Three Major Causes of the Decline of Medieval Europe

• Political Development in England

• Disease: Black Death

• Military Conflict and Advances

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Political Developments in England

• Henry II made legal reforms with juries and trials, strengthening royal courts over feudal lords.

• Henry II clashed with the Church over trying clergy in royal courts; Archbishop Thomas Becket was killed in 1170.

• King John was forced to sign the Magna Carta in 1215, limiting royal power and protecting certain rights.

• Edward I created the Model Parliament in 1295, including commoners in government.

• These changes weakened feudalism and helped build ideas of law, rights, and representative government.

• In the 14th century, the plague began in Central Asia, spread throughout Europe, Asia, and North Africa

• ​The term the black Death probably came from black spots that appeared on the skin of many of the victims.

• The bacteria that caused the plague were spread by fleas carried by rats.

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The Bubonic Plague

Impact of the Bubonic Plague

1. Plague kills about a third of the European population

2. Need for workers, allowed workers to demand more rights and pay, and peasanta revolt

3. Feudal obligiations end peasants flee to cities

The Hundred Year's War

• The war began when the king of France challenged England's claim to French fiefs.

• The English army relied on archers armed with longbows. Arrows fired from longbows flew farther, faster, and more accurately than those fired from French crossbows

Joan of Arc

• Joan was a 17-year-old peasant girl who claimed she heard voices urging her to save France

• She led the French army to victories in battle and helped turn the tide in the war. Her actions inspired many French people to feel more nationalistic and patriotic

• She was burned at the stake as a heretic

• Technological advances (cannons, guns, harquebuses, longbows) ended the usefulness of knights and castles

• Kings rely on large armies

• Nationalism shifted power away from lords to monarchs

• Commoners were needed as soldiers and workers, which gained them greater influence and power

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​Impact of the Hundred Years' War