APEURO Lecture 1BMrs. Kray

Some slides taken from Susan M. Pojer

The CulpritsThe Culprits

The Great Famine The Great Famine of of 1315-13221315-1322 By 1300 Europeans were farming

almost all the land they could cultivate. A population crisis developed. Climate changes (“Little Ice Age”) in

Europe produced three years of crop failures between 1315-17 because of excessive rain.

As many as 15% of the peasants in some English villages died.

One consequence ofstarvation & povertywas susceptibility todisease.

1347: Plague 1347: Plague Reaches Reaches

Constantinople!Constantinople!

The The SymptomsSymptoms

Bulbous

Septicemic Form:

almost 100% mortality rate.

From the From the Toggenburg Toggenburg BibleBible, 1411, 1411

Lancing a BuboeLancing a Buboe

The Disease The Disease CycleCycle

Flea drinks rat blood that carries the

bacteria.

Flea drinks rat blood that carries the

bacteria.

Flea’s gut cloggedwith bacteria.

Flea’s gut cloggedwith bacteria.

Bacteriamultiply inflea’s gut.

Bacteriamultiply inflea’s gut.

Flea bites human and regurgitates blood into human wound.

Flea bites human and regurgitates blood into human wound.

Human is infected!Human is infected!

Medieval Art & the Medieval Art & the PlaguePlague

Medieval Art & the Medieval Art & the PlaguePlague

Bring out your dead!

Medieval Art & the Medieval Art & the PlaguePlague

An obsession with death.

Boccaccio in Boccaccio in The The DecameronDecameron

Boccaccio in Boccaccio in The The DecameronDecameron

The victims ate lunch with their friends and

dinner with their ancestors.

The The Danse Danse MacabreMacabre

Attempts to Stop the Attempts to Stop the PlaguePlague

A Doctor’s Robe

“Leeching”

Attempts to Stop the Attempts to Stop the PlaguePlague

Flagellanti:Self-inflicted “penance” for our

sins!

Attempts to Stop the Attempts to Stop the PlaguePlaguePograms against the

Jews

“Jew” hat

“Golden Circle” obligatory badge

Death Triumphant !:Death Triumphant !:A Major Artistic A Major Artistic

ThemeTheme

A Little Macabre A Little Macabre DittyDitty“A sickly season,” the

merchant said,“The town I left was filled with dead,and everywhere these queer red fliescrawled upon the corpses’ eyes,eating them away.”

“Fair make you sick,” the merchant said,“They crawled upon the wine and bread.Pale priests with oil and books,bulging eyes and crazy looks,dropping like the flies.”

A Little Macabre A Little Macabre Ditty (2)Ditty (2)“I had to laugh,” the merchant

said,“The doctors purged, and dosed, and bled;“And proved through solemn disputation“The cause lay in some constellation.“Then they began to die.”

“First they sneezed,” the merchant said,“And then they turned the brightest red,Begged for water, then fell back.With bulging eyes and face turned black,they waited for the flies.”

A Little Macabre A Little Macabre Ditty (3)Ditty (3)“I came away,” the

merchant said,“You can’t do business with the dead.“So I’ve come here to ply my trade.“You’ll find this to be a fine brocade…”And then he sneezed……….!

The Mortality

Rate35% - 70%

25,000,000 dead !!!

What were thepolitical,

economic,and social

effectsof the Black

Death??

Consequences: The Consequences: The Good, the Bad, & the Good, the Bad, & the

UglyUgly

More Troubles for the More Troubles for the Catholic ChurchCatholic Church

• 1309 Philip the Fair of France pressured Pope Clement V to settle in Avignon– General atmosphere of luxury & extravagance– Economy of Rome depended on presence of the papal court

left poverty stricken

• 1377 Pope Gregory XI died shortly after brought the papal court back to Rome – Great pressure put on cardinals to elect an Italian– Urban VI elected but his desires for reform & his tactless, bull-

headed methods. . .and possible insanity turned cardinals against him

• 1378 Cardinals declared Urban’s election invalid & elected a new pope, Clement VII, who set up his court in Avignon– The Great Schism has begun

Babylonian Captivity, Babylonian Captivity, 1309-13761309-1376

The Great Schism, The Great Schism, 1378-14171378-1417

Pope Urban VI Pope Clement VII

• European powers aligned themselves with Urban or Clement along strictly political lines– Pro-Urban: England, Holy Roman Emperor, Italian city-states– Pro-Clement: France, Scotland, Aragon, Castile, Portugal

• 1409 Council at Pisa – now there’s three popes!

• 1414-1418 Great Council meeting at Constance– 3 objectives: end schism, reform the church, wipe out heresy– Deposed Roman & Pisa Popes; isolated anti-pope in Avignon– Elected Martin V the new pope

• Effect of schism weakened religious faith of many Christians & gave rise to instability and religious excess

The Great Schism, The Great Schism, 1378-14171378-1417

• Attempted to use church councils to solve the Great Schism and to check the power of the papacy

• Pope viewed as a threat to his power• Largely unsuccessful

ConciliarismConciliarism

• Very popular in the 15th c.• Papal claims of temporal

authority had no basis in scripture– Church should be stripped of

its property• Urged abolition of veneration

of saints, pilgrimages, pluralism, and absenteeism

• Women could be preachers• Precursor to Protestant

Reformation

LollardismLollardism

John John WyclifWyclif

• Disputed papal authority, denounced abuses

• Insisted church authority rested on the bible

• Burned at the stake as a heretic in 1415 at the Council of Constance

• Also precursor to Protestant Reformation

Jan HusJan Hus