The disasters of the fourteenth century triggered reactions that involved and impacted the highest levels of the Roman Catholic Church. As we work through the topic, we’ll explore the following questions:

1. How did the populace of Europe respond to the disasters of the fourteenth century?
2. Why did religious reformers begin springing up around this time? How did the Church react to them?
3. What were the goals of Gothic architecture?

The greatness of the thirteenth century will collapse into the disasters of the fourteenth. To explain the how and why of it, Rabbi Rocklin will answer the following questions:

1. Why did the price and wage controls not help the economic chaos following the Black Death?
2. Why were the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries known as the Age of Parliament?
3. What sparked the Hundred Years’ War?

The Middle Ages were marked by a contradiction between the stability of settling down and a dynamic spirit that inspired greatness. On today’s episode, we’ll uncover answers to the following questions:

1. How did the Creation Mandate inspire Christians to start thinking beyond their horizons?
2. Why does Medieval art depict figures who are clearly disproportionate? What was Gothic architecture trying to accomplish?
3. What precipitated the Crusades? How were they a product of the restless Christian spirit?

Recommended Reading: Urban II, Speech at the Council of Clermont