Welcome to the 14th century! Come for the plague and the Hundred Years' War, stay for the bands of marauding brigands and the papal schism. Music thanks to Lenna Pierce of Meaner Pencil!
Timeline of Coucy Dynasty: 500?-975: Domain of Coucy belongs to bishopric of Reims. 1059: Abbey built by Aubry de Coucy. 1095: First crusade; Enguerrand I & Thomas de Marie both participate. 1220s: Castle built by Enguerrand III. 1256: Enguerrand IV on trial by King Louis IX. Music thanks to Verbum Gloriae https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOY2Hj4AbsnEfaQDvxQvnAg "Exultemus et laetemus" - Responsorial chant for Paschaltide. "Ego sum Alpha et O" - Antiphon for Paschaltide.
If we want, we can trace a whole century's worth of problems back to the financial straits of Philip the Fair. Music thanks to Verbum Gloriae https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOY2Hj4AbsnEfaQDvxQvnAg "Exultemus et laetemus" - Responsorial chant for Paschaltide. "Ego sum Alpha et O" - Antiphon for Paschaltide.
If people in medieval times wanted to buy themselves a foothold in heaven, someone was going to have to collect the money. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ This is the episode about simony, indulgences, alms, usury, and poverty movements, plus a coda about the Pastoureaux. Music thanks to Verbum Gloriae https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOY2Hj4AbsnEfaQDvxQvnAg "Exultemus et laetemus" - Responsorial chant for Paschaltide. "Ego sum Alpha et O" - Antiphon for Paschaltide.
The rules of courtly love, according to Andreus Capellanus: Marriage is no real excuse for not loving He who is not jealous cannot love No one can be bound by a double love It is well known that love is always increasing or decreasing That which a lover takes against the will of his beloved has no relish Boys do not love until they arrive at the age of maturity When one lover dies, a widowhood of two years is required of the survivor No one should be deprived of love without the very best of reasons No one can love unless he is impelled by the persuasion of love Love is always a stranger in the home of avarice It is not proper to love any woman whom one would be ashamed to seek to marry A true lover does not desire to embrace in love anyone except his beloved When made public love rarely endures The easy attainment of love makes it of little value; difficulty of attainment makes it prized Every lover regularly turns pale in the presence of his beloved When a lover suddenly catches sight of his beloved, his heart palpitates A new love puts to flight an old one Good character alone makes any man worthy of love If love diminishes, it quickly fails and rarely revives A man in love is always apprehensive Real jealousy always increases the feeling of love Jealousy, and therefore love, are increased when one suspects his beloved He whom the thought of love vexes eats and sleeps very little Every act of a lover ends in the thought of his beloved A true lover considers nothing good except what he thinks will please his beloved Love can deny nothing to love A lover can never have enough of the solaces of his beloved A slight presumption causes a lover to suspect his beloved A man who is vexed by too much passion usually does not love A true lover is constantly and without intermission possessed by the thought of his beloved Nothing forbids one woman being loved by two men or one man by two women Music thanks to Verbum Gloriae https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOY2Hj4AbsnEfaQDvxQvnAg "Exultemus et laetemus" - Responsorial chant for Paschaltide. "Ego sum Alpha et O" - Antiphon for Paschaltide.
Introducing two kings, two succession crises, three disputed regions, and a hundred years of war. Music thanks to Verbum Gloriae https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOY2Hj4AbsnEfaQDvxQvnAg "Exultemus et laetemus" - Responsorial chant for Paschaltide. "Ego sum Alpha et O" - Antiphon for Paschaltide.
The French nobility are routed at Crécy. This episode reads and comments on the narration of events by Jean Froissart, c. 1337 - c. 1405, a French-speaking historian from the low countries. Music thanks to Verbum Gloriae https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOY2Hj4AbsnEfaQDvxQvnAg "Exultemus et laetemus" - Responsorial chant for Paschaltide. "Ego sum Alpha et O" - Antiphon for Paschaltide.
Why the plague happened, according to people in the 14th century.
The French made a much-needed, but woefully insufficient, attempt at military reform. Music thanks to Verbum Gloriae https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOY2Hj4AbsnEfaQDvxQvnAg "Exultemus et laetemus" - Responsorial chant for Paschaltide. "Ego sum Alpha et O" - Antiphon for Paschaltide.
The game of war: a minute to learn, a lifetime to master. Music thanks to Verbum Gloriae https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOY2Hj4AbsnEfaQDvxQvnAg "Exultemus et laetemus" - Responsorial chant for Paschaltide. "Ego sum Alpha et O" - Antiphon for Paschaltide.
In Paris, the Estates-General seize the moment of weakness in the monarchy to push constitutional reform. Music thanks to Verbum Gloriae https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOY2Hj4AbsnEfaQDvxQvnAg "Exultemus et laetemus" - Responsorial chant for Paschaltide. "Ego sum Alpha et O" - Antiphon for Paschaltide.
The peasants have had enough of the nobility in France. (Could we agree more?) Music thanks to Verbum Gloriae https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOY2Hj4AbsnEfaQDvxQvnAg "Exultemus et laetemus" - Responsorial chant for Paschaltide. "Ego sum Alpha et O" - Antiphon for Paschaltide.
King Edward III imposes a ruinous ransom on King John II, and Enguerrand takes his place as hostage while the money is raised. Music thanks to Verbum Gloriae https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOY2Hj4AbsnEfaQDvxQvnAg "Exultemus et laetemus" - Responsorial chant for Paschaltide. "Ego sum Alpha et O" - Antiphon for Paschaltide.
Enguerrand returns to France arm in arm with the oldest daughter of the King of England.
Du Gueslin had two claims to fame: he was the best French military commander, and he was the ugliest man from Rennes to Dinant! Music thanks to Verbum Gloriae https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOY2Hj4AbsnEfaQDvxQvnAg "Exultemus et laetemus" - Responsorial chant for Paschaltide. "Ego sum Alpha et O" - Antiphon for Paschaltide.
We turn our attention to Italy, where someone hasn't been keeping the farm nice and tidy like he was supposed to. Music thanks to Verbum Gloriae https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOY2Hj4AbsnEfaQDvxQvnAg "Exultemus et laetemus" - Responsorial chant for Paschaltide. "Ego sum Alpha et O" - Antiphon for Paschaltide.
This episode summarizes the book Italy in the Time of Dante and Petrarch, 1216-1380 by John Larner. Music thanks to Verbum Gloriae https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOY2Hj4AbsnEfaQDvxQvnAg "Exultemus et laetemus" - Responsorial chant for Paschaltide. "Ego sum Alpha et O" - Antiphon for Paschaltide.
Let's dive deep into the four Northern Italian city-states that made all this possible. Music thanks to Verbum Gloriae https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOY2Hj4AbsnEfaQDvxQvnAg "Exultemus et laetemus" - Responsorial chant for Paschaltide. "Ego sum Alpha et O" - Antiphon for Paschaltide.
Enguerrand is caught on the prongs of a forked allegience, and two popes make the attempt to return to Rome. Here's a family tree that shows how the Green Count is connected to Enguerrand, to the Viscontis, to the Bourbons, and to the Valois: Guess I'll turn it around a few times: Music thanks to Verbum Gloriae https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOY2Hj4AbsnEfaQDvxQvnAg "Exultemus et laetemus" - Responsorial chant for Paschaltide. "Ego sum Alpha et O" - Antiphon for Paschaltide.