1. Late Middle Ages
Notes

2. • During the late medieval period, European monarchies
consolidate their power and began forming nation
states. Nation-states are countries were people have a
common language and culture.
• 1066—Battle of Hastings between King Harold of
England and Duke William the Conqueror of Normandy.
William the Conqueror defeats the Anglo-Saxon army
and now possesses lands in both France and England.
• England – Land of the Angles (Anglo-Saxon)
• Domesday Book – written record
of census, land and property
throughout England.
Used to tax.
The Bayeux Tapestry
England

3. • 1154—1189: Henry II rules England and owns
more than one-half the land in France
due to his marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine.
Sets up a unified code of Common Law that set
a standard precedent for law.
•Eleanor – created a
more elaborate court
life in England.
•10 children: 2/8
Richard I and John.
England

4. • 1189—1199: Richard I (Richard the Lion-
Hearted) defends English properties and takes
part in the “King’s Crusade” (3rd Crusade).
England

5. • 1199—1216: John (also known as “John
Softsword” and John “Lackland”) takes the
throne, but the barons rebel against this weak
king. Barons force King John to sign the Magna
Carta in 1215 at Runnymede.
Magna Carta
-No taxation
without
representation
-Right to a jury trial
-Due process of law
-Limited Monarchy
England

6. • 1216—1272: Henry III takes the throne for a long
and unhappy reign marked by further land losses
to France.
• 1272—1307: Edward I ascends the throne and
strengthens the administration and monarchy in
England. He raises taxes from the burgesses
(merchants) and creates the Model Parliament in
1295.
– Bicameral government:
House of Commons and House of Lords
– Provides a check on royal power
– Increases the power of the nobility
– Laws passed in Parliament are applied to entire
country
England

7. • 1337—1453: Hundred Years’ War between
England and France. This war is mostly fought
in France over land (EoA land) and
hereditary rights. Although
England wins many battles
early on, France ultimately
wins the war, and Britain is
pushed out of France (with the
exception of Calais.)
Ironically, Joan of Arc is portrayed
heroically in a British World War I
poster. She was captured and
burned at the stake by England
during the Hundred Years’ War
England

8. • 1455—1485: War of the Roses—This Civil War is
fought between the Yorks (white rose) and the
Lancasters (red rose) for accession to the throne.
Richard III is defeated at Bosworth Field
(considered the last “Medieval King of England”)
and Henry Tudor (Henry VII) ascends the throne.
– Appoints many of his advisors from
the middle class
– Uses local government
– Taxes land and tonnage (imported goods)
to gain revenue
– Avoids war; business and trade prosper
– Creates the Court of the Star Chamber, a personal court
that meets in secrecy, and gives the King ultimate power.
Peace and stability characterize Henry’s reign, although
torture is used.
England

9. • 987—1180: Capetian Dynasty begins with
Hugh Capet, a relatively weak king chosen by
the French nobles. Gradually, the Capetian
kings strengthen their power and increase
their territory outward from Paris.
• 1180—1226: Philip II (Augustus) further
strengthens the monarchy through the use of
bailiffs (royal officials who collect taxes).
France

10. • 1226—1270: Louis IX (also known as Saint
Louis) ascends the throne as a pious, popular,
and just leader. He creates the Parliament of
Paris, which acts as a Supreme Court.
A statue of Louis IX stands
outside the St Louis Art
Museum
France

11. • 1300s—Philip IV (also known as “the fair”)
creates the Estates General:
– First Estate—Clergy.
– Second Estate—Nobility.
– Third Estate — Bourgeoisie
– Not as powerful as Parliament; kings can
decide when the Estates General will meet
France

12. • 1337—1453: The Hundred Years’ War is
fought between England and
France over land and
hereditary rights. Although
France is losing many battles,
Joan of Arc rallies the French
troops to stunning victories in
the Battle of Orleans. She is
later captured by the English
and burned at the stake as a
heretic. She is canonized as a
saint in 1920, almost 500 years
after her death.
France

13. • 1429—1461: Charles VII ascends the throne due
to Joan of Arc’s military aid.
– First permanent French army
– Creates a Royal Council
– Taxes land (taille) and salt (gabelle) to ensure
revenue
• 1461—1483: Louis XI (also known as “the spider
king”) ascends the throne.
– Uses trickery, bribery, and a spy network in
European courts
– Expands France to include Burgundy
– Does not use the Estates General
France

14. • 1063—Start of the Reconquista—the
reconquest of Spain from the Muslims
• 1400s—Muslims only hold Granada.
• 1469—Marriage of Isabella (of Castile) and
Ferdinand (of Aragon) unifies two separate
kingdoms of Spain.
• 1478 – Spanish Inquisition.
Spain

15. • 1492—Granada falls to the Spanish; Spain
becomes a unified country in religion.
– Inquisition courts are set up to subdue
heretics.
Spain

16. – Jews and Muslims are expelled from Spain
(2,000 killed); those who stay are forced to
convert. Many Jews go to the near Middle
East. This hurts Spain economically, because
the Jews and Muslims make up a prosperous
merchant class.
– Exploration begins with
Columbus discovering
the New World. Spain
begins an ambitious
exploration and colonization program.
-Charles V and his son Philip II expand the
Spanish empire into the Western Hemisphere.
Spain

17. • 700s—Russia is composed of a mix of Slavic
peoples. Kiev is the capital, and there are
many Byzantine influences, including the
Eastern Orthodox Church and Byzantine
architecture (onion-shaped
domes).
• 1200s—Mongols invade
Russia.
Russia

18. • 1240—1480: The Mongol Yoke
– Destroys Kiev
– Uses Russian princes to rule kingdoms
– Collects “tribute” from Russians
– Maintains loose control over Russians
Russia

19. • 1328—1341: Ivan I serves Mongols as a tax
collector in Moscow and gradually enlarges
the Kingdom of Moscow.
• 1462—1505: Ivan III (also known as “The
Great”) is considered the first czar/tsar
(marries the niece of the last
Byzantine Emperor) and frees Russia
from the Mongol Yoke in 1480.
Russia

20. • 1547—1584: Ivan IV (a.k.a .“The Terrible”)
struggles for power among Russia’s nobility
(the boyars).
– Marries into the
Romanov family
– Codifies laws
– Uses secret police force
called the oprichniki
– Kills thousands of boyars
and even his eldest son
Russia
Ivan the Terrible
following the murder of
his son

21. • The Crusades were a series of wars fought
between the Christians and the Muslims over
the city of Jerusalem, called the Holy Land.
First Crusade
• Began in 1095, when Pope Urban makes a
speech calling for a crusade to recapture
Jerusalem from the Muslims. The Christians
won and established crusader-states
throughout the Arabian Peninsula.
Second Crusade
• Muslim crusaders led by Saladin launch a
counter attack and capture the crusader state
of Edessa.

22. Third Crusade
• Saladin captures Jerusalem. Philip II of France, Frederick I of Germany,
and Richard I of England send troops to recapture Jerusalem. In 1192
Saladin and Richard reach a truce, under which Jerusalem remained
under Muslim control, but Christians were allowed to visit the city’s
holy places. The European crusaders also maintained control of the
crusader-states along the Palestinian coast.
Fourth Crusade
• In 1204, Pope Innocent III who used excommunication and
interdiction to control Europe initiated the 4th Crusade. The European
Crusaders made one last attempt to conquer Jerusalem, but failed.
Instead they captured and looted the city of Constantinople, the
Christian capital of the Byzantine Empire.
Effects of the Crusades
• Weakened the Pope and nobles – strengthened monarchs/kings
• Stimulated trade throughout the Mediterranean area and the Middle
East
• Left a legacy of bitterness among Christians, Jews, and Muslims
• Weakened the Byzantine Empire

23. Other European Conflicts
• In 1453 the Ottoman Turks conquer Constantinople,
ending the Byzantine Empire
• Ottoman Turks establish the Ottoman Empire with
Istanbul as their capital
• The Hagia Sophia is converted from a Christian Church
to a Muslim mosque
• Mongol armies invade Russia, Southwest Asia, and
China, creating an empire and destroying cities and
countryside
Black Death
• In the fourteenth century (1300s), the Bubonic Plague
(Black Death) decimated the population of much of
Asia and then the population of Europe. It was caused
by a bacteria in infected fleas carried by rats. It began
in Asia and spread to Europe via trade routes. The
plague spread quickly due to unsanitary conditions.

24. • How did the Plague Impact Europe?
• Decline in population
• Scarcity of labor which helped to end
Feudalism
• Disruption of trade
• Decline of church influence

25. • Increased trade and awareness of the Middle
East occurred after the Crusades. Muslim and
Byzantine scholars preserved Greek, Roman, and
Arabic texts, including writings on philosophy,
medicine, science, government, and law.
• Working in monasteries, church scholars
translated documents from Greek and Arabic into
Latin, thereby further preserving and transferring
Greek, Roman, and Arabic culture to Western
Europe. Laid the foundations for the rise of
universities in Europe and ensured that
Renaissance