Changes In Europe During The 14th Century

The breakdown of political order in Europe at the sacking of Rome meant that defense within Europe became a local affair, and the structure of feudalism meant that the peasantry was protected by the knighthood, and the knighthood supported by the labor of the peasantry. This politically anarchic system would slowly form into recognizable states that were defined by language and territorial boundaries. The political disunion of Europe into small feudal kingdoms first gave way to some form of a 'state' when in 800 AD Charlemagne of the Franks was crowned Holy Roman Emperor, restoring to some degree the consensus of order. (Camino de Santiago, 1991) The Vikings extended their pillages across Europe and destroyed countless lives in their pursuit of glory. Likewise, Muslim armies as well as Genghis Khan marched through Europe on voyages of conquest.

Changes are an important part of history, and a natural part of life. In the case of geography throughout history, the world has made many changes to its borders and who has grievances with one another. From the High Middle Ages of olden Europe, to the twentieth century, change has occurred. These changes have unified and broken ties between countries and regions time and time again throughout history. There are many forces that push toward and against unity throughout time. The world map became what is today because of both unity and division marking change in the past.

Change gives a more appropriate impression of the time than the optimistic word Renaissance. There were changes in faith, society, and the economy due to the massive loss of people. For faith, priests were unable to perform all their duties, such as hearing confessions and last rites, either from the overwhelming need for priests or from they themselves trying to avoid becoming sick. Socially, there was a moral leniency from the “cathartic release of emotions” from the plague (67). Attempts to stop this leniency failed and social constraints continued to loosen. Economically, the Black Death left a shortage of both consumers and producers, so wages went up and the price of goods went down, raising the

In the 1300's an Italian scholar named Petrarch came up with the name "Dark Age" to describe the time Europe was going through during the Middle Ages in 500AD-1500AD. Throughout the Middle Ages Europe was going through some rough times, but there were also moments of growth. For example the Black Death was a time of darkness but there were positive times like when universities were built. Although the dark ages were looked at as a negative occurrence, more events show a sign of growth.

Amongst the devastation and despair the Black Death left in its wake, it also brought with it some much-needed change to the way medieval Europeans were living. Although it ended many innocent lives, it also began a new era of social and economic living. In the years following the first outbreak of the plague, medical knowledge and awareness of hygiene dramatically improved, as did the living and working conditions of the workers. Other benefits included the rapid growth of Europe’s middle class and thus the fall of the feudal system, the loss of the church’s supreme authority, and the increase in economic power for medieval women.

After the Black Death, many farmers were killed off leaving the few left as a large pillar of the economy who thrived due to the supply and demand of their crops (Notes). Also the few peasants and people who were homeless before the plague were able to come back to their city, welcomed with many vacant houses that still had valuables and goods from the previous owner (Doc 1). Because of the better economy the manorial system was left behind as many of the serfs and laborers either demanded better pay or left for the many open jobs in towns

Serfs were blacksmiths, coopers, carpenters, blacksmiths, cooks, millers, and even stone masons. Therefore, without serfs, a noble and his land may as well be worth nothing. Undoubtedly, the plague was so destabilizing that Pieter Bruegel, the author of The End of a World wrote “... Recurrences of the plague about every decade for the next 150 years undercut the manorial system…” (Doc 1).

The Black Death speeded up the changes in medieval society that were already under way. The most immediate effect of the Black Death was a shortage of labor. Much land could no longer be cultivated. In response, the nobles refused to continue the long common practice of gradually eliminating serfdom by allowing the serfs to buy their freedom. Over the centuries it had been realized by some that free tenants were more productive than serfs, and this had led to a gradual breakdown in the use

Following the failed Mongol conquests of Central/Eastern Europe and the retreat of the foreign invaders back towards Asia, Europeans faced a whirlwind of illness, plague, and religious conflict on all social and political levels of society. Moreover these disasters and significant events faced throughout the 14th century pushed the medieval lives of peasants, and nobility towards different directions, due to a large mass of death, violence, and disagreements which eventually leads to a need for change and innovation for the rooted feudal system to survive within a changing environment. Nobility attempted to quell rebellion and a desire for change within the masses and for the large majority was rather successful in cementing the peasants role

           As previously mentioned, financial distinctions faded as a consequence of the plague. The peasant class benefited the most from the economy's sudden inflation, after the Black Death. Peasants found a new rise in wages due to the higher demand for workers. Serfs gained more freedom as they weren't "tied to

After the Black Death the peasant’s wages and work changed due to the deaths caused by the bubonic plague. The Black Death killed many people of all classes meaning a huge population decrease. The decrease in population caused a lack of workers. ‘Peasants could demand higher wages as they knew that the lord was desperate to get in his harvest’ (Trueman, 2015)explains that demand of workers grew meaning the lords would be desperate and try to provide to meet the peasants needs in order to find themselves a laborer to work their crops and land. This allowed peasants to have freedom of choice in their work and wages as they could choose who they worked for and were able to leave lords to find a nicer lord. The peasants were able to demand pay

Medieval Europe experienced plentiful change and continuity throughout its use of punishments. Medieval Europe punishments, experienced change throughout its laws. This is evident as the Roman and Greek laws use to state, ‘only slaves were allowed to be tortured’ (Nash, 2008-2018), after committing a crime, however these laws later changed, permitting any free man to be tortured and restrained for breaking the laws. Furthermore, in the early Middle Ages the Anglo-Saxons certified a system called ‘blood feud,’ permitting victims to punish their perpetrator. This allowed family members of murdered victims to locate and kill the murder, commonly resulting in more violence as victims wanted vengeance. This is why in the year 1000 ‘blood feud’ was

Eve Orbach 10H1 October 22nd Economic Change in Early Modern Europe The Early Modern Period of Europe was a time of vast change in the economy due to the Price Revolution, multiple wars and extremely high taxes, the Peasant Revolts, and the discovery of new lands during the Age of Exploration. During the Early Modern Period there were no classic examples of the average European citizen because of the unique religion, climate, population, etc, of each region. The one similarity that all Europeans shared was that they were all going through significant economic change (even though most of the Europeans were unaware of this).

The after effects of the black death created a complete revolution of Europe’s influential powers, where as most other cultures where less effected; this renovation was an essential factor in the dawn of the Renaissance. The Black Death and Great Famine in Europe ended the long clutch the Catholic Church held on people’s everyday lives. With this, there was a rise of values such as education, something the church had discouraged during the Middle Ages. This emergence, along with the founding of universities, sparked the countless new ideas and creativity of the Renaissance. Meanwhile, similar conditions did not occur elsewhere; no other area experienced extreme social upheaval during the middle ages. Many people, such as the Chinese and the

The nobility and the royalty in Europe were not as affected as everyone else in the cities. Most of the nobility moved away from the towns and cities to get away from the plague. Low income citizens would not be able to move away from the city, because of the cost and the money they need. During the Middle Ages, the commoners were never as educated as the nobility. The nobility pride themselves in knowing many languages, as well as; the arts, history, literature, and religion. Commoners usually did not have access to education compared to the nobility. The majority who survived the Black Plague were well educated people.