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1073
Pope Gregory VII
Pope Gregory VII was a reformational pope whose goal was to reform the Papacy by eliminating lay investiture. Although he never lived to see lay investiture eliminated, the future generation came to an agreement that greatly improved the power of the Papacy's control over itself and the King. -
1096
The Crusades
The Christians in Europe wanted to attack the Muslims and take over the Holy City. After a while, they shifted from a religious crusade to a self-centered greedy crusade. One of the only major positives that came out of the Crusades was the growth of trade in Italy. -
1252
Persecution of the Jews
Jews in the 13th century were killed and their lives destroyed because of their beliefs. This was brought on by an intolerance to people not believing in Christianity and was shown even more later on by the crusades against the Muslims. -
1295
The Parliament
The Parliament was created in England and was used to help rule England. From this point on, others used a similar idea to rule their own nations. Even up to today the Parliament still exists and is still in use as a form of government. -
1300
Vernacular Literature
Before vernacular literature, all important documents were written in Latin. But, during the 14th century, few people began to write in vernacular languages and that changed how languages were used in the future. No longer did all writers feel like they had to write documents in Latin. -
1300
The Black Death
The Black Death killed millions of people in the Late Middle Ages and caused many problems. The population declined significantly and that caused things like economic dislocation and social upheaval. -
1305
The Papacy at Avignon
Popes moved from the universal capital of the Church which is Rome and lived in Avignon for many years. During this time there were discrepancies involving the French, but in the end, Pope Gregory XI brought the Papacy back to Rome, but not without problems. -
1315
The Famine in Europe
Famine in Europe was one of the crises that affected the 14th century. With this famine, nearly 10% of the European population died and many starved causing many problems such as increased infant mortality and higher susceptibility to disease. -
1337
The Hundred Years' War
The hundred years war was a fight over land between the French and the English. Both sides believed they were entitled to the lands and eventually the French won with the help of Joan of the Arc even after many losses from the hands of the English. -
1358
Revolts
The peasant revolts happened because of the inequality of social classes. Because of this inequality, the peasants and townspeople fought back in cities and in the countryside against the people at a higher social status than themselves to invoke change for themselves.
