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0:00The Middle Ages was the period of human history that spanned from the 5th century to
0:06the 15th century. Although the dates are indicative and there are various opinions among historians,
0:12traditionally the fall of the Western Roman Empire has been pointed out as its beginning and
0:19the fall of Constantinople as its end. The term Middle Ages was created between the
0:28fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, when Europe was evolving towards Humanism and the Renaissance. For the
0:35intellectuals of that time, that intermediate period between classical antiquity and the new times
0:41had had a dark and decadent character, very marked by the absolute influence of the Church.
0:48On the other hand, the Middle Ages is an eminently European concept. In other parts of the world,
0:55such as Asia or America, the characteristics of this chronological period were very different.
1:03Despite this, at the end of the Middle Ages, contacts with non-European civilizations were expanding,
1:10often in the form of conflicts. This period is divided into three stages,
1:16although many historians consider the first of them, the Early Middle Ages,
1:22as a transition period. The other two were the High Middle Ages and the Late Middle Ages.
1:29Among its most important characteristics are the aforementioned power of the Church and
1:35the establishment of the feudal system. Origin
1:41The Middle Ages spanned ten centuries of human history,
1:45from the 5th to the 15th centuries. To limit it, historians have traditionally used
1:52two events of great importance: the fall of the Western Roman Empire,
1:58in 476 AD. C. and the conquest of Constantinople, in 1453 d. C. Others prefer to mark its end in
2:09the discovery of America, in 1492. The invention of the printing press has also
2:16been used as an indicative date of the end of that period.
2:20These dates, however, are not fixed references, since history is a continuous process
2:27in which there are no sudden breaks. Start of the Middle Ages
2:35As noted, many historians say that the Middle Ages began in 476 AD. C.,
2:43with the end of the Western Roman Empire. However, it is only an approximate date,
2:50since the process that gave rise to the passage from classical Antiquity to
2:55this new period was progressive and long. Some authors point out that this
3:02transition process lasted for five centuries and that it began with
3:06the crisis of the third century that put the slave model of economic production in trouble.
3:13Likewise, climatic factors, bad harvests and epidemics also influenced.
3:19To this we must add the first Germanic invasions and some revolts carried out by
3:26the peasants. The Roman Empire entered into crisis and was acquiring an increasingly medieval form,
3:33especially after Diocletian's reforms. These reforms caused society to
3:41become more rural and increased the importance of the aristocracy,
3:45two key elements in feudalism. Another important factor was the
3:51declaration of Christianity as the official religion, as well as the division of the Empire
3:55when the Eastern Roman Empire was created. General Characteristics of the Middle Ages
4:04The Renaissance humanists created the term Middle Ages for a derogatory purpose.
4:10For them, that stage had been a dark time between two moments of great splendor.
4:16However, that retrospective consideration is not entirely true.
4:22In some fields, such as art, this stage showed examples of great interest.
4:29Religion as the fundamental basis of society The Catholic religion became the axis of
4:38the entire society. The Church and the rest of the religious institutions acquired
4:43great power, often superior to that of the kings and nobles themselves. The control of
4:51religious beliefs was used as a way to prevent the population from rebelling.
4:57The ecclesiastics were one of the few social classes with access to education and were
5:05in charge of imparting it to a select few. Europe at this time was theocentric and everything was
5:13explained by religious concepts. Reality was considered to be
5:18a product of divine will. Fear and obedience to dogmas
5:27In relation to the previous point, the Church and the rest of the powers favored the
5:32existence of a high level of fear among the population. This was, for the most part,
5:38illiterate and they only received information about natural phenomena from a
5:44religious point of view. This reached extremes that provoked attitudes of fanaticism and persecution.
5:52According to the dogmas of the time, diseases or other negative aspects were caused by
5:58witchcraft or the intervention of the devil. The epidemics were considered divine punishments and
6:04the fear of the arrival of the end of the world produced phenomena such as the millenarianism of the year 1000 AD. C.
6:12Among the concepts that the Church tried to promote among the population were
6:17those of guilt, sins and the obligation to maintain virtue.
6:24Catholic division
6:27The power accumulated by the Catholic Church was undermined by a great internal crisis that
6:32ended with its temporary division in 1378. That year, after the death of Gregory XI,
6:40the Roman cardinals elected Urban VI as the new pontiff. However, a group
6:48of dissenting cardinals proclaimed Clement VII as pope, based in Avignon, France.
6:57Political organization The system of government during the Middle Ages was
7:02the monarchy, although this institution lost part of its power with the introduction of feudalism.
7:08At the beginning of this period, the monarchs enjoyed almost all
7:12the powers and some extended their territories to form great empires.
7:19However, from the eleventh century the situation changed with the arrival of the feudal system.
7:25Although the king maintained his position, power was shared with the feudal lords. These
7:32were nobles who governed their lands independently and who paid vassalage to the monarch.
7:39The defense of the territories was in the hands of these nobles,
7:44so the royal houses had a weak position against them.
7:50Castles were one of the symbols of this type of organization. In five centuries,
7:55between the years 1000 and 1500, a large number of these types of structures were built,
8:01destined to serve as the residence of the feudal lords and as a defense against possible attacks.
8:09Great social differences Medieval society was
8:16completely divided into hierarchical social classes: the nobility, including the king,
8:21the clergy and the peasants. There were great differences in rights and obligations between them.
8:27The lowest and largest class, the peasantry, had hardly any rights. Their role was to work on
8:36their lords' lands to provide food for everyone. Very often,
8:41these agricultural workers suffered abuses by the most privileged,
8:46in addition to having to pay taxes and tithes. The nobility made up the highest social class
8:53and were favored with special rights. The vast majority did not work beyond running
8:59their businesses and their lands. Although they had access to education, many of them did not take advantage of it.
9:07Among the most frequent occupations of these nobles was military life,
9:13such as high command of the army. Likewise, they were the owners of the lands worked by
9:20the peasants. With the feudal system, their power increased to the point of becoming
9:25superior to that of the monarch himself, who was considered the "first among equals".
9:33The clergy, meanwhile, were also part of the privileged classes. They were exempt
9:39from taxes and could access positions of great power. In addition, it was the group with the
9:45highest level of education at the time. This entire social structure began to
9:50change in the latter part of the Middle Ages, when a new class emerged: the bourgeoisie.
9:58Birth position Membership in one of the
10:03aforementioned social classes, with the exception of the clergy, was determined by birth. If you
10:09were born into a noble family, your descendants would be noble too,
10:14while the children of peasants were destined to be noble as well.
10:20Only in the case of members of the Church was it possible to change social class. Among the less
10:27favored, it was one of the few ways to improve their position, although they could only access
10:34minor positions. For their part, it was common for the sons of the nobles who were not to inherit to opt for
10:41the ecclesiastical career. Economy
10:46The main economic activities during the Middle Ages were agriculture and
10:51livestock. They were the main source of wealth and the base of the economy.
10:56The feudal system was organized in such a way that the villagers worked
11:02the lands of their lords in exchange for a tribute, economic or in kind.
11:07The possession of these lands was the main economic differentiation between rich and poor.
11:13Before this system was implemented, there was a group of peasants called free. Over time,
11:22they began to depend more and more on the feudal lords,
11:25with which the figure of the serf appeared. These, as has been pointed out, were obliged to pay
11:32rent in order to work the land. During the Roman Empire, trade
11:38had become quite important. However, the invasions of the
11:44Germanic peoples and the appearance of the Muslim Empire caused this activity to decline.
11:50Over time, trade regained some of its importance. With the production of surpluses,
11:57the markets were expanding. The peasants were able to start
12:01exchanging and selling their products. In addition,
12:07long-distance trade began to grow, focused on products considered luxury.
12:11The appearance of merchants was one of the factors that caused
12:16feudalism to weaken and the economy to evolve towards a capitalist system.
12:24Beginning of the bourgeoisie This mercantile attitude
12:29was also joined by the emergence of different trades and professions, whose workers began to
12:35organize themselves into guilds. This circumstance was especially notable in the cities, where
12:43artisans, merchants and goldsmiths proliferated. All these guilds would give rise to the appearance of
12:51the bourgeoisie. This social class was made up of individuals belonging to the
12:57unprivileged class, but their growing economic power caused them to be fundamental in the next
13:03historical stage. The crusades
13:08Among the events that most marked the medieval era are the crusades. These
13:16were a set of religious conflicts, up to nine in total,
13:20in which Christian soldiers supported by the papacy tried to conquer the lands
13:27considered sacred in the Middle East. The crusades generally had a
13:33religious conception, but there were also other important factors. On the one hand,
13:39the Church used them to strengthen its power and, on the other, the commercial interests
13:45of the Italian city-states tried to take advantage of them to open new routes in the area.
13:52Although the early crusades succeeded in retaking Jerusalem and other places,
13:57the end result was failure. The Christian kingdoms established in the East were
14:04reconquered by the Muslims and, in addition, the Byzantine Empire was divided by the action of
14:11the Crusaders themselves. Its weakening opened the doors to the conquest of Constantinople.
14:19Education Education in the Middle Ages
14:23was only reserved for the privileged classes: the nobility and, especially, the clergy. The
14:31latter not only had the right to receive it, but were also in charge of imparting it.
14:37The subjects present in education were quite few: languages, law,
14:44medicine and theology. In addition, the religious controlled that the study of the classics did not
14:51cover aspects that could be contrary to the dogmas of the Church. The study method
14:57was eminently rote. On the positive side,
15:03the first universities appeared in this period. These, although reserved for the most privileged,
15:09would end up becoming the focus of new inventions and ideas.
15:15Culture and art One of the aspects
15:19that breaks the traditional belief that affirms that the Middle Ages was a decadent period is
15:25that of culture. Although religious control was almost absolute in art and literature,
15:30the Middle Ages left important creations. Among the writings that survived the
15:37vigilant work of the religious are the mystical stories and those that dealt
15:43with the Judeo-Christian tradition itself. Another theme that achieved great popularity was that of
15:49courtly love, especially in the Romance language. The great epic poems were typical
15:56of Germanic literature, with works such as Beowulf or El Cantar del Mio Cid.
16:02Other fields of the arts, such as painting, sculpture or architecture, also left
16:09great works, among which the great cathedrals stand out in a notable way. During the
16:16Middle Ages, the style evolved, although the Romanesque and Gothic stood out.
16:23Technical and scientific advances Although the weight of religion in the Middle Ages
16:29greatly limited scientific research, it did occur and allowed some
16:35technical advances. On many occasions, researchers had to confront the Church,
16:41which was focused on confirming the validity of dogmas and refused to accept novelties.
16:47In the field of science there were advances in astronomical,
16:53mechanical or epistemological knowledge. As has been pointed out, some of them were not simple and
17:01scientists like Copernicus suffered persecution from the ecclesiastical courts for
17:07disseminating data that contradicted the Bible. Scientific progress intensified at the end of
17:14this period. It was then that new ideological movements appeared that were
17:20fundamental for the arrival of the Renaissance. In addition, some researchers collected contributions
17:27from other peoples, such as the Arab or the Chinese. Technical advances, focused on the practical,
17:33suffered fewer problems with the Church. Among the most important are the glasses,
17:39the compasses, the metal plows, the first firearms or the first watches.
17:45One of the events that, for many historians, marked the end
17:51of the Middle Ages was, precisely, an invention: the printing press. Thanks to her,
17:57the writings were able to reach more people and ceased to be an exclusive good of only the clergy.
18:04Stages of the Middle Ages The Middle Ages, with its ten centuries
18:10of duration, is one of the longest stages in all of history. Although it has traditionally been
18:16divided between the High Middle Ages and the Late Middle Ages, in recent years a third phase has been added
18:23at its beginning and which serves as a transition from the previous period: the Early Middle Ages.
18:30Early Middle Ages Historians say that the
18:35transition between classical antiquity and the Middle Ages took place over a long period
18:41of time. Thus, the so-called Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages would have been the stages that
18:49occurred during this historical evolution. This first part of the Middle Ages began at
18:55the end of the 5th century and lasted until the 7th century. It was in this period that the
19:01Germanic cultures that arrived in Europe and the Latin heiress of the Roman Empire began to mix.
19:09The Western Roman Empire disintegrated and its place was taken by the Roman-
19:15Germanic Kingdoms. In some areas of Europe weaker kingdoms appeared, such as the Visigoths in
19:23Spain or the Saxons in England. It was also at this stage that the
19:29new great continental power was born: the Carolingian Empire. Its appearance occurred when Pepin
19:36III controlled with the help of the pope the two great existing kingdoms, in the hands of the Merovingians.
19:44His heir, Charlemagne, managed to unify much of the continent under his kingdom,
19:50both politically and culturally. On the other hand, in this period
19:56the great Muslim expansion took place. The Arab peoples conquered all of North Africa,
20:01extensive areas of the Mediterranean and most of present-day Spain.
20:05In the cultural field, the Early Middle Ages was the moment in which monastic life emerged and,
20:12with it, the seclusion of knowledge in monasteries. The architectural style
20:18of this stage was Romanesque. Finally, the economy ceased to be
20:24based on the slave production system that had been characteristic of the last stage of
20:29the Roman Empire. In its place, feudalism began to appear, which would mark the entire Middle Ages
20:36economically and socially. High Middle Ages
20:42The High Middle Ages comprised from the 9th century to the 11th century. During these centuries,
20:48feudalism was fully implanted in society. This system was characterized by the
20:55work of serfs on the lands of feudal lords. In exchange,
20:59they had to pay a tribute. Politically,
21:04power began to decentralize. Although the kings maintained their position, they had
21:09to start sharing their powers with the great lords belonging to the nobility.
21:15https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/William_the_Conqueror_by_an_unknown_artist_circa_1620.jpg
21:16With the disintegration of the Carolingian Empire, Europe went through a period of urbanization, in addition to experiencing
21:23a strong increase in military forces. On the other hand, this medieval period
21:30was marked by a great increase in population. The new political
21:36and social organization and the improvement in the harvests allowed the demographics to increase.
21:42Late Middle Ages
21:44The Late Middle Ages began at the beginning of the 12th century and lasted until the middle of the 15th century,
21:52according to those who place its end in the fall of Constantinople, or in 1492, according to
22:00those who point to the discovery of America as the fact that caused the change of time.
22:05In its beginnings, it was a period of opening in which the cities gained importance compared
22:11to the rural world. A good part of this change was due to trade and union activities,
22:18which ended up causing the appearance of a new social class: the bourgeoisie.
22:22The result was the slow decline of feudalism in favor of capitalism.
22:28Another event that marked this period was the epidemic of the
22:33black plague. According to experts, this disease caused the death of between 25 and 50 million people in
22:43Europe. The human disaster was impressive: the continent went from having 80 million
22:49inhabitants to having only 30 million in 1353. This epidemic, together with climatic changes
22:58that caused poor harvests, caused the great crisis that broke out in the 14th century. At the beginning
23:05of the 15th century, with the crisis still present, the Hundred Years' conflict broke out, pitting
23:11France and England against each other. The victory of the French was essential to strengthen the country.
23:18The Church also went through its own crisis at this stage. The corruption that
23:23developed within it, the sale of indulgences and other factors caused
23:29the appearance of Protestantism and the loss of influence of Rome in much of the continent.
23:37Feudal system One of the characteristics
23:41that distinguished the Middle Ages from other periods of history was its
23:46feudal system of production. This, which also affected the mode of political and social organization, replaced the
23:52previous slave model. Feudalism
23:57Briefly, feudalism could be defined as the system in which a free man, called a
24:04vassal, acquires the obligation to obey and serve another more powerful free man.
24:10The vassals had to participate in the military matters of defense of the lordship,
24:16in addition to complying with the orders given by the lord. In exchange, he had to protect the vassal and
24:24provide him with land for his sustenance. These lands were called fiefdoms.
24:29At first, the feudal system was focused on the military aspect,
24:34but it evolved to grant the lords the ability to dispense justice,
24:39lead their fiefdom militarily and administratively, and collect tribute from vassals.
24:46The word feudalism comes from the term fiefdom, which denoted the territory that
24:52the kings of the Middle Ages gave to the nobles in exchange for certain services.
24:57The feudal system began to weaken from the fifteenth century. Then began a
25:04transition period in which some features of that system were maintained while
25:10others belonging to the capitalist model began to appear. Vassalage and fief system
25:18As has been pointed out, the feudal system was based on vassalage and
25:23fiefdom. The first concept alluded to a political and legal relationship,
25:28while the second to an economic and social one. In this system, the kings gave fiefs to
25:35their vassals, in this case belonging to the nobility. These nobles, for their part,
25:41granted their own fiefdoms to other vassals, thereby becoming lords.
25:47In most cases, the monarch granted these fiefdoms or territories to nobles
25:54who had stood out for their services. With this delivery, the king not only intended to reward the
26:00most valuable of his vassals, but also tried to ensure the defense and union of his kingdom.
26:07The delivery was made through an act covered with great solemnity and that consisted
26:13of three phases: homage, oath to remain faithful and investiture.
26:19The vassals
26:22The feudal lord undertook to provide the means so that the vassal could
26:28support himself and offer him protection. In return, the vassal had to help his lord if
26:35any type of threat appeared, almost always military. Over time, the great lords
26:42created powerful armies with their vassals. Also, if any lord was captured by his
26:49enemies, his vassals were required to pay ransom for them to be released. Likewise,
26:56they had to contribute money for the armor worn by the first-born of the lord when he was
27:03knighted. The crusades were also financed in part with the contributions of those vassals.
27:09That vassalage was, finally, a relationship between two free men, although of a different
27:17category. The most powerful became the lord of the other, who became his vassal.
27:25Commoners The third estate within
27:30feudal society was made up of the commoners, the lower classes. This class, the most numerous,
27:38included from the serfs, free men but without political rights, to the slaves. In addition,
27:45there were also other free men who enjoyed limited political rights and
27:51owned small tracts of land. Serfs were required to pay
27:57tribute to the feudal lord in exchange for the right to work their land for food.
28:02This led to peasants only paying taxes to their lords and not to the central state.
28:08Within the free men were the artisans and merchants. Over time,
28:15those who practiced these trades began to open their own shops and accumulate wealth.
28:21At the end of the Middle Ages, they would be the ones who would give way to the formation of the bourgeoisie.
28:28End of the Middle Ages As with its beginning, there
28:33is no exact moment in which the Middle Ages were considered over. Historians tend
28:40to focus on two relevant dates: 1453, with the fall of Constantinople into the hands of the Turks,
28:47or 1492, with the discovery of America. Apart from these two events,
28:55the end of the Middle Ages was marked by other important events. Among them
29:01are the religious schism in the West or the different waves of plague epidemics.
29:06On the other hand, the bad harvests caused by the climate and the death of millions of peasants
29:13due to the disease caused the feudal system to enter into crisis and prices to increase.
29:21The difficulty to survive caused several peasant uprisings against the
29:27feudal lords. These were losing part of their power in favor of the kings.
29:32Many peasants migrated to the cities and joined the nascent guilds,
29:38the base of the bourgeoisie. Crisis of the 14th century
29:45After the period of economic splendor and demographic growth that
29:50the 12th and 13th centuries represented, Europe slowed down its development during the following century.
29:56The causes were bad harvests caused by the weather, which meant that a good part of
30:02the population went through episodes of famine. The aforementioned black plague accelerated the effect of
30:08the crisis. The epidemic is estimated to have started in Europe in 1348, transmitted by rats
30:16arriving on merchant ships from Asia. Finally, the continent came under attack from the
30:23Turks and Mongols in the east, while England and France battled in a
30:28conflict that lasted a Hundred Years (1337-1453). Formation of the great European states
30:40In the political field the changes were also considerable. The kings were
30:44subtracting power from the nobility and some of the great European states were consolidated.
30:51The German emperors saw how their authority was limited to the German territory, which
30:57remained divided into several states. Ultimately, imperial power passed to the House of Luxembourg,
31:04first, and later to the Habsburgs. The aforementioned Hundred
31:10Years Contest began when Charles IV of France died without leaving an heir in 1328. The French nobles
31:18decided that his successor should be Philip of Valois, but Edward III of England, a
31:25vassal of the French monarch in the territories he had in France He did not accept that decision.
31:32The beginning of the conflict was very negative for the French, who also suffered several
31:37popular rebellions. It was in this conflict that the figure of Joan of Arc emerged
31:43as a representative of the French popular resistance against the English.
31:48https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Albert_Lynch_-_Jeanne_d%27Arc.jpg
31:48However, France recovered during the reign of Charles VII, from 1422. Thus, they
31:58managed to expel the English from their continental domains , except Calais.
32:03England then suffered a civil conflict, that of the Two Roses, which lasted for 30
32:11years (1455-1485). This conflict pitted the House of Lancaster against that of York. Finally,
32:22the heir to both houses, Henry VII, came to the throne and founded the Tudor dynasty.
32:28In the other part of Europe, the Byzantine Empire completely disappeared after the conquest of
32:36Constantinople by the Turks. Overseas expansion
32:42The fall of Constantinople seriously affected the trade routes
32:48linking Europe with Asia. Traders had to find new, safer routes.
32:54The country that took the initiative in opening new routes was Portugal. Later,
33:01Spain joined this race. On one of the voyages trying to find a
33:07safer way to reach Asia, Christopher Columbus discovered America for the Europeans.