Middle Ages

In thehistory of Europe, theMiddle Agesormedieval periodlasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to thepost-classicalperiod ofglobal history. It began with thefall of the Western Roman Empireand transitioned into theRenaissanceand theAge of Discovery. The Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history:classical antiquity, the medieval period, and themodern period. The medieval period is itself subdivided into theEarly,High, andLate Middle Ages.
Population decline,counterurbanisation, the collapse of centralised authority, invasions, and mass migrations oftribes, which had begun inlate antiquity, continued into the Early Middle Ages. The large-scale movements of theMigration Period, including variousGermanic peoples, formed new kingdoms in what remained of the Western Roman Empire. In the 7th century,North Africaand the Middle East—once part of theByzantine Empire—came under the rule of theUmayyad Caliphate, an Islamic empire, after conquest byMuhammad's successors. Although there were substantial changes in society and political structures, the break withclassical antiquitywas incomplete. The still-sizeable Byzantine Empire, Rome's direct continuation, survived in the Eastern Mediterranean and remained a major power. The empire's law code, theCorpus Juris Civilisor "Code of Justinian", was rediscovered inNorthern Italyin the 11th century. In the West, most kingdoms incorporated the few extant Roman institutions. Monasteries were founded as campaigns toChristianisetheremaining pagans across Europecontinued. TheFranks, under theCarolingian dynasty, briefly established theCarolingian Empireduring the later 8th and early 9th centuries. It covered much of Western Europe but later succumbed to the pressures of internal civil wars combined with external invasions:Vikingsfrom the north,Magyarsfrom the east, andSaracensfrom the south.
During the High Middle Ages, which began after 1000, the population of Europe increased significantly as technological andagricultural innovationsallowed trade to flourish and theMedieval Warm Periodclimate change allowed crop yields to increase.Manorialism, the organisation ofpeasantsinto villages that owed rent and labour services to thenobles, andfeudalism, the political structure wherebyknightsand lower-status nobles owed military service to theiroverlordsin return for the right to rent from lands andmanors, were two of the ways society was organised in the High Middle Ages.
This period also saw the collapse of the unified Christian church with theEast–West Schismof 1054. TheCrusades, first preached in 1095, were military attempts by Western European Christians to regain control of theHoly LandfromMuslims. Kings became the heads of centralisednation-states, reducing crime and violence but making the ideal of a unifiedChristendommore distant. Intellectual life was marked byscholasticism, a philosophy that emphasised joining faith to reason, and by the founding ofuniversities. The theology ofThomas Aquinas, the paintings ofGiotto, the poetry ofDanteandChaucer, the travels ofMarco Polo, and theGothic architectureof cathedrals such asChartresare among the outstanding achievements toward the end of this period and into the Late Middle Ages.
The Late Middle Ages was marked by difficulties and calamities, including famine, plague, and war, which significantly diminished the population of Europe; between 1347 and 1350, theBlack Deathkilled about a third of Europeans. Controversy,heresy, and theWestern Schismwithin theCatholic Churchparalleled the interstate conflict, civil strife, andpeasant revoltsthat occurred in the kingdoms. Cultural and technological developments transformed European society, concluding the Late Middle Ages and beginning theearly modern period.
The Middle Ages is one of the three major periods in the most enduring scheme for analysingEuropean history:classical civilisationorantiquity, the Middle Ages and themodern period.The "Middle Ages" first appears in Latin in 1469 asmedia tempestasor "middle season".In early usage, there were many variants, includingmedium aevum, or "middle age", first recorded in 1604,andmedia saecula, or "middle centuries", first recorded in 1625.The adjective "medieval" (or sometimes "mediaeval"or "mediæval"),meaning pertaining to the Middle Ages, derives frommedium aevum.
Medieval writers divided history into periods such as the "Six Ages" or the "Four Empires" and considered their time to be the last before the end of the world.When referring to their own times, they spoke of them as being "modern".In the 1330s, the Italian humanist and poetPetrarchreferred to pre-Christian times asantiqua('ancient') and to the Christian period asnova('new').Petrarch regarded the post-Roman centuries as "dark" compared to the "light" ofclassical antiquity.Leonardo Bruniwas the first historian to usetripartite periodisationin hisHistory of the Florentine People(1442), with a middle period "between the fall of the Roman Empire and the revival of city life sometime in late eleventh and twelfth centuries".Tripartiteperiodisationbecame standard after the 17th-century German historianChristoph Cellariusdivided history into three periods: ancient, medieval, and modern.
The most commonly given starting point for the Middle Ages is around 500,with the date of 476 first used by Bruni.Later starting dates are sometimes used in the outer parts of Europe.For Europe as a whole, 1500 is often considered to be the end of the Middle Ages,but there is no universally agreed upon end date. Depending on the context, events such as theconquest of Constantinopleby the Turks in 1453,Christopher Columbus's first voyage to theAmericasin 1492, or theReformationin 1517 are sometimes used.English historians often use theBattle of Bosworth Fieldin 1485 to mark the end of the period.For Spain, dates commonly used are the death of KingFerdinand IIin 1516, the death of QueenIsabella I of Castilein 1504, or theconquest of Granadain 1492.
Historians fromRomance-speakingcountries tend to divide the Middle Ages into two parts: an earlier "High" and later "Low" period. English-speaking historians, following their German counterparts, generally subdivide the Middle Ages into three intervals: "Early", "High", and "Late".In the 19th century, the entire Middle Ages were often referred to as the "Dark Ages",but with the adoption of these subdivisions, use of this term was restricted to the Early Middle Ages, at least among historians.
TheRoman Empirereached its greatest territorial extent during the 2nd century AD; the following two centuries witnessed the slow decline of Roman control over its outlying territories.Economic issues, including inflation, and external pressure on the frontiers combined to create theCrisis of the Third Century, with emperors coming to the throne only to be rapidly replaced by new usurpers.Military expenses increased steadily during the 3rd century, mainly in response to thewarwith theSasanian Empire, which revived in the middle of the 3rd century.The army doubled in size, and cavalry and smaller units replaced theRoman legionas the main tactical unit.The need for revenue led to increased taxes and a decline in numbers of thecurial, or landowning, class, and decreasing numbers of them willing to shoulder the burdens of holding office in their native towns.More bureaucrats were needed in the central administration to deal with the needs of the army, which led to complaints from civilians that there were more tax-collectors in the empire than tax-payers.
The EmperorDiocletian(r. 284–305) split the empire into separately administeredeasternandwesternhalves in 286; the empire was not considered divided by its inhabitants or rulers, as legal and administrativepromulgationsin one division were considered valid in the other.In 330, after a period of civil war,Constantine the Great(r. 306–337) refounded the city ofByzantiumas the newly renamed eastern capital,Constantinople.Diocletian's reforms strengthened the governmental bureaucracy, reformed taxation, and strengthened the army, which bought the empire time but did not resolve the problems it was facing: excessive taxation, a declining birthrate, and pressures on its frontiers, among others.Civil war between rival emperors became common in the middle of the 4th century, diverting soldiers from the empire's frontier forces and allowinginvadersto encroach.For much of the 4th century, Roman society stabilised in a new form that differed from the earlierclassical period, with a widening gulf between the rich and poor, and a decline in the vitality of the smaller towns.Another change was theChristianisation, or conversion of the empire toChristianity, a gradual process that lasted from the 2nd to the 5th centuries.
In 376, theGoths, fleeing from theHuns, received permission from EmperorValens(r. 364–378) to settle in the Roman province ofThraciain theBalkans. The settlement did not go smoothly, and the Goths began to raid and plunder when Roman officials mishandled the situation.Valens, attempting to put down the disorder, was killed fighting the Goths at theBattle of Adrianopleon 9 August 378.In addition to the threat from such tribal confederacies in the north, internal divisions within the empire, especially within the Christian Church, caused problems.In 400, theVisigothsinvaded the Western Roman Empire and, although briefly forced back from Italy, in 410sacked the city of Rome.In 406 theAlans,Vandals, andSuevicrossed intoGaul; over the next three years they spread across Gaul and in 409 crossed thePyrenees Mountainsinto modern-day Spain.TheMigration Periodbegan, when various peoples, initially largelyGermanic peoples, moved across Europe. TheFranks,Alemanni, and theBurgundiansall ended up in northern Gaul while theAngles,Saxons, andJutessettled in Britain,and the Vandals went on to cross the strait of Gibraltar after which they conquered the province ofAfrica.In the 430s the Huns began invading the empire; their kingAttila(r. 434–453) led invasions into the Balkans in 442 and 447, Gaul in 451, and Italy in 452.The Hunnic threat remained until Attila's death in 453, when theHunnic confederationhe led fell apart.These invasions by the tribes completely changed the political and demographic nature of what had been the Western Roman Empire.
By the end of the 5th century, the western section of the empire was divided into smaller political units ruled by the tribes that had invaded in the early part of the century.The deposition of the last emperor of the west,Romulus Augustulus, in 476 has traditionally marked the end of the Western Roman Empire.By 493 the Italian peninsula was conquered by theOstrogoths.The Eastern Roman Empire, often referred to as the Byzantine Empire after the fall of its western counterpart, had little ability to assert control over the lost western territories. TheByzantine emperorsmaintained a claim over the territory, but while none of the new kings in the west dared to elevate himself to the position of emperor of the west, Byzantine control of most of the Western Empire could not be sustained; the reconquest of the Mediterranean periphery and theItalian Peninsula(Gothic War) in the reign ofJustinian(r. 527–565) was the sole, and temporary, exception.
The political structure of Western Europe changed with the end of the united Roman Empire. Although the movements of peoples during this period are usually described as "invasions", they were not just military expeditions but migrations of entire peoples into the empire. Such movements were aided by the refusal of the Western Roman elites to support the army or pay the taxes that would have allowed the military to suppress the migration.The emperors of the 5th century were often controlled by military strongmen such asStilicho(d. 408),Aetius(d. 454),Aspar(d. 471),Ricimer(d. 472), orGundobad(d. 516), who were partly or fully of non-Roman background. When the line of Western emperors ceased, many of the kings who replaced them were from the same background. Intermarriage between the new kings and the Roman elites was common.This led to a fusion of Roman culture with the customs of the invading tribes, including the popular assemblies that allowed free male tribal members more say in political matters than was common in the Roman state.Material artefacts left by the Romans and the invaders are often similar, and tribal items were often modelled on Roman objects.Much of the scholarly and written culture of the new kingdoms was also based on Roman intellectual traditions.An important difference was the new polities' gradual loss of tax revenue. Many new political entities no longer supported their armies through taxes; instead, they relied on granting them land or rents. This meant there was less need for large tax revenues, so thetaxation systemsdecayed.Warfare was common between and within the kingdoms. Slavery declined as the supply weakened, and society became more rural.
Between the 5th and 8th centuries, new peoples and individuals filled the political void left by the centralised Roman government.TheOstrogoths, a Gothic tribe, settled inRoman Italyin the late fifth century underTheoderic the Great(d. 526) and set up akingdommarked by its co-operation between the Italians and the Ostrogoths, at least until the last years of Theodoric's reign.The Burgundians settled in Gaul, and after an earlier realm was destroyed by the Huns in 436, formed a new kingdom in the 440s. Between today'sGenevaandLyon, it grew to become the realm ofBurgundyin the late 5th and early 6th centuries.Elsewhere in Gaul, the Franks andCeltic Britonsset up small polities.Franciawas centred in northern Gaul, and the first king of whom much is known isChilderic I(d. 481). His grave was discovered in 1653 and is remarkable for itsgrave goods, which included weapons and a large quantity of gold.
Under Childeric's sonClovis I(r. 509–511), the founder of theMerovingian dynasty, the Frankish kingdom expanded and converted to Christianity. The Britons, related to the natives ofBritannia– modern-day Great Britain – settled in what is nowBrittany.Other monarchies were established by theVisigothic Kingdomin theIberian Peninsula, theSuebiin northwestern Iberia, and theVandal KingdominNorth Africa.In the sixth century, theLombardssettled inNorthern Italy, replacing the Ostrogothic kingdom with a grouping ofduchiesthat occasionally selected a king to rule over them all. By the late sixth century, this arrangement had been replaced by a permanent monarchy, theKingdom of the Lombards.
The invasions brought new ethnic groups to Europe, although some regions received a larger influx of new peoples than others. In Gaul, for instance, the invaders settled much more extensively in the north-east than in the south-west.Slavssettled inCentralandEastern Europeand the Balkan Peninsula. Changes in languages accompanied the settlement of peoples.Latin, the literary language of the Western Roman Empire, was gradually replaced byvernacular languages, which evolved from Latin but were distinct from it, collectively known asRomance languages. These changes from Latin to the new languages took many centuries. Greek remained the language of the Byzantine Empire, but the migrations of the Slavs addedSlavic languagesto Eastern Europe.
As Western Europe witnessed the formation of new kingdoms, the Eastern Roman Empire remained intact and experienced an economic revival that lasted into the early 7th century. There were fewer invasions of the eastern section of the empire; most occurred in the Balkans. Peace with theSasanian Empire, Rome's traditional enemy, lasted most of the 5th century. The Eastern Empire was marked by closer relations between the political state and the Christian Church, with doctrinal matters assuming an importance in Eastern politics that they did not have in Western Europe. Legal developments included the codification ofRoman law; the first effort—theCodex Theodosianus—was completed in 438.Under Emperor Justinian (r. 527–565), another compilation took place—theCorpus Juris Civilis.Justinian also oversaw the construction of theHagia Sophiain Constantinople and the reconquest of North Africa from the Vandals and Italy from the Ostrogoths,underBelisarius(d. 565).The conquest of Italy was not complete, as a deadly outbreak ofplague in 542led to the rest of Justinian's reign concentrating on defensive measures rather than further conquests.
At the Emperor's death, the Byzantines had control ofmost of Italy, North Africa, and a small foothold in southern Spain. Historians have criticised Justinian's reconquests for overextending his realm and setting the stage for theearly Muslim conquests, but many of the difficulties faced by Justinian's successors were due not just to over-taxation to pay for his wars but to the essentially civilian nature of the empire, which made raising troops difficult.
In the Eastern Empire, the Slavs' slow infiltration of the Balkans added further difficulty for Justinian's successors. It began gradually, but by the late 540s, Slavic tribes were inThraceandIllyriumand had defeated an imperial army nearAdrianoplein 551. In the 560s, theAvarsbegan to expand from their base on the north bank of theDanube; by the end of the 6th century, they were the dominant power in Central Europe and routinely able to force the Eastern emperors to pay tribute. They remained a strong power until 796.
An additional problem to face the empire came as a result of the involvement of EmperorMaurice(r. 582–602) in Persian politics when he intervened in asuccession dispute. This led to a period of peace, but when Maurice was overthrown,the Persians invadedand during the reign of EmperorHeraclius(r. 610–641) controlled large chunks of the empire, including Egypt, Syria, andAnatoliauntil Heraclius' successful counterattack. In 628, the empire secured a peace treaty and recovered its lost territories.
In Western Europe, some older Roman elite families died out while others became more involved with ecclesiastical than secular affairs. Values attached toLatin scholarshipandeducationmostly disappeared, and while literacy remained important, it became a practical skill rather than a sign of elite status. In the 4th century,Jerome(d. 420) dreamed that God rebuked him for spending more time readingCicerothan theBible. By the 6th century,Gregory of Tours(d. 594) had a similar dream, but instead of being chastised for reading Cicero, he was chastised for learningshorthand.By the late 6th century, the principal means of religious instruction in the Church had become music and art rather than the book.Most intellectual efforts went towards imitating classical scholarship, but someoriginal workswere created, along with now-lost oral compositions. The writings ofSidonius Apollinaris(d. 489),Cassiodorus(d.c.585), andBoethius(d. c. 525) were typical of the age.
Changes also occurred among laypeople, as aristocratic culture focused on great feasts held in halls rather than on literary pursuits. Clothing for the elites was richly embellished with jewels and gold. Lords and kings supported the entourages of fighters who formed the backbone of the military forces.Family ties within the elites were important, as were the virtues of loyalty, courage, and honour. These ties led to the prevalence of feuds in aristocratic society, including those related by Gregory of Tours inMerovingianGaul. Most feuds seem to have ended quickly with the payment of somecompensation.Women took part in aristocratic society mainly in their roles as wives and mothers of men, with the role of mother of a ruler being especially prominent in Merovingian Gaul. InAnglo-Saxonsociety, the lack of many child rulers meant a lesser role for women as queen mothers, but this was compensated for by the increased role played byabbessesof monasteries. Only in Italy does it appear that women were always considered under the protection and control of a male relative.
Peasant society is much less documented than the nobility. Most of the surviving information available to historians comes fromarchaeology; few detailed written records documenting peasant life remain from before the 9th century. Most of the descriptions of the lower classes come from eitherlaw codesor writers from the upper classes.Landholdingpatterns in the West were not uniform; some areas had greatly fragmented landholding patterns, but in other areas, large contiguous blocks of land were the norm. These differences allowed for a wide variety of peasant societies, some dominated by aristocratic landholders and others having great autonomy.Land settlement also varied greatly. Some peasants lived in large settlements that numbered as many as 700 inhabitants. Others lived in small groups of a few families and lived on isolated farms spread over the countryside. There were also areas where the pattern was a mix of two or more systems.Unlike in the late Roman period, there was no sharp break between the legal status of the free peasant and the aristocrat, and a free peasant's family could rise into the aristocracy over several generations through military service to a powerful lord.
Roman city life and culture changed greatly in the early Middle Ages. Although Italian cities remained inhabited, they contracted significantly in size. For instance, Rome shrank from hundreds of thousands to around 30,000 by the end of the 6th century.Roman templeswere converted intoChristian churchesand city walls remained in use.In Northern Europe, cities also shrank, while civic monuments and other public buildings were raided for building materials. The establishment of new kingdoms often meant some growth for the towns chosen as capitals.Although there had beenJewish communities in many Roman cities, theJewssuffered periods of persecution after the conversion of the empire to Christianity. Officially, they were tolerated, if subject to conversion efforts, and were sometimes encouraged to settle in new areas.
Religious beliefs in the Eastern Roman Empire and Iran were in flux during the late sixth and early seventh centuries.Judaismwas an active proselytising faith, and at least oneArabpolitical leader converted to it.In addition Jewish theologians wrote polemics defending their religion against Christian and Islamic influences.
Christianity had active missions competing with the Persians'Zoroastrianismin seeking converts, especially among residents of theArabian Peninsula. All these strands came together with the emergence ofIslamin Arabia during the lifetime ofMuhammad(d. 632).After his death, Islamic forces conquered much of the Eastern Roman Empire and Persia, starting withSyriain 634–635, continuing withPersiabetween 637 and 642, reachingEgyptin 640–641,North Africain the later seventh century, and theIberian Peninsulain 711.By 714, Islamic forces controlled much of the peninsula in a region they calledAl-Andalus.
The Islamic conquests reached their peak in the mid-eighth century. The defeat of Muslim forces at theBattle of Toursin 732 led to the reconquest of southern France by the Franks, but the main reason for the halt of Islamic growth in Europe was the overthrow of theUmayyad Caliphateand its replacement by theAbbasid Caliphate. The Abbasids moved their capital toBaghdadand were more concerned with the Middle East than Europe, losing control of sections of the Muslim lands. Umayyad descendants took over the Iberian Peninsula, theAghlabidscontrolled North Africa, and theTulunidsbecame rulers of Egypt.By the middle of the 8th century, new trading patterns were emerging in the Mediterranean; trade between the Franks and the Arabs replaced the oldRoman economy. Franks traded timber, furs, swords, and enslaved people in return for silks and other fabrics, spices, and precious metals from the Arabs.
The migrations and invasions of the 4th and 5th centuries disrupted trade networks around the Mediterranean. African goods stopped being imported into Europe, first disappearing from the interior and, by the 7th century, found only in a few cities such as Rome orNaples. By the end of the 7th century, under the impact of theMuslim conquests, African products were no longer found in Western Europe. Replacing goods from long-range trade with local products was a trend throughout the old Roman lands in the Early Middle Ages. This was especially marked in the lands that did not lie on the Mediterranean, such as northern Gaul or Britain. Non-local goods appearing in the archaeological record are usually luxury goods. In northern Europe, not only were the trade networks local, but the goods carried were simple, with little pottery or other complex products. Around the Mediterranean, pottery remained prevalent and appears to have been traded over medium-range networks, not just produced locally.
The various Germanic states in the west all hadcoinagesthat imitated existing Roman and Byzantine forms. Gold continued to be minted until the end of the 7th century in 693–694, when it was replaced by silver in the Merovingian kingdom. The basic Frankish silver coin was thedenariusordenier, while the Anglo-Saxon version was called apenny. From these areas, the denier or penny spread throughout Europe from 700 to 1000. Copper or bronze coins were not struck, nor were gold, except in Southern Europe. No silver coins denominated in multiple units were minted.
Christianity was a major unifying factor between Eastern and Western Europe before the Arab conquests, but the conquest of North Africa sundered maritime connections between those areas. Increasingly, the Byzantine Church differed in language, practices, andliturgyfrom the Western Church. The Eastern Church used Greek instead of Western Latin. Theological and political differences emerged, and by the early and middle 8th century, issues such asiconoclasm,clerical marriage, andstate control of the Churchhad widened to the extent that the cultural and religious differences were more significant than the similarities.A formal break known as theEast–West Schismcame in 1054, when thepapacyand thepatriarchy of Constantinopleclashed overpapal supremacyandexcommunicatedeach other, which led to the division of Christianity into two Churches—the Western branch became theRoman Catholic Churchand the Eastern branch theEastern Orthodox Church.
Theecclesiastical structureof the Roman Empire survived the movements and invasions in the West mostly intact. Still, the papacy was little regarded, and few of the Westernbishopslooked to the bishop of Rome for religious or political leadership.Many of the popesbefore 750 were more concerned with Byzantine affairs and Eastern theological controversies. The register, or archived copies of the letters, of PopeGregory the Great(pope 590–604) survived. Of those 850 letters, most were concerned with affairs in Italy or Constantinople. The only part of Western Europe where the papacy had influence was Britain, where Gregory had sent theGregorian missionin 597 to convert the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity.Irish missionarieswere most active in Western Europe between the 5th and the 7th centuries, going first to England and Scotland and then on to the continent. Under suchmonksasColumba(d. 597) andColumbanus(d. 615), they founded monasteries, taught in Latin and Greek, and authored secular and religious works.
The Early Middle Ages witnessed the rise ofmonasticismin the West. The shape of European monasticism was determined by traditions and ideas that originated with theDesert FathersofEgyptandSyria. Most European monasteries were of the type that focuses on the community experience of the spiritual life, calledcenobitism, which was pioneered byPachomius(d. 348) in the 4th century. Monastic ideals spread from Egypt to Western Europe in the 5th and 6th centuries throughhagiographical literaturesuch as theLife of Anthony.Benedict of Nursia(d. 547) wrote theBenedictine Rulefor Western monasticism during the 6th century, detailing the administrative and spiritual responsibilities of a community of monks led by anabbot.Monks and monasteries had a profound effect on the religious and political life of the Early Middle Ages, in various cases acting asland trustsfor powerful families, centres of propaganda and royal support in newly conquered regions, and bases for missions and proselytisation.They were the main and sometimes only outposts of education and literacy in a region. Many of the surviving manuscripts of the Latinclassicswere copied in monasteries in the Early Middle Ages.Monks were also the authors of new works, including history, theology, and other subjects, written by authors such asBede(d. 735), a native of northern England who wrote in the late 7th and early 8th centuries.
The Frankish kingdom in northern Gaul split into kingdoms calledAustrasia,Neustria, andBurgundyduring the 6th and 7th centuries, all of them ruled by the Merovingian dynasty, who were descended from Clovis. The 7th century was a tumultuous period of wars between Austrasia and Neustria.Such warfare was exploited byPippin I(d. 640), theMayor of the Palacefor Austrasia who became the power behind the Austrasian throne. Later, his family inherited the office and acted as advisers and regents. One of his descendants,Charles Martel(d. 741), won the Battle of Poitiers in 732, halting the advance of Muslim armies across the Pyrenees.Great Britain was divided into small states dominated by the kingdoms ofNorthumbria,Mercia,Wessex, andEast Angliawhich descended from the Anglo-Saxon invaders. Smaller kingdoms in present-day Wales and Scotland were still under the control of the native Britons andPicts.Ireland was divided into even smaller political units, usually known as tribal kingdoms, under the control of kings. There were perhaps as many as150 local kingsin Ireland of varying importance.
TheCarolingian dynasty, as the successors to Charles Martel are known, officially took control of the kingdoms of Austrasia and Neustria in a coup of 753 led byPippin III(r. 752–768). A contemporary chronicle claims that Pippin sought and gained authority for this coup from PopeStephen II(pope 752–757). Pippin's takeover was reinforced with propaganda that portrayed the Merovingians as inept or cruel rulers, exalted the accomplishments of Charles Martel, and circulated stories of the family's great piety. At the time of his death in 768, Pippin left his kingdom in the hands of his two sons, Charles (r. 768–814) andCarloman(r. 768–771). When Carloman died of natural causes, Charles blocked the succession of Carloman's young son and installed himself as the king of the united Austrasia and Neustria. Charles, more often known as Charles the Great orCharlemagne, embarked upon a programme of systematic expansion in 774 that unified a large portion of Europe, eventually controlling modern-day France, northern Italy, andSaxony. In the wars that lasted beyond 800, he rewarded allies with war booty and command over parcels of land.In 774, Charlemagne conquered the Lombards, which freed the papacy from the fear of Lombard conquest and marked the beginnings of thePapal States.
The coronation of Charlemagne as emperor on Christmas Day 800 is regarded as a turning point in medieval history, marking a return of the Western Roman Empire since the new emperor ruled over much of the area previously controlled by the Western emperors.It also marks a change in Charlemagne's relationship with the Byzantine Empire, as the assumption of the imperial title by the Carolingians asserted their equivalence to the Byzantine state.There were several differences between the newly established Carolingian Empire and both the older Western Roman Empire and the concurrent Byzantine Empire. The Frankish lands were rural, with only a few small cities. Most of the people were peasants who settled on small farms. Little trade existed, and much of that was with the British Isles and Scandinavia, in contrast to the older Roman Empire with its trading networks centred on the Mediterranean.The empire was administered by an itinerant court that travelled with the emperor, as well as approximately 300 imperial officials calledcounts, who administered thecountiesthe empire had been divided into. Clergy and local bishops served as officials, as well as the imperial officials, calledmissi dominici, who served as roving inspectors and troubleshooters.
Charlemagne's court inAachenwas the centre of the cultural revival, sometimes referred to as the "Carolingian Renaissance". Literacy increased, as did development in the arts, architecture, jurisprudence, and liturgical and scriptural studies. The English monkAlcuin(d. 804) was invited to Aachen and brought theeducationavailable in the monasteries of Northumbria. Charlemagne'schancery—or writing office—made use of a newscripttoday known asCarolingian minuscule,allowing a standard writing style that advanced communication across much of Europe. Charlemagne sponsored changes inchurch liturgy, imposing the Roman form of church service on his domains, as well as theGregorian chantin liturgical music for the churches. An important activity for scholars during this period was copying, correcting, and disseminating basic works on religious and secular topics to encourage learning. New works on religious topics and schoolbooks were also produced.Grammarians of the period modified the Latin language, changing it from theClassical Latinof the Roman Empire into a more flexible form to fit the needs of the Church and government. By the reign of Charlemagne, the language had so diverged from the classical Latin that it was later calledMedieval Latin.
Charlemagne planned to continue the Frankish tradition of dividing his kingdom between all his heirs but was unable to do so as only one son,Louis the Pious(r. 814–840), was still alive by 813. Just before Charlemagne died in 814, he crowned Louis as his successor. Numerous divisions of the empire marked Louis's reign of 26 years among his sons and, after 829, civil wars between various alliances of father and sons over the control of various parts of the empire. Eventually, Louis recognised his eldest sonLothair I(d. 855) as emperor and gave him Italy.Louis divided the rest of the empire between Lothair andCharles the Bald(d. 877), his youngest son. Lothair tookEast Francia, comprising both banks of the Rhine and eastwards, leaving CharlesWest Franciawith the empire to the west of the Rhineland and the Alps.Louis the German(d. 876), the middle child, who had been rebellious to the last, was allowed to keep Bavaria under thesuzeraintyof his elder brother. The division was disputed.Pepin IIof Aquitaine(d. after 864), the emperor's grandson, rebelled in a contest forAquitaine, while Louis the German tried to annexe all of East Francia. Louis the Pious died in 840, with the empire still in chaos.
A three-year civil war followed his death. By theTreaty of Verdun(843), a kingdom between theRhineandRhonerivers was created for Lothair to go with his lands in Italy, and his imperial title was recognised. Louis the German controlled Bavaria and the eastern lands in modern-day Germany. Charles the Bald received the western Frankish lands, comprising most of modern-day France.Charlemagne's grandsons and great-grandsons divided their kingdoms between their descendants, eventually causing all internal cohesion to be lost.In 987, the Carolingian dynasty was replaced in the western lands, with the crowning ofHugh Capet(r. 987–996) as king.In the eastern lands, the dynasty had died out earlier, in 911, with the death ofLouis the Child,and the selection of the unrelatedConrad I(r. 911–918) as king.
Invasions, migrations, and raids by external foes accompanied the break-up of the Carolingian Empire. The Atlantic and northern shores were harassed by theVikings, who also raided the British Isles and settled there and in Iceland. In 911, the Viking chieftainRollo(d. c. 931) received permission from the Frankish KingCharles the Simple(r. 898–922) to settle in what becameNormandy.The eastern parts of the Frankish kingdoms, especially Germany and Italy, were under continualMagyarassault until the invader's defeat at theBattle of Lechfeldin 955.The break-up of the Abbasid dynasty meant that the Islamic world fragmented into smaller political states, some of which began expanding into Italy and Sicily, as well as over the Pyrenees into the southern parts of the Frankish kingdoms.
Efforts by local kings to fight the invaders led to the formation of new political entities. InAnglo-Saxon England, KingAlfred the Great(r. 871–899) came to an agreement with the Viking invaders in the late 9th century, resulting inDanish settlementsin Northumbria, Mercia, and parts of East Anglia.By the middle of the 10th century, Alfred's successors had conquered Northumbria and restored English control over most of the southern part of Great Britain.In northern Britain,Kenneth MacAlpin(d. c. 860) united the Picts and theScotsinto theKingdom of Alba.In the early 10th century, theOttonian dynastyhad established itself inGermany, and was engaged in driving back the Magyars. Its efforts culminated in the coronation in 962 ofOtto I(r. 936–973) asHoly Roman Emperor.In 972, he secured recognition of his title by the Byzantine Empire, which he sealed with the marriage of his sonOtto II(r. 967–983) toTheophanu(d. 991), daughter of an earlier Byzantine EmperorRomanos II(r. 959–963).By the late 10th centuryItalyhad been drawn into the Ottonian sphere after a period of instability;Otto III(r. 996–1002) spent much of his later reign in the kingdom.The western Frankish kingdom was more fragmented, and although kings remained nominally in charge, much of the political power devolved to the local lords.
Missionary efforts to Scandinaviaduring the 9th and 10th centuries helped strengthen the growth of kingdoms such asSweden,Denmark, andNorway, which gained power and territory. Some kings converted to Christianity, although not all by 1000. Scandinavians also expanded and colonised throughout Europe. Besides the settlements in Ireland, England, and Normandy, further settlement took place in what becameRussiaandIceland. Swedish traders and raiders ranged down the rivers of the Russian steppe and even attempted to seize Constantinople in860and907.Christian Spain, initially driven into a small section of the peninsula in the north, expanded slowly south during the 9th and 10th centuries, establishing the kingdoms ofAsturiasandLeón.
In Eastern Europe, Byzantium revived its fortunes under EmperorBasil I(r. 867–886) and his successorsLeo VI(r. 886–912) andConstantine VII(r. 913–959), members of theMacedonian dynasty. Commerce revived, and the emperors oversaw the extension of a uniform administration to all the provinces. The military was reorganised, which allowed the emperorsJohn I(r. 969–976) andBasil II(r. 976–1025) to expand the frontiers of the empire on all fronts. The imperial court was the centre of a revival of classical learning, a process known as theMacedonian Renaissance. Writers such asJohn Geometres(fl.early 10th century) composed new hymns, poems, and other works.Missionary efforts by both Eastern and Western clergy resulted in the conversion of theMoravians,Bulgars,Bohemians,Poles, Magyars, and Slavic inhabitants of theKievan Rus'. These conversions contributed to the founding of political states in the lands of those peoples—the states ofMoravia,Bulgaria,Bohemia,Poland, Hungary, and the Kievan Rus'.Bulgaria, which was founded around 680, at its height reached from Budapest to the Black Sea and from the Dnieper River in modern Ukraine to the Adriatic Sea.By 1018, the last Bulgarian nobles had surrendered to the Byzantine Empire.
Few large stone buildings were constructed between the Constantinianbasilicasof the 4th and 8th centuries, although many smaller ones were built during the 6th and 7th centuries. By the beginning of the 8th century, the Carolingian Empire revived the basilica form of architecture.One feature of the basilica is the use of atransept,or the "arms" of a cross-shaped building that are perpendicular to the longnave.Other new features of religious architecture include thecrossing towerand a monumentalentrance to the church, usually at the west end of the building.
Carolingian artwas produced for a small group of figures around the court and the monasteries and churches they supported. It was dominated by efforts to regain the dignity and classicism of imperial Roman andByzantine artbut was also influenced by theInsular artof the British Isles. Insular art integrated the energy ofIrish CelticandAnglo-Saxon Germanicstyles of ornament with Mediterranean forms such as the book, and established many characteristics of art for the rest of the medieval period. Surviving religious works from the Early Middle Ages are mostlyilluminated manuscriptsand carvedivories, originally made for metalwork that has since been melted down.Objects in precious metals were the most prestigious form of art, but almost all are lost except for a few crosses such as theCross of Lothair, severalreliquaries, and finds such as the Anglo-Saxon burial atSutton Hooand thehoardsofGourdonfrom Merovingian France,Guarrazarfrom Visigothic Spain andNagyszentmiklósnear Byzantine territory. There are survivals from the largebroochesinfibulaorpenannularform that were key pieces of personal adornment for elites, including the IrishTara Brooch.Highly decorated books were mostlyGospel Booksand these have survived inlarger numbers, including the InsularBook of Kells, theBook of Lindisfarne, and the imperialCodex Aureus of St. Emmeram, which is one of the few to retain its "treasure binding" of gold encrusted with jewels.Charlemagne's court seems to have been responsible for the acceptance of figurativemonumental sculptureinChristian art,and by the end of the period near life-sized figures such as theGero Crosswere common in important churches.
During the later Roman Empire, the principal military developments were attempts to create an effective cavalry force and the continued development of highly specialised types of troops. The creation of heavily armouredcataphract-type soldiers as cavalry was an important feature of the 5th-century Roman military. The various invading tribes had differing emphases on types of soldiers—ranging from the primarily infantry Anglo-Saxon invaders of Britain to the Vandals and Visigoths, who had a high proportion of cavalry in their armies.During the early invasion period, thestirruphad not been introduced into warfare, which limited the usefulness of cavalry asshock troopsbecause it was not possible to put the full force of the horse and rider behind blows struck by the rider.The greatest change in military affairs during the invasion period was the adoption of the Hunniccomposite bowin place of the earlier, and weaker,Scythiancomposite bow.Another development was the increasing use oflongswordsand the progressive replacement ofscale armourbymail armourandlamellar armour.
The importance of infantry and light cavalry declined during the early Carolingian period, with a growing dominance of elite heavy cavalry. The use ofmilitia-type leviesof the free population declined over the Carolingian period.Although much of the Carolingian armies were mounted, a large proportion during the early period appear to have beenmounted infantry, rather than true cavalry.One exception was Anglo-Saxon England, where the armies were still composed of regional levies, known as thefyrd, which were led by the local elites.In military technology, one of the main changes was the return of thecrossbow, which had been known in Roman times and reappeared as a military weapon during the last part of the Early Middle Ages.Another change was the introduction of the stirrup, which increased the effectiveness of cavalry as shock troops. A technological advance that had implications beyond the military was thehorseshoe, which allowed horses to be used in rocky terrain.
The High Middle Ages was a period of tremendouspopulation expansion. The estimated population of Europe grew from 35 to 80 million between 1000 and 1347, although the exact causes remain unclear: improved agricultural techniques, the decline of slaveholding, amore clement climateand the lack of invasion have all been suggested.As much as 90 per cent of the European population remained rural peasants. Many were no longer settled in isolated farms but had gathered into small communities, usually known asmanorsor villages.These peasants were often subject to noble overlords and owed them rents and other services in a system known asmanorialism. There remained a few free peasants throughout this period and beyond,with more of them in the regions of Southern Europe than in the north. The practice ofassarting, or bringing new lands into production by offering incentives to the peasants who settled them, also contributed to population expansion.
Theopen-field systemof agriculture was commonly practised in most of Europe, especially in "northwestern and central Europe".Such agricultural communities had three essential characteristics: individual peasant holdings in the form of strips of land were scattered among the different fields belonging to the manor; crops were rotated from year to year to preserve soil fertility; and common land was used for grazing livestock and other purposes. Some regions used a three-field system of crop rotation; others retained the older two-field system.
Other sections of society included the nobility, clergy, and townspeople. Nobles, both the titlednobilityand simpleknights, exploited the manors and the peasants. However, they did not own lands outright but were granted rights to the income from a manor or other lands by an overlord through the system offeudalism. During the 11th and 12th centuries, these lands, orfiefs, came to be considered hereditary. In most areas, they were no longer divisible between all the heirs, as had been the case in the early medieval period. Instead, most fiefs and lands went to the eldest son.The dominance of the nobility was built upon its control of the land, its military service asheavy cavalry, control ofcastles, and various immunities from taxes or other impositions.Castles, initially in wood but later in stone, began to be constructed in the 9th and 10th centuries in response to the disorder of the time, and protected from invaders and allowing lords defence from rivals. Control of castles allowed the nobles to defy kings or other overlords.Nobles were stratified; kings and the highest-ranking nobility controlled large numbers of commoners and large tracts of land, as well as other nobles. Beneath them, lesser nobles had authority over smaller land areas and fewer people. Knights were the lowest level of nobility; they controlled but did not own land and had to serve other nobles.
The clergy was divided into two types: thesecular clergy, who lived out in the world, and theregular clergy, who lived isolated under a religious rule and usually consisted of monks.Throughout the period, monks remained a tiny proportion of the population, usually less than one percent.Most of the regular clergy were drawn from the nobility, the same social class that served as the recruiting ground for the upper levels of the secular clergy. The localparishpriests were often drawn from the peasant class.Townspeople were somewhat unusual, as they did not fit into the traditional three-fold division of society into nobles, clergy, and peasants. During the 12th and 13th centuries, the ranks of the townspeople expanded greatly as existing towns grew and new population centres were founded.But throughout the Middle Ages, the population of the towns probably never exceeded 10 percent of the total population.
Jews alsospread across Europeduring the period. Communities were established inGermanyandEnglandin the 11th and 12th centuries, butSpanish Jews, long settled in Spain under the Muslims, came under Christian rule and increasing pressure to convert to Christianity.Most Jews were confined to the cities, as they were not allowed to own land or be peasants.Besides the Jews, there were other non-Christians on the edges of Europe—pagan Slavs in Eastern Europe and Muslims in Southern Europe.
Women in the Middle Ageswere officially required to be subordinate to some male, whether their father, husband, or other kinsman. Widows were often allowed much control over their lives, but they were still restricted legally. Women's work generally consisted of household or other domestically inclined tasks. Peasant women were usually responsible for caring for the household, child care, gardening, and animal husbandry near the house. They could supplement their household income by spinning or brewing at home. At harvest time, they were also expected to help with fieldwork.Townswomen, like peasant women, were responsible for the household and could also engage in trade. The trades that were open to women varied by country and period.Noblewomen were responsible for running a household and could occasionally be expected to handle estates in the absence of male relatives, but they were usually restricted from participation in military or government affairs. The only role open to women in the Church was that ofnuns, as they could not become priests.
Incentralandnorthern Italyand inFlanders, the rise of towns that were, to a degree, self-governing stimulated economic growth and created an environment for new types of trade associations. Commercial cities on the shores of the Baltic entered into agreements known as theHanseatic League. The ItalianMaritime republicssuch asVenice,Genoa, andPisaexpanded their trade throughout the Mediterranean.Greattrading fairswere established and flourished innorthern Franceduring the period, allowing Italian and German merchants to trade with each other as well as local merchants.In the late 13th century new land and sea routes to the Far East were pioneered, famously described inThe Travels of Marco Polowritten by one of the traders,Marco Polo(d. 1324).Besides new trading opportunities, agricultural and technological improvements increased crop yields, which allowed the trade networks to expand.Rising trade brought new methods of dealing with money, and gold coinage was again minted in Europe, first in Italy and later in France and other countries. New forms of commercial contracts emerged, sharing risk among merchants. Accounting methods improved, partly through the use ofdouble-entry bookkeeping;letters of creditalso appeared, allowing easy transmission of money.
The High Middle Ages was the formative period in the history of the modern Western state. Kings in France, England, and Spain consolidated their power and established lasting governing institutions.New kingdoms such asHungaryandPoland, after their conversion to Christianity, became Central European powers.The Magyars settled Hungary around 900 under KingÁrpád(d. c. 907) after a series of invasions in the 9th century.The papacy, long attached to an ideology of independence from secular kings, first asserted its claim to temporal authority over the entire Christian world; thePapal Monarchyreached its apogee in the early 13th century under the pontificate ofInnocent III(pope 1198–1216).Northern Crusadesand the advance of Christian kingdoms and military orders into previouslypaganregions in the Baltic andFinnicnorth-east brought the forced assimilation of numerous native peoples into European culture.
During the early High Middle Ages, Germany was ruled by theOttonian dynasty, which struggled to control the powerful dukes ruling overterritorial duchies, tracing back to the Migration period. In 1024, they were replaced by theSalian dynasty, who famously clashed with the papacy under EmperorHenry IV(r. 1084–1105) over Church appointments as part of theInvestiture Controversy.His successors continued to struggle against the papacy as well as the German nobility. A period of instability followed the death of EmperorHenry V(r. 1111–1125), who died without heirs, untilFrederick IBarbarossa(r. 1155–1190) took the imperial throne.Although he ruled effectively, the basic problems remained, and his successors struggled into the 13th century.Barbarossa's grandsonFrederick II(r. 1220–1250), who was also heir to the throne of Sicily through his mother, clashed repeatedly with the papacy. His court was famous for its scholars, and he was often accused ofheresy.He and his successors faced many difficulties, including the invasion of theMongolsinto Europe in the mid-13th century. Mongols first shattered the Kyivan Rus' principalities and theninvaded Eastern Europein 1241, 1259, and 1287.
Under theCapetian dynastythe French monarchy slowly began to expand its authority over the nobility, growing out of theÎle-de-Franceto exert control over more of the country in the 11th and 12th centuries.They faced a powerful rival in theDukes of Normandy, who in 1066 underWilliam the Conqueror(duke 1035–1087), conquered England (r. 1066–1087) and created a cross-channel empire that lasted, in various forms, throughout the rest of the Middle Ages.Normans also settled in Sicily and southern Italy, whenRobert Guiscard(d. 1085) landed there in 1059 and established a duchy that later became theKingdom of Sicily.Under theAngevin dynastyofHenry II(r. 1154–1189) and his sonRichard I(r. 1189–1199), the kings of England ruled over England and large areas of France,brought to the family by Henry II's marriage toEleanor of Aquitaine(d. 1204), heiress to much of southern France.Richard's younger brotherJohn(r. 1199–1216) lost Normandy and the rest of the northern French possessions in 1204 to the French KingPhilip II Augustus(r. 1180–1223). This led to dissension among the English nobility. John's financial exactions to pay for his unsuccessful attempts to regain Normandy led in 1215 toMagna Carta, a charter that confirmed the rights and privileges of free men in England. UnderHenry III(r. 1216–1272), John's son, further concessions were made to the nobility, and royal power was diminished.The French monarchy continued to make gains against the nobility during the late 12th and 13th centuries, bringing more territories within the kingdom under the king's personal rule and centralising the royal administration.UnderLouis IX(r. 1226–1270), royal prestige rose to new heights as Louis served as a mediator for most of Europe.
In Iberia, the Christian states, which had been confined to the north-western part of the peninsula, began to push back against the Islamic states in the south, a period known as theReconquista.By about 1150, the Christian north had coalesced into the five major kingdoms ofLeón,Castile,Aragon,Navarre, andPortugal.Southern Iberia remained under control of Islamic states, initially under theCaliphate of Córdoba, which broke up in 1031 into a shifting number of petty states known astaifas,who fought with the Christians until theAlmohad Caliphatere-established centralised rule over Southern Iberia in the 1170s.Christian forces advanced again in the early 13th century, culminating in the capture ofSevillein 1248.
In the 11th century, theSeljuk Turkstook over much of the Middle East, occupying Persia during the 1040s, Armenia in the 1060s, and Jerusalem in 1070. In 1071, the Turkish army defeated the Byzantine army at theBattle of Manzikertand captured the Byzantine EmperorRomanus IV(r. 1068–1071). The Turks were then free to invade Asia Minor, which dealt a dangerous blow to the Byzantine Empire by seizing a large part of its population and its economic heartland. Although the Byzantines regrouped and recovered somewhat, they never fully regained Asia Minor and were often on the defensive. The Turks also had difficulties, losing control of Jerusalem to theFatimidsof Egypt and suffering from a series of internal civil wars.The Byzantines also faced a revivedBulgaria, which in the late 12th and 13th centuries spread throughout the Balkans.
The Crusades were intended to seizeJerusalemfrom Muslim control. TheFirst Crusadewas proclaimed by PopeUrban II(pope 1088–1099) at theCouncil of Clermontin 1095 in response to a request from the Byzantine EmperorAlexios I Komnenos(r. 1081–1118) for aid against further Muslim advances. Urban promisedindulgenceto anyone who took part. Tens of thousands of people from all levels of society mobilised across Europe and captured Jerusalem in 1099.One feature of the crusades was thepogromsagainst local Jews that often took place as the crusaders left their countries for the East. These were especially brutal during the First Crusade,when the Jewish communities inCologne,Mainz, andWormswere destroyed, as well as other communities in cities between the riversSeineand the Rhine.Another outgrowth of the crusades was the foundation of a new type of monastic order, themilitary ordersof theTemplarsandHospitallers, which fused monastic life with military service.
The Crusaders consolidated their conquests intoCrusader states. During the 12th and 13th centuries, there were a series of conflicts between them and the surrounding Islamic states. Appeals from the crusader states to the papacy led to further crusades,such as theThird Crusade, called to try to regain Jerusalem, which had been captured bySaladin(d. 1193) in 1187.In 1203, theFourth Crusadewas diverted from the Holy Land to Constantinople, and captured the city in 1204, setting up aLatin Empire of Constantinopleand greatly weakening the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantines recaptured the city in 1261 but never regained their former strength.By 1291, all the crusader states had been captured or forced from the mainland. However, a titularKingdom of Jerusalemsurvived on the island ofCyprusfor several years afterwards.
Popes called for crusades elsewhere besides the Holy Land: in Spain, southern France, and along the Baltic.The Spanish crusades became fused with theReconquistaof Spain from the Muslims. Although the Templars and Hospitallers took part in the Spanish crusades, similar Spanish military religious orders were founded, most of which had become part of the two main orders ofCalatravaandSantiagoby the beginning of the 12th century.Northern Europe also remained outside Christian influence until the 11th century or later and became a crusading venue as part of the Northern Crusades of the 12th to 14th centuries. These crusades also spawned a military order, theOrder of the Sword Brothers. Another order, theTeutonic Knights, although founded in the crusader states, focused much of its activity in the Baltic after 1225 and, in 1309, moved its headquarters toMarienburginPrussia.
During the 11th century, developments in philosophy and theology led to increased intellectual activity. There was a debate between therealistsand thenominalistsover the concept of "universals". Philosophical discourse was stimulated by the rediscovery ofAristotleand his emphasis onempiricismandrationalism. Scholars such asPeter Abelard(d. 1142) andPeter Lombard(d. 1164) introducedAristotelian logicinto theology. In the late 11th and early 12th centuriescathedral schoolsspread throughout Western Europe, signalling the shift of learning from monasteries to cathedrals and towns.Cathedral schools were in turn replaced by theuniversitiesestablished in major European cities.Philosophy and theology fused inscholasticism, an attempt by 12th- and 13th-century scholars to reconcile authoritative texts, most notably Aristotle and the Bible. This movement tried to employ a systemic approach to truth and reasonand culminated in the thought ofThomas Aquinas(d. 1274), who wrote theSumma Theologica, orSummary of Theology.
Chivalryand the ethos ofcourtly lovedeveloped in royal and noble courts. This culture was expressed in thevernacular languagesrather than Latin and comprised poems, stories, legends, and popular songs spread bytroubadoursorMinnesängers, or wandering minstrels. Often the stories were written down in thechansons de geste, or "songs of great deeds", such asThe Song of RolandorThe Song of Hildebrand.Secular and religious histories were also produced.Geoffrey of Monmouth(d. c. 1155) composed hisHistoria Regum Britanniae, a collection of stories and legends aboutArthur.Other works were more clearly history, such asOtto von Freising's (d. 1158)Gesta Friderici Imperatorisdetailing the deeds of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, orWilliam of Malmesbury's (d. c. 1143)Gesta Regumon the kings of England.
Legal studies advanced during the 12th century. Both secular law andcanon law, or ecclesiastical law, were studied in the High Middle Ages. Secular law, or Roman law, was significantly advanced by the discovery of theCorpus Juris Civilisin the 11th century, and by 1100, Roman law was being taught atBologna. This led to the recording and standardisation of legal codes throughout Western Europe. Canon law was also studied, and around 1140, a monk namedGratian(fl. 12th century), a teacher at Bologna, wrote what became the standard text of canon law—theDecretum.
Among the results of the Greek and Islamic influence on this period in European history was the replacement ofRoman numeralswith thedecimalpositional number systemand the invention ofalgebra, which allowed more advanced mathematics. Astronomy advanced following the translation ofPtolemy'sAlmagestfrom Greek into Latin in the late 12th century. Medicine was also studied, especially in southern Italy, where Islamic medicine influenced theschool at Salerno.
In the 12th and 13th centuries, Europe experienced economic growth and innovations in methods of production. Significant technological advances included the invention of thewindmill, the first mechanical clocks, the manufacture ofdistilled spirits, and the use of theastrolabe.Concave spectacles were invented around 1286 by an unknown Italian artisan, probably working in or near Pisa.
The development of a three-fieldrotation systemfor planting cropsincreased the usage of land from one-half in use each year under the old two-field system to two-thirds under the new system, with a consequent increase in production.The development of theheavy ploughallowed heavier soils to be farmed more efficiently, aided by the spread of thehorse collar, which led to the use ofdraught horsesin place of oxen. Horses are faster than oxen and require less pasture, factors that aided the implementation of the three-field system.Legumes – such as peas, beans, or lentils – were grown more widely as crops, in addition to the usual cereal crops of wheat, oats, barley, and rye.
The construction ofcathedralsand castles advanced building technology, developing large stone buildings. Ancillary structures included new town halls, houses, bridges, andtithe barns.Shipbuilding improved with the use of therib and plankmethod rather than the old Roman system ofmortise and tenon. Other improvements to ships included the use oflateensails and thestern-post rudder, both of which increased the speed at which ships could be sailed.
In military affairs, the use of infantry with specialised roles increased. Along with the still-dominant heavy cavalry, armies often included mounted and infantrycrossbowmen, as well assappersand engineers.Crossbows, which had been known in Late Antiquity, increased in use partly because of the increase insiegewarfare in the 10th and 11th centuries.The increasing use of crossbows during the 12th and 13th centuries led to the use of closed-facehelmets, heavy body armour, as well ashorse armour.Gunpowderwas known in Europe by the mid-13th century with a recorded use in European warfare by the English against the Scots in 1304. However, it was merely used as an explosive and not as a weapon.Cannonwere being used for sieges in the 1320s, and hand-held guns were in use by the 1360s.
In the 10th century, the establishment of churches and monasteries led to the development of stone architecture that elaborated vernacular Roman forms, from which the term "Romanesque" was derived. Where available, Romanbrickand stone buildings were recycled for their materials. From the tentative beginnings known as theFirst Romanesque, the style flourished and spread across Europe in a remarkably homogeneous form. Just before 1000, a great wave of stone churches were being built all over Europe.Romanesquebuildings have massive stone walls, openings topped by semi-circular arches, small windows, and, particularly in France, arched stone vaults.The largeportalwith coloured sculpture inhigh reliefbecame a central feature of façades, especially in France, and thecapitalsof columns were often carved with narrative scenes of imaginative monsters and animals.According to art historianC. R. Dodwell, "virtually all the churches in the West were decorated with wall-paintings", of which few survive.Simultaneous with the development in church architecture, the distinctive European form of the castle was developed and became crucial to politics and warfare.
Romanesque art, especially metalwork, was at its most sophisticated inMosan art, in which distinct artistic personalities, includingNicholas of Verdun(d. 1205), become apparent. An almostclassical styleis seen in works such as afont at Liège,contrasting with the writhing animals of the exactly contemporaryGloucester Candlestick. Large illuminated bibles andpsalterswere the typical forms of luxury manuscripts, and wall-painting flourished in churches, often following a scheme with aLast Judgementon the west wall, aChrist in Majestyat the east end, and narrative biblical scenes down the nave, or in the best surviving example, atSaint-Savin-sur-Gartempe, on thebarrel-vaultedroof.
From the early 12th century, French builders developed theGothicstyle, marked by the use ofrib vaults,pointed arches,flying buttresses, and largestained glasswindows. It was used mainly in churches and cathedrals and continued until the 16th century in much of Europe. Classic examples of Gothic architecture includeChartres CathedralandReims Cathedralin France, as well asSalisbury Cathedralin England.Stained glass became a crucial element in the design of churches, which continued to use extensive wall-paintings, now almost all lost.
During this period, the practice of manuscript illumination gradually passed from monasteries to lay workshops, so that according toJanetta Benton"by 1300 most monks bought their books in shops",and thebook of hoursdeveloped as a form of devotional book for lay-people. Metalwork remained the most prestigious art form, withLimoges enamela popular and relatively affordable option for objects such as reliquaries and crosses.In Italy the innovations ofCimabueandDuccio, followed by theTrecentomasterGiotto(d. 1337), greatly increased the sophistication and status ofpanel paintingandfresco.Increasing prosperity during the 12th century resulted in greater production of secular art; manycarved ivoryobjects such as gaming-pieces, combs, and small religious figures have survived.
Monastic reform became an important issue during the 11th century, as elites began to worry that monks were not adhering to the rules binding them to a strictly religious life.Cluny Abbey, founded in theMâconregion of France in 909, was established as part of theCluniac Reforms, a larger movement of monastic reform in response to this fear.Cluny quickly established a reputation for austerity and rigour. It sought to maintain a high quality of spiritual life by placing itself under the protection of the papacy and by electing its own abbot without interference from laymen, thus maintaining economic and political independence from local lords.
Monastic reform inspired change in the secular Church. The ideals upon which it was based were brought to the papacy by PopeLeo IX(pope 1049–1054) and provided the ideology of clerical independence that led to the Investiture Controversy in the late 11th century. This involved PopeGregory VII(pope 1073–1085) and Emperor Henry IV, who initially clashed over episcopal appointments, a dispute that turned into a battle over the ideas ofinvestiture, clerical marriage, andsimony. The emperor saw the protection of the Church as one of his responsibilities and wanted to preserve the right to appoint his own choices as bishops within his lands. Still, the papacy insisted on the Church's independence from secular lords. These issues remained unresolved after the compromise of 1122, known as theConcordat of Worms. The dispute represents a significant stage in creating a papal monarchy separate from and equal tolayauthorities. It also had the permanent consequence of empowering German princes at the expense of the German emperors.
The High Middle Ages was a period of great religious movements. Besides the Crusades and monastic reforms, people sought to participate in new forms of religious life. New monastic orders were founded, including theCarthusiansand theCistercians. The latter, in particular, expanded rapidly in their early years under the guidance ofBernard of Clairvaux(d. 1153). These new orders were formed in response to the feeling of the laity that Benedictine monasticism no longer met the needs of the laymen, who, along with those wishing to enter the religious life, wanted a return to the simplerhermeticalmonasticism of early Christianity, or to live anApostolic life.Religious pilgrimageswere also encouraged. Old pilgrimage sites such as Rome, Jerusalem, andCompostelareceived increasing numbers of visitors, and new sites such asMonte GarganoandBarirose to prominence.
In the 13th centurymendicant orders—theFranciscansand theDominicans—who swore vows of poverty and earned their living by begging, were approved by the papacy.Religious groups such as theWaldensiansand theHumiliatialso attempted to return to the life of early Christianity in the middle 12th and early 13th centuries, another heretical movement condemned by the papacy. Others joined theCathars, another movement condemned as heretical by the papacy. In 1209, a crusade was preached against the Cathars, theAlbigensian Crusade, which, in combination with themedieval Inquisition, eliminated them.
The first years of the 14th century were marked by famines, culminating in theGreat Famine of 1315–1317.The causes of the Great Famine included the slow transition from theMedieval Warm Periodto theLittle Ice Age, which left the population vulnerable when bad weather caused crop failures.The years 1313–1314 and 1317–1321 were excessively rainy throughout Europe, resulting in widespread crop failures.The climate change—which resulted in a declining average annual temperature for Europe during the 14th century—was accompanied by an economic downturn.
These troubles were followed in 1347 by theBlack Death, apandemicthat spread throughout Europe during the following three years.The death toll was probably about 35 million people in Europe, about one-third of the population. Towns were especially hard-hit because of their crowded conditions.Large areas of land were left sparsely inhabited, and in some places fields were left unworked. Wages rose as landlords sought to entice fewer available workers to their fields. Further problems were lower rents and lower demand for food, which cut into agricultural income. Urban workers also felt they had a right to greater earnings, andpopular uprisingsbroke out across Europe.Among the uprisings were thejacqueriein France, thePeasants' Revoltin England, and revolts in the cities ofFlorencein Italy andGhentandBrugesin Flanders. The trauma of the plague led to an increased piety throughout Europe, manifested by the foundation of new charities, the self-mortification of theflagellants, and thescapegoating of Jews.Conditions were further unsettled by the return of the plague throughout the rest of the 14th century; it continued to strike Europe periodically during the rest of the Middle Ages.
Society throughout Europe was disturbed by the dislocations caused by the Black Death. Lands that had been marginally productive were abandoned as the survivors could acquire more fertile areas.Althoughserfdomdeclined in Western Europe, it became more common in Eastern Europe, as landlords imposed it on those of their tenants who had previously been free.Most peasants in Western Europe changed the work they had previously owed to their landlords into cash rents.The percentage of serfs among the peasantry declined from a high of 90 to closer to 50 percent by the end of the period.Landlords also became more conscious of common interests with other landholders and joined to extort their governments' privileges. Partly at the urging of landlords, governments attempted to legislate a return to the economic conditions that existed before the Black Death.Non-clergy became increasingly literate, and urban populations began to imitate the nobility's interest in chivalry.
Jewish communities wereexpelled from Englandin 1290 and fromFrance in 1306. Although some were allowed back into France, most were not. Many Jews emigrated eastwards,settling in Polandand Hungary.The Jews were expelled fromSpain in 1492, and dispersed to Turkey, France, Italy, and Holland.Therise of bankingin Italy during the 13th century continued throughout the 14th century, fuelled partly by the increasing warfare of the period and the needs of the papacy to move money between kingdoms. Many banking firms loaned money to royalty at great risk, as some were bankrupted when kings defaulted on their loans.
Strong, royalty-basednation statesrose throughout Europe in the Late Middle Ages, particularly inEngland,France, and the Christian kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula:Aragon,Castile, andPortugal. The long conflicts of the period strengthened royal control over their kingdoms and were extremely hard on the peasantry. Kings profited from warfare that extended royal legislation and increased the lands they directly controlled.Paying for the wars required that methods of taxation become more effective and efficient, and the rate of taxation often increased.The requirement to obtain the consent of taxpayers allowed representative bodies such as theEnglish Parliamentand theFrench Estates Generalto gain power and authority.
Throughout the 14th century, French kings sought to expand their influence at the expense of the territorial holdings of the nobility.They ran into difficulties when attempting to confiscate the holdings of the English kings in southern France, leading to theHundred Years' War,waged from 1337 to 1453.Early in the war the English underEdward III(r. 1327–1377) and his sonEdward, the Black Prince(d. 1376),won the battles ofCrécyandPoitiers, captured the city ofCalais, and won control of much of France.The resulting stresses almost caused the disintegration of the French kingdom during the early years of the war.In the early 15th century, France again came close to dissolving, but in the late 1420s, the military successes ofJoan of Arc(d. 1431) led to the victory of the French and the capture of the last English possessions in southern France in 1453.The price was high, as the population of France at the end of the Wars was likely half what it had been at the start of the conflict. Conversely, the Wars positively affectedEnglish national identity, doing much to fuse the various local identities into a national English ideal. The conflict with France also helped create a national culture in England separate from French culture, which had previously been the dominant influence.The dominance of the Englishlongbowbegan during early stages of the Hundred Years' War,and cannon appeared on the battlefield at Crécy in 1346.
In modern-day Germany, theHoly Roman Empirecontinued to rule, but the elective nature of the imperial crown meant there was no enduring dynasty around which a strong state could form.Further east, the kingdoms ofPoland,Hungary, andBohemiagrew powerful.In Iberia, the Christian kingdoms continued to gain land from the Muslim kingdoms of the peninsula;Portugal concentrated on expanding overseas during the 15th century, while the other kingdoms were riven by difficulties over royal succession and other concerns.After losing the Hundred Years' War, England went on to suffer a long civil war known as theWars of the Roses, which lasted into the 1490sand only ended whenHenry Tudor(r. 1485–1509 as Henry VII) became king and consolidated power with his victory overRichard III(r. 1483–1485) atBosworthin 1485.In Scandinavia,Margaret I of Denmark(r. in Denmark 1387–1412) consolidated Norway, Denmark, and Sweden in theUnion of Kalmar, which continued until 1523. The major power around the Baltic Sea was the Hanseatic League, a commercial confederation of city-states that traded from Western Europe to Russia.Scotland emerged from English domination underRobert the Bruce(r. 1306–1329), who secured papal recognition of his kingship in 1328.
Although thePalaeologiemperors recaptured Constantinople from the Western Europeans in 1261, they could never regain control of much of the former imperial lands. They usually controlled only a small section of the Balkan Peninsula near Constantinople, the city itself, and some coastal lands on theBlack Seaand around theAegean Sea. The former Byzantine lands in the Balkans were divided between the newKingdom of Serbia, theSecond Bulgarian Empire, and the city-state ofVenice. A new Turkish tribe threatened the power of the Byzantine emperors, theOttomans, who established themselves in Anatolia in the 13th century andsteadily expandedthroughout the 14th century. The Ottomans expanded into Europe, reducing Bulgaria to a vassal state by 1366 and taking over Serbia after its defeat at theBattle of Kosovoin 1389. Western Europeans rallied to the plight of the Christians in the Balkans and declared a new crusade in 1396; a great army was sent to the Balkans, where it was defeated at theBattle of Nicopolis.Constantinople was finallycapturedby the Ottomans in 1453.
During the tumultuous 14th century, disputes within the leadership of the Church led to theAvignon Papacyof 1309–1376,also called the "Babylonian Captivity of the Papacy" (a reference to theBabylonian captivityof the Jews),and then to theGreat Schism, lasting from 1378 to 1418, when there were two and later three rival popes, each supported by several states.Ecclesiastical officials convened at theCouncil of Constancein 1414, and in the following year the council deposed one of the rival popes leaving only two claimants. Further depositions followed, and in November 1417, the council electedMartin V(pope 1417–1431) as pope.
Besides the schism, the Western Church was riven by theological controversies, some of which became heresies.John Wycliffe(d. 1384), an English theologian, was condemned as a heretic in 1415 for teaching that the laity should have access to the text of the Bible as well as for holding views on theEucharistthat were contrary to Church doctrine.Wycliffe's teachings influenced two of the major heretical movements of the later Middle Ages:Lollardyin England andHussitismin Bohemia.The Bohemian movement initiated with the teaching ofJan Hus, who was burned at the stake in 1415 after being condemned as a heretic by the Council of Constance. The Hussite Church, although the target of a crusade, survived beyond the Middle Ages.Other heresies were manufactured, such as the accusations against the Knights Templar that resulted in their suppression in 1312, and the division of their great wealth between the French KingPhilip IV(r. 1285–1314) and the Hospitallers.
The papacy further refined the practice in theMassin the Late Middle Ages, holding that the clergy alone was allowed to partake of the wine in the Eucharist. This further distanced the secular laity from the clergy. The laity continued the practices of pilgrimages, veneration of relics, and belief in the power of the Devil. Mystics such asMeister Eckhart(d. 1327) andThomas à Kempis(d. 1471) wrote works that taught the laity to focus on their inner spiritual life, which laid the groundwork for the Protestant Reformation. Besides mysticism, belief in witches and witchcraft became widespread. By the late 15th century, the Church had begun to lend credence to populist fears of witchcraft with its condemnation of witches in 1484 and the publication in 1486 of theMalleus Maleficarum, the most popular handbook for witch-hunters.
During the Later Middle Ages, theologians such asJohn Duns Scotus(d. 1308) andWilliam of Ockham(d. c. 1348)led a reaction against intellectualist scholasticism, objecting to the application of reason to faith. Their efforts undermined the prevailingPlatonicidea of universals. Ockham's insistence that reason operates independently of faith allowed science to be separated from theology and philosophy.Legal studies were marked by the steady advance of Roman law into areas of jurisprudence previously governed bycustomary law. England was the lone exception to this trend, where thecommon lawremained pre-eminent. Other countries codified their laws; legal codes were promulgated in Castile, Poland, andLithuania.
Education remained mostly focused on the training of future clergy. The basic learning of the letters and numbers remained the province of the family or a village priest, but the secondary subjects of thetrivium—grammar, rhetoric, logic—were studied in cathedral schools or schools provided by cities. Commercial secondary schools spread, and some Italian towns had more than one such enterprise. Universities also spread throughout Europe in the 14th and 15th centuries. Lay literacy rates rose but were still low; one estimate gave a literacy rate of 10 percent of males and 1 percent of females in 1500.
The publication of vernacular literature increased, withDante(d. 1321),Petrarch(d. 1374) andGiovanni Boccaccio(d. 1375) in 14th-century Italy,Geoffrey Chaucer(d. 1400) andWilliam Langland(d. c. 1386) in England, andFrançois Villon(d. 1464) andChristine de Pizan(d. c. 1430) in France. Much literature remained religious, and although a great deal of it continued to be written in Latin, a new demand developed for saints' lives and other devotional tracts in the vernacular languages.This was fed by the growth of theDevotio Modernamovement, most prominently in the formation of theBrethren of the Common Life, but also in the works ofGerman mysticssuch as Meister Eckhart andJohannes Tauler(d. 1361).Theatre also developed in the guise ofmiracle playsput on by the Church.At the end of the period, the development of theprinting pressbyJohannes Gutenbergin about 1450 led to the establishment of publishing houses throughout Europe by 1500.
In the early 15th century, the countries of theIberian Peninsulabegan to sponsor exploration beyond the boundaries of Europe. PrinceHenry the Navigatorof Portugal (d. 1460) sent expeditions that discovered theCanary Islands, theAzores, andCape Verdeduring his lifetime. After his death, exploration continued;Bartolomeu Dias(d. 1500) went around theCape of Good Hopein 1486, andVasco da Gama(d. 1524) sailed around Africa to India in 1498.The combined Spanish monarchies of Castile and Aragon sponsored the voyage of exploration byChristopher Columbus(d. 1506) in 1492 thatdiscovered the Americas.The English crown underHenry VIIsponsored the voyage ofJohn Cabot(d. 1498) in 1497, which landed onCape Breton Island.
One of the major developments in the military sphere during the Late Middle Ages was the increased use of infantry and light cavalry.The English also employed longbowmen, but other countries were unable to create similar forces with the same success.Armour continued to advance, spurred by the increasing power of crossbows, andplate armourwas developed to protect soldiers from crossbows as well as the hand-held guns that were developed.Pole armsreached new prominence with the development of the Flemish and Swiss infantry armed with pikes and other long spears.
In agriculture, the increased usage of sheep with long-fibred wool allowed a stronger thread to be spun. In addition, thespinning wheelreplaced the traditionaldistafffor spinning wool, tripling production.A less technological refinement that still greatly affected daily life was the use of buttons as closures for garments, which allowed for better fitting without having to lace clothing on the wearer.Windmills were refined with the creation of thetower mill, allowing the upper part of the windmill to be spun around to face the direction from which the wind was blowing.Theblast furnaceappeared around 1350 in Sweden, increasing the quantity of iron produced and improving its quality.The firstpatent lawin 1447 in Venice protected the rights of inventors to their inventions.
The Late Middle Ages in Europe correspond to Italy's Trecento andEarly Renaissancecultural periods. Northern Europe and Spain continued to use Gothic styles, which became increasingly elaborate in the 15th century until almost the end.International Gothicwas a courtly style that reached much of Europe in the decades around 1400, producing masterpieces such as theTrès Riches Heures du Duc de Berry.All over Europe secular art continued to increase in quantity and quality. In the 15th century, the mercantile classes of Italy and Flanders became important patrons, commissioning small portraits of themselves in oils as well as a growing range of luxury items such as jewellery,ivory caskets,cassonechests, andmaiolicapottery. These objects also included theHispano-Moresque wareproduced by mostlyMudéjarpotters in Spain. Although royalty owned huge plate collections, little survives except for theRoyal Gold Cup.Italian silk manufacture developed so that Western churches and elites no longer needed to rely on imports from Byzantium or the Islamic world. In France and Flanders,tapestryweaving of sets likeThe Lady and the Unicornbecame a major luxury industry.
The large external sculptural schemes of Early Gothic churches gave way to more sculpture inside the building, as tombs became more elaborate and other features such as pulpits were sometimes lavishly carved, as in thePulpit by Giovanni Pisano in Sant'Andrea. Painted or carved wooden reliefaltarpiecesbecame common, especially as churches created manyside-chapels.Early Netherlandish paintingby artists such asJan van Eyck(d. 1441) andRogier van der Weyden(d. 1464) rivalled that of Italy, as did northern illuminated manuscripts, which in the 15th century began to be collected on a large scale by secular elites, who also commissioned secular books, especially histories. From about 1450, printed books rapidly became popular, though still expensive. There were around 30,000 different editions ofincunabula, or works printed before 1500,by which time illuminated manuscripts were commissioned only by royalty and a few others. Very smallwoodcuts, nearly all religious, were affordable even by peasants in parts of Northern Europe from the middle of the 15th century. More expensiveengravingssupplied a wealthier market with various images.
The medieval period is frequently caricatured as a "time of ignorance and superstition" that placed "the word of religious authorities over personal experience and rational activity."This is a legacy from both theRenaissanceandEnlightenmentwhen scholars favourably contrasted their intellectual cultures with those of the medieval period. Renaissance scholars saw the Middle Ages as a period of decline from the high culture and civilisation of the Classical world. Enlightenment scholars saw reason as superior to faith and thus viewed the Middle Ages as a time of ignorance and superstition.
Others argue that reason was held in high regard during the Middle Ages. Science historianEdward Grantwrites, "If revolutionary rational thoughts were expressed [in the 18th century], they were only made possible because of the long medieval tradition that established the use of reason as one of the most important of human activities".Also, contrary to common belief,David Lindbergwrites, "the late medieval scholar rarely experienced the coercive power of the Church and would have regarded himself as free (particularly in the natural sciences) to follow reason and observation wherever they led".
The caricature of the period is also reflected in some more specific notions. One misconception, first propagated in the 19th centuryand still very common, is that all people in the Middle Ages believed that theEarth was flat.This is untrue, as lecturers in medieval universities commonly argued that evidence showed the Earth was a sphere.Lindberg andRonald Numbers, another scholar of the period, state that there "was scarcely a Christian scholar of the Middle Ages who did not acknowledge [Earth's] sphericity and even know its approximate circumference".Other misconceptions such as "the Church prohibited autopsies and dissections during the Middle Ages", "the rise of Christianity killed off ancient science", or "the medieval Christian Church suppressed the growth of natural philosophy", are all cited by Numbers as examples of widely popular myths that still pass as historical truth, although they are not supported by historical research.