The 14th century was a trying century for Western Europe. Death became a constant companion, as history recalls that some cities experienced a mortality rate of up to 60 percent. Much of the blame for this death and suffering can be attributed to four things: plague, famine, war, and the decline of the Roman Catholic Church’s power. This short post will explore how these disturbances had a snowball effect, escalating the difficulties of the 14th century. This post will also explain how, despite these difficulties, cultural advancements were made and a path for the Renaissance was cleared.
In the early 14th century, Europe began experiencing what some historians call the “little ice age”. This climate phenomenon resulted in reduced temperatures, heavy storms, constant rain, and harsh, extended winters. Due to the weather, crops failed and famine began to spread. In 1315-1317, the Great Famine ravaged Europe. Horrific accounts of suffering were written down by contemporaries that recall things like bones bulging out of starving people’s bodies. Some historians say that the condition of chronic malnutrition caused by the Great Famine would have compromised people’s immune systems leaving them vulnerable to disease. This vulnerability couldn’t have come at a worse time, as Europe’s next disaster was just around the corner: the Black Death.
In 1347, the Black Death was introduced to Europe when Genoese merchants brought the plague to Sicily. The plague reached Western Europe in 1348, once it was introduced to southern France and quickly spread to the rest of Europe. This fast-spreading disease had terrible symptoms. The victim was tortured by fever, aches, sub-dermal bleeding, severe coughing, and eventually death. By 1351, an estimated 25 to 50 percent of the European population had vanished, bringing huge changes to the Western European infrastructure.
Such a massive loss of life affected Western Europe in many ways, including great social upheavals, which is perhaps most prominently seen in the peasant revolts. The large amount of death caused a shortage of peasants, the primary laborers of the day, and aristocrats had a hard time finding the workers they needed to maintain their lifestyles. This shortage of laborers greatly benefited the peasants and their wages increased 550 percent in only three years. To combat the peasants financial gains, the panicking aristocrats began enforcing wage restrictions and heavy taxes on the peasants. These actions led the peasants to revolt against the aristocrats and both sides suffered great loss, but the peasants never gained the final victory in these revolts.
Another difficulty people living in the 14th century had was the The Hundred Years’ War (1337 - 1453). The The Hundred Years’ War was a feud between the English and the French that the French ultimately ended up winning. This drawn-out war not only cost the lives of many, but also drained the opposing countries of massive amounts of resources. During this war, difficulties due to lack of funds began arising for both sides. In England, the Parliament was formed in order to levy new taxes in order to get the money the war required. After the war, the French had it especially bad. The Hundred Years’ War had been fought on their soil, and the destruction was massive. Farmlands were ruined, populations dwindled, and commerce faltered. Along side of this turmoil, the authority of the king was lessened and factions began to form in the French government. This caused civil wars the resulted in great pain for the people of France.
In France, the Roman Catholic Church’s power began to wain. The cause of this stemmed from a disagreement between the king of France, King Philip IV, and Pope Boniface VIII, on the extent of papal supremacy. The king of France didn’t like the pope restricting his authority and made actions in order to ensure that the pope would no longer be able to. In short, King Philip IV was able to get a French pope elected and now had the freedom to exert what authority he felt was restricted thereafter. This caused a loss of papal prestige that the rest of Western Europe noticed and the want of reform began to develop. In this process of reform, two opposing popes emerged and caused what is called the Great Schism. Eventually the Great Schism was resolved, but a significant portion of the Church’s power was lost. The absence of this once powerful force in Western Europe only added to the difficulties of the 14th century.
Despite the difficulties of the 14th century, cultural advancements were made. Writings in the vernacular language became more common as Latin became less used. Famous writings like Dante’s Divine Comedy and The Canterbury Tales were written in this era. Art also made advancements in the 14th century. Artists began to pay more attention to realism in art and included depth, expressive faces, and realistic bodies in their paintings. Along with advances in writing and art, new inventions began to appear. During this period, both the cannon and the clock were invented. Collectively, all these advancements would be progressively improved upon, ushering in a new age known as the Renaissance.
In the 14th century, Western Europe was in turmoil. Plague, famine, war, and a shift of power away from the Roman Catholic Church caused great difficulty for Western Europe and many lives were lost and the Church’s influence diminished as a result. Along with it’s pains, however Europe also made advances during this time. New heights in literature and art were achieved and inventions such as the cannon and clock were created. These advancements were what carried civilization from the High Middle Ages to the Renaissance, a period of time we benefit from yet today.