Question 1

Where did the plague originate? How did it spread throughout Europe?

Accepted Answer

Answer would ideally include the following. The plague, a bacterial infection of Yersinia pestis, started in central Asia and traveled westward with trade. It is likely that the immediate cause of the strain that entered Europe was contaminated grain, which came from the port city of Tara and crossed the Black Sea into Constantinople. The disease was then spread along trade routes into southern Europe and the Islamic world and eventually into Russia.

Question 2

What was the Dance of Death, and why was it performed in Europe in the mid-fourteenth century?

Accepted Answer

Answer would ideally include the following. The Dance of Death was a response to the plague, which broke out in Europe in 1347. It featured a procession of men, women, and children who made their way to cemeteries. In artistic representations, ghastly skeletal figures laughed as they made off with their victims. Most obviously, the emergence of this dance reflected the preoccupation with the high death rates, which may have been as high as 60 percent in some regions of Europe.

Question 3

How did the plague ironically lead to an expansion of colleges and universities?

Accepted Answer

Answer would ideally include the following. The plague did not discriminate in its choice of victims, killing clergy as well as laity. Since so many monks had perished, the survivors realized that they needed to train a new generation for the priesthood. Many local princes who had survived had become wealthier, having received the wealth left behind by the dead. Wishing to be known as patrons of education, they helped found new colleges and universities.

Question 4

What were the two major phases of the Hundred Years' War? What were the key events in the final phase?

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Question 5

Who was Joan of Arc, and how did she influence the outcome of the Hundred Years' War?

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Question 6

What was the Jacquerie of 1358? Explain both its causes and results.

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Question 7

Describe how the Ottoman Turks were finally able to conquer Constantinople in 1453. What significance did this event have for Europe?

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Question 8

What were the beliefs held by John Wycliffe (c. 1330-1384)? Did these beliefs survive his death?

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Question 9

Who was Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, and how did his Oration on the Dignity of Man embody the optimism of Renaissance philosophy?

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Question 10

How and why did the centralizing Spanish monarchy become an agent of intolerance with regard to its religious minorities?

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Question 11

Explain the impact that the plague had on the European population demographically, religiously, and economically.

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Question 12

Describe the causes and the political, military, and social impact of the Hundred Years' War in western Europe.

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Question 13

Describe the origins of the Great Schism and its political and religious impact in Europe.

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Question 14

What factors allowed Renaissance culture to emerge? How can the Renaissance be characterized? How did literature change during this time? How did architecture change?

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Question 15

In the fifteenth century, the English, French, and Spanish monarchies underwent a process of centralization and expanded their territorial holdings and authority. Discuss the factors that contributed to the success of their efforts.

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Question 16

Which group of invaders marked the end of the Byzantine Empire with their conquest of Constantinople in 1453?

Accepted Answer

The Ottomans, led by Sultan Mehmed II, conquered Constantinople in 1453, marking the end of the Byzantine Empire.

Question 17

Why is the mid-fourteenth century regarded as an era of crisis in the West?

Accepted Answer

The mid-fourteenth century is regarded as an era of crisis in the West primarily due to the Black Death, a devastating outbreak of the plague that killed a significant portion of Europe's population, and the Hundred Years' War, a series of destructive conflicts between England and France. These events caused widespread social, economic, and political upheaval.

Question 18

According to this map, the plague only reached England by the
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Question 19

Why did the plague spread so rapidly on the European continent in the mid-fourteenth century?

Accepted Answer

The bacterium Yersinia pestis spread rapidly along major trade routes, such as the Silk Road and maritime routes, facilitating its movement across Europe.

Question 20

What is historians' highest estimate for the percentage of the European population that perished from the plague between 1348 and 1400?

Accepted Answer

Historians' highest estimates for the percentage of the European population that perished from the plague between 1348 and 1400 reach up to 60 percent. This reflects the devastating impact of the Black Death across the continent.

Quiz 13: Crisis and Renaissance, 1340-1492