Transcript Medieval Times - Texarkana Independent School District

The Middle
Ages
Crusades

Holy war
– Had to be sanctioned by the pope
– Conducted against enemies of Christianity
– pilgrimage to Jerusalem (the Holy Land)

Most single important series of events in
the Middle Ages
http:/historymedren.about.com
Events that lead to the Crusades

Turks (who were also Muslim)
– Conquered the Holy Lands
 Jerusalem and surrounding territory
– Mistreated Christians
– Threatened the Byzantine Empire
Crusades Begin

1096
– Christians launch First Crusade
– Emperor sought help from Pope
 Pope Urban II incited Christian knights
 “God wills it!” cry of the assembly

1099
– Christian knights captured Jerusalem
European Crusades

Mounted crusade against other Muslim
– Especially in North Africa
– Muslim armies
 Overran the crusader states
 1291 captured last Christian outpost
– Massacred defeated enemies – Christians
Spanish Reconquista

Reconquista
– Campaign to drive Muslims out of Spain
– 1469 Isabella married Ferdinand


Combined forces
Pushed against Muslim’s stronghold in Granada
– 1492 Granda fell

Reconquista completed
Effects of European Crusades

Left bitter legacy of religious hatred
behind them
– Turned their religious fury against Jews
– Failed to conquer Holy Land
– War helped quicken changes
– Increased trade
– Encouraged growth of a money economy
– Helped increase power of feudal monarchs
European Horizons Expanded

Began to explore far off places
– 1271 - Marco Polo
 Traveled to China
 Called “prince of liars”
European Social Make-over

Education
– Began in churches
 By 1100’s became universities
– First universities in Italy
– No permanent buildings
– Women were not allowed to attend

Literature
– Vernacular
 Everyday language of ordinary people
– Famous works
 Dante’s Divine Comedy
 Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales
Architectural and Art
Achievements

Romanesque
– Solid stone
– No windows

Gothic
– Stone supports stood outside the church
– Higher walls
– Stained-glass windows

Illumination
– Artistic decoration of books
Tragedy strikes

Mid-1300’s
– Crop failures
 Brought famine and starvation
– Plague (Black Death)
 Bubonic plague (a disease spread by fleas and
rats)
 Spread from Asia to the Middle East
 No way to stop the disease
 Workers, employers died, production declined
Make-over in the 1400’s

Europe recovered from the Black Death
– Population expanded
– Manufacturing grew
 Increased trade

Italian cities
– Became centers of shipping

Goods exchange
– Europe - cloth
– Middle East – spices, sugar and cotton

Set stage for further changes