At the beginning of the 1400's, the Catholic Church was one of the most powerful and influential institutions in Europe. Europeans' desire to get salvation, motivated them to follow the Catholic Church's rules and teachings. The Black Plague caused Europeans to the doubt the Catholic Church. Then, fighting between two Catholic powers, England and France, during the Hundred years war, also caused Europeans to question the Catholic Church. Finally, the Great Schism led Europeans to doubt the Catholic Church. These major events contributed to the loss of the Catholic Church's power and influence .
The Black Plague was one of the darkest and more horrific moments in world history. The Black Plague was a pandemic that spread across Europe from 1347 to 1553, killing millions of people. The Plague was said to have been brought to Europe by flea-infested Asian black rats on a grain ship (Bowers, 2001, 129). As the disease spread rapidly social breakdown occurred. People would isolate themselves, to try and protect themselves from the disease. The Black Plague also caused people to question the Catholic Church. Many European Christians thought that God was trying to punish them, so they turned to God and pray for mercy. For example, a group called Flagellants would whip themselves, and pray to God, to try to get his mercy (Bowers, 2001, 131). When prayers did not stop the spread of the plague, people began to doubt that the Catholic Church could protect them from God's anger. The Black Plague not only weakened European society, but it also increased Europeans' doubt that the Catholic Church could protect them.
The Hundred Years War was the fighting between two Catholic Powers, England and France. Although the war started in the year 1337, England and France had been on uneasy terms before then. The two countries continued to fight until 1453 (Thackery and Findling, 2012, 59). The war covered so much time, that throughout the war there were multiple popes, who would favor one country over the other.
