1. The Crisis of the Western Christian Church
   The Avignon Papacy and the Great Schism divided Christendom and encouraged the politicization of the church.
   1. The Babylonian Captivity, 1309-1377
      Avignon became synonymous with decadence and grandeur during the papacy's exile and division.
   2. The Great Schism, 1378-1417
      Rival popes in Rome and Avignon further politicized the church and led to serious debates about the relative places of the pope and ecumenical councils in the government of the church.
   3. Heresy and the Council of Constance, 1414-1418
      The council executed Jan Hus, an advocate of some of the ideas of the heretic John Wyclif, but the result was war and tumult in Bohemia.
   4. The Reunion and Reform of the Papacy, 1415-1513
      The Council of Constance ended the Great Schism, but conciliarists failed to reform the church, and the papacy was forced to compromise with secular rulers.
2. War and the Struggle over Political Power, 1300-1450
   Aristocratic faction, dynastic wars, and urban and rural revolts contributed to ongoing violence and instability in France, England, and Italy.
   1. England, France, and the Hundred Years' War, 1337-1453
      Troubled by aristocratic factions, the English and French kings fought a long dynastic war, whose hardships led to peasants' revolts.
   2. Italy
      As aristocrats and foreign invaders prospered, republican government in the Italian cities declined, but not without resistance.
3. Economy and Society
   Europeans experienced dramatic change as war, famine, and epidemic counteracted decades of population growth.
   1. Plague and Demographic Crisis
      Epidemic disease, possibly bubonic plague or an Ebola-type virus, killed millions in its initial outbreak, mystifying doctors and producing religious responses.
   2. Trade and Agriculture
      Following the plague, the economic structure of Europe underwent profound change. Italian bankers lost their domination of European banking and long-distance trade.
4. The Consolidation of the Late Medieval Governments, 1450-1500
   Out of the crises of war and civil unrest, monarchs were able to forge strong central governments.
   1. France, England, and Scandinavia
      Monarchs in France and England succeeded in extending their control, while the Scandinavian kingdoms moved towards unity with each other.
   2. Eastern Europe and Russia
      In a region of diverse cultures and religions, the decline of Mongol power led to the rise of Poland and Moscow.
   3. The Ottoman Empire
      After the conquest of Constantinople, the notably tolerant Ottoman rulers consolidated their control of the Middle East and southeastern Europe.
   4. The Union of Crowns in Spain
      The marriage of Isabella and Ferdinand linked agrarian Castile with mercantile Aragon into a newly powerful Christian Spanish state.
   5. The Limits of Consolidation: Germany
      Devolution of power marked the late medieval Empire and Swiss Confederation.