Late+Middle+Ages

The Late Middle Ages were the period of European History compromising from 14th to the 16th Century ( c1300- 1500). The Late [|Middle Ages] followed the [|High Middle Ages] and preceded the onset of the [|early modern era] (and, in much of Europe, the [|Renaissance] ). The changes brought about by these developments have caused many scholars to see it as leading to the end of the Middle Ages, and the beginning of [|modern history] and [|early modern Europe]. However, the division will always be a somewhat artificial one for scholars, since ancient learning was never entirely absent from European society. As such there was [|developmental continuity] between the [|ancient age] (via [|classical antiquity] ) and the [|modern age]. Some historians, particularly in Italy, prefer not to speak of the late Middle Ages at all, but rather see the high period of the Middle Ages transitioning to the Renaissance and the modern era.

**Northern Europe**
After the failed union of [|Sweden] and [|Norway] of 1319–1365, the pan-Scandinavian [|Kalmar Union] was instituted in 1397. The Swedes were reluctant members of the [|Danish] -dominated union from the start. In an attempt to subdue the Swedes, King [|Christian II of Denmark] had large numbers of the Swedish aristocracy killed in the [|Stockholm Bloodbath] of 1520. Yet this measure only led to further hostilities, and Sweden broke away for good in 1523. Norway, on the other hand, became an inferior party of the union, and remained united with Denmark until 1814. [|Iceland] benefited from its relative isolation, and was the only [|Scandinavian] country not struck by the [|Black Death]. Meanwhile, the Norwegian colony on [|Greenland] died out, probably under extreme weather conditions in the 15th century. These conditions might have been the effect of the [|Little Ice Age].

**British Isles**
The death of [|Alexander III] of [|Scotland] in 1286 threw the country into a succession crisis, and the English king, [|Edward I], was brought in to arbitrate. When Edward claimed overlordship over Scotland, this led to the [|Wars of Scottish Independence] .The English were eventually defeated, and the Scots were able to develop a stronger state under the [|Stewarts]. From 1337, England's attention was largely directed towards France in the [|Hundred Years' War]. [|Henry V’s] victory at the [|Battle of Agincourt] in 1415 briefly paved the way for a unification of the two kingdoms, but his son [|Henry VI] soon squandered all previous gains. The loss of France led to discontent at home, and almost immediately upon the end of the war in 1453, followed the dynastic struggles of the [|Wars of the Roses] (c. 1455–1485), involving the rival dynasties of [|Lancaster] and [|York]. The war ended in the accession of [|Henry VII] of the [|Tudor] family, who could continue the work started by the Yorkist kings of building a strong, centralized monarchy. While England's attention was thus directed elsewhere, the [|Hiberno-Norman] lords in [|Ireland] were becoming gradually more assimilated into Irish society, and the island was allowed to develop virtual independence under English overlordship.

Edited by Mukul, February 2012, 9:30:50.