AD 1250-1500 Late medieval

During this period Europe’s prosperity of the 12th and 13th centuries AD began to flag. The Crusader states were lost to revived Muslim power and the Mongols put the east under pressure. Although the Byzantine empire was restored, it lacked the resources to resume its former power and it succumbed to the Ottoman Turks, who also conquered most of the Balkans in the late 14th and 15th centuries.

Further west some long-lasting conflicts caused major disruption. The Hundred Years' War (1337-1453) between England and France also affected other western powers. The papacy’s authority was questioned by secular rulers, it spent much of the 14th century away from Italy in Avignon, and during the Great Schism (1378-1417) there were two rival popes.

On top of political disruption, climate change affected agricultural productivity, and plague killed approximately 25 million Europeans in the mid-14th century. Social unrest arose as, although peasant labour was now more valuable, lords still sought to maintain traditional levels of pay and service.

By the late 15th century, France was powerful and rich. The leading kingdoms of Spain came together in a dynastic union, and the Hapsburg dynasty ruled the Holy Roman Empire and the Netherlands. Italy flourished intellectually and artistically in the movement known as the Renaissance, but since it consisted of many small, rival states, it was vulnerable to ambitious neighbours.