End of the Middle Age- 1273-1453

In this engaging survey, Eleanor Constance Lodge, the first woman to earn a Doctorate of Letters from the University of Oxford, explores the transformative period between 1273 and 1453. Characterized as a time of transition, this era witnesses the decline of medieval traditions and the emergence of modernity. It is the age of Joan of Arc, the reconquest of Spain from the Moors, the tumultuous Crusades led by the Teutonic Knights, and the powerful union of Poland and Lithuania under the Jagello dynasty. As the Swiss Republic rises and the Papacy faces division alongside the fragmented German states, the European powers are embroiled in their own conflicts while the Ottoman Turks advance across the eastern Mediterranean. The narrative culminates with the dramatic fall of Constantinople, marking the end of the Eastern Roman Empire after 1500 years, a pivotal moment brought about by the formidable Mehmed the Conqueror. - Summary by Pamela Nagami