The Close of the Middle Ages, 1272-1494, 3rd Ed.

The period from 1272 to 1494 witnessed the unraveling of the medieval world and the violent, uneven birth of something new. This was an era when the old certainties crumbled: the once-mighty Holy Roman Empire grew hollow as German princes tightened their grip on local power, while the papacy splintered under the strain of Avignon and schism. The Hundred Years' War redrew the map of France and England, the Black Death shattered medieval society to its core, and the fall of Constantinople in 1494 marked the end of any pretense of Christian unity against the Ottoman advance. Richard Lodge traces these interlocking crises not as isolated catastrophes but as part of a coherent transformation, showing how the disintegration of feudal bonds and the rise of territorial states laid the groundwork for the early modern world. His account remains grounded in primary sources and contemporary scholarship, offering readers a clear-eyed synthesis of a complex era that defies simple narratives of decline or renewal. For students of European history and anyone seeking to understand how the Middle Ages actually ended, this volume provides an indispensable guide.