The Hundred Years War: Significant Changes In Medieval Europe

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1.) The 14th century century in Europe would mark a period of incredible instability due to factors such was war, plague, and schisms in the church. In particular, Medieval Europe would experience significant changes due to these crisis’s. To begin, one must focus on a factor that cannot be ignored during this time period, the Black Death. The Black Death had easily killed one-third of the population of Europe in a span of a few years and spread rapidly throughout Europe. This is exemplified through the article Crisis and Renaissance in which an individual states “countless numbers of Tartars and Saracens were struck down by a mysterious illness which brought sudden death” (257.1) and even “480,000 [people] in the city of Babylon were carried of by this …show more content…

In particular, this essay will focus on a particular war: the Hundred Years War. It was a war between England and France and was the longest war in Medieval Europe. One can see the incredible hostility between England and France as expressed in the text Joan of Arc where she demands the “King of England, if you do not do these things… I shall find your men in France and I will make them flee the country” (1.1). The hostility between England and France during the Hundred Years War would result in a major social change in both countries. Before the Hundred Years War, both countries maintained a system of feudalism where the land was divided into separate domains and each domain had a ruler. However, during the Hundred Years War, people now began to feel a great sense of citizenship and duty to their country. For instance, in England, the King and Parliament developed a closer relationship and which ultimately helped to unify England. Once again, one can observe how the Hundred Years War encouraged a social change in 14th Europe because individuals of each country became more unified in helping their country defeat their

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