Why Did The Collapse Of The Middle Ages

The Middle Ages were affected greatly by economic improvement, the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church, and the Bubonic Plague, which ultimately collapsed the feudal system and forced Europeans to become more independent through a secular way of thinking. The Middle Ages took place in Europe from around 476 A.D. to the beginning of the Renaissance period in the 14th century. Under the protection of the Roman Catholic Church, feudal society was gradually formed, which relied on an exchange of land and protection. The Roman Catholic Church had the most power and relied on taxes, or tithes, which were collected from everyone who resided and worked on the plot of land. Although the positive economic change and corruption had a major impact
on the end of the Middle Ages, the Bubonic Plague was the biggest contributing factor because it upset social hierarchy, broke feudal ties, and weakened the power of the Roman Catholic Church. The expansion of trade and business altered the social hierarchy, shifted the population from small towns to larger cities, and created a way to exchange currencies. Trade goods such as cloth and salt became more accessible through new trade routes and fairs that were held during religious festivals. Merchant-class town dwellers were now referred to as burghers, who “organized themselves and demanded privileges. At times they fought against their landlords and won these rights by force,” (World History: Patterns of Interaction pg. 391). Also, as trade and business grew, more workers were moving to areas that were centered around trade. This caused a higher population, and “...as towns attracted workers, the towns grew into cities,” (World History: Patterns of Interaction pg.390). Trade routes expanded rapidly and access to foreign goods was easier than it had ever been before. However, foreign interaction quickly became an issue because of different currencies, so merchants came up with bills of exchange which “...established exchange rates between different coinage systems,” (World History: Patterns of Interaction pg.389) as well as “...eliminating the need to carry around large amounts,” (World History: Patterns of Interaction pg. 389). Trade and business eliminated the need for feudalism since not everything was produced on a self-sufficient manor. The Roman Catholic Church was on top of the feudal pyramid, but became corrupted by breaking traditional rules, doubts from the people during the Black Death, and by manipulating loyal knights and peasants to gain land and power. There were assumed rules that priests were supposed to abide by, but “...many village priests married and had families. Such marriages were against Church rulings,” (World History: Patterns of Interaction pg.379). Church reformers believed that the Church should appoint bishops, but kings took charge through lay investiture. The Roman Catholic Church also used its loyal knights and peasants to gain land and power by driving the pagans out of the Holy Land so that the Catholics could own Jerusalem. Pope Urban Ⅱ said, “All who die by the way, whether by land or by sea, or in battle against the pagans, shall have immediate remission of sins. This I grant them through the power of God with which I am invested,” (Urban Ⅱ: Speech at Council of Clermont, 1095). The Roman Catholic Church also played a large role in the Bubonic Plague, which killed thousands. People were wondering how God could allow such a horrible thing to happen, and peasants known as flagellants would publicly whip themselves in order to raise awareness that the plague was deserved and served as a punishment to the people from God. Therefore, “...the Church suffered a loss of prestige when its prayers failed to stop the onslaught of the bubonic plague and priests abandoned their duties,” (Class Powerpoint, Break Down of Social Order). People began to doubt God existed at all, and tried to form individual relationships with God. Yersinia pestis, or the Bubonic Plague, was the leading cause of the Middle Ages coming to an end because of its enormous effect on relationships, Jews, and the Church.
The Mongols brought the plague to Europe because of their famous practice of hurling infected bodies over the walls of enemy cities in an attempt to infect them. In the city of Kaffa, which was controlled by Genoese traders (Class Powerpoint, Mongols Bring Plague to Europe), the traders traveled to Italy, spreading the bubonic plague across Europe. The worst symptoms were “...swellings in the groin or under the armpit…” and “...a gush of blood from the nose,” (Black Death Packet, “The Signs of Impending Death). The plague was highly contagious, causing social disaster. According to Giovanni Boccacio, an Italian author, “One citizen avoided another, hardly any neighbour troubled about others, relatives never or hardly ever visited each other,” (Boccacio, Giovanni). Naturally, people wondered what was causing the plague. The main focus at this time was religious beliefs and spirituality. Some people turned to blaming other cultures, and “In Europe, the Jews were blamed for poisoning the wells,” (Black Death Packet, “Who Was to Blame?”). Jews were also mass-murdered and tortured into confessing to causing this horrible disease through their “incorrect” beliefs. Others sought help from the Roman Catholic Church, hoping that God would have an answer and that their dedication and support would be returned to them in the form of help. This was definitely not the case. “The church had no answers.” (Black Death Packet, “Blame”) and could not explain what was happening. The church also focused on helping the wealthy first, with whatever help they could give, which outraged peasants and lower-class people who had performed difficult, laborious tasks for the Roman Catholic Church their entire lives and given most of their wages to the
pope. It is evident that the Middle Ages fell for a number of reasons, but the events that led up to the beginning of the Renaissance period form a hierarchy. The Commercial Revolution had a large impact on the economy through trade growth. However, the revolution resulted in a positive change, and did not affect as many as the plague. The corruption of the Roman Catholic Church was devastating to many, since the church was at the top of the feudal pyramid, and played a role in the Bubonic Plague as well. The plague caused social disorder, secular ways of thinking, and killed thousands of people. Therefore, the Bubonic Plague was the biggest contributing factor in the fall of the Middle Ages.