The Pope moved his court to France and lived a lavish lifestyle.
There were often two or even three rival popes during this period.
With no answers to the plague and itself full of corrupt popes and officials, the Church loses a great deal of power in Europe.
The Hundred Years’ War 1337- 1453
Not a single war, but a series of conflicts between England and France.
The development of the longbow helped the English win major battles all the way up until 1415.
In 1429, a 17 year old peasant woman named Joan of Arc begins to rise to national importance in France.
She convinced the French King that she was chosen by God to defeat the English.
She led the French to several important victories but was captured by the English and burned at the stake for witchcraft. She was declared a saint by the Church many years later.
The introduction of the longbow and cannon made knights and castles obsolete in warfare. The traditions of medieval Europe were being pulled down by the growing importance of large, peasant armies.