Medieval history

The Crusades were a development of the High Middle Ages that connected Europe with Islamic civilization, and began weakening European feudalism throughout the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The first of these Crusades were initiated by the papacy, as well as popular religious beliefs, and later had consequences for Europe. One...

The Black Death, or Bubonic Plague, was a deadly pestilence that raged in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East from 1347-50, with several other occurrences in 1361, 1369, and 1374. The plague caused an incredible total of 75 to 200 million casualties, reducing the world’s population in the 14th...

Perhaps one of the best surviving examples of a liturgical gradual from the early 1500’s, The Geese Book, as it is commonly called, has been a shining star for historical scholars. Created for the Lutheran parish of St. Lorenz (St. Lawrence) in Nuremberg, Germany, the gradual was completed in 1510...

Beginning in 1378, the Great Schism threatened the political and ecclesiastical power of the Church at its very foundation when two, later three, Bishops claimed to be the true Pontiff (Pope) concurrently. Urban VI was elected first and held office in Rome, but dissatisfaction prompted the Cardinals to elect Clement...

In the article “Marking Religion on the Body: Saracens, Categorization, and The King of Tars,” Siobhain Bly Calkin rejects the opinion of other researchers that a Saracen sultan’s change of skin color from black to white after conversion to Christianity in The King of Tars reveals the text’s straightforwardness of...

Different times in history, in accordance to prevailing conditions, can be inferred as inspiring different forms of revolution that have served to promote or derail progress and/or development in various aspects of human activity. This highlights the circumstances in which Catholicism’s rose into prominence during the 11th and 12th century...

Francis Petrarch, being one of the most influential poets of the Middle Ages, is also known to be the first major figure of the Humanism - the social and intellectual movement, which lies at the basis of the Renaissance (Plumb & Bishop, 2001). The ideals of Humanism pervaded the literature,...

European society was irrevocably altered as a consequence of the pandemic bubonic plague. It was not only due to the large percentage of the population that died, but that it affected everyone regardless of economic standing, social rank, or church position. Rich, poor, middling class, the clergy from priests to...

The Silk Road was a trade route of immense importance and influence. It managed to connect large territories, and became an important step of the world towards globalization. The process of the route's development was a gradual one. It was primarily instilled by the spread of various empires including the...

Crusades in the eleventh century were carried out by religious ideals whereby a society’s rights were determined by their religious affiliation. Evidently, Muslims and Christians had been interacting before the major crusades were implemented. Initially, Christian pilgrims traveled from Europe to the Middle East and although tolerance between the two...

The history of the church between the 5th century and the fall of Rome is usually referred as the history of Christianity during the middle ages. The period is characterized by many changes regarding beliefs and the struggle for power. To understand more, this paper focuses on discussing the principal...

In modern thinking, the crusades are vaguely known as efforts made for centuries in which European forces attempted, time and again, to capture Jerusalem and restore it as a Catholic capital. The general and lingering belief, generally speaking, is that these were holy wars. Various popes and great kings of...

The Crusades were a period during the early second millennium in which religion shaped much of the eastern world. This age of conflict saw many lives lost over the preservation of the Christian religions, while Islam attempted to retain its grip of influence on Jerusalem and much of the Middle...

Undoubtedly, The Crusades are a dark chapter in human history; a chapter full of religious violence and objectification of the enemy, signaling as an other that had to be destroyed and purged. From a historical perspective, Pope Urban, the Christian leader, focused the campaign from a religious standpoint, making it...

Machiavelli depart from Aristotle Machiavelli and Aristotle differed in their views of the dictatorship, aristocracy, as well as democracy forms of government. Aristotle suggested that dictatorship was the best form of power as it would balance the power between the poor, the rich and the middle class. Based on Aristotle’s...

The medieval manuscripts depict the Christian practices in the western culture in addition to social relations and the way of life. The manuscripts stress the importance of Christian values and the need to abide by such values. The manuscripts were used to pass Christian gospel as well as warnings to...