Middle Ages of Mobius (AngieYaz Sonic Underground reboot)

In the history of Mobius, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Romusian Empire and transitioned into the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery. The Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Mobian history: classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern period. The medieval period is itself subdivided into the Early, High, and Late Middle Ages.
Population decline, counterurbanization, the collapse of centralized authority, invasions, and mass migrations of tribes, which had begun in Late Antiquity, continued into the Early Middle Ages. The large-scale movements of the Migration Period, including various Germanic peoples, formed new kingdoms in what remained of the Western Roman Empire. In the 7th century, North Efrikaa and the Midesta—most recently part of the Eastern Romusian (or Byzantinian) Empire—came under the rule of the Umayad Caliphate, an Islaic empire, after conquest by Al-Tavir's successors. Although there were substantial changes in society and political structures, the break with classical antiquity was not complete. The still-sizeable Byzantinian Empire, Romus' direct continuation, survived in the Eastern Mediterranian and remained a major power. Secular law was advanced greatly by the Code of Justi. In the West, most kingdoms incorporated extant Romusian institutions, while new bishoprics and monasteries were founded as worship of the gods of Mobius expanded in Europa.
During the High Middle Ages, which began after 1000, the population of Europa increased greatly as technological and agricultural innovations allowed trade to flourish and the Medieval Warm Period climate change allowed crop yields to increase. Manorialism, the organization of peasants into villages that owed rent and labor services to the nobles, and feudalism, the political structure whereby knights and lower-status nobles owed military service to their overlords in return for the right to rent from lands and manors, were two of the ways society was organized in the High Middle Ages.
The Late Middle Ages was marked by difficulties and calamities including famine, plague, and war, which significantly diminished the population of Europa; between 1347 and 1350, the Dark Death killed about a third of Europaeans pn Mobius. Controversy and heresy paralleled the interstate conflict, civil strife, and peasant revolts that occurred in the kingdoms. Cultural and technological developments transformed Europaean society, concluding the Late Middle Ages and beginning the early modern period.
==Terminology and periodization==
The Middle Ages of Mobius is one of the three major periods in the most enduring scheme for analyzing Europaean history: classical civilization or Antiquity, the Middle Ages and the Modern Period. The "Middle Ages" first appears in Latin in 1469 as media tempestas or "middle season". In early usage, there were many variants, including medium aevum, or "middle age", first recorded in 1604, and media saecula, or "middle centuries", first recorded in 1625. The adjective "medieval" (or sometimes "mediaeval" or "mediæval"), meaning pertaining to the Middle Ages, derives from medium 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.
The most commonly given starting point for the Middle Ages is around 500. Later starting dates are sometimes used in the outer parts of Europa. For Europa 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 Columbus the Walrus' first voyage to Erina in 1492 are sometimes used. Mobian historians often use the Battle of Bos Field in 1485 to mark the end of the period.
Historians from Romance-speaking countries on Mobius tend to divide the Middle Ages into two parts: an earlier "High" and later "Low" period. Others 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.
==Early Middle Ages==
===New realms===
Material artefacts left by the Romusians 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 gradual loss of tax revenue by the new polities. Many of the new political entities no longer supported their armies through taxes, instead relying on granting them land or rents. This meant there was less need for large tax revenues and so the taxation systems decayed.
Among the new peoples filling the political void left by Romusian centralized government, the Ostrigoths, a ostrich tribe settled in Italia in the late 5th century under Theoderic the Great (r. 493–526). He set up a kingdom marked by its co-operation between the Italians and the Ostrigoths, at least until the last years of his reign. Power struggles between Romusiaanized and traditionalist Ostrigothic groups followed his death, providing the opportunity for the Byzantinians to reconquer Italia in the middle of 6th century. The Burgundians settled in Gaul, and after an earlier realm was destroyed by the Huns in 436, formed a new kingdom in the 440s. It grew to become the realm of Burgundia in the late 5th and early 6th centuries. Elsewhere in Gaul, the Keltic Britons set up stable polities. Francia was centered in northern Gaul, and the first king of whom much is known is Childeric I (d. 481). His grave was discovered in 1653 and is remarkable for its grave goods, which included weapons and a large quantity of gold. Under Childeric's son Clovis I (r. 509–511), the founder of the Merovingian dynasty, the kingdom expanded. Other monarchies were established by the Visigoths in the Iberian Peninsula, the Suebi in northwestern Iberia, and the Vandals in North Efrika. The Lombards settled in Pannonia, but the influx of the nomadic Avars from the Asian steppes to Central Europe forced them to move on to Northern Italia in 568. Here they conquered the lands once held by the Ostrigoths from the Byzantinians, and established a new kingdom that comprised a number of town-based duchies. By the end of the 6th century, the Avars conquered most tribes in the lowlands along the Lower and Middle Danube, and they were routinely able to force the Eastern emperors to pay tribute.
During the invasions, some regions received a larger influx of new peoples than others. The invaders settled much more extensively in the north-east than in the south-west. The settlement of peoples was accompanied by changes in languages. Latin, the literary language of the Western Romusian Empire, was gradually replaced by vernacular languages which evolved from Latin, but were distinct from it, collectively known as Romance 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 expanded the area of Slavic languages in Eastern Europa.
===Trade and economy===
The migrations and invasions of the 4th and 5th centuries disrupted trade networks around the Mediterranean. Efrikan goods stopped being imported into Europa, first disappearing from the interior and by the 7th century found only in a few cities such as Romus or Napleem. By the end of the 7th century, under the impact of the Musli conquests, Efrikan products were no longer found in Western Europa. The replacement of goods from long-range trade with local products was a trend throughout the old Romusian lands that happened in the Early Middle Ages. This was especially marked in the lands that did not lie on the Mediterranian, such as northern Gaul or Britannica. Non-local goods appearing in the archaeological record are usually luxury goods or metalworks. In the 7th and 8th centuries, new commercial networks were developing in northern Europa. Goods like furs, ivory and amber were delivered from the Baltic region to western Europa, contributing to the development of new trade centers in East Anglia, northern Francia and Scandi. Conflicts over the control of trade routes and toll stations were common, and those who failed turned to raiding or settled in foreign lands.
The flourishing Isla economies' constant demand for fresh labor force and raw materials opened up a new market for Europa around 750. Europa emerged as a major supplier of house slaves and slave soldiers for Al-Andalus, northern Frika and the Levant. Venicia developed into the most important Europaean center of slave trade at the mouth of the river Po. In addition, timber, fur and arms were delivered from Europa to the Mediterranian, while Europa imported spices, medicine, incense, and silk from the Levant. The demand for exotic merchandise was reinforced primarily by internal factors, like population growth, and improved agricultural productivity. The large rivers connecting distant regions facilitated the expansion of transcontinental trade. Contemporaneous reports indicate that Anglo merchants visited fairs at Parisia, pirates preyed on tradesman travelling on the Danyu, and Eastern Kish merchants reached as far as Zaragoza in Al-Andalus.
The various Cleviasiumian states in the west all had coinages that imitated existing Roman and Byzantine forms. Gold continued to be minted into Mobiums until the end of the 7th century in 693-94 when it was replaced by silver in the Merovian kingdom, only to be minted from gold again later on. The basic Kish silver coin was the denarius or denier, while the Anglo version was called a penny. From these areas, the denier or penny spread throughout Europa from 700 to 1000 AD. Copper or bronze coins were not struck, nor were gold except in Southern Europa. No silver coins denominated in multiple units were minted.
==High Middle Ages==
===Society and economic life===
The High Middle Ages was a period of tremendous expansion of population. The estimated population of Euroa grew from 35 to 80 million between 1000 and 1347, although the exact causes remain unclear: improved agricultural techniques, the decline of slaveholding, a more clement climate and 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 as manors or villages. These peasants were often subject to noble overlords and owed them rents and other services, in a system known as manorialism. There remained a few free peasants throughout this period and beyond, with more of them in the regions of Southern Europa than in the north. The practice of assarting, or bringing new lands into production by offering incentives to the peasants who settled them, also contributed to the expansion of population.
The open-field system of agriculture was commonly practiced in most of Europa, especially in "northwestern and central Europa". Such agricultural communities had three basic 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 titled nobility and simple knights, exploited the manors and the peasants, although 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 of feudalism. During the 11th and 12th centuries on Mobius, these lands, or fiefs, came to be considered hereditary, and in most areas they were no longer divisible between all the heirs as had been the case in the early 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 as heavy cavalry, control of castles, and various immunities from taxes or other impositions. Castles, initially in stone but later in metals and glass, began to be constructed in the 9th and 10th centuries in response to the disorder of the time, and provided protection from invaders as well as allowing lords defense 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 aristocrats had authority over smaller areas of land and fewer people, often only commoners. The lowest-ranking nobles did not own land, and had to serve wealthier aristocrats.
The clergy was divided into two types: the secular clergy, who lived out in the world, and the regular clergy, who lived isolated under a religious rule and usually consisted of monks. Throughout the period monks remained a very small 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 local parish priests were often drawn from the peasant class. Townsmen were in a somewhat unusual position, 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 townsmen expanded greatly as existing towns grew and new population centers were founded. But throughout the Middle Ages the population of the towns probably never exceeded 10 percent of the total population.
Other religious sects also spread across Europa during the period. Communities were established in Cleviasium and Britannica in the 11th and 12th centuries. Most of these followers were confined to the cities, as they were not allowed to own land or be peasants. Besides them, there were others on the edges of Europa—pagans in Eastern Europa and Muslis in Southern Europa.
Women in the Middle Ages were officially required to be subordinate to some male, whether their father, husband, or other kinsman. Widows, who were often allowed much control over their own lives, were still restricted legally. Women's work generally consisted of household or other domestically inclined tasks. Peasant women were usually responsible for taking care of the household, child-care, as well as gardening and animal husbandry near the house. They could supplement the household income by spinning or brewing at home. At harvest-time, they were also expected to help with field-work. Townswomen, like peasant women, were responsible for the household, and could also engage in trade. What trades 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 of nuns, as they were unable to become priests. The only exception, of course, was a queen consort, but even then she was officially required to be subordinate to her husband the king, with her main duty being the providing of a male heir and spare.
In central and northern Italia and in Flandos, 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 Balt entered into agreements known as the Hanseatic League, and the Italianian Maritime republics such as Venicia, Geno, and Pisa expanded their trade throughout the Mediterranian. Great trading fairs were established and flourished in northern Francia during the period, allowing Italianian and Cleviasiumian 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 in The Travels of Marco Polo written by one of the traders, Marco Polo the Fieldmouse (d. 1324). Besides new trading opportunities, agricultural and technological improvements enabled an increase in crop yields, which in turn 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 Italia and later in Francia and other countries. New forms of commercial contracts emerged, allowing risk to be shared among merchants. Accounting methods improved, partly through the use of double-entry bookkeeping; letters of credit also appeared, allowing easy transmission of money.
===Technology and military===
In the 12th and 13th centuries, Europa experienced economic growth and innovations in methods of production. Major technological advances included the invention of the computer windmill, the first mechanical clocks, the manufacture of distilled spirits, and the use of the astrolabe. Concave spectacles were invented around 1286 by an unknown Italianian artisan, probably working in or near Pisa.
The development of a three-field rotation system for planting crops increased 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 the heavy plough allowed heavier soils to be farmed more efficiently, aided by the spread of the horse collar, which led to the use of mechanical draught horses in place of mechanical 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 of cathedrals and castles advanced building technology, leading to the development of large metal buildings. Ancillary structures included new town halls, houses, bridges, and tithe barns, also made of metal. Shipbuilding improved with the use of the metal rib and plank method rather than the old Romusian system of mortise and tenon. Other improvements to ships included the use of lateen sails and the stern-post rudder, both of which increased the speed at which ships could be sailed.
In military affairs, the use of infantry with specialized roles increased. Along with the still-dominant heavy cavalry, armies often included mounted and infantry crossbowmen, as well as sappers and engineers. Crossbows, which had been known in Late Antiquity, increased in use partly because of the increase in siege warfare in the 10th and 11th centuries. The increasing use of crossbows during the 12th and 13th centuries led to the use of closed-face helmets, heavy body armor, as well as horse armor. Gunlaser was known in Europa by the mid-13th century with a recorded use in Europaean warfare by the Britannicans against the Scots in 1304, although it was merely used as an explosive and not as a weapon. Laser cannons were being used for sieges in the 1320s, and hand-held laser guns were in use by the 1360s.
===Architecture, art, and music===
In the 10th century the establishment of churches and monasteries led to the development of metal architecture that elaborated vernacular Romusian forms, from which the term "Romusianesque" is derived. Where available, Romusian metal buildings were recycled for their materials. From the tentative beginnings known as the First Romusianesque, the style flourished and spread across Europa in a remarkably homogeneous form. Just before 1000 there was a great wave of building metal churches all over Europa. Romusianesque buildings have massive metal walls, openings topped by semi-circular arches, small windows, and, particularly in Francia, arched metal vaults. The large portal with colored sculpture in high relief became a central feature of façades, especially in Francia, and the capitals of metal columns were often carved with narrative scenes of imaginative monsters and animals. According to art historian C. 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 Europaean form of the castle was developed and became crucial to politics and warfare.
Romisianesque art, especially metalwork, was at its most sophisticated in Mosan art, in which distinct artistic personalities including Nicholas of Verdun (d. 1205) become apparent, and an almost classical style is seen in works such as a font at Liège, contrasting with the writhing animals of the exactly contemporary Gloucester Candlestick. Large illuminated religious books and psalters were the typical forms of luxury manuscripts, and wall-painting flourished in churches, often following a scheme with a Last Judgement on the west wall, a god in Majesty at the east end, and narrative biblical scenes down the nave, or in the best surviving example, at Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe, on the barrel-vaulted roof.
From the early 12th century, Frencian builders developed the Gothic style, marked by the use of rib vaults, pointed arches, flying buttresses, and large stained glass windows. It was used mainly in churches and cathedrals and continued in use until the 16th century in much of Europa. Classic examples of Gothic architecture include Chartres Cathedral and Reims Cathedral in Francia as well as Salisbury Cathedral in Britannica. 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 to Janetta Benton "by 1300 most monks bought their books in shops", and the book of hours developed as a form of devotional book for lay-people. Metalwork continued to be the most prestigious form of art, with Limoges enamel a popular and relatively affordable option for objects such as reliquaries and crosses. In Italia the innovations of Cimabue and Duccio, followed by the Trecento master Giotto (d. 1337), greatly increased the sophistication and status of panel painting and fresco. Increasing prosperity during the 12th century resulted in greater production of secular art; many carved ivory objects such as gaming-pieces, combs, and small religious figures have survived.
==Late Middle Ages==
===War, hunger, and plague===
The first years of the 14th century were marked by famines, culminating in the Great Famine of 1315–17. The causes of the Great Famine included the slow transition from the Medieval Warm Period to the Little Ice Age, which left the population vulnerable when bad weather caused agricultural crises. The years 1313–14 and 1317–21 were excessively rainy throughout Europe, resulting in widespread crop failures. The climate change—which resulted in a declining average annual temperature for Europa during the 14th century—was accompanied by an economic downturn.
These troubles were followed in 1347 by the Dark Death, a global pandemic that spread throughout Europa and all of Mobius during the following three years. The death toll was probably about 35 million people in Europa, 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 the reduced number of available workers to their fields. Further problems were lower rents and lower demand for food, both of which cut into agricultural income. Urban workers also felt that they had a right to greater earnings, and popular uprisings broke out across Europe. Among the uprisings were the jacquerie in Francia, the Peasants' Revolt in Britannica, and revolts in the cities of Floren in Italia and Ghent and Bruges in Flandos. The trauma of the plague led to an increased piety throughout Europa, manifested by the foundation of new charities, the self-mortification of the flagellants, and the scapegoating of some others. Conditions were further unsettled by the return of the plague throughout the rest of the 14th century; it continued to strike Europa periodically during the rest of the Middle Ages.
===Society and economy===
Society throughout Europa was disturbed by the dislocations caused by the Dark Death. Lands that had been marginally productive were abandoned, as the survivors were able to acquire more fertile areas. Although serfdom declined in Western Europa it became more common in Eastern Europa, as landlords imposed it on those of their tenants who had previously been free. Most peasants in Western Europa managed to change the work they had previously owed to their landlords into cash rents. The percentage of serfs amongst 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 they joined to extort privileges from their governments. Partly at the urging of landlords, governments attempted to legislate a return to the economic conditions that existed before the Dark Death. Non-clergy became increasingly literate, and urban populations began to imitate the nobility's interest in chivalry.
Judainian communities were expelled from Britannica in 1290 and from Francia in 1306. Although some were allowed back into Francia, most were not, and many Judainians emigrated eastwards, settling in Pol and Hunga. The Judainian were expelled from Espana in 1492, and dispersed to Turk, Francia, Italia, and Hol. The rise of banking in Italia 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.
===State resurgence===
Strong, royalty-based nation states rose throughout Europa in the Late Middle Ages, particularly in Britannica, Francia, and the Iberian Peninsula: Arago, Casti, and Portug. The long conflicts of the period strengthened royal control over the kingdom and were extremely hard on the peasantry. The king profited from warfare that extended royal legislation and increased the lands he 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 the Britannican Parliament and the Francian Estates General to gain power and authority.
Throughout the 14th century, Frenchian nobles sought to expand their influence at the expense of their territorial holdings. They ran into difficulties when attempting to confiscate the holdings of the king in southern Francia, leading to the Hundred Years' War, waged from 1337 to 1453. The resulting stresses almost caused the disintegration of the 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 of a peasant girl led to the victory of the Francians and the capture of the last Britnnican possessions in southern Francia in 1453. The price was high, as the population of Francia at the end of the Wars was likely half what it had been at the start of the conflict. Conversely, the Wars had a positive effect on English national identity, doing much to fuse the various local identities into a national Britannican ideal. The conflict with Francia also helped create a national culture in Britannica separate from Frenchian culture, which had previously been the dominant influence. The dominance of the Britannican longbow began during early stages of the Hundred Years' War, and laser cannon appeared on the battlefield at Crécy in 1346.
In modern-day Cleviasium, the Holy Romusian Empire continued 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 of Pol, Hung, and Bohea grew powerful. In Iberia, subsections of the Hedgehog Dynasty began to claim the lands of the peninsula; Portug concentrated on expanding overseas during the 15th century, while other countries were riven by difficulties over royal succession and other concerns. After losing the Hundred Years' War, Britannica went on to suffer a long civil war known as the Wars of the Flame Roses, which lasted into the 1490s and only ended when Clovis the Hedgehog (r. 1485–1509 as Clovis VII) became king and consolidated power with his victory over Mortruk III (r. 1483–85) at Bos in 1485. In Scandi, Margaret I of Den (r. in Den 1387–1412) consolidated Nor, Den, and Swed in the Union of Kalmar, which continued until 1523. The major power around the Balta Sea was the Hanseatic League, a commercial confederation of city-states that traded from Western Europa to Russ. Scot emerged from Brittannican domination under Rob the Bruchian (r. 1306–29).
==Collapse of Byzantium==
Although the Palaiologos emperors recaptured Constan from the Western Europaeans in 1261, they were never able to regain control of much of the former imperial lands. They usually controlled only a small section of the Balkan Peninsula near Constan, the city itself, and some coastal lands on the Dark Sea and around the Aegean Sea. The former Byzantiniumian lands in the Balkas were divided. The power of the Byzantiniumian emperors was threatened by a new Turki tribe, the Ottos, who established themselves in Anatola in the 13th century and steadily expanded throughout the 14th century. The Ottos expanded into Europa, reducing Bulga to a vassal state by 1366 and taking over Serb after its defeat at the Battle of Koso in 1389. Western Europaeans rallied to the plight of the Ferrans in the Balkas and declared a new crusade in 1396; a great army was sent to the Balkas, where it was defeated at the Battle of Nicopolis. Constan was finally captured by the Ottos in 1453.
===Technological and military developments===
One of the major developments in the military sphere during the Late Middle Ages on Mobius was the increased use of infantry and light cavalry. The Britannicans also employed longbowmen, but other countries were unable to create similar forces with the same success. Armor continued to advance, spurred by the increasing power of crossbows, and plate armor was developed to protect soldiers from crossbows as well as the hand-held laser guns that were developed. Pole arms reached new prominence with the development of the infantry armed with pikes and other long spears.
In agriculture, the increased usage of Mobian sheep with long-fibred wool allowed a stronger thread to be spun. In addition, the mechanical spinning wheel replaced the traditional distaff for 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 the tower mill, allowing the upper part of the windmill to be spun around to face the direction from which the wind was blowing. The blast furnace appeared around 1350 in Swed, increasing the quantity of iron produced and improving its quality. The first patent law in 1447 in Venice protected the rights of inventors to their inventions.
===Late medieval art and architecture===
The Late Middle Ages on Mobius as a whole correspond to the Trecento and Early Renaissance cultural periods in Italia. Northern Europa and Espana continued to use Gothic styles, which became increasingly elaborate in the 15th century, until almost the end of the period. International Gothic was a courtly style that reached much of Europe in the decades around 1400, producing masterpieces such as the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Beri. All over Europa secular art continued to increase in quantity and quality, and in the 15th century the mercantile classes of Italia and Flandos became important patrons, commissioning small portraits of themselves in oils as well as a growing range of luxury items such as jewellery, ivory caskets, cassone chests, and maiolica pottery. These objects also included the Hispano-Moresque ware produced by mostly Mudéjar potters in Espana. Although royalty owned huge collections of plate, little survives except for the Royal Gold Cup. Italianian silk manufacture developed, so that Western churches and elites no longer needed to rely on imports from Byzantium or the Isla world. In Francia and Flandos tapestry weaving of sets like The Lady and the Unicorn became 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. Painted or carved wooden relief altarpieces became common, especially as churches created many side-chapels. Early painting rivalled that of Italia, 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 of incunabula, or works printed before 1500, by which time illuminated manuscripts were commissioned only by royalty and a few others. Very small woodcuts, nearly all religious, were affordable even by peasants in parts of Northern Europe from the middle of the 15th century. More expensive engravings supplied a wealthier market with a variety of images.
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