The West in the World, 4th Edition (Sherman)

Chapter 9: The West Struggles and Eastern Empires Flourish

Critical Thinking Questions

  1. Economic and Social Misery


  1. What factors contributed to the famine that began in 1315?


  2. How did the Black Death arrive in Europe?


  3. How did different sectors of medieval society react to the spread of the plague?


  4. How did peasants and townspeople react to the pressures placed upon them by the labor shortage?


  5. What gains were made by those who participated in fourteenth-century revolts? What, if any, were the long-term changes resulting from the revolts?


  1. Imperial Papacy Besieged


  1. Why did the popes move to Avignon? What kinds of changes did the Avignon popes make in papal administration?


  2. What was the Great Schism? How was it resolved? Who were the conciliarists?


  3. What kinds of suggestions for reform did critics of the church make in the fourteenth century?


  1. More Destruction: The Hundred Years' War, 1337 - 1453


  1. What were the causes of the Hundred Years' War?


  2. How did new technology in weaponry play a part in this conflict?


  3. Describe the major battles. What gave the victors the advantage in each case?


  4. Who was Joan of Arc? Why was she honored by France?


  5. What was the war's impact on France? On England?


  6. What caused the Wars of the Roses?


  1. Responses to Disaster and Despair


  1. What was the philosophy of the New Nominalists? How did their beliefs constitute a refutation of Scholasticism?


  2. Why is Dante's Divine Comedy considered a perfect medieval work by some and something entirely new by others?


  3. What did Boccaccio's The Decameron reveal about new attitudes in the wake of the plague?


  4. What does Chaucer's work tell us about social problems in the fourteenth century?


  5. How did van Eyck combine realism and symbolism in his paintings?


  1. Empires in the East


  1. What were the accomplishments of Genghis Khan?


  2. What were some of the outstanding features of the Mongol Empire?


  3. Why was it significant that the Polos were Venetians? What new ideas and inventions did Marco Polo's writings introduce to Europeans?


  4. How did the Ottoman Empire expand?


  5. How did Ivan III establish Moscow as the "Third Rome"? What was the significance of that phrase?


Sherman: The West in the World, Fourth Edition
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