Transcript Raiders, Traders and Crusaders: Western Europe After the Fall of

Feudalism
Characteristics
Nobles
Obligations
•Military
Peasants Monks/Nuns
Service to
Lord
Rights and Benefits
• Protection
by Lord
Lives
• Life of Religious
Service
The Crusades
 1050s – Muslims invade
Byzantine Empire. Extend
power over Palestine to the
Holy Land
 1095 – Byzantine Emperor
Alexius I asks Pope Urban
for help in ridding his
empire of Muslim invaders.
 Pope Urban agrees to help.
Hopes to consolidate his
own power, end schism
between Rome and
Constantinople and keep
Christian knights from
fighting one another.
The First Crusade
 Christian Kingdoms like England,
France, and the Holy Roman Empire
send knights to Jerusalem
 Stop and sack many Orthodox Christian
towns on the way
 1099 – Christian knights capture
Jerusalem, slaughter the inhabitants
 1187 – Muslim soldiers under Saladin
recapture Jerusalem.
The Second and Third Crusades
 After a period of peace, Catholic priests
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call for another crusade
Fail
So they try again, with Richard the Lion
Heart leading
Run out of food and water
Fail
The Fourth Crusade
 Plan to invade
Holy Land
through Egypt
 Instead they
stop at
Constantinople
and sack the
city
The Children's’ Crusade
 Boy claims to
have been
visited by Jesus,
says he is to lead
a crusade to
peacefully
convert Muslims
 20,000 boys and
girls follow
 Fail
Effects of the Crusades on
Europe
 Economic expansion –
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increased trade
Increased power of the
monarchs.
Wider world view
Europe receives the
scholarship and learning
of the Muslim empire
Begins the Renaissance
(Rebirth)
The Final Invader –
The Black Death
The Black Death was one of the worst natural
disasters in history. In 1347 A.D., a great
plague swept over Europe, ravaged cities
causing widespread hysteria and death. One
third of the population of Europe died. "The
impact upon the future of England was greater
than upon any other European country."
(Cartwright, 1991) The primary culprits in
transmitting this disease were oriental rat fleas
carried on the back of black rats .
Frederick F. Cartwright, DISEASE AND HISTORY, Dorset Press, New York, 1991, p. 42.
The Final Invader –
The Spread of the Black Death
The Final Invader –
The Black Death
"The first signs of the
plague were lumps in
the groin or armpits.
After this, livid black
spots appeared on the
arms and thighs and
other parts of the body.
Few recovered. Almost
all died within three
days, usually without
any fever."
The Final Invader –
The Effects of the Black Death

In Medieval England, the Black Death was to kill 1.5
million people. No medical knowledge existed in
Medieval England to cope with the disease. After 1350, it
was to strike England another six times by the end of the
century.
Rise of Nation-States
 Nobles die on
Crusades
 Kings repossess the
land of nobles
 Kings’ power
increases
 Nation-states develop
100 Years War
 Normans invade
England in 1066
 Control both sides
of the English
Channel
 England continues
to conquer land to
solidify one transchanel kingdom
Joan of Arc
 Young woman hears
the voice of God
 Hears that she is to
lead the army against
England
 Inspires French
troops to kick the
English out
 Is captured by the
English and burned
as a witch
Decline of Feudalism
 People lose faith
due to black death
 Church loses
power
 Towns and cities
begin to develop a
middle class