Expert: Conrad T. Jalowski - 6/1/2011

Question
Can you explain the economic, social, and political troubles that afflicted Western Europe during the Late Middle Ages, beginning in the 14th century. I am doing a research paper and I want to be sure I am covering all the information I need.

Answer
Hello.

(The Late Middle Ages):

The period of the Late Middle Ages saw the development of the early forms of capitalism, the rise of urban centers, the growth of the bourgeoisie to the detriment of the patriciate, the cultural diffusion and exchange of texts between Christendom and the Mussulman empires and the rediscovery of the texts of Graeco-Roman antiquity that would later fuel the Renaissance. In addition, the Late Middle Ages nurtured the embryos of the modern nation-state. The critical political development or dynamic of the Late Middle Ages was the centralization of monarchical authority and the expansion of the royal demesne which weakened the hold of feudalism and the hegemony of the local nobles and powerful magnates. For example, the conflict of the Hundred Years' War which lasted from 1337-1453 allowed for the creation of centralized states in France and England. With the conclusion of the Hundred Years' War in 1453 CE, the Valois French reintegrated the Duchy of Brittany and the Duchy of Burgundy into the royal domain as well as Provence with Marseilles. After the conflict of the Hundred Years' War at the battle of the Bosworth Fields in 1485 CE, the founder of the Tudor dynasty Henry VII expanded monarchical hegemony leading to the establishment of a strong centralized state in England. Also, the reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula with the fall of the Muslim Kingdom of Granada in 1492 CE led to the unification of the Spanish kingdoms and was a defining moment in the growth of royal absolutism in Spain. In the Italian Peninsula, the growing affluence and economic prosperity of the city-states provided a suitable setting that allowed for greater contact and commercial relations with the Mussulman powers and Byzantium which resulted in the intellectual effervescence that marked the Renaissance. The most notable military event of the Late Middle Ages was the fall of Constantinople in 1453 CE to the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II 'the Conqueror'. The fall of the metropolis of Constantinople led to the intermingling of Byzantine philosophy (The Greek East) with its Romano-Hellenistic tradition and the philosophy of Occidental Europe (The Latin West). During the final phase of Byzantine history under the Palaeologans, Byzantine Mistra was the center of a period of great intellectual productivity. The Byzantine scholars of Graeco-Roman antiquity during the cultural period of the Palaeologan Renaissance transported their philosophy to the fertile land of Italy. In conclusion, the rise of the urban centers, the increased affluence of the Italian city-states and principalities, and the growth of the bourgeoisie and the merchant class in combination with the departure of the Palaeologan scholars to the Occident all led to the period of the Italian Renaissance.

From,

Conrad Jalowski