The Middle Ages Come to an EndChapter 10 (4 of 4)

Around the year 1300, the Middle Ages began a period of decline

Reasons Why The

Middle Ages Declined

1. Hundred Years’ War

As the war dragged on, it showed that feudal militaries weren’t too effective and kings would need to turn to paid, professional armies.

Nobles thus lost power and the feudal system was declining.

2. Famines

Agricultural technology could not keep up with the growing

population, resulting in famines

3. Plagues (The Black Death of 1348)

The Black Death arrived in Europe by sea in October of 1347 when 12 trading ships arrived at a Sicilian port after a long journey through the Black Sea. The

people who gathered on the docks to greet the ships were met with a horrifying surprise: Most of the sailors aboard the ships were dead, and

those who were still alive were gravely ill. They were overcome with fever, unable to keep food down and delirious from pain. Strangest of all, they

were covered in mysterious black boils that oozed blood and pus and gave their illness its name: the “Black Death.” The Sicilian authorities hastily

ordered the fleet of “death ships” out of the harbor, but it was too late: Over the next five years, the mysterious Black Death would kill more than 20

million people in Europe–almost one-third of the continent’s population.

4. Peasant Revolts

Social unrest continued to plague Europe as peasants fought against landlords, and in towns and cities

artisans fought against their employees

Times, They Were a Changin’

So from 1300-1450, Western civilization

didn’t spiral downwards, instead new developments

were occurring that was changing society and

life as it was known in the Middle Ages became different

Aristocracy did not disappear, but lifestyle changed and became more ceremonial (ex: joust competitions)Church was losing power as religious leaders became

more involved in political mattersArt and literature turned away from religion and began

looking much different than it had throughout the Middle Ages

Aristocracy (nobles) losing power as their military protection was no longer needed