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The Hundred Years’ War, which began in 1337 and was between England and France, brought important developments to European culture. In 1346 the bubonic plague, which Europeans called the Black Death, swept into Europe. It was brought to Genoa, Italy, by infected rats on board a merchant ship from a port on the Black Sea. The plague was transmitted to humans in two forms, the bubonic plague and the pneumonic plague. The bubonic plague erupted when rats infected with a bacterium became infested with fleas. The fleas bit people, and these people soon showed symptoms of the plague—infected lymph glands accompanied by painful swelling and high fever. Often, black spots broke out on the body, which might have been the reason for the name Black Death. The pneumonic plague, which attacks the lungs, was transmitted directly from one infected person to another. This horrible disease was almost always fatal to anyone contracting it. It is difficult to estimate the total number of deaths throughout Europe. They happened so rapidly that often the survivors could not keep up with burying the dead. Bodies were loaded on carts and dumped in common graves outside the town. Entire villages and towns were emptied. Some estimates say that as many as one-third of Europe’s population died and as many as 75 million people died worldwide. England lost one-third of its population. These devastating losses disrupted the continent’s social, economic, and religious institutions. Europe was left in a decline from which it did not recover for 100 years. England did not attempt to enhance it’s reputation by military and economic means, but rather focused it’s attention on improving the deteriorating health of the general public caused by disease. Many people died of the Black Death, making it impossible for England, in this state, to conquer surrounding nations or to increase wealth for power. Wars could not be fought because many men were sick and dying with this disease. In poor health, these men were unable to fight in battles, let alone win them. The wealth of the country was also unable to increase because many of the victims of the Black Death were merchants. Those merchants with this disease could not sell their goods and therefore could not make any profit in order to pay taxes for their country. Europeans learned about auxiliary means of performing different actions. The Hundred Years’ War brought important developments. The use of two new weapons—the longbow and the cannon—weakened feudalism. The English longbow was 5 or 6 feet (1.5 or 1.8 meters) long, with a range up to 400 yards (360 meters). English foot soldiers armed with longbows completely defeated a French feudal cavalry at Agincourt in 1415. Knights on horseback were no match for foot soldiers with longbows. Europeans may have learned the use of gunpowder from the Muslims during the Crusades. To this knowledge they added the use of the gun. At first the gun was only a crude tube of wood and metal out of which exploding gunpowder hurled stones or chunks of metal. Cannons developed from these rather simple weapons. Castles no longer provided strong protection for the feudal lord and his soldiers. One powerful blast from a cannon could break through a castle’s thick walls. Europeans sought these other methods in order to make wars easier to win. With the longbow and gunpowder, battles were won and enemies defeated with ease. By traveling to other areas of the world to fight during the Hundred Years’ War, Europeans discovered these better ideas in military procedures and weapons. These helped greatly in later battles for domination. Europeans also could use weapons discovered from other cultures and add their own knowledge to them to produce a new product and introduce it to the world. The Hundred Years’ War also brought another important development that made the culture of England better by introducing it to knowledge of new or foreign ideas and concepts. The English Parliament temporarily gained more power over the king during this war. Through its right to grant or withhold tax revenues, Parliament forced some weak English kings during time of war to agree to a number of rights: (a) Parliament, as well as the king, had to approve any restatement or change of a law; (b) Parliament gained the right to levy all taxes, and any new tax had to be proposed first by the House of Commons rather than by the House of Lords; and © the king could spend money only for the purpose for which Parliament had appropriated it. Despite many English victories, when the Hundred Years’ War ended in 1453, England had lost all of its lands in France except Calais. Actually these losses helped England in the long run. Now the English king could pay attention to governing his own country. England experimented with this new concept in an effort to create an ideal society. At first the results seemed formidable, bur they proved to be worthwhile in the long run. Over a period of time, the loss of land helped the king to concentrate on the needs of his own country. This new idea had the ability to drastically change England for the better. Now that the king’s attention was focused on a smaller England, he realized that improvements were much needed and that they would be easier to do now that land was lost because improvements would be done on a smaller scale for a smaller country. Since the war was over, the king also had free time to work on the improvements since his time wasn’t being put into war efforts. Champagne experienced economic and social growth in its region. As trade grew, merchants needed places where they could exchange goods. Many villages had weekly market days, but these local markets did not attract large crowds. Some merchants began to sell goods during religious festivals. Then some feudal lords established fairs for the sale of imported goods. They realized that they could become wealthy by charging fees, or taxes, on the merchandise sold. The feudal lords guaranteed special protection to merchants who held a fair. Champagne, a region in northeastern France that lay directly along the trade route between Italy and northern Europe, held the most important and best-known fairs. In Champagne traders exchanged the textiles, wool, and wines of Europe for Asian luxury goods. Six fairs, each lasting four to seven weeks, were held annually at four towns in the region. Held at different times, the fairs provided a central marketplace for all of Europe. Fairs helped to create ties between regions and to broaden the narrow outlook of the people. Travelers came from great distances to attend large fairs, which offered entertainment in addition to the opportunity to buy and sell. Jugglers, clowns, and musicians entertained the crowds just as they do at county and state fairs today. Champagne’s popularity and prowess in society was enhanced by the establishment of fairs. As people from many different nations went home after the fairs, they spread the word about these large fairs to others around them. Soon, Champagne was well known as a symbol of strength and economic growth. Champagne controlled much of general trade because goods from many different nations were passed through there by the fairs. Also, by charging fees on sold merchandise, the feudal lords of Champagne became wealthy and therefore powerful and influential, increasing their popularity. Therefore, the time period after the Crusades was a time of cultural advancement. Despite the minor Black Plague setback, Europeans still gained knowledge and ideas from the world around them. Champagne used the revival of trade to its advantage by gaining wealth and popularity. Although England was involved in the Hundred Years’ War, it ended up improving the life of the English. The new war devices and governmental ideas that arose from this war helped to enhance England’s progress towards an ideal society. Bibliography: my history book Word Count: 1376
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