Medieval Europe: Crisis and Renewal

Medieval Europe: Crisis and Renewal
by Teofilo  Ruiz
16 lectures of 45 minutes - 310 mb - mp3

The Middle Ages harshly tested human perseverance, imagination, and survival. Living conditions were squalid for almost everyone except the ruling elite; most of the riches of Western culture were preserved in monasteries and on other continents.

Then came widespread famines, prolonged wars, and plagues that marked Europe's late medieval period as one of the most harrowing times in recorded history.

But Europe was not broken by these crises. Instead, Europe renewed itself and spawned fundamental artistic, religious, romantic, and political ideas that continue to shape our world to this day.

This 16-lecture course is divided into three sections.

Section 1 provides a framework for medieval society through detailed descriptions of what life was like for peasants, merchants, and monarchs.

In Section 2, you see how this rigid but well-entrenched social structure was shaken to the core by several crises. By name alone, medieval turning points such as the Hundred Years War and the Black Death still evoke shudders in the human psyche.

In Section 3, you see the glorious renewal that followed the devastation of the 14th century: the spread of Renaissance ideas and styles from Northern Italy throughout western Europe; the creation of the modern nation in Castile, France, and England; the "rediscovery" of Plato; and far-reaching voyages of discovery.

The roots of what is often inappropriately referred to as the "early modern world" are found in the transformations of the 14th and 15th centuries.

Course Lecture Titles
01.Europe in 1300—An Introduction
02.Europe in 1300—Rural Society
03.Europe in 1300—Urban Society
04.Europe in 1300—Church, State and Learning
05.An Age of Crises—Hunger
06.An Age of Crises—War
07.An Age of Crises—The Black Death
08.An Age of Crises—Popular Rebellions
09.Late Medieval Society—Politics
10.Late Medieval Society—Castile in the Fifteenth Century
11.Late Medieval Society—Culture and Mentality, Part I
12.Late Medieval Society—Culture and Mentality, Part II
13.Late Medieval Society—Love, Sexuality, and Misogyny, Part I
14.Late Medieval Society—Love, Sexuality, and Misogyny, Part II
15.Late Medieval Society—The Blending of High and Popular Culture
16.The Beginnings of Modernity