The History of the
RENAISSANCE WORLD
From the Rediscovery of Aristotle to the Conquest of Constantinople
SUSAN WISE BAUER
W • W • Norton & Company
New York London
Dedication
For Daniel
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Dedication
List of Maps
List of Illustrations
Preface
Part One
RENAISSANCES
One Logic and Compromise • England, Rome, and the Holy Roman Empire, 1100–1122
Two The Crusader Enemy • Byzantium, Venice, and the Crusader kingdoms, 1100–1138
Three Anarchy • England, Western Francia, and the Kingdom of Jerusalem, 1120–1139
Four The Lost Homeland • China, Dai Viet, and Khmer, 1127–1150
Five Crusade Resurrected • The Turkish and Crusader kingdoms, with visitations from Germany and France, 1128–1149
Six Reconquista and Rediscovery • The Spanish peninsula, 1134–1146
Seven Questions of Authority • France and Italy, 1135–1160
Eight The New Song • China, 1141–1165
Nine The Heiji Disturbance • Japan, 1142–1159
Ten Death of an Army • Goryeo, 1146–1197
Eleven The First Plantagenet • England and Western Francia, 1147–1154
Twelve Frederick Barbarossa • Germany and Italy, 1147–1177
Thirteen The Almohads in Spain • North Africa and Spain, 1147–1177
Fourteen “Many Nations” • Africa, sometime in the twelfth century
Fifteen The Last Fatimid Caliph • The Turkish and Crusader kingdoms, 1149–1171
Sixteen Monks and Brahmans • South India, 1150–1189
Seventeen Conquest of the Willing • Northern India, 1150–1202
Eighteen Death of a Priest • England and France, 1154–1170
Nineteen Foreign Relations • Byzantium, Hungary, and the Balkans, 1157–1168
Twenty The Venetian Problem • Byzantium and Italy, 1171–1185
Twenty-One Resentments • England, Ireland, and France, 1171–1186
Twenty-Two Saladin • The Turkish and Crusader kingdoms, 1171–1188
Twenty-Three The Gempei War • Japan, 1179–1185
Twenty-Four Kings’ Crusade • England, France, and the Turkish and Crusader kingdoms, 1188–1199
Twenty-Five The Sack of Constantinople • Byzantium and Europe, 1195–1204
Part Two
INVASIONS, HERESIES, AND UPRISINGS
Twenty-Six Westward • Central and South America, 1200
Twenty-Seven The Mongol School of Warfare • China, North and Central Asia, 1201–1215
Twenty-Eight John Softsword • England and France, 1203–1213
Twenty-Nine Sundiata of the Mali • Africa, 1203–1240
Thirty The Jokyu War • Japan, 1203–1242
Thirty-One The Unwanted Throne • The old Byzantine lands, 1204–1225
Thirty-Two The First Delhi Sultanate • Northern and central India, 1206–1236
Thirty-Three Heresy • France, 1209–1210
Thirty-Four Reconquest and Failure • France and the Spanish peninsula, 1210–1213
Thirty-Five From Bouvines to Magna Carta • France, England, and the Holy Roman Empire, 1213–1217
Thirty-Six The Birth of the Inquisition • France, 1215–1229
Thirty-Seven Moving Westward • China, North and Central Asia, and the Middle East, 1215–1229
Thirty-Eight South of India • India and Sri Lanka, 1215–1283
Thirty-Nine The Fifth Crusade • Egypt and the Crusader kingdoms, 1217–1221
Forty From the Golden Bull to the Baltic Crusade • Hungary, Poland, and the lands of the Lithuanians, 1218–1233
Forty-One Lakeshores, Highlands, and Hilltops • Africa, 1221–1290
Forty-Two The Sixth Crusade • The Holy Roman Empire, the Crusader kingdoms, and the Ayyubid empire, 1223–1229
Forty-Three The Tran Dynasty • Southeast Asia, 1224–1257
Forty-Four Young Kings • England, France, and the kingdoms of Spain, 1227–1242
Forty-Five The Mongol Horde • Most of Asia and Europe, 1229–1248 310
Forty-Six The Debt of Hatred • The Holy Roman Empire, 1229–1250
Forty-Seven The Shadow of God • India, 1236–1266
Forty-Eight The Seventh Crusade • France, Egypt, and Syria, 1244–1250
Forty-Nine The Splintering Khanate • The Mongol conquests, 1246–1264
Fifty The Mamluks of Egypt • Egypt, Syria, and the Mongol lands, 1250–1268
Fifty-One Louis the Saint • France and the Kingdom of Jerusalem, 1250–1267
Fifty-Two The Lion’s Den • Germany, Italy, Sicily, and England, 1252–1273
Fifty-Three The Recapture of Constantinople • The Latin Empire and the empire of Nicaea, 1254–1261
Fifty-Four The Last Crusades • North Africa, Egypt, France, Italy, and the Crusader kingdoms, 1270–1291
Fifty-Five Kublai Khan • China, Japan, Goryeo, Champa, and the Dai Viet, 1273–1294
Fifty-Six The Sicilian Vespers • Germany, Italy, Sicily, Aragon, and France, 1274–1288
Fifty-Seven The Wars of Edward I • England, Scotland, Wales, and France, 1275–1299
Fifty-Eight The Second Sultanate of Delhi • India, 1287–1300
Fifty-Nine The End of the Papal Monarchy • France, Germany, and Italy, 1301–1317
Sixty The Appearance of the Ottomans • Byzantium and the Turks of the Il-khanate, 1302–1347
Sixty-One The Fall of the Khilji • India, 1303–1320
Sixty-Two The Triumph of the Bruce • Scotland, England, and Ireland, 1304–1314
Part Three
CATASTROPHES
Sixty-Three The Great Famine • All of Europe, 1310–1321
Sixty-Four The Sultan and the Khan • Egypt, the Il-khanate, and the Golden Horde, 1310–1335
Sixty-Five Mansa Musa of Mali • West Africa, 1312–1360
Sixty-Six After the Famine • France and England, 1318–1330
Sixty-Seven The Southern and Northern Courts • Japan, 1318–1339
Sixty-Eight Rebellions • India, 1320–1351
Sixty-Nine Naming the Renaissance • Germany, Italy, and France, 1322–1341
Seventy The Cities in the Lake • Central America, 1325–1375
Seventy-One A Hundred Years of War • France and England, 1329–1347
Seventy-Two The End of the World • Asia, Europe, and India, 1338–1353
Part Four
REGROUPINGS
Seventy-Three The Will to War • France, England, and the Spanish kingdoms, 1349–1369
Seventy-Four White Lotus, Red Turban • China, 1351–1382
Seventy-Five After the Mongols • Southeast Asia, 1351–1399
Seventy-Six The Turks and the Desperate Emperor • Byzantium and the lands of the Turks, with side journeys to France and Italy
Seventy-Seven The Disintegration of Delhi • India and Sri Lanka, 1352–1388
Seventy-Eight The Union of Krewo • Poland, Hungary, and Lithuania, 1364–1399
Seventy-Nine The Rebirth of the Mongol Horde • Central Asia, the Middle East, India, and the lands of the Rus’, 1367–1399
Eighty Compromises and Settlements • The Korean peninsula and Japan, 1368–1392
Eighty-One
The House of Visconti and the Papal States • France and Italy, 1368–1390
Eighty-Two Bad Beginnings • France and England, 1369–1381
Eighty-Three Dislocation • Africa, 1370–1399
Eighty-Four Madness and Usurpation • Castile, Portugal, England, and France, 1383–1401
Eighty-Five The Battle of Nicopolis • The Ottoman empire, Constantinople, and the lands of eastern Europe, 1385–1396
Eighty-Six The Union and Disunion of Kalmar • Scandinavia, 1387–1449
Eighty-Seven The Hussite Uprising • Germany, Italy, Hungary, and Bohemia, 1388–1419
Eighty-Eight The Taking of France • France and England, 1401–1420
Eighty-Nine After Timurlane • The north of India, the empire of Timur, the lands of the Ottoman Turks, Egypt, and Byzantium, 1401–1415
Part Five
ENDINGS
Ninety The Withdrawal of the Ming • China and the land of the Dai Viet, 1405–1455
Ninety-One Failure • The old lands of the Holy Roman Empire and the remnants of Byzantium, 1412–1440
Ninety-Two Perpetual Slavery • Portugal, Castile, and Africa, 1415–1455
Ninety-Three The Loss of France • France and England, 1422–1453
Ninety-Four The Fall • The Byzantine and Ottoman empires, along with Hungary, Germany, Wallachia, Bohemia, and Serbia, 1430–1453
Notes
Works Cited
Permissions
Acknowledgments
Index
Copyright
Also by Susan Wise Bauer
Maps
1.1England and the Holy Roman Empire
2.1The Lands of the Crusades
3.1England and France during the Anarchy
4.1The Kingdoms of China and Southeast Asia
5.1Aleppo and the Crusader Kingdoms
5.2Kingdom of Louis VII
5.3Conquests of Zengi and Nur ad-Din
6.1The Spanish Peninsula, 1144
7.1Peter Abelard’s France
8.1The Song and Jin at Peace
9.1Japan under the Cloistered Emperors
10.1Goryeo
11.1Anjou, Normandy, and England
12.1The Empire of Frederick Barbarossa
13.1The Kingdoms of Spain
13.2The Almohad Empire
14.1Many Nations of Africa
15.1The Conquests of Nur ad-Din
16.1The Island of Sri Lanka
16.2The Disintegration of the Chola
17.1The Ghurid Advance
18.1The Kingdoms of France and England
19.1The World of Manuel I
20.1Byzantium and Venice
21.1England, Ireland, and Western Francia
22.1The Conquests of Saladin
22.2Gisors
23.1The Kamakura Shogunate
24.1The World of the Third Crusade
24.2The Kingdom of Jerusalem
25.1The Conquest of Constantinople
26.1Central America
26.2South America
27.1The Advance of the Mongols
28.1John’s Losses and Philip’s Gains
29.1Sosso and Mali
31.1The Successors of Byzantium
32.1The Nizari
32.2Delhi under Iltumish
33.1The Albigensian Crusade
34.1The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa
35.1The World of the Magna Carta
36.1The World of the Inquisition
37.1The Mongol Empire
37.2The Battle of Kalka
38.1The Pandya Renaissance
39.1The Fifth Crusade
40.1The Baltic Crusade
41.1Zagwe, Kanem, and Mapungubwe
43.1The Four Kingdoms of Southeast Asia
44.1The Invasions of Henry III
44.2The Spanish Peninsula, 1248
45.1Mongol Conquests in the East
45.2Mongol Conquests in the West
46.1Frederick’s War in Italy
47.1Balban’s Wars
48.1The Seventh Crusade
49.1The Four Khanates
50.1The Bahri Sultanate
51.1The Pastoureaux
52.1The Battle of Evesham
52.2The Kingdom of Sicily
53.1The Empire of Nicaea
54.1After the Almohads
54.2The Triumph of the Bahri Sultanate
55.1The Yuan Dynasty
56.1The Sicilian Vespers
57.1Wars in Scotland and Wales
58.1The Mongol Invasion of Delhi
59.1The Empire, Divided
60.1The Ottoman Invasion
60.2Serbia under Stefan Dushan
61.1The Rajput Kingdoms
62.1The Battle of Bannockburn
63.1Flood and Famine
64.1The Collapse of the Il-khanate
65.1The Height of Mali
66.1Edward III and the Valois
67.1The Southern and Northern Courts
68.1New Sultanates in India
69.1Lands Claimed by Louis of Bavaria
70.1The Aztecs
71.1The Start of the Hundred Years’ War
72.1The Spread of the Plague
73.1French Defeats
74.1The Rise of the Ming
75.1Conflict in Southeast Asia
76.1The Ottoman Empire
77.1Bahmani Expansion
78.1Poland under Casimir the Great
79.1The Advance of Timur-Leng
79.2Battle of the Terek River
80.1Joseon and Japan
81.1War in Italy
82.1Richard II and Charles VI
83.1The Hausa Kingdoms
84.1The Battle of Aljubarrota
85.1Ottoman Victories
86.1The Scandinavian Kingdoms
87.1Hussite Wars
88.1The Battle of Agincourt
89.1Timur against the Ottomans
90.1The Sea Voyages of the Yongle Emperor
90.2The Ming and the Oirat
91.1The Empire of Sigismund
92.1Portuguese Explorations
93.1The Dauphin against the English
94.1The Wars of Murad II
94.2The Golden Horn
Illustrations
4.1Central towers of Angkor Wat, Cambodia
4.2Angkor Wat bas-relief sculpture
6.1Early thirteenth-century Arabic manuscript, showing Aristotle teaching Turkish astronomers
8.1Ink Plum Blossoms, by Wang Yansou of the Song dynasty
9.1Family line of Konoe and Sutoku
9.2Detail from the Heiji Scroll: Burning of the Sanjo palace
16.1The Giant’s Tank
26.1Nazca lines: Spider
26.2Nazca lines: Dancing hands
31.1Coin of John III, showing the seated Christ on one side and John with the Virgin Mary on the other
32.1Ruins of the mountain fortress of Alamut
55.1Kublai Khan
59.1The Papal Palace at Avignon
63.1Miniature from the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, showing March planting
65.1Mansa Musa of Mali on the Catalan Atlas
66.1Genealogy of Philip VI and Edward III
77.1Citadel of Gulbarga
86.1Genealogy of Margaret and Eric
Acknowledgments
MY GRATITUDE to the team at W. W. Norton for all they’ve done to support not only this volume but the two that came before it. I can’t name you all, but thanks in particular to Eleen Cheung, Melody Conroy, Julia Druskin, Ryan Harrington, Bill Rusin, and Nomi Victor.
Most of all, thanks to my longtime editor, Starling Lawrence, who has provided not only editorial guidance but also moral support, a listening ear, and the occasional robust admonition to quit whining and get on with the job. And I am greatly indebted to both Star and Jenny for the hospitality, good food, and much-needed strong drink.
A massive project like this is never a one-person job. Thanks also to the team at Peace Hill: Justin Moore, who knows more historical details (and
random interesting factoids) than Google; Sarah Park, mapmaker extraordinaire and poet even-more-extraordinaire; Kim Norton, the most unflappable office manager in the known universe; Jackie Violet, whose job description keeps expanding but never outsizes her good humor; and Mark Hicks, who kept the farm from falling to pieces while I was wandering around in the fourteenth century.
Special thanks to Patricia Worth, an executive assistant who can arrange a flight to Prague, book a school speaking event, pick out linens for a bed-and-breakfast, and help castrate a goat, all in the same eight-hour workday. And no, she’s not looking for a new job.
Thanks to Mel Moore, Liz Barnes, and Achsa Fisher-Nuckols for still answering my emails and phone calls, even when those are long, long overdue; to Boris Fishman, for sharing my professional universe; to Greg Smith, for asking me how it’s going; and to Diane Wheeler, for living in this world.
My family hasn’t disowned me yet, despite my frequent lapses into history-induced catatonia. To Christopher, Ben, Dan, and Emily: I make really good cookies. Hope they make up for the number of times you have to say, “Mom?” before I emerge from the past and say, “What?” To Jay and Jessie Wise: You taught me to read. See what happened? And to Peter: Sumus exules, vivendi quam auditores. Still, but not always.
Preface
NOT LONG AFTER 1140 AD, the Italian scholar Gerard of Cremona traveled to the Spanish peninsula, hoping to find a rare copy of the thousand-year-old Greek astronomy text known as the Almagest.
His chances were better there than anywhere else in Europe. The southern half of the peninsula had been in Arab hands for centuries, and the ruling dynasties of Muslim Spain had brought with them thousands of classical texts, translated into Arabic but long lost to the vernacular languages of the West. The libraries of the city of Toledo, in the center of the peninsula, housed scores of these valuable volumes—and Toledo had now been recaptured by one of the Christian kingdoms of the north, meaning that Western scholars could visit it in relative safety.
Gerard found more than he bargained for: not just astronomy texts but classical and Arabic studies of dialectic, geometry, philosophy, and medicine; unknown monographs by Euclid, Galen, Ptolemy, and Aristotle; a whole treasury of knowledge. Overwhelmed, he settled into Toledo and set to work learning Arabic. “Regretting the poverty of the Latins in these things,” one of his students wrote, “he learned the Arabic language in order to be able to translate. . . . To the end of his life he continued to transmit to the Latin world (as if to his own beloved heir) whatever books he thought finest, in many subjects, as accurately and as plainly as he could.”1
The History of the Renaissance World: From the Rediscovery of Aristotle to the Conquest of Constantinople Page 1