Transcript Chapter 1, Section 4

Review for Chapter 1, Section 4
Quiz
Chapter 1, Section 4
IV. European Societies Around
1492
IV. European Societies Around 1492
A. European societies- arranged by hierarchy
1. monarchs and nobles
2. merchants and artisans
3. peasants
*life centered on nuclear family
For centuries the Bacillus Yesinia Pestis, the bacteria associated with
the plague, lived comfortably within the confines of the blood stream
of the medieval wild black rat and the stomachs of adult rat fleas.
For centuries, human populations were left untouched. The disease
spreads primarily through the bite of these fleas. Rats are merely the
vehicle for transporting the fleas from one area to another. Rats, like
humans, eventually contract the disease and die. This forces
diseased fleas to seek yet another warm-blooded mammal upon
which to survive.
Despite the fact that the habitats of wild rats and humans rarely
crossed paths and that rat fleas seldom found the blood of humans
to be an enjoyable meal, people were occasionally the victims when
no other warm-blooded mammals were available.
After a flea bites an infected rat and drinks blood with Yesinia Pestis,
the bacteria begins to multiply in the flea's stomach. Once its gut
becomes full of the bacteria, the flea must regurgitate some into a
victim to make room for food in its stomach. It is at this point that the
victim is infected. Here is a diagram explaining the process:
"Doktor Schnabel von Rom" (English: "Doctor Beak from Rome") engraving by Paul
Fürst (after J Columbina). The beak is a primitive gas mask, stuffed with substances
thought to ward off the plague.
The living lost all sense of morality and justice, and a new attitude toward the church emerged.
Medieval people could find no Divine reason for the plague, and dissatisfaction with the church
gave way to reform movements that eventually broke apart the unity of the Catholic Church.
Priests and elderly scholars, the holders of knowledge, died in unprecedented numbers. Into the
vacuum left by the dead clergy and teachers flowed new ideas, and the revolutionary use of the
vernacular to communicate these ideas allowed the common person to become educated. After
the plague, concern for the survival of learning drove the founding of new universities across
Europe. Only five years after the plague, England created three new colleges at Cambridge. It
has been said that the Black Plague anticipated the onset of the Renaissance and the rise of
humanism.
For those living in the years directly after the plague, the nightmare was over; but, getting on with
the business of life in a new world remained painful and difficult. No longer were the mysteries of
life easily explained, and the reality of death was all too plain. Several groups developed radically
different ideas and displayed them very graphically during and after the plague. One such group
is the Flagellants.
The Brotherhood of the Flagellants, as the movement was called, originated in Eastern Europe. It
was in Germany, however, that the Flagellant movement really took root. Traveling from village to
village, groups of chanting men performed their unique religious rituals for the townspeople. They
carried heavy whips with several leather tails. In each tail was a metal stud. With these whips the
Flagellants rhythmically and purposefully beat themselves. Some beatings were so severe that
the metal studs became embedded in the flesh and blood splattered the crowd. The Flagellants
believed that this type of behavior would save those of the Brotherhood from the fires of Hell.
B. Roman Catholic Church- central
role in people’s lives
1. 1096- 1270 The Crusades
*impact- increased trade, Asian
influence
2. 1500s- The Reformation- call for changes
in the Catholic Church.
Broke the Church into several different
churches
C. Changes Come to Europe
1. Economic expansion and reasons
2. Business- joint-stock company
3. Population increase- city growth
4. Monarchs gain strength, nobles grow
weak
* Renaissance- rebirth of learning and
culture
D. Europe Enters a New Age of Expansion
1. Art of mapmaking inspires Europeans to
explore
a. new routes to Asia
b. better ships
c. improved navigation
2. Portugal – Prince Henry the Navigator
IV. European Societies Around 1492
A. European societies- arranged by hierarchy
1. monarchs and nobles
2. merchants and artisans
3. peasants
*life centered on nuclear family
B. Roman Catholic Church- central role in people’s lives
1. 1096- 1270 The Crusades
*impact- increased trade, Asian influence
2. 1500s- The Reformation- call for changes in the Catholic
Church. Broke the Church into several different churches
C. Changes Come to Europe
1. Economic expansion and reasons
2. Business- joint-stock company
3. Population increase- city growth
4. Monarchs gain strength, nobles grow weak
* Renaissance- rebirth of learning and culture
D. Europe Enters a New Age of Expansion
1. Art of mapmaking inspires Europeans to explore
a. new routes to Asia
b. better ships
c. improved navigation
2. Portugal – Prince Henry the Navigator
Essay- Chapter 1
Discuss how Columbus’s voyage to the
Americas affected the Native Americans,
Africans, and Europeans. Provide specific
examples for each one.