The Middle Ages come into being around A.D. 500, which was after the western half of the Roman Empire collapsed. They lasted to about A.D.1400 and are referenced to as a period of time that experienced violence by Barbaric invasion, feudalism, disease, and strong feelings for faith. The Dark Ages, the Age of Feudalism and the Age of Faith are all appropriate titles, however the label that best fits is the Age of Faith because of the political, economic and social influence the church held. The middle ages are often identified as the Dark Age because of the Black Death, invasions by the Barbarians, and because of lack of enlightenment for the common people. A plague most likely originating from Asia spread throughout Europe.
Between 1547 and 1558 England was almost torn apart by religious revolution. Assess the validity of this claim. (45 marks) A religious revolution is the complete change and reform of religious organisation. This is something that arguably occurred in England between 1547 and 1558, during which time there were two monarchs – Edward VI and Mary I, with opposing religious beliefs. During Tudor England, religious identity was extremely important, and therefore religious ‘revolution’ was obviously going to affect the people and the country significantly.
It was a period of intense rebellions such as the Wyatt’s rebellion, or factional fighting in court for example; Edward’s court was ridden with the visions of the dukes of Northumberland (John Dudley) and Somerset (Edward Seymour). But perhaps the most fundamental division of the mid Tudor crisis was thrown up by the reformation of the church and Mary’s brutal Counter Reformation. This leads me on to talk about one of the largest perceived problems at the start of Elizabeth’s reign. Henry VIII reigned against the background of the dramatic upheaval of the English church known as the Reformation. This is when the authority of the Roman Catholic Church led by the pope was rejected by those known as Protestants.
Also, on a timeline, it states that invasions began from 27 BCE and they ended during 476 CE, when Rome fell. Then means that Rome was continuously being invaded for about four hundred years. In addition, severe natural disasters were another step leading to the collapse of the empire. According to Document F, many earthquakes took place. They weren’t just ordinary earthquakes.
The medieval time period encompasses some of the most exciting and yet most turbulent events in History. With the collapse of the Roman Empire, and, during the transition to the Renaissance, the Middle Ages saw amazing transformations, but with extreme difficulty. Calamities such as the Black Death killed a large portion of the Western European population. Also in this period, the Church was undergoing radical reforms due to internal corruption. The conflicts in the church were paralleled by conflict in the lay world such as the Peasant Wars.
The failure of foreign policy in the years 1514-1525 can be attributed to many things. The combination of Henry's isolation from European affairs and the fact that his attempts to raise tax were ultimately unpopular failures, meant that he had no way to impose himself upon Europe. Even when he did manage to scrape together the finances needed for a strong foreign policy his reliance on his allies led to disaster. As soon as Henry took the throne in 1509, it was obvious that he was a king that wanted to fight a war. However, wars generally led to very expensive costs to the country.
Though the Middle Ages may have seemed like a time of power and triumph, it was also a time of chaos and instability. Many events of the time period left Europe in disarray. Some of these events included the peasant revolts, the Hundred Years' War, the Black Death, the shift from monarchy to democratic governments, and the decline of the church. Though these events caused imbalance amongst the world, it did leave much room for improvement and lead to the emergence of a more modern economy, politics, and society. The economic instability of the fourteenth century was brought on by two factors.
The impact of this mass killer caused disorder to the medieval society because of its unknown origin, the unknown causes and preventions, its deathly symptoms and its breakdown of life. Religion was greatly affected and changed. In 1347, a Tartar army under Kipchak khan Janibeg had been trying to take the Genoese cathedral city and trading ports of Caffa on
The barons had numerous complaints about their king. They were fed up with the king's constant military campaigns abroad, constant demand for higher taxes, more money, and men to continue his war efforts. After King John lost is land in northern France, he announced higher taxes without consulting his barons. This greatly angered the barons. Another complaint was that King John angered the Roman Catholic Church, which led to every church service in England being banned and the Pope excommunicating him.
It is clear that the local rivalries among the nobility were a prominent factor in causing the outbreak of the civil war in 1455. However the evidence shows that it was in fact King Henry VI’s inadequacies that were the core cause of the conflict, as it was his inability to control these rivalries that allowed them to escalate, causing the War of the Roses. King Henry VI’s other inadequacies include his mistreatment of the nobility and his careless spending. Limiting factors to this argument include the view that the loss of France was responsible for the start of civil conflict however this is challenged by the fact some of the failures in France can be attributed to Henry’s inadequacies. Furthermore, over-mighty subjects, who presented a threat to the throne, were getting more powerful and wealthy therefore presenting a threat to Henry VI’s kingship.