Lecture 34: The Great Plague

The Great Plague

Lecture 34

T

he self-confident ventures of the High Middle Ages—the Crusades,

cathedrals, and universities—were followed by a period of calamity

in the 14th century that had negative effects on the church and society.

The first devastating event of this century was the great famine of 1315–

1317, brought on by a general shift from a moderate to a colder climate.

A mere nine years later, the plague hit, killing about half of the population

worldwide. This was followed by manmade disasters, including a series of

wars between Christian kings and their vassals. The obvious effect of these

disasters was to induce an even sharper sense of mortality and fear within the

population—and a desperate search for causes.

Conflict in Christendom

•    In the 14th century, the Crusader spirit was twisted beyond

recognition in an endless series of wars between Christian

kings and their vassals, leading to death and destruction within

Christendom itself.

o The papacy was caught up in the dynastic struggles of the

Holy Roman Emperors, as well as other kingdoms, and was

entangled in the constant battles among Italian powers, such as

Venice and Florence.

o An even more obvious example was the Hundred Years’ War

(1337–1453) between England and France, which was partly

an expression of nationalism and partly a distortion of the idea

of holy war.

•    The papacy exceeded its prior claims to total authority in matters

secular and sacred but found itself less a power broker than a pawn

of powerful kings.

o Boniface VIII (c. 1298–1303) issued a papal bull, Unam

sanctam, in 1302 that not only claimed papal authority over

the world but declared that no one could be saved without