The Late Middle Ages: Crisis & Transition
Essential Question
How did plague, war, and crisis end the medieval world and open a new age?
This week the student watches the high-medieval world come apart under the strain of plague, war, and a divided papacy. The Black Death kills a third of Europe; England and France grind through the Hundred Years' War; a teenage girl named Joan of Arc turns the tide and is burned for it; and the Church endures the scandal of two and then three rival popes. Out of this crisis the modern world begins to stir.
Liturgical note: Christmas season giving way to Ordinary Time (January); the new winter term opens.
Threads at a Glance
What Each Thread Covers This Week
The Black Death and its toll; the Hundred Years' War; Joan of Arc; the Avignon Papacy and the Western Schism; the waning of the medieval order
Era of Good Feelings, Missouri Compromise, Market Revolution
Geoffrey Chaucer and the Canterbury Tales
France and England in the Hundred Years' War; the shifting territory, Orléans and Agincourt
International Gothic — the Limbourg brothers' Très Riches Heures; the danse macabre and memento mori
Guillaume de Machaut and the Ars Nova; the Messe de Nostre Dame (first complete polyphonic Mass setting by one composer)
St. Joan of Arc
Moral Courage (conviction against the tide)
YOUCAT Part Three intro: Life in Christ; society, justice and the common good (Q321-Q333)
Punctuation II — the semicolon and the colon
Analytical/persuasive — evaluate a historical figure's choices
Weekly Writing Assignment
On Trial: Evaluating Joan of Arc's Choices
Joan of Arc made a series of remarkable choices: to leave home, to seek out the dauphin, to lead soldiers into battle, and at her trial, to insist on her voices even when recanting could have saved her life. Choose ONE of these decisions and argue whether it was wise, courageous, reckless, or holy (you may argue it was more than one). Make a clear claim, then defend it with at least three specific reasons grounded in what you have learned this week.
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- Has a clear thesis that states a judgment about Joan's choice (not just a summary)
- Supports the judgment with at least three specific, accurate reasons
- Considers at least one objection or alternative view and responds to it
- Uses a semicolon and a colon correctly at least once each (this week's grammar)
- Is organized, proofread, and written in the student's own clear prose
The Week
Four Days of Learning
- St. Joan of Arc — The Maid of Orléans10m
- The Black Death and the Hundred Years' War30m
- YOUCAT: Life in Christ and the Common Good15m
- Notebook Wrap5m
- Moral Courage10m
- A Growing, Changing Nation20m
- International Gothic and the Dance of Death25m
- Notebook Wrap5m
- Catechism Review: Authority Serves the Common Good5m
- Punctuation II — The Semicolon and the Colon20m
- France and England in the Hundred Years' War30m
- Notebook Wrap5m
- Geoffrey Chaucer and the Canterbury Tales15m
- Guillaume de Machaut and the Ars Nova20m
- Writing Workshop: Evaluating Joan of Arc's Choices20m
- St. Joan of Arc — Week Synthesis5m