Part Nine IX › Division II II › Section 923 923

Western Christendom in the High and Later Middle Ages

Subject Outline

AThe medieval western European revival and the economy, society, and culture of Western Christendom in the High Middle Ages
- 1Society, economy, and culture
  - aWestern European society in the High Middle Ages: the three social orders (priests and monks; warriors; peasants and labourers); the feudal nobility; the bourgeoisie; the status of women
  - bGrowth of agricultural productivity and population: revival of a money economy, manufacturing, and the commercial effects of the Crusades; revival of towns and population movements
  - cTechnological inventions and improvements
  - dThe church in medieval society: growth of papal hegemony, reform movements (eremitism, Cistercians, mendicant orders), ecumenical councils, emergence of the laity, struggle against heretics (Inquisition from 1233), role of religion in medieval society
  - eThe culture of the High Middle Ages
    - iEstablishment of schools and universities
    - iiThe intellectual revival of the 11th and 12th centuries, Scholasticism, developments in philosophy and theology
    - iiiThe arts: Latin and vernacular literature, Romanesque and Gothic visual arts, music, theatre, the decorative arts
  - fThe status of Jews in medieval society and their economic role, persecutions, and migrations
  - gPolitical institutions and ideas
    - iThe two major powers, the Empire and the papacy; the relations between temporal and spiritual power
    - iiKingship as the ideal Christian form of government: its relationship to sacrality and to the growing bureacracy; the three main forms of government inherited from antiquity: monarchy, oligarchy, tyranny
    - iiiThe city-state (Italy)
- 2The Holy Roman Empire, the papacy, and Italy from c. 1050 to c. 1300
  - aThe empire, the papacy, and Italy in the era of the Investiture Controversy
    - iChurch reform in the 10th and 11th centuries and the clash between the papacy and the emperors over lay investiture (at its height between the emperor Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII): the resulting incipient decline of German monarchical authority under the Salian emperors
    - iiThe Norman conquest of southern Italy and Sicily and establishment of a strong monarchy: relations with the papacy, Venice, and the Byzantine Empire
    - iiiThe growth of communes in northern Italy, the status of German imperial power, the political role of the papacy in Italy, the commercial expansion of Italian cities (e.g., Genoa, Pisa), continued growth of Venetian maritime power
  - bThe empire under the Hohenstaufen dynasty and after its extinction to c. 1300, the papacy and Italy
    - iSteady inroads of the German princes into German monarchical authority: colonization of Slavic territory, development of commercial centres (e.g., Lübeck), the reign of Frederick I Barbarossa and Frederick II, extinction of the Hohenstaufen dynasty and the Great Interregnum (1250-73), the election and reign of Rudolf of Habsburg
    - iiThe Kingdom of Sicily: centralized government, ethnic mixture, Palermo, control by the Hohenstaufens (1194-1266), the Angevin conquest and expulsion (1282), the advent of Aragonese control
    - iiiThe decline of German imperial control in northern Italy and the continued development of the communes (e.g., Milan, Pisa, Florence, Siena): their internal and external conflicts
    - ivContinued commercial expansion of Italian cities: Venetian expansion in the Levant and aid to the Normans in the conquest of Byzantium (1204), commercial inroads into the Levantine trade by Genoa and Pisa
- 3The growth of the Kingdom of France under the later Capetian dynasty (1180-1328), the Low Countries
  - aGrowth of the power of the French kings and extension of the territory under their control
    - iPhilip II Augustus (1180-1223): acquisition of territory and consolidation of the realm, royal administration, feudal policies
    - iiLouis VIII (1223-26) and Louis IX (1226-70): institution of the granting of appanages to younger sons of kings, the Albigensian Crusade, rise of bureaucracy, attitudes toward the clergy and the lay nobility; Louis's efforts for peace, justice, and morality; his canonization in 1297
    - iiiThe later Capetians: Philip IV the Fair (1285-1314), claims of the monarchy, beginnings of the States General, conflict with Boniface VIII, suppression of the Templars
    - ivForeign relations: conflict with the Holy Roman Empire under Philip II, the religious crusades of Louis IX, the wars of Philip IV
    - vEconomy, society, and culture in the 13th century: increase in population, growth of towns and urban prosperity, rural life, religion, culture and learning
  - bThe Low Countries: development of the territorial principalities and the rise of towns; e.g., Ghent, Bruges
    - iSecular and spiritual principalities
    - iiStruggle for independence, French and British influence
    - iiiSocial and economic structure
- 4The Spanish Christian kingdoms of Castile and Leon, Aragon (including Barcelona and Catalonia), Portugal, and Navarre (1035-c. 1260): their expansion into Muslim territory, their mutual rivalries, their ethnic-cultural mixtures, and their internal political development; the role of the church
  - aThe medieval empire (1035-1157): the division of the kingdoms and the emergence of Portugal as an independent state
  - bThe rise of Castile and Aragon and the expulsion of the Muslims, led especially by the rulers of Aragon (James I, 1213-76) and Castile (Ferdinand III, 1217-52)
  - cSociety, economy, and culture: administration of the Spanish kingdoms; development of feudalism, growth of towns, and appearance of trade and industry; establishment of the Cortes; foundation of the universities of Valencia and Salamanca
- 5The Kingdom of England and its continental dependencies from the Norman Conquest to the death of Edward I; Scotland, Wales, and Ireland (1066-1307)
  - aThe Norman Conquest: introduction of feudalism and the development of royal administration under William I the Conqueror (1066-87) and his immediate successors
    - iChurch-state relations and the place of the clergy in the feudal structure, the Domesday survey
    - iiStrengthening of central government under William's successors: relations with the church in their reigns
    - iiiThe period of the Anarchy (1135-54): Matilda and Stephen, civil war
  - bThe early Plantagenets
    - iThe reign of Henry II (1154-89): military and administrative reforms, Henry's conflict with the church and the struggle with Becket, the rebellions of Henry's sons
    - iiRichard I (1189-99): administration in Richard's absence, the Saladin Tithe, attempts to establish a standing army
    - iiiThe reign of John (1199-1216): loss of French possessions, John's conflict with Innocent III, the revolt of the barons and Magna Carta
    - ivHenry III (1216-72) and Edward I (1272-1307): Simon de Montfort and the Barons' War; Edward's restoration of royal power and his legal, administrative, and military policies; the growth of Parliament, development of Oxford and Cambridge universities
  - cScotland, Wales, and Ireland: relations between the Kingdom of Scotland and the English crown, the extent of English control in Wales and Ireland
    - iThe unification of Scotland and the development of the monarchy
    - iiNorman infiltration in Wales, the three kingdoms, internal conflicts and the Edwardian settlement
    - iiiIreland: the Anglo-Norman invasion and its effects, establishment of the Irish Parliament
- 6Scandinavia (c. 1050-c. 1300): establishment of the kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden
  - aThe trend toward unity and strong monarchy: political developments in the three kingdoms
  - bExpansion into Finland, Iceland, and Greenland: introduction of feudalism, economic developments and influence of the Hanseatic League, society
- 7The Slavic and Magyar states of Western Christendom (c. 1050-c. 1300)
  - aPoland: the reigns of Boleslaw II (1058-79) and Boleslaw III (1102-38), the division of Poland between Boleslaw III's sons, the seniority system, territorial losses, the early role of the Teutonic Order in eastern Europe, internal developments
  - bBohemia under the later Premysl rulers (1055-1306): struggles within the ruling family, privileges secured from the Holy Roman emperor, territorial expansion, losses to Rudolf of Habsburg
    - iGerman interference in Bohemia: attacks upon the position of the Prague princes by Frederick I Barbarossa, the Golden Bull of Sicily (1212)
    - iiPolitical and economic growth: German immigration, founding of urban communities, expansion under Otakar II (1253-78) into Austria, silver mining and coinage
  - cHungary: the early kings, expansion into Transylvania and Dalmatia, the nobility, Golden Bull (1222), Mongol invasion (1241), extinction of the Arpad dynasty in 1301 The decline of medieval European political institutions, economy, and culture and the incipient transition to the modern age (c. 1300-c. 1500)
- 1The culture of the late Middle Ages in western Europe
  - aThe early Renaissance in Italy: historiographic problems, the contribution of the city-states, developments in literature and the fine arts
    - iRevival of Greek studies and the formation of Classical libraries in Italy: Humanism, relationship of Humanism to Christianity
    - iiNew concepts and techniques in painting, sculpture, and architecture: patronage of the arts by the papacy
  - bThe late Gothic style in northern Europe
  - cLate medieval intellectual developments: political theory, law, and the decline of ideals of imperial unity and papal supremacy; the rising power of national monarchies; decline of Scholasticism; science; witchcraft
- 2Late medieval society and economy
  - aThe exaggeration of chivalry and declining importance of the feudal nobility in the face of changing military technology and organization: growing influence of the bourgeoisie, growth of royal government
  - bGradual inflation and continued development of capitalism: peasant revolts; economic, social, and political effects of the Black Death (1347-50) and subsequent epidemics of the plague; development of a great maritime trade between the North Sea and the Mediterranean; progress of enclosures; recovery of the population and economy after the middle of the 15th century
- 3The church in the later Middle Ages: papal monarchy and taxation, the Avignon papacy (1309-77) and the Great Schism (1378-1417), the conciliar movement and other reform movements with regard to the church, mysticism
- 4Germany, Bohemia, and the Swiss Confederation (c. 1300-c. 1500)
  - aLimitations on the imperial office and the continued ascendancy of the princes in Germany: internal strife between the cities and the princes, the Habsburg and Luxemburg emperors, the division of the Habsburg lands and the enhancement of Habsburg power and influence in Europe by 1500
    - iDevelopment of the individual states
    - iiSociety, economy, and culture in the 14th and 15th centuries
  - bBohemia in the later Middle Ages: political and religious developments
    - iThe Luxemburg dynasty (1310-1437): territorial expansion under Charles I, growth of the city of Prague, Wenceslas IV
    - iiBeginning of the religious reform movement (c. 1360): the Chapel Bethlehem's preachers, the activities of Jan Hus and his execution at the Council of Constance (1415)
    - iiiThe struggle between Sigismund and the Hussites: the Four Articles of Prague, Zizka's leadership of the Hussites, the Hussite preponderance (1437-71), George of Podebrady
    - ivThe Jagiellon kings (1471-1526): the decline of royal authority, growth of power of the first two estates
  - cEarly Swiss history, development of the Swiss Confederation after 1291, struggle against the Habsburgs, the French invasion and the Peace of Constance ( 1446)
- 5Italy in the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance
  - aSocial and political developments in the period 1300-1400: withdrawal of imperial and papal authority, Italian society, the crises of the 14th century (e.g., the Black Death, economic decline, urban unrest)
  - bThe Italian states in the 14th century: forms of rule, use of mercenaries, cultural developments
    - iMilan: the Visconti family, rule at home, expansion in northern Italy, Visconti attitudes toward the state
    - iiFlorence: republicanism, the cloth industry, banking, movement into the city from the countryside, plots against the republic
    - iiiVenice: republican institutions, economic prosperity and commercial empire
    - ivThe Papal States: their locations and proprietors, breakdown of papal control during the Avignon papacy and the Great Schism (1378-1417)
    - vNaples, Sicily, and the other Italian states (e.g., Angevin rule in Naples until its union with Sicily in 1442 under Alfonso V of Aragon); Savoy; Genoa; Verona
  - cThe Italian states in the 15th century: expansion of the major Italian powers, Italy as a political system, cultural developments
    - iThe crisis of Florentine republicanism: the threat from Gian Galeazzo Visconti of Milan and his successors, Florentine historiography, rule by the Medici
    - iiThe Papal States: papal policy to strengthen its position, reliance of the popes on their relatives to control the domains
    - iiiDespotisms: Alfonso I (Alfonso V of Aragon) in Naples and Sicily and division of the territory on his death in 1458, the Sforza in Milan
    - ivVenice: the stability of Venetian life, increased interests in activities on the Italian peninsula
- 6France and the Low Countries (c. 1300-c. 1500)
  - aThe period of the Hundred Years' War: the stages of the war, the role of the French kings in the conflict, the war's significance
    - iRemote and proximate causes of the war: the problem of English lands in France, the problem of the French succession, the Flemish revolt
    - iiFrom the outbreak of the war (1337) to the Treaty of Bretigny (1360): the reign of Philip VI (1328-50), the Crecy campaign and its aftermath (1346-54), negotiations during John II the Good's captivity (1356-60), burgeoning power of the estates and revolt of the peasants; the Parisian revolt and the bourgeois leader Etienne Marcel (1358)
    - iiiFrom the Treaty of Bretigny (1360) to the accession of Henry V of England (1413): Charles V (1364-80), the dispute over Flanders, temporary peace, Charles VI ( 1380-- 1422), struggle between Burgundians and Armagnacs
    - ivFrom the accession of Henry V (1413) to the siege of Orleans (1428-29): Charles VII (1422-61); France divided between the dauphin Charles, Philip the Good of Burgundy, and Henry V of England
    - vRecovery and reunification (1429-83) and the expulsion of the English: Joan of Arc and the stirring of French national feeling, reconquest of Maine and Normandy, conquest of Guyenne (1453), final settlement at Picquigny (1475)
  - bAdministrative and military reforms and the strengthening of royal power vis-a-vis the nobility and towns under Charles VII (1422-61) and Louis XI (1461-83): foreign, fiscal, and ecclesiastical policies; social and cultural developments; the States General (1484) and the failure of representative monarchy
  - cThe Low Countries: continued growth of towns, industry, and commerce, with attendant class conflicts and interference by the French monarchy; unification under the House of Burgundy; Burgundian administration
- 7England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland (c. 1307-c. 1500)
  - aRoyal decline under the later Plantagenets and the struggle for the crown between the Lancastrians and Yorkists
    - iRoyal decline under Edward II (1307-27) and its restoration under Edward III (1327-77): the Hundred Years' War, domestic achievements, the crises of Edward III's later reign
    - iiRichard II (1377-99): the Peasants' Revolt (1381), the influence of John Wycliffe, later political struggles and Richard's deposition
    - iiiHenry IV (1399-1413), Henry V (1413-22), and Henry VI (1422-61 and 1470-71): rebellions under Henry IV and his relations with Parliament, domestic rivalries and the loss of France under Henry VI, Cade's rebellion and the Wars of the Roses
    - ivThe reigns of Edward IV (1461-70 and 1471-83) and Richard III (1483-85): England in the late Middle Ages
  - bScotland: the wars of independence, relations with the English crown, Bruces and Stewarts, Scotland in the 15th century
  - cEstablishment of English suzerainty over Wales, fluctuating English influence in Ireland and the rise to power of the earls of Kildare
- 8Spain and Portugal (c, 1300-c. 1500)
  - aCastile and Leon: continued pressure on the Muslims under Alfonso XI (1312-50), increasing power of the Cortes, development of the woolen industry, literary achievements
  - bThe Aragon Confederation (Aragon, Catalonia, and Valencia): acquisition of Sicily (1282) and growth of Aragon as a Mediterranean power; the Cortes, law, and administration; acquisition of the Kingdom of Naples (1442) under Alfonso V (1416-58)
  - cCreation of a united Spain and expansion of Spanish dominance in the early Age of Discovery
    - iThe union of Aragon and Castile-Leon under Ferdinand and Isabella: strengthening of their positions vis-a-vis the nobility, the Inquisition and the treatment of Jews, conquest of Granada (1492) and acquisition of Naples (1503)
    - iiSpanish explorations and territorial acquisitions: colonial policy in the New World, the Atlantic trade
  - dPortugal: development of the monarchy under the House of Avis (1383-1580); alliance with England; consolidation of the monarchy and establishment of its overseas empire under John I (1385-1433), Prince Henry the Navigator, and Manuel I (1495-1521)
- 9The Scandinavian kingdoms (c. 1300-c. 1500)
  - aDevelopments in the 14th century leading to the formation of the Kalmar Union (1397- 1523), Scandinavia under the union
  - bDevelopments in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden during the union: decline of Norway and rise of Sweden
- 10Hungary, Poland-Lithuania, and the Teutonic Order
  - aHungary under foreign kings: foreign affairs, economy, and society under the Angevins and Sigismund; the reign of Matthias Corvinus (1458-90)
  - bPoland-Lithuania, the Teutonic Order, and the Baltic peoples
    - iThe Mongol invasions (1241-42) and reestablishment of the Kingdom of Poland (1253-1382): Wladyslaw I and the struggle with the Teutonic Order; Casimir III and Louis I of Hungary; social classes, the church, and policies toward the Jews