Step 4 of the Reading Exercise MEHAP book ch. 13

Prelude to Disaster

· Natural problems occurred, prohibiting the populace from creating enough food to provide for themselves

· The people, weakened by the shortage of food, gained illnesses, died, and consequently were unable to work.

· The decline of health, and population caused the citizens to find scapegoats, become greedy, and attack innocent people, which resulted in tumult, and general chaos.

The Black Death

· The Black Death arrived in Europe, causing many more deaths, population decline, and hatred.

· Since people were unable to find causes for the phenomenon, they blamed everything on rich people, and Jews, who had gold.

· The terrible toll the Black Death took on Europe not only damaged the physical and political structure of the entire continent, but changed the mood of the people negatively for years.

The Hundred Years’ War

· The war began as the King of England decided to claim some of France’s lands as his, and with the French barons supporting him.

· The war took place mainly in France, lasted around 110 years, and involved all classes of people, from nobles to poor serfs.

· The war took its toll on the countries via high taxes, shortage of workers, and the decline of the nobility.

The Decline of the Church’s Prestige

· The orientation of the Pope’s residence was highly inefficient, and caused Papal authority to decline, and left Rome impoverished.

· Two new Popes appeared, and had different views on how to go about fixing this problem. Their followers were nearly equal in number, and caused much unrest, which initiated the Great Schism.

· Many people thought that the church should be subordinate to the state; conflicts continued even after both Popes were deposed, and a new one elected.

The Life of the People

· Everyday life was disorganized, and boring. People could only marry once, and not out of love; life consisted of mainly only the church, and the farming.

· Crime was also widespread, as even nobles could not refrain from the “joy” of kidnap and torture.

· Finally, the terrible conditions of this lifestyle caught up with the people, who openly revolted against the inefficient governments.

Vernacular Literature

· As nations emerged out of the chaotic mess of Europe, they developed their own unique languages.

· Writers and poets were able to use this new development to write to the general public, who spoke in these vernacular languages, instead of writing high literature such as Latin, and gained more popularity as well as historic importance. This contact with the general public also increased the general level of education, and gave more people the opportunity to find jobs.

· Some of these writers included Dante, who wrote the Divine Comedy, and Chaucer, with his Canterbury Tales.