Late Middle Ages
Pre-Renaissance European period
The Late Middle Ages is the final period of the medieval era in European history, roughly 1300 to 1500.
It was marked by crisis and transformation—the Black Death, the Hundred Years' War, peasant revolts, and the decline of feudalism.
The period ended as the Renaissance emerged and European powers began overseas exploration.
Printing press inventor's name
- printing pressMechanical text reproduction device
- movable typeReconfigurable printing components
- explorationTraveling through unknown regions
- age of discoveryEra of significant breakthroughs
Columbus · Vasco da Gama · trade routes · compass · astrolabe · cartography · banking · guilds
Medieval estate labor system
- serfdomFeudal bound labor
- vassalLand-holding sworn subordinate
- fiefGranted feudal estate
- liegeFeudal superior or subject
nobility · peasantry · knight · lordship · demesne · villein · tithe · bailiff
Medieval bubonic plague pandemic
- bubonicOf groin-node swellings
- Yersinia pestisBacterium causing plague
- pestilenceFatal epidemic disease
- pandemicGlobal disease outbreak
epidemic · mortality · quarantine · contagion · flagellants · miasma · mass graves · depopulation
Historic Christian church division
- indulgencesExcessive self-granted pleasures
- mysticismPursuit of divine union
- anti-clericalismOpposition to religious institutional influence
- simonyBuying church positions
heresy · Inquisition · pilgrimage · relics
Tall wooden archery weapon
- crossbowStock-mounted bow mechanism
- siegeEncirclement forcing surrender
- trebuchetCounterweight-powered projectile launcher
- plate armorRigid metal body protection
mercenary · pikeman · halberd · fortification · castle · Hundred Years War · Agincourt · cavalry
Scholastic philosopher-theologian surname
- Summa TheologicaAquinas's comprehensive theological synthesis
- AristotelianOf ancient systematic philosophy
- nominalismUniversals exist as labels only
- realismAccepting things as they are
dialectic · disputation · universities · theology · William of Ockham · Duns Scotus · syllogism · commentaries
Gutenberg
Printing press inventor's name
- printing pressMechanical text reproduction device
- movable typeReconfigurable printing components
- explorationTraveling through unknown regions
age of discovery · Columbus · Vasco da Gama · trade routes · compass · astrolabe · cartography · banking · guilds · burghers
manorialism
Medieval estate labor system
liege · nobility · peasantry · knight · lordship · demesne · villein · tithe · bailiff · homage
Black Death
Medieval bubonic plague pandemic
- bubonicOf groin-node swellings
- Yersinia pestisBacterium causing plague
- pestilenceFatal epidemic disease
pandemic · epidemic · mortality · quarantine · contagion · flagellants · miasma · mass graves · depopulation · plague pits
Great Schism
Historic Christian church division
- indulgencesExcessive self-granted pleasures
- mysticismPursuit of divine union
- anti-clericalismOpposition to religious institutional influence
simony · heresy · Inquisition · pilgrimage · relics
longbow
Tall wooden archery weapon
- crossbowStock-mounted bow mechanism
- siegeEncirclement forcing surrender
- trebuchetCounterweight-powered projectile launcher
plate armor · mercenary · pikeman · halberd · fortification · castle · Hundred Years War · Agincourt · cavalry · infantry
Aquinas
Scholastic philosopher-theologian surname
- Summa TheologicaAquinas's comprehensive theological synthesis
- AristotelianOf ancient systematic philosophy
- nominalismUniversals exist as labels only
realism · dialectic · disputation · universities · theology · William of Ockham · Duns Scotus · syllogism · commentaries · metaphysics
Late Middle AgesRenaissance
European cultural reawakening
Ancient Greece · Ancient Rome · Roman Empire · modernity · Enlightenment
late, later, latest, lately, lateness, middle, middles, middling, ages