Middle Ages Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==Late Middle Ages== {{main|Late Middle Ages}} ===Society and economy=== {{main|Crisis of the Late Middle Ages}} [[File:Jacquerie Navarre.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.3|alt=A crowned man and soldiers watching the beheading of a man|Execution of some of the ringleaders of the {{lang|fr|[[Jacquerie]]}} revolt, from a 14th-century manuscript of the ''Chroniques de France ou de St Denis'']] Average annual temperature was declining from around 1200, introducing the gradual transition to the [[Little Ice Age]]. Climate anomalies caused agricultural crises, culminating in the [[Great Famine of 1315–1317|Great Famine of 1315–17]].{{sfn|Hoffmann|2014|pp=323–325}} As the starving peasants slaughtered their draft animals, those who survived had to make extraordinary efforts to revive farming.{{sfn|Backman|2022|p=531}} These troubles were followed in 1346 by the [[Black Death]], a [[pandemic]] that spread throughout Europe, killing about one-third of the population. As plague continued to strike Europe regularly until 1400, the total population reduced by about {{nowrap|50 percent}}.{{refn|group=note|Towns were especially hard-hit because of their crowded conditions.{{sfn|Wickham|2016|p=210}} One town, [[Lübeck]] in Germany, lost {{nowrap|90 per cent}} of its population to the Black Death.{{sfn|Singman|1999|p=189}}}}{{sfn|Wickham|2016|p=210}} The trauma of the plague led to savage [[Black Death Jewish persecutions|pogroms against the Jews]], and the self-mortification of the [[flagellant]]s.{{sfn|Fried|2015|pp=420–423}} Peasants who survived the pandemic paid lower rents to the landlords but demand for agricultural products declined, and the lower prices barely covered their costs. Urban workers received higher salaries but they were heavily taxed. Occasionally, the governments tried to fix rural rents at a high level, or to keep urban salaries low, which provoked [[Popular revolt in late-medieval Europe|popular uprisings]], including the {{lang|fr|[[Jacquerie]]}} in France, the [[Peasants' Revolt]] in England, and the [[Ciompi Revolt]] in [[Florence]].{{sfn|Backman|2022|pp=531–542}} Conflicts between ethnic groups became polarised, and local statutes were issued to prohibit intermarriages and limit membership in guilds along ethnic lines.{{refn|group=note|In Bohemia, a mid-14th-century Czech treatise accused the local German artisans of plotting to keep prices high. In 1392, the guild of the bakers in the city of [[Riga]] excluded those who married a non-German women. In the town of [[Limerick]], "No one of Irish blood or birth" could hold offices or be hired as apprentices.{{sfn|Bartlett|1994|pp=236–239}}}}{{sfn|Bartlett|1994|pp=236–242}} Private feuds were almost permanent in politically fragmented regions, and local skirmishes often escalated into full-scale warfare.{{sfn|Vale|2001|p=318}} Labour services the peasants owed for their land tenure were often changed into cash rents, providing the landlords with a stable source of income. Landlords joined to extort privileges from their governments but royal administration started to protect the interests of the poor.{{sfn|Keen|1976|pp=234–237}} Serfdom was officially abolished in many places,{{sfn|Keen|1976|p=237}} although in other regions, mainly in Central and Eastern Europe, it was imposed on tenants who had previously been free.{{sfn|Epstein|2009|pp=246–247}} The rise of banking continued, fuelled partly by the crossborder movement of papal revenues with the mediation of large merchant houses. These also loaned money to warring royalty, at great risk, as some were bankrupted when kings defaulted on their loans.{{refn|group=note|As happened with the [[Bardi family|Bardi]] and [[Peruzzi]] firms in the 1340s when King [[Edward III of England]] repudiated their loans to him.{{sfn|Keen|1976|p=238}}}}{{sfn|Keen|1976|pp=237–239}} The Jewish communities were permanently expelled from France, and at least provisionally from most German cities and principalities. In contrast, the Hungarian and Polish rulers encouraged the Jewish moneylenders' immigration.{{sfn|Chazan|2006|pp=153, 198–208}} [[Massacre of 1391|Massive pogroms]] led to the mass conversion of Spanish Jewry in 1391. As the "[[New Christian]]s" were suspected of heresy, the [[Spanish Inquisition]] was established to inspect their faith. The Jews who refused to convert were exiled [[Alhambra Decree|from Spain]] in 1492, and [[Persecution of Jews and Muslims by Manuel I of Portugal|from Portugal]] in 1497. Most Spanish Jews left for [[History of the Jews in the Ottoman Empire|the Ottoman Empire]].{{sfn|Chazan|2006|pp=105–114}}{{sfn|Swanson|2021|p=103}} ===State resurgence=== Although the growth of central governments continued, still more than 500 autonomous [[polity|polities]] existed at the end of the period.{{sfn|Watts|2014|pp=420–425}} Successful dynasties reigned over several states mainly in close cooperation with local elites but could not freely redistribute resources among their realms.{{refn|group=note|The most successful dynasties were the [[House of Luxembourg|Luxembourgs]], [[House of Habsburg|Habsburgs]], and [[Jagiellonian dynasty|Jagiellonians]] in Central and Eastern Europe, the [[House of Trastámara|Trastámaras]] in the Mediterranean, and the [[House of Valois-Burgundy|Valois of Burgundy]].{{sfn|Watts|2014|p=414}}}}{{sfn|Watts|2014|p=414}} Fiscal and military matters were regularly discussed with the representatives of elite groups—primarily the nobility, prelates, and [[Burgher (social class)|burghers]]—at legislative assemblies known as parliament, {{lang|la|[[Diet (assembly)|diet]]}}, {{lang|es|[[Cortes Generales|cortes]]}}, or {{lang|es|[[Landtag]]}}.{{sfn|Rubin|2014|p=98}} Legal procedures improved as discretionary justice, previously dispensed by kings and their retainers, was delegated to professional lawyers.{{sfn|Watts|2014|p=414}} [[File:Jeanne d Arc(1412-1431) Miniaturmalerei 15 Jahrhundert.jpg|thumb|alt=A girl holding a sword and a halberd|[[Joan of Arc]] in peasant custom, wearing her arms, from a late 15th-century document]] In Germany, the elected emperors were no more than supreme arbitrators even if they had a significant power base in their hereditary lands.{{refn|group=note|The Luxemburgs held the [[Lands of the Bohemian Crown]], the Habsburg were expanding in the region of Austria, and the [[House of Wittelsbach|Wittelsbachs]] ruled [[Duchy of Bavaria|Bavaria]] and the [[Electoral Palatinate|Palatinate]].{{sfn|Watts|2014|p=171}}}}{{sfn|Watts|2014|pp=171–172}}{{sfn|Wickham|2016|p=225}} The emperors' authority was even more limited in Italy where [[Republic of Florence|Florence]], [[Duchy of Milan|Milan]], and Venice exploited the power vacuum to expand.{{sfn|Watts|2014|pp=165, 194–196}} The centuries-old rivalry between England and France escaleted into the [[Hundred Years' War]] when [[Edward III of England|Edward III]] (r. 1327–77) laid [[English claims to the French throne|claim to]] the French throne in 1337.{{sfn|Vale|2001|pp=319–322}}{{sfn|Jordan|2002|p=308}} The English won the battles of [[Battle of Crécy|Crécy]] and [[Battle of Poitiers|Poitiers]], captured the city of [[Calais]], and took control of an enlarged [[Gascony]] by 1360. French aristocrats' feuds escalated into a [[Armagnac–Burgundian Civil War|civil war]], allowing [[Henry V of England]] (r. 1413–22) to seize much of France.{{sfn|Watts|2014|pp=180–181, 317–322}}{{sfn|Wickham|2016|p=211}} The unconquered French regions put up a strong resistance, boosted by the visions of a peasant girl [[Joan of Arc]] (d. 1431). By 1453, [[Charles VII of France]] (r. 1422–61) expelled the English from the country except for [[Pale of Calais|Calais]].{{sfn|Watts|2014|pp=320–322}}{{sfn|Backman|2022|pp=549–550}} England went on to suffer a long civil war known as the [[Wars of the Roses]], which ended after [[Richard III of England|Richard III]] (r. 1483–85) died fighting at [[Battle of Bosworth Field|Bosworth]], and his opponent [[Henry VII of England|Henry Tudor]] consolidated power as {{nowrap|Henry VII}} (r. 1485–1509).{{sfn|Watts|2014|pp=344–345}} The wars mainly prevented the English to expand in the British Isles, but royal power remained weak in [[Scotland in the Late Middle Ages|Scotland]], and much of [[History of Ireland (1169–1536)|Ireland]] was ruled by feuding local lords.{{sfn|Watts|2014|pp=324–327}}{{sfn|Wickham|2016|pp=220–221}} Succession troubles were not uncommon in the Iberian kingdoms, as intermarriages between the royal houses created conflicting claims to the thrones, and royal bastards could successfully claim their father's inheritance.{{sfn|Denley|2001|pp=268–270}}{{sfn|Watts|2014|pp=184–186}} Portugal opened a new theater of anti-Muslim warfare in [[Marinid Sultanate|Morocco]] by [[Portuguese conquest of Ceuta|seizing Ceuta]] in 1415.{{sfn|Watts|2014|pp=186, 328}} Aragon and Castile were riven by conflicts between magnate factions or over the limits of royal government but the Castilian [[Isabella I of Castile|Isabella I]] (r. 1474–1504) and her Aragonese husband [[Ferdinand II of Aragon|Ferdinand II]] (r. 1479–1516) reinforced royal power.{{sfn|Watts|2014|pp=328–332, 346–349}} They completed the {{lang|es|Reconquista}} by [[Granada War|conquering]] Granada in 1492.{{sfn|Denley|2001|p=281}} The idea of elective kingship revived in the Central European and Scandinavian monarchies for various reasons, including the aristocrats' aversion to foreign influence.{{sfn|Wickham|2016|p=231}}{{sfn|Watts|2014|pp=64, 86}} Royal power was restored in Poland early in the {{nowrap|14th century}}, in a period when the Teutonic Knights' expansion intensified. The Knights primarily targeted [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania|Lithuania]], a loose confederation of mainly pagan Lithuanian chieftains and Orthodox Rus' principalities. The common enemy prompted a persisting [[Polish–Lithuanian union]], sealed by the marriage of the Lithuanian grand duke [[Władysław II Jagiełło|Jogaila]] (r. 1377–1434) with the Polish queen [[Jadwiga of Poland|Jadwiga]] (r. 1384–99),{{refn|group=note|Both Jadwiga and her elder sister the Hungarian queen [[Mary, Queen of Hungary|Mary]] (r. 1382–95) had been crowned "king" to demonstrate that they were queens regnant. Jogaila ruled as [[Władysław II Jagiełło|Władysław II]] in Poland (r. 1386–1434).{{sfn|Ramirez|2022|pp=263–265}}}} and the [[Christianization of Lithuania|Lithuanians' conversion]] to Catholicism.{{sfn|Wickham|2016|pp=229–230}}{{sfn|Watts|2014|pp=178, 198}} In Scandinavia, [[Margaret I of Denmark]] (r. 1387–1412) consolidated Denmark, Norway, and Sweden in the [[Kalmar Union|Union of Kalmar]] in 1397 but only the [[Denmark–Norway|Danish–Norwegian union]] proved lasting.{{refn|group=note|Although one of the most successful queens of the period, Margaret mainly ruled along with her young male relatives, first with [[Olaf II of Denmark|her underage son]], then with her [[Eric of Pomerania|young nephew]]. The Swedes first left the Kalmar Union in 1448.{{sfn|Wickham|2016|pp=192, 231}}{{sfn|Watts|2014|pp=200–201}}}}{{sfn|Watts|2014|p=201}} After Polish, Hungarian, and [[Battle of Blue Waters|Lithuanian invasions]], and [[Great Troubles|succession crises]] undermined the Golden Horde's power in the {{nowrap|14th century}}, the princes of [[Principality of Moscow|Muscovy]] began annexing the Rus' principalities often in competition [[Lithuanian–Muscovite War (1368–1372)|with Lithuania]].{{refn|group=note|Initially a tiny principality, Muscovy gained strength against its more powerful neighbors with the Mongol khans' support. From the 1320s, Moscow was the seat of the [[Metropolis of Kiev and all Rus'|head of]] the Orthodox Church in the Rus' principalities.{{sfn|Wickham|2016|pp=183–184}}{{sfn|Watts|2014|pp=177–178}}}} Under Grand Prince [[Ivan III of Russia|Ivan III]] (r. 1462–1505), the conquest of the great trading cities of [[Novgorod Republic|Novgorod]] and [[Principality of Tver|Tver]] completed Muscovy's dominance in the northeast.{{sfn|Sedlar|1994|p=380}}{{sfn|Watts|2014|pp=177–178, 359}} In southeastern Europe, two small Vlach principalities emerged, [[Wallachia]] and [[Moldavia]]; their rulers mainly accepted the suzerainty of the Hungarian or Polish kings.{{sfn|Sedlar|1994|pp=24, 394–395}} ===Collapse of Byzantium and rise of the Ottomans=== {{main|Byzantine Empire under the Palaiologos dynasty|Rise of the Ottoman Empire}} {{See also|Byzantine–Ottoman Wars|Bulgarian–Ottoman wars|Ottoman–Hungarian wars}} [[File:1396-Battle of Nicopolis.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Horsemen and infantry fighting at a fortress on a river|[[Battle of Nicopolis]] depicted in the late-16th-century Ottoman illuminated chronicle {{lang|tr|[[Hünername]]}}]] Facing financial crises and threats from the west, the restored Byzantine Empire was unable to prevent the Turks' expansion in Anatolia. Revolts by [[Catalan Company|Catalan mercenaries]] and recurring civil wars further weakened the empire,{{refn|group=note|The [[Byzantine civil war of 1321–1328|first civil war]] broke out when Emperor [[Andronikos II Palaiologos|Andronikos II]] (r. 1282–1328) disinherited his grandson [[Andronikos III Palaiologos|Andronikos III]] (r. 1328–41) for [[fratricide]]. The [[Byzantine civil war of 1341–1347|second civil war]] was fought over the regency for {{nowrap|Andronikos III's}} underage son [[John V Palaiologos|John V]] (r. 1341–90) between the powerful aristocrat [[John VI Kantakouzenos|John Kantakouzenos]] (d. 1383) and his opponents. Kantakouzenos was crowned co-emperor as {{nowrap|John VI}} (r. 1347–54) but his conflict with {{nowrap|John V}} caused the [[Byzantine civil war of 1352–1357|third civil war]].{{sfn|Fine|2009|pp=250, 290–293, 325–327}}}} allowing the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Turks]] to establish a strategic bridgehead [[Fall of Gallipoli|at Gallipoli]] in Europe in 1354.{{sfn|Fine|2009|pp=230–235, 250–252, 325–326}}{{sfn|Denley|2001|pp=256–257}} Within a century, the Ottomans reduced the competing southeastern European kingdoms, principalities and lordships to [[Vassal and tributary states of the Ottoman Empire|tributary state]]s.{{sfn|Sedlar|1994|pp=385–387}}{{sfn|Fine|2009|pp=407, 412, 472}} International coalitions, such as the [[Crusade of Nicopolis|Crusades of Nicopolis]] (1396) and [[Crusade of Varna|Varna]] (1444), could not stop their advance.{{sfn|Denley|2001|pp=266–267}} The last Byzantine emperor [[Constantine XI Palaiologos|Constantine XI]] (r. 1449–53) died fighting during the conquest of Constantinople by Sultan [[Mehmed II]] (r. 1451–81).{{sfn|Fine|2009|p=563}} Talented military commanders could repel individual Ottoman attacks{{refn|group=note|[[Skanderbeg]] (d. 1468) resisted Ottoman conquest for more than two decades at the head of a [[League of Lezhë|league of Albanian lords]]; [[John Hunyadi]] (d. 1456) defeated the Ottomans [[Siege of Belgrade (1456)|at Belgrade]], and the Moldavian prince [[Stephen the Great]] (r. 1457–1504) [[Battle of Vaslui|at Vaslui]].{{sfn|Sedlar|1994|pp=248–249, 251, 254}}}} but by the end of the century the Ottomans conquered almost the whole Balkans: Bulgaria was fully [[Ottoman conquest of Bulgaria|occupied in 1396]], Serbia [[Ottoman conquest of Serbia|in 1459]], Byzantine Greece [[Ottoman conquest of the Morea|in 1460]], Bosnia [[Ottoman conquest of Bosnia and Herzegovina|in 1463]], and the Ottomans broke all [[Albanian principalities|Albanian lords']] resistance by 1488.{{sfn|Fine|2009|pp=424–425, 561–604}} The Ottoman sultans ruled a highly centralised state, often appointing [[Slavery in the Ottoman Empire|slaves]] to the highest offices. From the late {{nowrap|15th century}}, the sultans murdered their brothers to avoid succession crises.{{sfn|Sedlar|1994|pp=26, 32, 96}} ===Controversy within the Church=== {{Main|Avignon Papacy|Western Schism}} As prolonged [[papal election]]s and conflicts with the Roman aristocracy had undermined papal authority in Italy, the seat of the papacy was moved to the city of [[Avignon]] in 1309. During the period of the [[Avignon Papacy]], Frenchmen assumed the leadership of the Catholic Church. When the French king [[Philip IV of France|Philip IV]] (r. 1285–1314) brought [[Trials of the Knights Templar|false charges]] against the wealthy Knight Templars, [[Pope Clement V]] (pope 1305–14) could not prevent [[Vox in excelso|their suppression]] in 1312.{{sfn|Thomson|1998|pp=164–170}}{{sfn|Vale|2001|pp=331–333}} Under popular pressure, the papal seat was returned to Rome in 1377, but disputes within the leadership of the Church led to the [[Western Schism]], with two and [[Council of Pisa|later]] three rival lines of popes, each supported by several states. The schism was removed at the [[Council of Constance]], with the resignation of one of the popes and the deposition of his two rivals, which paved the way for the election of an Italian cardinal as [[Pope Martin V]] (1417–31).{{sfn|Wickham|2016|p=213}}{{sfn|Swanson|2021|pp=83–86}} Theological debates intensified.{{sfn|Thomson|1998|pp=193–194}} [[John Wycliffe]] (d. 1384), an English theologian, criticised popular acts of devotion, such as pilgrimages, and challenged the Catholic doctrine on the [[Eucharist]].{{sfn|Hamilton|2003|pp=135–136}} His teachings influenced two major movements condemned as heretics by the official Church: [[Lollardy]] in England, and [[Hussites|Hussitism]] in Bohemia.{{sfn|Thomson|1998|p=218}} The Bohemian movement initiated with the teaching of the Czech theologian [[Jan Hus]] (d. 1415) who was burned at the stake at Constance. Hussitism, although the target of [[Hussite Wars|anti-heretic crusades]], survived as an officially recognised denomination in Bohemia.{{refn|group=note|The Bohemian Diet elected the [[Utraquism|moderate Hussite]] Czech aristocrat [[George of Poděbrady]] (r. 1457–71) king which provided an excuse for the Hungarian king [[Matthias Corvinus]] (r. 1458–90) to conquer parts of the Czech lands. Poděbrady was succeeded by the Catholic Polish prince [[Vladislaus II of Hungary|Vladislaus II]] (r. 1471–1516) but the Diet enacted the Czechs' right to freely choose between Hussitism and Catholicism in 1485.{{sfn|Sedlar|1994|pp=389–390}}}}{{sfn|Hamilton|2003|pp=136–137}}{{sfn|Thomson|1998|pp=213–217}} In the hope of western support against the Ottomans, Byzantine church leaders submitted themselves to the papacy at the [[Council of Florence]] in 1438–39, but most Orthodox believers rejected papal supremacy, and those who supported the [[Eastern Catholic Churches|church union]] died in exile.{{refn|group=note|One of the main Byzantine supporters of the church union, the erudite [[Bessarion|Basilios Bessarion]] (d. 1472) aroused the Italian scholars' interest in Greek studies during his exile.{{sfn|Fried|2015|p=370}}}}{{sfn|Hamilton|2003|pp=146–147}} Mysticism and devotional literature flourished.{{sfn|Thomson|1998|pp=199–200}} [[Meister Eckhart]] (d. 1327), a skilful critic of Aquinas, urged the faithful to focus on their inner divine core for perfection. Although his works were censured for heresy, his sermons survived in copies, also read by the Protestant reformator [[Martin Luther]] (d. 1546).{{sfn|Fried|2015|pp=359–361}} The most characteristic late medieval reform movement, the {{lang|la|[[Devotio Moderna]]}} put a special emphasis on lay piety, community experience and personal faith.{{sfn|Thomson|1998|pp=211–213}} In the Orthodox world, the Athonite monks [[Gregory of Sinai]] (d. 1346) and [[Gregory Palamas]] (d. 1359) promoted a form of meditative prayers known as [[Hesychasm]].{{sfn|Fine|2009|pp=437–439}} A general fear of evil practices led to the first [[witch trial]]s around 1450, but a popular handbook, the {{lang|la|[[Malleus Maleficarum]]}} ('Hammer of the Witches'), laid the groundwork for hysterical [[Witch trials in the early modern period|early modern witch hunts]].{{sfn|Fried|2015|pp=460–462}} ===Scholars, intellectuals, and exploration=== {{Main|Age of Discovery|Spanish colonization of the Americas}} [[File:Studying astronomy and geometry.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.3|alt=Seven men in clerical vestments holding devices under the starry skies|Clerics studying [[astronomy]] and [[geometry]], French, early 15th century]] Prominent late medieval philosophers departed from Aristotelian logic. Among them, [[William of Ockham]] (d. {{Circa|1348}}) concluded that [[natural philosophy]] could not prove God's existence. Under his influence, most scholars who researched subjects yielding verifiable conclusions such as mathematics or physics no more analysed theological issues.{{sfn|Colish|2002|pp=302–315, 322}} [[Marsilius of Padua]] (d. 1342) still gained inspiration from Aristotle to argue in favor of the communities' right to regulate their life and control the clergy.{{sfn|Backman|2022|pp=568–569}} Scholars such as [[Petrarch]] (d. 1374) intensively studied [[classical literature]], and many of them put a special emphasis on human dignity, hence they were known as [[Renaissance humanism|Humanists]].{{sfn|Adams|2011|p=241}} The poetry of [[Dante Alighieri|Dante]] (d. 1321) and the prose of [[Boccaccio]] (d. 1375), both from Florence, indicate that the [[Tuscan dialect]] of Italian matured into a literary language on a par with Latin. English reached the same level with the ''[[Canterbury Tales]]'', written by [[Geoffrey Chaucer]] (d. 1400). French got standardised through theoretical discussions about chivalric literature. One of the sharpest critics of chivalric romances, [[Christine de Pizan]] (d. {{Circa|1430}}) authored a feminist utopia, ''[[The Book of the City of Ladies]]''.{{sfn|Colish|2002|pp=213–222}} The level of literacy improved as new schools and universities were established all over Europe.{{refn|group=note|Although medieval documents often described people as {{lang|la|literatus}} or {{lang|la|illiteratus}}, estimations of literacy rate are uncertain because both terms are ambiguous.{{sfn|Backman|2022|p=484}} One estimate gave a literacy rate of ten per cent of males and one per cent of females in 1500.{{sfn|Singman|1999|p=224}}}} These were often sponsored by urban authorities or rich individuals.{{sfn|Denley|2001|p=287}}{{sfn|Vale|2001|p=346}} The invention of [[printing press]] with [[movable type]] simplified the mass publication of books, and the competition between publishing houses contributed to the quick spread of news and new ideas.{{sfn|Lee|2021|pp=131–134}} Several factors, primarily a growing demand for gold and the European merchants' eagerness to avoid custom payments prompted the search for a direct maritime route towards India along the African coasts. Initially, the Portuguese assumed the leadership of the explorations: [[Dinis Dias]] landed at [[Cap Verde]] in 1444, [[Bartolomeu Dias]] (d. 1500) sailed as far as [[Cape of Good Hope]] in 1486, and [[Vasco da Gama]] (d. 1524) reached India in 1498. After visiting the African slave markets, the Portuguese became deeply involved in slave trade towards Europe and the Muslim world.{{refn|group=note|The Portuguese prince [[Henry the Navigator]] (d. 1460) presided over an auction of African slaves at [[Lagos, Portugal|Lagos]] already in 1444.{{sfn|Fossier|1986|p=490}} He is often but not universally described as the prime mover in the Portuguese explorations.{{sfn|Denley|2001|p=284}}}}{{sfn|Fossier|1986|pp=483–490}} Christopher Colombus proposed a westward alternative route to India. He gained Isabella of Castile's support for [[Voyages of Christopher Columbus|his voyage of exploration]] that led to his discovery of the Americas in 1492.{{sfn|Denley|2001|pp=284–285}}{{sfn|Fossier|1986|pp=492–493}} {{anchor|Agriculture}} ===Technological and military developments=== [[File:Crescenzi calendar.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|left|alt=Pictures depicting agricultural activities, such as sowing, harvesting, and wine making|[[Labours of the Months]], agricultural calendar {{Circa|1470}}, from a manuscript of [[Pietro de Crescenzi]]'s manual on farming]] In cloth production, the second main employer after agriculture,{{sfn|Singman|1999|p=36}} the increased usage of [[Merino|sheep with]] long-fibred wool allowed a stronger thread to be spun,{{sfn|Epstein|2009|pp=193–194}} and the use of buttons as closures for garments enabled better fit.{{sfn|Singman|1999|p=38}} Popular tailoring designs were quickly spread by pedlars, and trends in [[1400–1500 in European fashion|fashion]] were dictated by the Burgundian dukes' court in much of 15th-century Europe.{{sfn|Arnold|2009|pp=6, 51}} In metalworking, the [[blast furnace]] increased the quantity of iron produced, also improving its quality.{{sfn|Epstein|2009|pp=203–204}} The first [[Patent|patent law]] in 1447 in Venice granted a ten-year monopoly to inventors for their inventions.{{sfn|Epstein|2009|p=213}} As increased tax revenues allowed the employment of [[mercenary|mercenaries]] in growing numbers,{{sfn|Watts|2014|p=221}} wars were mainly fought by professional soldiers almost all over Europe from the mid-14th century.{{sfn|Wickham|2016|p=212}} Initially, mercenaries were hired for periods of war but a [[standing army]] was created in France in the late 1440s.{{sfn|Vale|2001|p=323}} From around 1438, [[devşirme|child tribute]] from the Christian population supplied the Ottoman army with professional foot soldiers known as [[Janissary|Jannisaries]].{{sfn|Sedlar|1994|pp=241–242}} In Bohemia, religious enthusiasm, stern discipline and the use of [[wagon fort]]s were the key factors in the Hussites' victories.{{sfn|Sedlar|1994|p=233}} The earliest references to [[cannon]]s were recorded in the early {{nowrap|14th century}}; the use of cheap [[handgun]]s quickly spread from around 1360.{{sfn|Nicolle|1996|pp=294–298}} ===Art and architecture=== The wealthiest Italian and French princes regularly hired foreign artists which led to the convergence of courtly styles. This "[[International Gothic]]" reached much of Europe around 1400, producing masterpieces in sculpture and miniature.{{refn|group=note|The sculptures of the portal of the new Burgundian ducal mausoleum at [[Champmol]], and the miniatures in the {{lang|fr|[[Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry]]}} ('Very Rich Hours of the [[John, Duke of Berry|Duke of Berry]]') are among the featuring items of Internatinal Gothic arts.{{sfn|Adams|2011|pp=237–240}}}}{{sfn|Adams|2011|pp=237–238}}{{sfn|Benton|2002|p=253–256}} All over Europe, secular art continued to increase in quantity and quality, and in the {{nowrap|15th century}}, the mercantile classes of Italy and Flanders became important patrons, commissioning small portraits as well as a growing range of luxury items such as jewellery, [[cassone]] chests, and [[maiolica]] pottery.{{sfn|Lightbown|1978|p=78}} In France and Flanders, tapestry weaving of sets like ''[[The Lady and the Unicorn]]'' became a major luxury industry.{{sfn|Benton|2002|pp=257–262}} In Italy, Florence emerged as the center of intellectual and artistic life for most of the [[Quattrocento]]. The [[Medici]]—the city's most influential family—gathered a significant collection of classical sculptures and opened it for local artists. The Tuscan architect [[Brunelleschi]] (d. 1446) studied the [[Pantheon, Rome|Pantheon]] in Rome before completing the plan of the dome of the [[Florence Cathedral]]. The use of [[Perspective (graphical)|one-point perspective]] for creating the illusion of depth is another innovation, as it is demonstrated by reliefs on the bronze door of the [[Florence Baptistery]] by [[Lorenzo Ghiberti]] (d. 1455). [[Early Renaissance]] artists restored [[Nude (art)|the nude]] and eroticism (even homoerotocism) in artworks such as the bronze statue ''[[David (Donatello)|David]]'' by [[Donatello]] (d. 1466), and ''[[The Birth of Venus]]'' by the painter [[Boticelli]] (d. 1510).{{sfn|Adams|2011|pp=241–253, 264}} Flemish painters quickly improved their technique. When completing his ''[[Ghent Altarpiece]]'', [[Jan van Eyck]] (d. 1441) used [[oil paint]] to create a translucent surface, and tiny bushes to achieve a more lifelike representation of the natural world.{{sfn|Adams|2011|pp=265–267}} Printing houses established all over Europe began the mass production of cheap playing cards and primitive religious images in the mid-15th century. [[Block book]]s—[[woodcut]]s containing both illustrations and text—rapidly became popular, with best-sellers such as the {{lang|la|[[Biblia pauperum]]}} ('Paupers' Bible'), and {{lang|la|[[Ars moriendi]]}} ('Art of Dying').{{sfn|Griffiths|1996|pp=17–18, 137}} Horror stories were also widely read, including the German booklets about the cruel acts of the Wallachian prince [[Vlad the Impaler]] (r. 1456–62).{{sfn|Sedlar|1994|p=451}} The first large illustrated printed book, the ''[[Nuremberg Chronicle]]'' was published in 1493.{{sfn|Griffiths|1996|p=18}} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! 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