Medieval Turmoil and Transformations: From Crisis to Renaissance - Free Essay Sample

Introduction

The late medieval situation was the most turbulent, exciting as well as transformative era in European history. Marked by a series of events that took place in the 14th and 15th centuries. These events altered the stability of Europe. The crisis caused radical changes in all sectors of society; there was political instability, demographic collapse, and religious upheavals. The medieval turmoil started with the great famine in 1315-1317, the collapse of the banking houses, and the black death that took place between 1347-1351. As a result, the population of Europe was reduced by half. Besides, civil wars arose in medieval Europe that led to severe consequences. Internal conflicts were also evident between the King of France and England. Consequently, the Hundred Years of War arose. Western schism led to the collapse of the roman catholic church. After the Great Interregnum 1247-1273, the Holy Roman Empire began to decline, and it lost its cohesion. Historians consider these disasters as a dramatic sign of the end of the age. They believed that the collapse of the medieval age led to the Renaissance period.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

The 14th and 15th-century crises reveal not only the downfall of Europe but also a remarkable era or Renaissance that began after that. The situation experienced during this time acted as an eye-opener to the new season. It marked the end of the Middle Ages. The process of rural-urban migration that took place in the 14th century was affected by pandemics, famine, and War. Nevertheless, the resources that had been created during this migration survived the crisis. First, the cities began to be populated, and the resiliency of Europe helped in its recovery from the tremendous Medieval crisis. The comeback continued from the 16th up to the 17th century.

The social-cultural effects of the 100 Years' War.

The hundred years' War began in 1337 and continued up to 1453. This series of conflicts were between the House of Valois of France and the House of Plantagenet of England. The War causes some advance effects on society. Nevertheless, the War acted as a catalyst to transform England from the Middle Ages period to the era of the Renaissance. The War led to the destruction of the feudal order. Besides, the War reared its successor. The clash between the French and England brought about the conception of nationalism and international policy. The War had both immediate and long-lasting effects. Many people succumbed to death, and there was massive destruction of property.

Furthermore, the War left England bankrupt and made the French triumph over its enemy (England). Divisions were created between the two countries for their nobles had some consequences for the next monarch that came into authority (Whittington, 2016). Furthermore, trade was affected in a significant way, while peasants were subjected to high taxation. As a result, there was rebellion over the states. Nevertheless, offices to regulate tax came up, and there was more professionalism in the diplomacy of other nations.

The hostilities led to the rise of iconic leaders. For instance, Jeanne d'Arc of France (1412-1431 CE) and Henry V (1413-1422 CE) in England. There was a high number of deaths, especially in France of the nobilities. Besides, the conflicts over the conduct of the War and its decline acted as a catalyst to the War of Roses. This was a dynastic conflict that affected the two countries in a big way. Furthermore, there was technological advancement in making weapons for War. For instance, the canons were developed to help in the fight (Cartwright, 2020). Each side strived to make better weapons to defeat their enemy. As a result, better weapons, fortifications, and more strategies for War came up. Also, the armies began to fight more professionally. When the War came to an end, Charles VII came up with a permanent army for France. While the English troops used the Archers for War, they triumphed over their enemy and this led to the decline of the use of heavy cavalry. Gun powders were also utilized by the English soldiers but they did not bear any fruits. On the other hand, the French used the canons that were handheld, and it gave them a lot of victories. Therefore, the 100-year wars led to the advancement of technology in the processing of new weapons.

The most lasting impact of the War was patriotism and a rise in the sense of national identity; particularly in England. Patriotism became widespread because of the publicity that was done to get taxes for the War. The English people were patriotic to their nation because they rendered their taxes to their government. Earlier on in France, taxes were collected occasionally. However, during the post-war, the collection of taxes became a regular activity. The exercise helped the government to finance its armies so that they would remain strong in the War. The taxes assisted in purchasing instruments of War like gunpowder that strengthened the armed forces (Wilde, 2019). On the contrary, England had a more organized structure for collecting taxes compared to the French. The English people were more accountable to their state government. Nevertheless, government revenues declined in a big way because of the War. Citizens lost their property and wealth. Especially the wealthy regions like Aquitaine and Normandy were lost due to the War. After the War, some people from England became very wealthy because of the wealth they had acquired from the War with then France. While the war between France and England lasted for one hundred years, the War brought some adverse effects to both nations. However, the War promoted a sense of identity and boosted patriotism.

The impact of Jeanne d'Arc in the War

Jeanne d'Arc was a French farmer who led the troops in France against their enemy(England) in the 100 Years of War. Joan of Arc was born in 1412 in France. Joan experienced a reasonably normal childhood and was illiterate. As she grew older, her life changed, and she began to gain interest in spearheading the War against their enemies. She started to have visions from angels. She later consulted counsel from saints and angels who helped her in interpreting her visions. Later, her visions made her help the kings in the War against England. During the War, King Edward of England claimed that he ought to inherit the throne because his father had died earlier on. Nevertheless, his cousin had taken over the rulership and became the French King. Philip France started attacking the territories of Edward in England, and this brought about conflicts between them.

When the War started, England had taken dominion over France. The situation did not last for a long time until Jeanne joined in the fight. France began to triumph over England. In 1429, during the attest of the high-ranking clergy of the catholic faith, Joan was able to convince the King to allow her to join the army in Orleans (Ruiz, 2013). She even dressed in men's attire, ready for battle. She spearheaded the battle by reorganizing the troops. She encouraged the army to go to church and confess before going to War. Besides, she discouraged the looting as well as the harassment of the citizens in the locality. When Joan took over the troops, she led to their victories against the English people. She was aggressive in her strategies against the enemy.

When the French attacked the English people in a church at Saint-Loup, Joan encouraged the troops to carry a French banner rather than using weapons. She risked her life because she preferred to lead the troops in the War without using the weapons. When the church was all under their control, the French armies went on to raid other strongholds of England. They conquered the Monastery called Bastille des Augustin which was the focal point of the English stronghold in the south. Moreover, they also took over the Les Tourelle stronghold of the Englishmen. These French troops overpowered the people of England, and they abandoned the posts. After the victory of France, they went on to take and conquer other areas under the Englishman. Joan was then forced behind all these victories.

Jeanne d'Arc led the Battle at Patay. The French army attacked the English relief force and took hold of Paris. However, in the fight, Joan was wounded, and after that, she had to sign a truce to maintain peace. She signed with the Duke of Burgundy and agreed to maintain peace with the England territories. In a nutshell, Jeanne contributed significantly to the success of France against England. She led France into triumphing over their enemy.

Nevertheless, at the end of Truce, she received another vision that concerned her imprisonment. She predicted her captivity after defending a town against attack by the people of England. Her vision came true when she was captured in 1430. Jeanne d'Arc was ransomed to the people of England.

The rural-urban uprising in the 14th century.

The 14th century is known for the revolts that took place in Europe. During this time, the peasants led the rebellion against the nobbles. Even though the uprising was not only for the peasants, the revolts were a widespread phenomenon in Europe. The revolution paved the way for the expansion of the Ottoman Empire. Most of the upheavals were an expression of a wish to share wealth and status with the more fortunate in society.

Nevertheless, at the end of the uproar, the peasants were almost defeated by the nobility class (Troyes, 2004). As a result, there was a new and negative perception that came along with the peasants; they were viewed as low and evil people by the wealthy. The main reasons for the uprising were the increased gap between the wealthy and the poor. Besides, the decreasing income of the peasants, religious backlashes, the rise in taxation and inflation rates, and the existence of famine, Plague, and War. Consequently, there was social stratification in society at this time in history. The earlier times, the community was divided into three classes; the working class, the people who pray, ed and the soldiers. Peasant was regarded as the people close to God. However, after the uprising in the 14th century, this order changed, and the peasants were considered to be poor and bad people in society. In a nutshell, the rural-urban uprising in the 14th century was caused by several factors and it caused bitter divisions in the community of Europe.

The expansion of Vikings

Since A.D 800 up to the 11th century, many Scandinavians abandoned their homeland in search of fortune. The seafaring soldiers were referred to as the Vikings or the Norsemen. They started to attack the coastal regions. Particularly the monasteries that were not defended by the Isles of Britain. In the following three centuries, they left their marks as traders, raiders, pirates as well, and settlers on the European continent and the modern parts of Russia. These strange invaders lacked respect for religious institutions. They raided the monasteries that were near the shore. After two years, the Vikings raided the Skye and Iona Monasteries and recorded their first attack in Europe in 799. In a nutshell, for several years, the Vikings were involved in hit-and-run invasions against the coastal regions of the British Isles.

References

Cartwright, M. (2020, March 06). The Hundred Years' War: Consequences & Effects. Retrieved December 08, 2020, from Ancient History Encyclopaedia.

Ruiz, R. W. (2013). Medieval Europe and the World. Oxford University Press.