Empires of Land and Mind (1250-1350) - The Elasticity and Rigidity of Europe

7 important questions on Empires of Land and Mind (1250-1350) - The Elasticity and Rigidity of Europe

Which people did the Europeans tolerate and which didn't they?

Tolerating and sometimes even admiring the Mongols next door, they turned against the strangers in their own backyard - persecuting Jews, lepers, heretics, and sexual non-conformists.

How did the Church change?

The Church became more militant, yet the papacy became less powerful as it was forced to pull up stakes and move from Rome to Avignon.

What improved the trade in Europe?

  • The Mongol exchange opened new opportunities for trade, and Europeans took advantage of the possibilities.
  • Meanwhile, Baltic Sea routes connected northern European cities through the Hanseatic League.
  • Roads and bridges within Europe made land trade faster and more profitable.
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What did the burgeoning economy call for?

  • This burgeoning economy called for large-scale payments, necessitating the introduction of gold coinage.
  • Europeans now had access to material goods of every sort, but wealth also heightened social tensions, especially in the cities.

Who are the "pollutants"? How did Europe deal with them?

Europeans resisted hearing multiple voices; rather, they were eager to purge and purify themselves of the "pollutants" - among them Jews, lepers, heretics, and sexual non-conformists - in their midst.

What do historians say about lepers?

  • Historians emphasize the leper's status as an outcast. They highlighted the medieval assocation of sin with leprosy - a skin disease caused by a bacterium and often leading to disfigurement.
  • Other scholars spoke of the fear of contagion that lepers inspired. Thus, they explained, lepers carried clappers to warn others to flee, and leprosaries (hospitals for lepers) were located outside of town walls to quarantine their disease.

Who was the Inquisition? What did they do?

  • Beginning in the thirteenth century, Church inquisitors, aided by secular authorities, were zealous in finding and eradicating heretics.
  • The Inquisition was a continuation (and expansion) of the Albigensian Crusade by other means.
  • Inquisitors began their scrutiny in each district by giving a sermon and calling upon heretics to confess. Then they granted a grace period for heretics to come forward. Finally, they called suspected heretics and witnesses to inquests, where they were interrogated.

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