1. Late Middle Ages in Europe
The fourteenth century in Europe was determined by two great events: the Hundred Years' War and the Black Death.
1- The Hundred Years War:
It lasted from 1337 to 1453, so it was actually 116 years. This war faced England and France (plus each other's allied countries), and has its roots in feudalism, since the duchy of Guyena-Gascony (southwest France) was in the hands of the English nobility (see map).
In 1328, King Charles IV of France died without a male heir and the throne passed to his cousin, Philip of Valois, who will reign as Philip VI and intended to impose his sovereignty over the Duchy of Guyena-Gascony. In England, King Edward III, nephew of Charles IV and, consequently, second nephew of Philip VI, (see family tree) understood that he had more rights than Philip to the French throne and declared war on him.
The fight affected all of Europe, including Castile, which intervened first as an ally of England, and later, as an ally of France.
At the beginning, England took the initiative, but at the end of the war, thanks, among other things, to the charisma of Joan of Arc -the maid of Orleans-, France won the victory.
Europe in year 1300
French monarchy family tree in the early 14th century
Clément de Fauquembergue: Drawing of Joan of Arc
Dark Moor: Maid of Orleans. A heavy metal song about Joan of Arc
2- The Black Death:
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The Black Death, aka Bubonic Plague, aka The Pestilence, aka The Plague, has been the deadliest pandemic to date. It arrived in Europe in 1348 from Asia, and is believed to have entered through a Sicilian port. The form of contagion is not clear, neither is clear if it was combined with other diseases of the time, but it killed at least 30 million Europeans, a third of the population at the time. The first quarantines or confinements began then.
This was mixed with bad harvests and a climatic cooling (Little Ice Age) and produced a strong economic crisis. On the other hand, the peasants, many of whom died, were able to demand better wages after the Plague, since there was much land to cultivate and few survival peasants.
Art was also influenced by the Black Death and the death it caused. Plays were performed in which death reached men from all walks of life (lords, clergy, knights, peasants) and danced alongside their corpses (dance of death). They used to say death was the equalizer of all people.
In the 15th century, demographic, social and economic recovery gradually took place. The kings were gaining more and more power (the infantry and its new weapons replaced the knights, and the soldiers became professionals paid by the king). Trade returned and the population grew. In addition, great marine expeditions and great discoveries took place: Portugal sailed along the entire African east coast and reached India in 1498 (Vasco de Gama), while Spain discovered America in 1492.
Symptoms of the Bubonic Plague
Drawing of a Black Death doctor. As you can see, they already wore masks, just like we use them for the Covid-19 pandemia. Those were kind of striking, though.
Clip from The Seventh Seal, directed by Ingmar Bergman. This movie is about Black Death and its effects on common people
2. Late Middle Ages in Al-Andalus. The Nasrid kingdom of Granada.
As we have already seen in the previous unit, after the battle of Navas de Tolosa (1212) the Third Taifa kingdoms were formed. These were quickly conquered by the Christians, with the exception of the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada, which since 1238 was the last Muslim stronghold on the Iberian Peninsula.
The reasons that this kingdom lasted more than two hundred years are that, in the first place, it paid 'parias' to Castile. Secondly, the Castilian civil war (1366-1369) caused the Christian kings to enter into an economic crisis and could not engage in more wars. Third, the Nasrid economy, based on silk and agriculture, worked well. However, there were costly clashes within the Nasrid kingdom that eventually led to its decline.
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Nasrid art has left us a splendid architectural sample: The palatial city of La Alhambra.
The first construction was the alcazaba, and later the space was organized into four groups of constructions:
-The Mexuar Room: administration of justice.
-The Comares Palace: the king's workplace.
-The Lion Room: Residence of the king.
-The mosque.
The decoration is typical of Islamic art: sober on the outside, profuse on the inside. The walls are lined with tile at the bottom and plaster on the top. Ataurique, muqarna decoration and geometric motifs invade the space. There are spectacular vaults, such as that of the Hall of the Two Sisters, made of star-shaped muqarnas.
Muqarna vault at the Hall of the Two Sisters
Daraxa's viewpoint
The Court of the Lions
3. Late Middle Ages in the Christian Kingdoms I. Politics.
The fourteenth century was not an easy one for the Christian kingdoms, which is why there was no progress in the Reconquest. The crisis manifested itself on several fronts: hunger, plague, depopulation, disarray, inflation...
3.1) Castilla:
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1st half of the 14th century: King Alfonso XI's priority was to control the Strait of Gibraltar, as the Nasrid kingdom had asked for help from the Benimerin tribe of North Africa, just as the first Taifa did in the 12th century with the Almoravids, remember? The Benimerines came to control coastal areas of Andalusia, but Alfonso XI defeated them in the Battle of Salado (1340). Later on, he wanted to consolidate his power and proclaimed the Ordinations of Alcalá (at the Archbishop's palace,1348), which centralized power in his person and were inspired by Roman Law and complemented by the Siete Partidas of Alfonso X. These ordinances were very influential, and some of its laws remained in force until the 19th century. But what was not so easy was that the nobles renounced their power, although he managed to wrest some privileges from them. The lands that directly depended on the king (realengos) and the ones that directly depended on the nobility (señoríos) were clearly delimited.
2nd half of the 14th century: Alfonso XI is succeeded by his son Pedro I (nicknamed 'El Cruel' by his enemies and 'El Justiciero' by his supporters). The new king wanted to continue centralizing power in his person and subtracting power from the nobility, and consequently, nobility opposed him. Pedro I's half-brother, Enrique, sided with the nobility and declared war on him. To attract the nobility, Enrique promised them many favors and privileges, which is why he has gone down in history as 'El de las mercedes'. The confrontation was further complicated, as Peter favored England in the Hundred Years War and Henry favored France. The Castilian civil war lasted from 1366 to 1369 and ended with the death of Pedro, according to tradition, at the hands of Enrique himself, his half brother. Finally, Enrique II will be the new king of Castile, inaugurating the Trastamara dynasty (that of the Catholic Monarchs).
His son, Juan I, married Beatriz, a Portuguese princess, and, when the king of Portugal died without a male heir, Juan claimed for himself the throne of the neighboring country. But in Portugal King Juan I of Avis was proclaimed, and the two 'Juanes' went to war. Portugal, aided by England, defeated Castilla in the Battle of Aljubarrota (1385).
Within Castile, Juan I continued the centralist policy of his predecessors, and so did his son, Enrique III. When he died, his brother Fernando remained as regent. Fernando conquered Antequera from the Muslims and this prestige served him to become king of the Crown of Aragon, who had also been left without a male heir.
Thus, the Trastamara dynasty occupied the thrones of both Castile and Aragon. This fact explains that, later in the XV century, the Catholic Monarchs were cousins.
3.2) Aragon:
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Jaime II, grandson of Jaime I 'The Conqueror', continued the Mediterranean expansion of his predecessors, and conquered the island of Sardinia in 1324. His successors continued this successful expansion (Athens, Neopatria, Roussillon, Cerdagne, South of Italy ...). These conquests were financed by the Catalan and Valencian nobility and bourgeoisie, who understood that, thanks to these annexations, they could make their commercial networks stronger and larger.
In 1410, King Martin I died without descendants, so the Aragonese courts decided, in an agreement known as the Caspe Commitment, to give the crown to Fernando Trastamara, better known as Fernando de Antequera, since he had conquered this city shortly before. He became Fernando I of Aragon.
3.3) Navarra:
It did not have a great role in the Peninsula, so it turned to France and united its kingdom with the trans-Pyrenean country. However, disappointed by not obtaining the duchy of Burgundy in exchange for their support during the Hundred Years War, Navarra separated from France and tried to stay at peace with Castile and Aragon.
3.4) Portugal:
After the victory in the battle of Aljubarrota (1385), Juan I de Avis subdued the nobility (much of it had supported Juan I de Castilla in Aljubarrota) and reinforced the role of the maritime and rural bourgeoisie. Later, in the XV century, this bourgeoisie would finance, together with the monarchy, the great expeditions of Bartolomé Dias, Vasco de Gama or Pedro Alvares Cabral.
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Unknown painter: The battle of Salado
Ordinations of Alcalá (1348) in a 1774 edition cover
Enrique of Trastamara, later Enrique II, killed his half-brother Pedro I in 1369 (first castilian civil war) and became the first Trastamara's dinasty king of Castilla
Fernando de Antequera's (later King Fernando I of Aragon) family tree
4. Late Middle Ages in the Christian Kingdoms II. Economy
4.1) Agriculture and livestock:
In the fourteenth century the crisis was also noted in agriculture: cold times (remember this is the Little Ice Age), the Black Death, the Castilian Civil War, etc.
As a result of all this, agricultural production declined. However, cattle ranching boomed: keeping cattle does not cost as much money or labor as fields, and in addition merino sheep were brought in from North Africa, whose wool was of excellent quality. No wonder the power of the Mesta grew more and more. Castilla became one of the largest wool exporters in Europe.
4.2) Industry:
Both Castilla and Aragón focused on the wool industry. After the crisis of the fourteenth century passed, production grew and became the most important sector of the economy. In Biscay and Guipúzcoa the iron industry was important for the manufacture of weapons and the naval industry.
We know that Fernando de Antequera managed to be regent of Castilla and king of Aragon. That helped the economy, since he encouraged the trade between the two kingdoms.
4.3) Trade:
We have already said that Castilla exported mainly iron and wool, plus other agricultural products such as wine, oil or dyes.
Most of the people (peasants, ranchers, artisans and the little bourgeoisie that existed in Castilla) practically lived on the local economy, therefore imports were a matter for the nobility and the wealthy people. It is not surprising that the most relevant imports were expensive clothing and luxury products.
Aragon maintained a very fluid trade throughout the Mediterranean, exporting mainly textiles, ceramics and agricultural products and also importing luxury goods: silk, spices, slaves and gold. In the large cities of the Crown of Aragon, such as Barcelona, ​​Valencia or Mallorca, there were merchants meeting places called ‘Lonjas’ where these merchants made their business with frenetic activity. At the end of the 15th century, with the discovery of America, trade moved from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, so the Aragonese ports lost some importance.
Banks were also created to give credit to merchants: the so-called Taula de Canvi (Catalan for 'Table of change') in Barcelona and Valencia.
Surely you have ever heard the famous saying "Do not confuse churras with merinas". The origin of this saying is in the two predominant breeds of sheep. In the late Middle Ages, merino sheep were introduced to the Iberian Peninsula from North Africa. The merino sheep produces a softer wool than the churra, and was more appreciated. Hence, it is not convenient to confuse one with another.
Lonja of Valencia. Merchants of the city used to meet here to make business and make agreements about trading.
Economic activities on the Peninsula in the Late Middle Ages
5. A troubled society.
We already know that the 14th century was very problematic due to the Black Death, the Hundred Years War, the Spanish Civil War, the economic crisis, etc. All of this resulted in social conflict. The most important are:
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-The 'Grande Jacquerie' (France, 1358): The instability of the Hundred Years War and the Black Death was very great. The nobility, seeing that they had lost peasants who worked their lands and paid taxes, decided to return to their former feudal privileges and impose more work and a tax burden on the peasants' backs. On the other hand, English and Gasconian troops devastated and robbed the French peasants without the nobility being able to protect their servants, (Remember that the raison d'être of feudal vassalage was that the servant worked for the lord in exchange for sustenance and protection) . In this state of affairs, the peasants rebelled against their masters.
The poorly organized revolts sowed terror, but were ultimately harshly suppressed by the nobility, who executed all those suspected of having participated in Jacquerie without trial.
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-Wat Tyler's Rebellion (England, 1381): The causes were very similar to those of the 'Great Jacquerie': discontent over the Hundred Years War, deaths by the Black Death, the oppression of the monarchy and the nobility on the peasants ... The rebellion developed to the point where the King of England, Richard II, agreed to make concessions to the rebels and to parley with their leader Wat Tyler. In unclear circumstances, Wat Tyler was assassinated by the king's men, while the king addressed the rebels promising that they would be heeded in their claims, which was a deception, because as soon as they calmed down, a brutal repression began in which the king's men murdered all the rebel leaders.
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-Castilla: As in other areas of Europe, the privileged estates (nobility and clergy) wanted to combat the crisis by raising taxes, making the peasants work more and occupying communal land. In addition, we already know that Henry II, to attract the nobility and get the crown of Castile, offered many privileges (mercedes) to these nobles. This provoked violent reactions in the peasants and the petty bourgeoisie. In the middle of the 15th century, the 'Irmandiñas Wars' took place, in which Galician cities and towns rebelled against the abuses of the nobility. Galician lords called others lords from Castilla for help and eventually the 'irmandiñas' (brotherhoods) were defeated.
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-Aragón: the conflict was even greater: On the one hand, the Payeses de Remensa (Catalan peasants who had to pay a ransom -remittance- to their lord if they wanted to leave their lands) rebel against this and other "malos usos" (thus they called the set of bad costumes of the lords towards the peasants). These huge wars lasted from 1450 to 1480 and they also faced King Juan II, who sided with the peasants, and the Catalan nobility. Finally, King Ferdinand II (a.k.a. the Catholic) put an end to "malos usos".
But there were not only conflicts in the Catalan towns; in the cities, the Biga (high free trade bourgeoisie) faced the Busca (small protectionist bourgeoisie) and were at war for many years.
At the end of the 15th century, Ferdinand 'the Catholic' managed to end almost all conflicts, turning the rural nobility into courtesan nobility, prohibiting "malos usos" and monopolizing much authority in all areas.
Furthermore, there is a type of conflict that took place across Europe: the pogroms. The Jews were wrongly accused of causing the Black Death by poisoning the water in the wells, and many were killed. In Spain the pogroms were especially virulent, since Enrique II spread hoaxes and anti-Jewish propaganda, because the Jews had supported Pedro I during the Castilian Civil War. In addition, the Castilian nobility and clergy owed money to the Jews and thus avoided having to pay the debt. The Jews occupied essential trades, but frowned upon by society of the time, such as those of a lender or tax collector. They were also accused of deicides, in line with what is described in the Gospels. The most serious pogroms occurred in Toledo in 1391.
Death of Wat Tyler: On the left, Wat Tyler is killed by the king's men, who were supposed to parley with him. On the right, the king then talks to the rebels and promises that their demands will be met.
Documentary about the 'Irmandiñas wars' told from the point of view of a nobleman. It's in Galician language, but it's easy to understand.
Payeses de Remensa wars: These wars started as a peasant' rebellion against the 'malos usos' (bad costumes) in Catalonia, but eventually involved every estate of society, even the king.
Pogroms were common during the Plague, since Jews were wrongly accused of poisoning the wells. This video describes the 1349 terrible pogrom in Basel, Switzerland.
'Malos usos' in Catalonia​
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Eixorquia: law by which the feudal lord received one-third of the inheritance of the peasant who had no descendants.
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Cugucia: If the peasant's wife was found guilty of adultery, the feudal lord received half of the goods if the woman had the consent of her husband, or the whole of the goods if the woman did not.
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Arsia: indemnification of the peasant had to pay the feudal lord in case of accidental fire of his belongings.
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Ferma of forced plunder: Payment for wedding fees paid by the father of the bride.
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'Remensa' (Personal freedom): the peasants, subject to servitude, could not leave the farm they worked without having been redeemed by their feudal lord.
6. Culture
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In literature, the preferred themes of the Late Middle Ages were death (no wonder), love, war or pilgrimages. Some examples are 'The Canterbury Tales', by Geoffrey Chaucer; 'Decameron', by Giovanni Bocaccio or the 'Book of Good Love' by the Archpriest of Hita.
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Serranilla VII
Moza tan fermosa non vi en la frontera,
com’una vaquera de la Finojosa.
Faciendo la vía del Calatraveño
a Santa María, vencido del sueño,
por tierra fraguosa perdí la carrera,
do vi la vaquera de la Finojosa.
En un verde prado de rosas e flores,
guardando ganado con otros pastores,
la vi tan graciosa, que apenas creyera
que fuese vaquera de la Finojosa.
Non creo las rosas de la primavera
sean tan fermosas nin de tal manera;
fablando sin glosa, si antes supiera
de aquella vaquera de la Finojosa;
non tanto mirara su mucha beldad,
porque me dejara en mi libertad.
Mas dije: «Donosa -por saber quién era-,
¿dónde es la vaquera de la Finojosa?»
Bien como riendo, dijo: «Bien vengades,
que ya bien entiendo lo que demandades;
non es deseosa de amar, nin lo espera,
aquesa vaquera de la Finojosa».
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Marqués de Santillana
“Purity in body and heart
May please some--as for me, I make no boast.
For, as you know, no master of a household
Has all of his utensils made of gold;
Some are wood, and yet they are of use.”
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Geoffrey Chaucer, Canterbury Tales,
“To have compassion for those who suffer is a human quality which everyone should possess, especially those who have required comfort themselves in the past and have managed to find it in others.”
Giovanni Boccaccio, The Decameron
"Aristóteles dijo, y es cosa verdadera,
que el hombre por dos cosas trabaja: la primera,
por el sustentamiento, y la segunda era
por sonseguir unión con hembra placentera."
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Arcipreste de Hita, Libro de Buen Amor