Origins, Development, and Outcome of Major Catastrophes in the Eurasian Landmass, Feudalism, Guilds,

Feudalism

Please be as specific as possible and be sure to include key names, dates and concepts in your answer.Your answer should include an introduction, summary/discussion and conclusion. The essay should be 1–3 pages single spaced. Anything under 1 page (400 words) will most likely be inefficient.

The Eurasian land mass underwent a period of crisis and upheaval between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries due to three major catastrophic events in particular. Please write an essay in which you describe the origins, development and outcome of these catastrophes. Be sure to provide specific examples and details in your answer from my lecture.

Authority and the Church I. Medieval Society (Continued):

1. System of land ownership and duties

2. Earlier origins but strongest from 9th - 15th centuries

3. Lords/Manors & Vassals/Fiefs

4. Fealty and Felony

5. Peasants – Serfs or Freemen

6. Tithes/Taxes

7. Feudal privilege and other aspects continued until 18th century) but serfdom ended in Western Europe by the 14th century after the plague but continued in Russia until much later.

1. Associations of craftsmen and/or merchants

2.“Gilden” (Saxon – “to pay”)

3. Emerge with the birth of larger towns in 10th/11th centuries (earlier precedents)

4. Strongest from 11th -16th centuries

5. Provided networks and protections to one another

6. Apprentices and Journeymen

7. Richer v. Poorer Guilds

8.  Decline with Capitalism and Modern Nations

1. Early dependency on Byzantines and Franks

2. Dependency and tensions with Holy Roman Emperors and French Kings

3. East-West Schism 1054 (Great Schism) •

4. Crusades 11th -13th centuries

5. Greater centralization in 11th – 13th centuries in West

6. Conflicts with Holy Roman Emperors and French Kings

7. Conflict between Boniface VIII and Philip IV (France)

8. Avignon Papacy (1309–1377) • Western Schism (1378-1417)

9. Council of Constance, in 1417 Depiction of the death of Boniface in a 15th-century manuscript of Boccaccio's De Casibus. Upheaval.

10. Who Were the Mongols? (Early Culture)

11. Nomadic people (herders & hunters) from the Steppes of Central Asia

12. Shamanistic religion with elements of Tengrism originally (Tengri & Ejie)

13. Later they took on the faiths of those they ruled over ( Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity, etc.)

14. Polygamy was common among male warriors

15. Women maintained the domestic space but also fought in battle at times

How did a group of sparsely numbered nomads manage such a vast empire? -Mass murder, torture and forced resettlement routinely used (i.e. Hulagu Khan executed 800,000 people in Mesopotamia (Baghdad) in 1258 when they refused to surrender) -Highly skilled force of 130,000 Calvary men -Foreign troops often used on massive scale -Used foreign assistance in various bureaucracies (needed to communicate in Chinese, Tibetan, Persian, Arab and other languages) -Developed paper/coin currency -Census used as basis for taxes and military -Practiced religious tolerance in most areas - Courtly hostage taking.

1. Mongols provided lowered tolls in the commercial cities to further trade

2. The silk and spice trade between Europe and China flourished

3. Spread knowledge concerning explosives, printing, medicine, ship building and navigation to the West (i.e. Age of Exploration)

4. In the Middle East they further developed architecture, and writing

5. They brought China Persian astronomy and ceramics

6. Sorghum (grain/cereal) and other foods came to China from India