The Black Death
What bacterium caused the Black Death?
Yersinia pestis
What war between England and France lasted from 1337–1453?
The Hundred Years’ War
What was the period when the papacy resided in Avignon (1309–1377) called?
The Avignon Papacy / Babylonian Captivity
What revolt of French peasants broke out in 1358?
The Jacquerie
What 1315–1317 disaster preceded the plague, killing millions through starvation?
The Great Famine
How did the plague first arrive in Europe in 1347?
Genoese merchants brought it to Sicily from Caffa
Which English weapon helped win battles at Crécy and Agincourt?
The longbow
What event in 1378 split the papacy between Rome and Avignon?
The Great Schism
What English revolt in 1381 was led by Wat Tyler and John Ball?
The English Peasants’ Revolt
What 1351 English law tried to freeze wages at pre-plague levels?
The Statute of Laborers
What percentage of Europe’s population was lost between 1347–1351?
25–50% (about 19–38 million people)
What French peasant girl inspired troops and helped lift the siege of Orléans?
Joan of Arc
Who condemned the corruption of the Church and inspired later reformers?
John Wyclif (and Jan Hus in Bohemia)
What Florentine wool workers’ revolt occurred in 1378?
The Ciompi Revolt
What new military technology helped the French win by 1453?
The cannon (gunpowder weapons)
What extreme group traveled town-to-town flogging themselves to atone for sin?
The Flagellants
Which treaty in 1360 gave England expanded territory in France?
The Treaty of Brétigny
What council (1414–1418) ended the Great Schism?
The Council of Constance
What famous literary work by Giovanni Boccaccio described plague life in Florence?
The Decameron
What was the name of the French king captured at Poitiers in 1356?
King John II of France
Which minority group was scapegoated and massacred during the plague?
The Jews (accused of poisoning wells)
By the end of the war in 1453, what French city was the only one left in English hands?
Calais
Which Czech reformer was burned at the stake in 1415?
Jan Hus
What artistic theme became prominent after the plague, reflecting preoccupation with death?
The “ars moriendi” (art of dying) and works like The Triumph of Death*
What new tax in England sparked the 1381 revolt?
The poll tax