A. Few women received a good education
B. An exception was Christine de Pizan, an Italian-born woman who came to live in the French court
C. De Pizan earned her living as a writer, an unusual occupation for a woman of that time
XVI. Medieval Literature
A. While Latin was the language of scholars and churchmen, new writings began to appear in the vernacular, or everyday languages of ordinary people, such as French, German, and Italian
B. These writings captured the spirit of the High Middle Ages
C. Medieval literature included epics about the feudal warriors and tales of the common people
XVII. Splendors in Stone
A. With riches from trade and commerce, townspeople, nobles, and monarchs indulged in a flurry of building
B. Their greatest achievements were the towering stone cathedrals that served as symbols of their wealth and religious devotion
C. About 1000, monasteries and towns built solid stone churches that reflected Roman influences
XVIII. The Black Death
A. In the autumn of 1347, a fleet of Genoese trading ships, loaded with grain, left the Black Sea port of Caffa and sailed for Messina, Sicily.
B. Within months, the disease that Europeans called the Black Death as raging through Italy
C. By 1348, it had reached Spain and France
XIX. Upheaval in the Church
A. The late Middle Ages brought spiritual crisis, scandal, and division to the Roman Catholic Church
B. Many priests and monks died during the plague
C. The sacraments offered little comfort to people rocked by fear of sudden death
XX. The Hundred Years� War
A. On top of the disaster of famine, plague and economic decline came a long, destructive war
B. Between 1337 and 1453, England and France fought a series of conflicts, known as the Hundred Years� War
C. The fighting devastated France and drained England
XXI. Looking Ahead
A. The Hundred Years� War brought many changes to the late medieval world
B. The long-bow and cannon gave common soldiers a new importance on the battlefield and undermined the value of armored knights on horseback
C. Although neither nobles nor commoners knew it then, feudal society was changing