both families. Economic concerns predominated; compatibility of the couple came second, and often not at all, given the significant age difference between man and woman. As a result of this marriage-age gap, Italy experienced predictable side effects. First, prostitution was rampant, and since almost impossible to eliminate, generally tolerated and even regulated by governments. Second, the incidence of rape and sexual violence was high, though lower-class men were punished more severely if their victim was from the upper classes. Finally, spouses often predeceased their partners, who remarried quickly due to the difficulties involved in living an independent existence. This led to remarriage, numerous blended families, and an abundance of stepparents; Though the nuclear family (mother, father, and children) was the norm, Renaissance Italy also depended on African slavery, a result of the labor shortage created by the Black Death: Slaves lived with families and often performed domestic work. Though as much as 10% . of Italy’s population in 1400 was made up of slaves, the practice in Europe declined with the recovery of the population in the 15th century.