The Late Middle Ages: periodization and main characteristics

What we know as the "Late Middle Ages", and which traditional historiography places between the 13th and 15th centuries, it is a compendium of economic, political and social changes that prefigured the advent of the Modern Era. Thus, despite the fact that historical references and nominations are enemies of reality, it is true that we can distinguish a series of characteristics in these late medieval centuries that define a specific period with a personality own.

In this article we will give 8 keys to understanding what changes occurred during the centuries of the Late Middle Ages and what was its importance in history.

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The Late Middle Ages: a time of change

Indeed, the last medieval centuries are awash with change. The old feudal world, which had been the mainstay of the Middle Ages, is in crisis. Its own contradictions are the engine of change. On the other hand, the population presents the highest figures in the 13th century, with the consequent overpopulation of the countryside and the cities.

The arrival of the Black Death (1348) marks a before and after, to the point that, without it, the course of history could have been very different. The violent demographic decline, caused by high mortality, drives a series of social changes that have political, economic and cultural consequences.

We are going to review the Late Middle Ages through 7 capital points, in order to understand what this historical period consisted of.

1. The Black Death, crop failures and the "Little Ice Age"

Every period of prosperity is followed by a period of crisis. Roughly speaking, this is what happened in the 13th century. After a period of boom in crops and enormous population growth, a period of bad harvests ensued, partly motivated by the called the medieval "Little Ice Age", which began at the beginning of the 14th century and which was one of the coldest periods in the history of Europe. Temperatures dropped to 3 degrees Celsius, and great floods alternated with little rain. All this caused a very long season of bad harvests that weakened the health of Europeans.

When the Black Death arrived from Asia in 1348, following the Italian trade routes, the population was not prepared to deal with the disease. The weakness produced by a bad diet and the cold wreaked havoc. It is estimated that a quarter of the European population succumbed to the plague (according to some authors, there were many more deaths), with the economic and social consequences that this sudden demographic decline entailed. We will analyze these consequences in the following sections.

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2. Crisis and evolution of the feudal system

Although this political, social and economic system will not disappear completely, in the last medieval centuries we are witnessing a gradual evolution of the same that will end, ultimately, in the mercantilist-type structure of the time modern. Let's see what this significant change is due to.

In 1348, as we have already indicated, the fearsome Black Death reached Europe. The demographic consequences of this epidemic were catastrophic, since it is estimated that between 30 and 60% of the European population succumbed to the disease. This sudden demographic decline causes, of course, that the countryside is practically depopulated. The feudal lords are not capable of supporting the rural crisis, and the territories are gradually absorbed by large landowners.

Thus, land concentration is produced where large-scale exploitation predominates, which gives way to the appearance of new models of agricultural work, such as tenants and day laborers. The former are in charge of some land by virtue of a contract; Very often, these lands belong to urban oligarchies that thus become part of the ownership of rural assets. On the other hand, day laborers break into the agricultural landscape with great force and represent strong competition for stable peasants, since they receive their salary for each day worked. These day laborers will be the basis of the future proletarianization of the peasantry.

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3. Spiritual and social crisis

The fourteenth century is the century of the crisis of the papacy. The dichotomy between spiritual and temporal power was not new; disputes between the Pope and the kings and emperors had been dragging on since the 11th century. However, the Late Middle Ages is a deep crisis in this regard. Intellectuals such as Marsilio de Padua and Juan de París promulgated the theory of the ascending path of power; but it is above all William of Ockham who establishes a full stop with his famous "Ockham's razor", where he proposes an absolute separation between papal power, strictly limited to spiritual matters, and temporal power.

Three dates are significant. One, 1302, the year in which Pope Boniface VIII issues the bull Unam Sanctam, where the papal superiority over kings and emperors is confirmed. The second, 1303, when Bonifacio himself is the victim of an attack in Agnani. And the third and most significant, 1305, the year in which Pope Clement V, of French origin, is elected.

This election is clearly sponsored by the French monarch, Philip IV of France, immersed in a long struggle against papal authority (and who was behind the attack on Boniface VIII). The papal court then moves to Avignon, where Philip controls papal decisions at will. Clement V becomes a puppet in the hands of the French whims. The preponderance of France over the pontificate lasted no less than seventy years, during which five French popes were appointed.

The papal seat did not return to Rome until 1378, with Gregory XI. However, the authority of the Pontiff had been definitively damaged. There were not a few intellectuals and mystics who criticized the scant religious role that had emanated from the pontiff during the "Babylonian captivity", as the Avignon era was called. Then began a crisis that would last for forty years, during which the papal prestige would be seriously compromised.

Finally, and already in the fifteenth century, the struggle "sacerdocium-imperium" or, what is the same, between spiritual and earthly power, seemed to have reached an agreement. The Popes limited themselves to their possessions in the Italian peninsula, and left those of the rest of the territories in the hands of their respective monarchs. However, the fissure was already made; the following century would be the century of the Reformation.

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4. The rise of the cities

As we have pointed out in the first section, the bad harvests and the advent of the Black Death marked a before and after in the European demographic evolution. The centuries before the "Little Ice Age" and the great plague epidemic were centuries of economic prosperity, and also population. In fact, at the dawn of the 14th century, the countryside and the cities were beginning to meet at the limit, with obvious signs of overpopulation.

Cities in particular concentrated most of the European population: It is estimated that in Italy (which, together with Flanders, was the most urbanized territory) there were 200 cities with more than 5,000 inhabitants, a real outrage for the time. Not only that; On the Italian peninsula we find the so-called medieval “metropolises”: Milan, Venice and Florence, which at the end of the 13th century already exceeded 100,000 citizens. In the westernmost part of Europe, Paris stands as the great urban center, since it boasts the not inconsiderable figure of 50,000 inhabitants.

This urban population concentrated in the Mediterranean area (with the exception, as we have already said, of Flanders), is understandable if we take into account the already existing network of Roman cities. Indeed, both the Italian and Iberian peninsulas, as well as part of France, have an excellent network of cities of Roman origin that still maintain their organization. On the other hand, in northern Europe, cities tend to be newly built; old villages that receive population privileges to encourage urban settlement and that, ultimately, are the origin of the prosperous Flemish cities.

The Black Death of the 14th century supposes, of course, a significant decline of these urban centers. However, the foundations of the new urban reality are already laid and, throughout the fifteenth century, both Italian cities and The flamenco women will experience their period of splendor, not only politically and economically, but also artistically, thanks to the powerful social group of the bourgeoisie, who will from then on act as very important patrons.

5. Changes in social models

The rise of the cities implies, obviously, the definitive deployment of the merchant, banker and bourgeois class. This social group stands as the most powerful within the social, economic and political reality of cities; They not only act as patrons (they are patrons and protectors of the most famous artists), but also exercise tight political control within the urban framework. The rich bourgeoisie are present in the urban political groups, and they are the ones who set the guidelines. Thus, a powerful urban oligarchy was formed., with a power and opulence similar to that held by the aristocracy in previous centuries.

Of course, this change in the social direction implies a change in the models of production. Now it is the bourgeois who control the entire production process; It is not yet a factory model, as we will see later during the Industrial Revolution, but they are present. in the organization of the productive chain, controlling the artisans and the other workers involved in the process. The consequence is a significant loss of freedom on the part of the artisans and a crisis in the medieval community system of guilds.

On the other hand, the demographic decline after the plague caused a significant reduction in the number of members of the family nucleus. Thus, we have that, in the fourteenth century, the family has been reduced to about 4 members (the married couple and two children), which somewhat breaks the myth that, in the Middle Ages, families were very large. The high mortality and low life expectancy mean that we barely find two generations in the family nucleus. On the other hand, an advance in the age of marriage is observed among young people, most probably motivated by the need to increase fertility in a world that had practically run out of deserted.

During the Late Middle Ages, the city exerted an absolute predominance over the immediate rural environment. The demographic collapse after the plague made specialized urban groups (artisans and workers), which causes, as we have already commented, that the urban oligarchy takes the reins of the entire production. This leads, in turn, a greater demand for luxury objects, destined to satisfy this oligarchy thirsty for ostentation and power.

6. Appearance of the great medieval hospitals

The increase in population in cities implies a greater need for hospitals. Thus, we find an evolution from the old hospitals for pilgrims (focused, above all, on asylum and care) towards greater specialization in the treatment and cure of diseases.

In many European cities the services of the various hospitals in the city are centralized in a single building, which is usually the origin of the current hospitals that are still active. As an example, we can cite the Hospital de la Santa Creu in Barcelona, ​​whose magnificent medieval building is still can be seen in the Raval neighbourhood, and which until the 19th century was the only active hospital in the city.

7. The fascination for the world

In the centuries of the Late Middle Ages, the so-called “travel literature” proliferated., fruit of the need to know new worlds. The population was hungry for stories set in wonderful places; in fact, this literature did not seek to offer a realistic vision of the world, but was simply a narration of epics in remote places described in the most fantastic way possible. Thus appears the literary genre of "wonders", whose greatest exponent is the book of wonders of Marco Polo.

Written when the famous traveler was in jail, this travel book describes in an absolutely the Asian lands, where Polo traveled, but also the African continent, where the Italian did not set foot in his life. This is characteristic of this type of literature: the authors often wrote about lands that had never been seen, aware that the public was not asking for reality, but to get away for a few hours from their monotonous life daily.

This genre of "wonders" will be the basis of interest in the world that, little by little, is awakening in Europe. During the 14th century and, more specifically, in the 15th century, Genoese and Venetian merchants began to look for new trade routes. Added to this growing interest in Asia and the Atlantic Ocean, later, was Portugal, which would be one of the naval powers of the following centuries.

8. The birth of states

At the end of the Middle Ages, the concept of “state” began to take shape, which, despite still being a very diffuse concept, would find its foundations in the social changes of this period. The development of Roman law, strengthened in the middle of the Middle Ages, had a lot to do with this whole process..

Thus, in the last medieval centuries, the embryos of what would later be absolute monarchies were outlined. The king's power is extraordinarily strengthened, to the detriment of the aristocracy. In fact, the fifteenth century is the century of conflicts between the monarch and the nobility, the latter obsessed with preserve their old prerogatives, but also with the cities, which increasingly demand more autonomy. Strong monarchies (although not yet absolutist) emerged from this struggle, where the preponderance of the royal role over the aristocracy, the clergy and the cities was very clear. In this way, the monarch and his lineage are identified with the state, understanding this not with the current meaning, but rather as the patrimony of this family of monarchs that takes the reins.