The Black Death. The Black Death of October to c is one of the worst catastrophes in recorded history — a deadly plague that ravaged communities across Europe. Over three or four years, as many as 50 million people died in Europe.
The Black Death arrived in western Europe in and in England in An introduction to the Black Death. More Black Death.
Medieval life. What was daily life like in the medieval period — how did people live and die? What did they eat, what was the social hierarchy, what dangers did they face? Plague, famine and sudden death: 10 dangers of the medieval period. Kill or cure? Medieval bodies. Call the medieval sex doctor: how 7 problems might have been treated in the Middle Ages.
What time of the day did medieval people eat? Read more on medieval life. The Bayeux Tapestry. The Bayeux Tapestry tells one of the most famous stories in British history — that of the Norman Conquest of England in , particularly the battle of Hastings, which took place on 14 October The Bayeux Tapestry: what is it, why was it made and what story does it tell? Second World War.
Why the Nazis fell in love with the Bayeux Tapestry. Will the Bayeux Tapestry actually come to Britain? The Bayeux Tapestry now and in the future. Why is Harold Godwinson a hero of the Bayeux Tapestry? Read more on the Bayeux Tapestry. Magna Carta. On 15 June , King John signed Magna Carta, a document that safeguarded the basic freedoms, rights and privileges of the clergy and the nobles and placed limits on the power of the crown.
Above all it asserted a fundamental principle: that the king was subject to the law. What did Magna Carta mean to the English in ? Is 15 June the true date of Magna Carta? Two historians debate. Read more about Magna Carta. Medieval battles. The 5 greatest mysteries behind the Wars of the Roses. Agincourt: what really happened. In pictures: medieval battles. The battle of Barnet, the Wars of the Roses clash that killed the Kingmaker.
Traders and crusaders. Josiah Wedgwood: the radical father of English pottery. More medieval battles. The battle of Hastings. The battle, won by William, marked the beginning of the Norman conquest of The Danish Conquest that led to the battle of Hastings. More on the battle of Hastings. The battle of Agincourt. The battle of Agincourt and the Spanish communists. Michael Wood on… the battle of Agincourt. The Last Kingdom and Agincourt. More on the battle of Agincourt. The battle of Bosworth.
The battle of Bosworth, which took place on 22 August , was the last significant clash of the Wars of the Roses. Richard III was killed during the brutal battle. Where the Bosworth battle really happened and a detailed look at rationing.
Bosworth: the dawn of the Tudors. More on the battle of Bosworth. The Wars of the Roses. The Wars of the Roses were the civil wars fought in England and Wales between the Yorkist and Lancastrian dynasties between and The Wars of the Roses: the 15th-century clash of kings that heralded the dawn of the Tudor dynasty. A brief history of the English rose. Scholars translated Greek, Iranian and Indian texts into Arabic.
Inventors devised technologies like the pinhole camera, soap, windmills, surgical instruments, an early flying machine and the system of numerals that we use today. And religious scholars and mystics translated, interpreted and taught the Quran and other scriptural texts to people across the Middle East.
Crusaders, who wore red crosses on their coats to advertise their status, believed that their service would guarantee the remission of their sins and ensure that they could spend all eternity in Heaven. They also received more worldly rewards, such as papal protection of their property and forgiveness of some kinds of loan payments. The Crusades began in , when Pope Urban summoned a Christian army to fight its way to Jerusalem , and continued on and off until the end of the 15th century.
In , Christian armies captured Jerusalem from Muslim control, and groups of pilgrims from across Western Europe started visiting the Holy Land. Many of them, however, were robbed and killed as they crossed through Muslim-controlled territories during their journey.
Around , a French knight named Hugues de Payens created a military order along with eight relatives and acquaintances that became the Knights Templar , and they won the eventual support of the pope and a reputation for being fearsome fighters.
They did make ordinary Catholics across Christendom feel like they had a common purpose, and they inspired waves of religious enthusiasm among people who might otherwise have felt alienated from the official Church. They also exposed Crusaders to Islamic literature, science and technology—exposure that would have a lasting effect on European intellectual life. Another way to show devotion to the Church was to build grand cathedrals and other ecclesiastical structures such as monasteries.
Cathedrals were the largest buildings in medieval Europe, and they could be found at the center of towns and cities across the continent. Between the 10th and 13th centuries, most European cathedrals were built in the Romanesque style. Romanesque cathedrals are solid and substantial: They have rounded masonry arches and barrel vaults supporting the roof, thick stone walls and few windows. Around , church builders began to embrace a new architectural style, known as the Gothic. Gothic structures, such as the Abbey Church of Saint-Denis in France and the rebuilt Canterbury Cathedral in England, have huge stained-glass windows, pointed vaults and arches a technology developed in the Islamic world , and spires and flying buttresses.
In contrast to heavy Romanesque buildings, Gothic architecture seems to be almost weightless. Medieval religious art took other forms as well. Frescoes and mosaics decorated church interiors, and artists painted devotional images of the Virgin Mary, Jesus and the saints.
Also, before the invention of the printing press in the 15th century, even books were works of art. Craftsmen in monasteries and later in universities created illuminated manuscripts: handmade sacred and secular books with colored illustrations, gold and silver lettering and other adornments. Convents were one of the few places women could receive a higher education , and nuns wrote, translated, and illuminated manuscripts as well.
In the 12th century, urban booksellers began to market smaller illuminated manuscripts, like books of hours, psalters and other prayer books, to wealthy individuals. Chivalry and courtly love were celebrated in stories and songs spread by troubadours.
It was especially deadly in cities, where it was impossible to prevent the transmission of the disease from one person to another. The plague started in Europe in October , when 12 ships from the Black Sea docked at the Sicilian port of Messina. Most sailors aboard the ships were dead, and those who were alive were covered in black boils that oozed blood and pus.
Symptoms of the Black Death included fever, chills, vomiting, diarrhea, terrible aches and pains — and then death. Victims could go to bed feeling healthy and be dead by morning.
The plague killed cows, pigs, goats, chickens and even sheep, leading to a wool shortage in Europe. Understandably terrified about the mysterious disease, some people of the Middle Ages believed the plague was a divine punishment for sin. Others turned on their neighbors, purging people they believed to be heretics. Thousands of Jews were murdered between and , while others fled to less populated areas of Eastern Europe.
Today, scientists know the plague was caused by a bacillus called Yersina pestis , which travels through the air and can also be contracted through the bite of an infected flea. Landless peasants known as serfs did most of the work on the fiefs: They planted and harvested crops and gave most of the produce to the landowner. In exchange for their labor, they were allowed to live on the land. They were also promised protection in case of enemy invasion.
During the 11th century, however, feudal life began to change. Agricultural innovations such as the heavy plow and three-field crop rotation made farming more efficient and productive, so fewer farm workers were needed—but thanks to the expanded and improved food supply, the population grew. As a result, more and more people were drawn to towns and cities. Meanwhile, the Crusades had expanded trade routes to the East and given Europeans a taste for imported goods such as wine, olive oil and luxurious textiles.
As the commercial economy developed, port cities in particular thrived. By , there were some 15 cities in Europe with a population of more than 50, In these cities, a new era was born: the Renaissance. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present.
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