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Middle Ages Information

The Middle Ages (adjectival form: medieval, mediaeval or mediæval) is a period of European history encompassing the 5th to the 15th centuries. It is the middle period of the traditional three-period division of Western history into Classical, Medieval and Modern. The Middle Ages is often split into two or three sub-divisions.

In the Early Middle Ages depopulation, deurbanization, and barbarian invasion, all of which had begun in Late Antiquity, continued apace. The barbarian invaders formed their own new kingdoms in the remains of the Western Roman Empire, while the Eastern Roman Empire survived and even expanded during the 6th century. In the 7th century North Africa and the Middle East, once part of the eastern empire, became Islamic after conquest by Muhammad's successors. Although there were substantial changes in society and political structures, the break was not as extreme as once put forth by historians, with many of the new kingdoms incorporating as many of the existing Roman institutions as they could. Christianity expanded in western Europe and monasteries were founded. In the 7th and 8th centuries the Franks, under the Carolingian dynasty, established an empire covering much of western Europe; it lasted until the 9th century, when it succumbed to pressure from new invaders – the Vikings, Magyars, and Saracens.

During the High Middle Ages which began after 1000, the population of Europe increased greatly as new technological and agricultural innovations allowed trade to flourish and crop yields to increase. Manorialism – the organization of peasants into villages which owed rents and labor service to nobles – and feudalism – a political structure whereby knights and lower-status nobles owed military service to their overlords in return for the right to rents from lands and manors – were two of the ways of organizing medieval society that developed during the High Middle Ages. Kingdoms became more centralized after the decentralizing effects of the breakup of the Carolingian Empire. The Crusades, which were first preached in 1095, were an attempt by western Christians to regain control of the Holy Land from the Muslims, and succeeded long enough to establish some Christian states in the Near East. Scholasticism and the founding of universities marked intellectual life, while the building of Gothic cathedrals was one of the outstanding achievements of artistic life.

The Late Middle Ages were marked by difficulties and calamities. Famine, plague and war decimated the population of western Europe; the Black Death alone killed approximately a third of the population between 1347 and 1350. Controversy and schism within the Church was echoed by warfare between states as well as civil war and peasant revolts within kingdoms. Heresies developed and added to the Church's difficulties.

Contents

Etymology and periodization

See also: Periodization

The Middle Ages is one of the three major periods in the most enduring scheme for analyzing European history: classical civilization (or Antiquity), the Middle Ages, and the modern period.[2] It is "middle" in the sense of being between the two other periods in time. Humanists in the Renaissance argued that their scholarship restored direct links to the classical period, thus bypassing the Medieval period.

Leonardo Bruni was the first historian to use tripartite periodization in his History of the Florentine People (1442).[3] Flavio Biondo used a similar framework in Decades of History from the Deterioration of the Roman Empire (1439–1453).[4]

The "Middle Ages" first appears in Latin in 1469 as media tempestas (middle times).[5] In early usage, there were many variants, including medium aevum (Middle Age), first recorded in 1604,[5] and media scecula (Middle Ages), first recorded in 1625.[6] Tripartite periodization became standard after the German historian Christoph Cellarius published Universal History Divided into an Ancient, Medieval, and New Period (1683). English is the only major language that retains the plural form.[6]

The most commonly given start date for the Middle Ages is 476,[7] first used by Bruni.[3][a] In contrast, Biondo used the sack of Rome in 410 by the Goths as the beginning of the period.

For Europe as a whole, Christopher Columbus's voyage to America (1492) is often considered to be the end of the Middle Ages.[4] Depending on the context, other events, such as the conquest of Constantinople by the Turks (1453), or the Protestant Reformation (1517) can be used.[4] In contrast, English historians often use the Battle of Bosworth Field (1485) to mark the end of the period.[9] For Spain, dates commonly used are either those of the death of King Ferdinand II (1516) or Queen Isabella I of Castile (1504), or the conquest of Granada (1492).[10]

Historians in the Romance languages 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".[2] Belgian historian Henri Pirenne and Dutch historian Johan Huizinga popularized the following subdivisions in the early 20th century: the Early Middle Ages (476–1000), the High Middle Ages (1000–1300), and the Late Middle Ages (1300–1453). In the 19th century, the entire Middle Ages were often referred to as the "Dark Ages",[11][b] but with the creation of these subdivisions use of this term was restricted to the Early Middle Ages, at least among historians.[11]

Timeline

Later Roman Empire

Main articles: Late Antiquity, Decline of the Roman Empire, Migration Period, and Byzantine Empire

The Roman Empire reached its greatest territorial extent during the 2nd century AD, with the following two centuries witnessing the slow decline of Roman control over its outlying territories.[12] Economic issues, including inflation, and external pressures on the frontiers combined to make the 3rd century politically unstable, with a number of emperors coming to the throne only to be replaced by new usurpers.[13] Military expenses increased steadily during the 3rd century, mainly in response to the need to defend against the renewed war with Sassanid Persia, which began in the middle of the 3rd century. The need for revenue led to increased taxes and a decline in the number the curial landowning class, and decreasing numbers of them willing to shoulder the burdens of holding office in their native towns.[14]

A late Roman statue depicting the four Tetrarchs, now in Venice

The Emperor Diocletian split the empire into separately administered eastern and western halves in 286; however, the empire was not considered divided, as legal and administrative promulgations in one division were considered valid in the other.[15][c] After a period of civil war, in 330 Constantine the Great refounded the city of Byzantium as the newly renamed eastern capital, Constantinople.[16] Diocletian's reforms created a strong governmental bureaucracy, reformed taxation, and strengthened the army, which bought the empire time but did not completely resolve the problems it was facing: excessive taxation, a declining birthrate, and pressures on its frontiers amongst other.[17] Civil war between rival emperors became common in the middle of the 4th century, diverting men from the empire's frontier forces and allowing the barbarians to encroach.[18]

Map of the approximate political boundaries in Europe around 450

In 376, the Ostrogoths, fleeing from the Huns, received permission from the Roman emperor Valens to settle in the Roman province of Thracia. The settlement did not go smoothly, and when Roman officials mishandled the situation, the Ostrogoths began to raid and plunder Thracia. Valens, attempting to put down the disorder, was killed in battle with the Ostrogoths at the Battle of Adrianople on 9 August 378.[19] Besides the barbarian threat from the north, internal divisions within the empire, especially within the Christian Church, caused troubles.[20] In 400, the Visigoths invaded the western empire and, although briefly forced back from Italy, in 410 they were able to sack the city of Rome.[21] While the Visigoths were invading, in 406 the Alans, Vandals, and Suevi crossed into Gaul; over the next three years they spread across Gaul and in 409 crossed the Pyrenees Mountains into modern-day Spain.[22] Other groups of barbarians took part in the movements of peoples in this time period. The Franks, Alemanni, and the Burgundians eventually all ended up in northern Gaul while the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes settled in Britain.[23] In the 430s the Huns were added to the mix; their king Attila led invasions into the Balkans in 442 and 447, into Gaul in 451, and into Italy in 452.[24] With Attila's death in 453, the Hunnic confederation he led fell apart.[25] All of these invasions by the varied tribes totally rearranged the political and demographic face of what had been the western Roman Empire.[23]

By the end of the 5th century the western empire was divided into smaller political units, ruled by the tribes that had invaded in the early part of the century.[26] The last emperor of the west, Romulus Augustulus, was deposed in 476, which has led that year to be traditionally cited as the end of the western empire.[d][8] The Eastern Roman Empire (conventionally referred to as the "Byzantine Empire" after the fall of its western counterpart) had little ability to assert control over the lost western territories. Even though Byzantine emperors maintained a claim over the territory, and no "barbarian" king dared to elevate himself to the position of Emperor of the West, Byzantine control of most of the West could not be sustained; the renovatio imperii ("imperial restoration", entailing reconquest of the Italian peninsula and Mediterranean periphery) by Justinian was the sole, and temporary, exception.[27]

Early Middle Ages

Main article: Early Middle Ages

New societies

Although the political structure in western Europe had changed, the break was not as extensive as historians have claimed in the past. The emperors of the 5th century were often controlled by military strongmen such as Stilicho, Ricimer, Gundobad or Aspar, and when western emperors fell, many of the kings who replaced them were from the same background as those military strongmen. Intermarriage between the new kings and the Roman elites was common.[28] This led to a fusion of the Roman culture with the customs of the invading tribes, including the popular assemblies that led to a direct influence of more of the free male tribal members in political society.[29] Material artifacts left by the Romans and the invaders are often similar, with tribal items often being obviously modeled on Roman objects.[30] Similarly, much of the intellectual culture of the new kingdoms was directly based on Roman intellectual traditions.[31] An important difference was the gradual loss of tax revenue by the new polities. Many of the new political entities no longer provided their armies with tax revenues, instead allocating land or rents. This meant there was less need for large tax revenues and so the taxation systems decayed.[32] Warfare was common between and within the kingdoms. Slavery declined as the supply declined, and society became more rural.[33]

Coin of Theodoric

Between the 5th and 8th centuries, new peoples and powerful individuals filled the political void left by Roman centralized government.[31] The Ostrogoths settled in Italy in the late 5th century under Theodoric and set up a kingdom marked by its cooperation between the Italians and the Ostrogoths, at least until the last years of Theodoric's reign.[34] The Burgundians settled in Gaul, and after an earlier kingdom was destroyed by the Huns in 436, formed a new kingdom in the 440s between todays Geneva and Lyons. This grew to be a powerful kingdom in the late 5th and early 6th centuries.[35] In northern Gaul, the Franks and Britons set up small kingdoms. The Frankish kingdom was centered in northeastern Gaul and the first king of whom much is known is Childeric, who died in 481.[e] Under Childeric's son Clovis, the Frankish kingdom expanded and converted to Christianity. The Britons, related to the natives of Britannia, settled in what is now Brittany, which took its name from their settlement.[37] Other kingdoms were established by the Visigoths in Spain, the Suevi in northwestern Spain, and the Vandals in North Africa.[35] In the 6th century, the Lombards settled in northern Italy, replacing the Ostrogothic kingdom with a grouping of duchies that occasionally selected a king to rule over all of them. By the late 6th century this arrangement had been replaced by a permanent monarchy.[38]

Byzantine survival

Mosaic from Ravenna showing Justinian surrounded by courtiers

As western Europe witnessed the formation of new kingdoms, the eastern section of the Empire remained intact and even enjoyed an economic revival that lasted into the early 7th century. There were fewer invasions of the eastern section of the empire, with the majority occurring in the Balkans. Peace with Persia, the traditional enemy of Rome, lasted throughout most of the 5th century. The eastern empire was marked by closer relations between the political state and Christian church, with doctrinal matters assuming an importance in eastern politics that they did not have in western Europe. Legal developments included the codification of Roman law known as the Theodosian Code.[39] Under the emperor Justinian (r. 527–565), a further compilation took place, known as the Corpus Juris Civilis.[40] Justinian also oversaw the construction of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople and the reconquest of North Africa from the Vandals and Italy from the Ostrogoths. The conquest of Italy was not completed, as a deadly outbreak of plague in 542 led to the rest of Justinian's reign concentrating on defensive measures rather than further conquests.[41]

In the the eastern empire the slow infiltration of the Balkans by the Slavs added a further complication. Although it began as a small invasion by the late 540s Slavic tribes were in Thrace and Illyrium, and had defeated an imperial army near Adrianople in 551. In the 560s the Avars began to expand from their base on the north bank of the Danube River; by the end of the 6th century they were the dominant power in Central Europe and routinely able to force the eastern emperors to give tribute. They remained a strong power until 796.[42] Further complications were the involvement of the emperor Maurice in Persian politics when he intervened in a succession dispute. This led to a period of peace but when Maurice was overthrown in turn, the Persians invaded and during the reign of the emperor Heraclius (r. 610–641) managed to control large chunks of the empire, including Egypt, Syria, and Asia Minor. Heraclius was eventually able to secure a peace treaty with the Persians in 628 that restored the earlier boundaries of the empire.[43]

Religious ferment and Islam

Main article: Muslim conquests

Religious beliefs in the eastern empire and Persia were in flux during the late 6th and early 7th centuries. Judaism was an active missionary faith, and at least one Arab political leader converted to Judaism. Christianity had active missions competing with the Persian's Zoroastrianism in seeking converts, especially amongst residents of the Arabian peninsula. All strands came together with emergence of Islam in Arabia during the lifetime of Muhammad.[44] After Muhammad's death in 632, Islamic forces went on to conquer much of the eastern Empire as well as Persia, starting with Syria in 634–635 and later as far as Egypt in 640–641, Persia between 637 and 642, North Africa in the later 7th century and Spain in 711.[45] By the middle of the 8th century, new trading patterns were emerging in the Mediterranean, with trade between the Franks and the Arabs replacing the old Roman patterns of trade. Franks traded timber, furs, swords and slaves to the Arabs in return for silks and other fabrics, spices, and precious metals.[46]

Church and monasticism

Main article: History of the East–West Schism An 11th-century illustration of Gregory the Great dictating to a secretary

Christianity was a major unifying factor between Eastern and western Europe before the Arab conquests, but the conquest of North Africa sundered the connections. Increasingly the Byzantine Church, which became the Orthodox Church, differed in language, practices, and liturgy from the western Church, which became the Catholic Church. The eastern church used Greek instead of the western Latin. Theological and political differences emerged, and by the early and middle 8th century issues such as iconoclasm, clerical marriage, and state control of the church had widened enough that the cultural and religious differences were greater than the similarities.[47]

The ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Empire survived the barbarian invasions in the west mostly intact, but the papacy was little regarded, with few of the western bishops looking to the bishop of Rome for religious or political leadership. Many of the popes prior to 750 were in any case more concerned with Byzantine affairs and eastern theological concerns. The register, or archived copies of the letters, of Pope Gregory the Great, (pope 590–604) survives, and of those more than 850 letters, the vast majority 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 the Gregorian mission in 597 to convert the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity.[48] Other missionary efforts were led by the Irish, who between the 5th and the 7th centuries were the most active missionaries in western Europe, with missionaries going first to England and Scotland and then later onto the continent. Irish missionaries, under such monks as Columba and Columbanus, not only founded monasteries but also taught in Latin and Greek and were active authors of secular and religious works.[49]

The Early Middle Ages witnessed the rise of monasticism in the West. The shape of European monasticism was determined by traditions and ideas that originated in the deserts of Egypt and Syria. The style of monasticism that focuses on community experience of the spiritual life, called cenobitism, was pioneered by the saint Pachomius in the 4th century. Monastic ideals spread from Egypt to western Europe in the 5th and 6th centuries through hagiographical literature such as the Life of Anthony.[50] Saint Benedict wrote the Benedictine Rule for Western monasticism during the 6th century, detailing the administrative and spiritual responsibilities of a community of monks led by an abbot.[51] Monks and monasteries had a deep effect on the religious and political life of the Early Middle Ages, in various cases acting as land trusts for powerful families, centres of propaganda and royal support in newly conquered regions, bases for mission, and proselytization.[52] In addition, they were the main and sometimes only outposts of education and literacy in a region. Many of the surviving manuscripts of the Roman classics were copied in monasteries in the early Middle Ages.[53] Monks were also the authors of new works, including history, theology, and other subjects, which were written by authors such as Bede, a native of northern England who wrote in the late 7th and early 8th century.[54]

Carolingian Europe

Main articles: Frankish Empire and Carolingian Empire 9th-century depiction of Charlemagne with popes Gelasius I and Gregory the Great

The Frankish kingdom in northern Gaul developed into kingdoms called Austrasia, Neustria, and Burgundy during the 6th and 7th centuries, under the Merovingians who were descended from Clovis. The 7th century was a tumultuous period of civil wars between Austrasia and Neustria.[55] Such warfare was exploited by Pippin of Landen, the Mayor of the Palace who became the power behind the throne. Later members of his family line inherited the office, acting as advisors and regents. One of his descendents, Charles Martel, won the Battle of Poitiers in 732, halting the advance of Muslim armies across the Pyrenees.[56] Muslim armies had earlier conquered the Visigothic kingdom of Spain, after defeating the last Visigothic king Ruderic at the Battle of Guadalete in 711, finishing the conquest by 719.[57] Across the English Channel in the British Isles, the island of Britain was divided into small states dominated by the kingdoms of Northumbria, Mercia, Wessex, and East Anglia, which were descended from the Anglo-Saxon invaders. Smaller kingdoms in present-day Wales and Scotland were still under the control of the original native British and Picts.[58] Ireland was divided into even smaller political units, usually known as tribal kingdoms, which were under the control of kings. There were perhaps as many as 150 local kings in Ireland, of varying importance.[59]

Charlemagne's palace chapel at Aachen, completed in 805[60]

The Carolingian 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 by Pippin III. A contemporary chronicle claims that Pippin sought, and gained, authority for this coup from Pope Stephen II. Pippin's takeover was reinforced with propaganda that portrayed the Merovingians as inept or cruel rulers and exalted the accomplishments of Charles Martel and circulated stories of the family's great piety. At the time of his death in 783, Pippin left his kingdom in the hands of his two sons, Charles and Carloman. When Carloman died of natural causes, Charles blocked the succession of Carloman's minor son and installed himself as the king of the united Austrasia and Neustria. This Charles, known to his contemporaries as Charles the Great or Charlemagne, embarked in 774 upon a program of systematic expansion that would unify a large portion of Europe, eventually controlling modern-day France, northern Italy, and Saxony. In the wars that lasted just beyond 800, he rewarded loyal allies with war booty and command over parcels of land.[61]

The coronation of Charlemagne as emperor on Christmas Day of 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.[62] 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 equivalency to the eastern empire.[63] However, there were a number of differences between the newly established Carolingian Empire and both the older western Roman Empire and the concurrent Byzantine Empire. The Frankish lands were rural in character, with few cities, and what cities existed were very small. Farming techniques were not advanced, and most of the people were peasants settled on small farms. Little trade existed and much of that was with the northern realms of the British Isles and Scandinavia, in contrast to the older Roman Empire which had its trading networks centered on the Mediterranean.[62]

Carolingian Renaissance

Main article: Carolingian Renaissance

Charlemagne's court in Aachen was the centre of the cultural revival sometimes referred to as the "Carolingian Renaissance". The period saw an increase in literacy, developments in the arts, architecture and jurisprudence, as well as liturgical and scriptural studies. The English monk Alcuin was invited to Aachen, and brought the classical Latin education available in the monasteries of Northumbria. Charlemagne's chancery made use of a new script today known as Carolingian minuscule, allowing a common writing style that advanced communication across much of Europe. Charlemagne sponsored changes in church liturgy, imposing the Roman form of church service on his domains, as well as the Gregorian chant form of liturgical music in the churches. An important activity for scholars during this period was the copying, correcting, and dissemination of basic works on religious and secular topics, with the aim of encourage learning. New works on religious topics and schoolbooks were also produced.[64]

Breakup of the Carolingian Empire

Main articles: Holy Roman Empire and Viking Age Breakup of the Carolingian empire

While Charlemagne planned to continue the Frankish tradition of dividing his kingdom between all his heirs, this ended when only one son, Louis the Pious, was still alive by 813. That year, Charlemagne crowned Louis as his successor, and died in 814. Louis's long reign of 26 years was marked by numerous divisions of the empire among his sons and, after 829, numerous civil wars between various alliances of father and sons against other sons over the control of various parts of the empire. Eventually, Louis recognized his eldest son Lothair I as emperor and gave him Italy. Louis divided the rest of the empire between Lothair and Charles the Bald, his youngest son. Lothair took East Francia, comprising both banks of the Rhine and eastwards, leaving Charles West Francia with the empire to the west of the Rhineland and the Alps. Louis the German, the middle child, who had been rebellious to the last, was allowed to keep Bavaria under the suzerainty of his elder brother. The division was not undisputed. Pepin II of Aquitaine, the emperor's grandson, rebelled in a contest for Aquitaine, while Louis the German tried to annex all of East Francia. Louis died in 840, with the empire still in chaos.[65]

A three-year civil war followed his death. By the Treaty of Verdun (843), a kingdom between the Rhine and Rhone rivers was created for Lothair to go with his lands in Italy, and his imperial title was recognized. Louis the German was in control of Bavaria and the eastern lands in modern-day Germany. Charles the Bald received the western Frankish lands, comprising most of modern-day France.[65] Charlemagne's grandsons and great-grandsons divided their kingdoms between their descendants, eventually causing all internal cohesion to be lost.[66]

The breakup of the Carolingian Empire was accompanied by the invasions, migrations, and raids of external foes. The Atlantic and northern shores were harassed by the Vikings, who also raided the British Isles and settled in both Britain and Ireland as well as the distant island of Iceland. A further settlement of Vikings was made in France in 911 under the chieftan Rollo, who received permission from the Frankish king Charles the Simple to settle in what became Normandy.[67] The eastern parts of the Frankish kingdoms, especially Germany and Italy, were under constant Magyar assault until their great defeat at the Battle of the Lechfeld in 955.[68] The breakup of the Abbasid dynasty meant that the Islamic world fragmented into a number of 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.[69]

10th-century ivory plaque depicting Christ receiving a church from Otto I

Efforts by local kings to fight back the invaders led to the formation of new political entities. In Britain, King Alfred the Great in the late 9th century came to a settlement with the Viking invaders, with Danish settlements in Northumbria, Mercia, and parts of East Anglia.[70] By the middle of the 10th century, Alfred's successors had conquered Northumbria, and restored English control over most of the southern part of the island of Britain.[71] In the early 10th century, the Ottonian dynasty had established itself in Germany, and the Ottonians were engaged in driving back the Magyar invaders. Their efforts culminated in the coronation in 962 of Otto I as emperor.[72] Italy was drawn into the Ottonian sphere by the late 10th century, after a period of instability.[73] The western Frankish kingdom was more fragmented, and although a nominal king remained theoretically in charge, much of the political power had devolved to the local lords.[74]

Missionary efforts to Scandinavia during the 9th and 10th centuries helped strengthen the growth of kingdoms there. Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian kingdoms gained power and territory in the course of the 9th and 10th centuries, and some of the kings converted to Christianity, although the process was not complete by 1000. Scandinavians also expanded and colonized throughout Europe. Besides the settlements in Ireland, England, and Normandy, further settlement took place in what became Russia as well as in Iceland. Swedish traders and raiders ranged down the rivers of the Russian steppe, and even attempted to seize Constantinople in 860 and in 907.[75] 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 of Asturias and León in the process.[76]

Art and architecture

Main articles: Medieval art and Medieval architecture Further information: Migration Period art and Pre-Romanesque art and architecture A page from the Book of Kells, an illuminated manuscript created in the British Isles in the late 8th or early 9th century[77]

Few truly large stone buildings were attempted between the Constantinian basilicas of the 4th century and the 8th century, but many smaller stone buildings were built during the 6th and 7th centuries. By the beginning of the 8th century, the Carolingian Empire revived the basilica form of architecture.[78] One feature of the renewed basilica was the use of a transept,[79] or the "arms" of a cross-shaped building that are perpendicular to the long nave.[80] Other new features of religious architecture include the crossing tower[81] and a monumental entrance to the church, usually at the west end of the building.[82]

In the decorative arts, Celtic and Germanic barbarian forms were absorbed into Christian art, although the central impulse remained Roman and Byzantine. High quality jewellery and religious imagery were produced throughout western Europe; Charlemagne and other monarchs provided patronage for religious artworks such as reliquaries and books. Some of the principal artworks of the age were the illuminated manuscripts produced by monks on vellum, using gold, silver, and precious pigments to illustrate biblical narratives. Early examples include the Book of Kells and many Carolingian and Ottonian Frankish manuscripts.[83]

High Middle Ages

Main articles: High Middle Ages and Feudalism

Society and economic life

Medieval manuscript illustration of the three classes of medieval society: clergy, knights, and the peasantry

The High Middle Ages saw an expansion of population. Rough estimates of the increase from the year 1000 until 1347 indicate that the population of Europe grew from 35 to 80 million. The exact cause or causes of the growth remain unclear; improved agricultural techniques, the decline of slaveholding, a more clement climate and the lack of invasion have all been put forward.[84][85] As much as 90 percent of the European population remained rural peasants. Many of them, however, were no longer settled in isolated farms but had gathered into small communities, usually known as manors or villages.[85] These peasants were often subject to noble overlords and owed them rents and other services, in a system known as manorialism. There remained, however, a few free peasants throughout this period and beyond.[86]

Other sections of society included the nobility, clergy and townsmen. Nobles, both the titled and simple knights, were the exploiters of the manors and the peasants, although they did not own lands outright, rather they were granted rights to the income from a manor or other lands by an overlord through the customs of feudalism. During the 11th and 12th centuries, 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 medieval period. Instead, most fiefs and lands went to the eldest son.[87] The clergy was divided into two types – the secular clergy who lived in the world, and the regular clergy, or those who lived under a religious rule and were usually monks.[88] Most of the regular clergy were drawn from the ranks of 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.[89] 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 centres were founded.[90]

In Central and Northern Italy and in Flanders, 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 the Hanseatic League, and Italian city-states such as Venice, Genoa, and Pisa expanded their trade throughout the Mediterranean.[91] Besides new trading opportunities, the agricultural and technological improvements enabled the increase in crop yields, which in turn allowed the trade networks to expand.[92] Rising trade brought new methods of dealing with money, and gold coinage was again minted in Europe, at first in Italy and later in France and other countries. New forms of commercial contracts emerged, allowing risk to be shared amongst merchants. Accounting methods improved, partly through the use of double-entry bookkeeping; letters of credit also emerged, to allow easy transmission of money through the trading networks.[93]

Political states

The High Middle Ages is a formative period in the history of the Western state as we know it. Kings in France, England and Spain consolidated their power, and set up lasting governing institutions.[94] Also new kingdoms like Hungary and Poland, after their conversion to Christianity, became Central-European powers.[95] The papacy, long attached to an ideology of independence from the secular kings, first asserted its claims to temporal authority over the entire Christian world. The Papal Monarchy reached its apogee in the early 13th century under the pontificate of Innocent III.[96] Northern Crusades and the advance of Christian kingdoms and military orders into previously pagan regions in the Baltic region and Finnic northeast brought the forced assimilation of numerous native peoples into the European identity.[97]

During the early High Middle Ages, Germany was under the rule of the Saxon dynasty, which struggled to control the powerful dukes ruling over territorial duchies tracing back to the Migration period. In 1024, the ruling dynasty changed to the Salian dynasty, who famously clashed with the papacy under Emperor Henry IV over church appointments.[98] His successors continued to struggle against the papacy as well as the German nobility. After the death of Emperor Henry V without heirs, a period of instability arose until Frederick I Barbarossa took the imperial throne in the late 12th century.[99] Although Barbarossa managed to rule effectively, the basic problems remained, and his successors continued to struggle with them into the 13th century.[100]

William the Conqueror shown on the Bayeux Tapestry

France under the Capetian dynasty, began to slowly expand it's power over the nobility, managing to expand out of the Ile de France to exert control over more of the country as the 11th and 12th centuries.[101] They faced a powerful rival in the Dukes of Normandy, who in 1066 under William the Conqueror, subjugated England and created a cross-channel empire that would last, in various forms, throughout the rest of the Middle Ages.[102][103] Under the Angevin dynasty of King Henry II and his sons, the kings of England ruled over England and large sections of France.[104] However King John lost Normandy and the rest of the northern French possessions in 1204. This lead to dissension amongst the English nobility, while John's financial exactions to pay for his unsuccessful attempts to regain Normandy led to the Magna Carta, a charter that confirmed the rights and privileges of free men in England. Under Henry III, John's son, further concessions were made to the nobility, and royal power was diminished.[105] The French monarchy, however, continued to make gains against the nobility during the late 12th and 13th centuries, bringing more territories within the kingdom under their personal rule and centralizing the royal administration.[106]

Crusades

Main articles: Crusades and Reconquista Krak des Chevaliers was built during the Crusades for the Knights Hospitallers.[107]

The Crusades were wars intended to liberate Jerusalem from Muslim control. The first Crusade was preached by Pope Urban II at the Council of Clermont in 1095 in response to a request from the Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos for aid against further advancement. Urban promised indulgence to anyone who took part. Tens of thousands of people from all levels of society mobilized across Europe, and captured Jerusalem in 1099 during the First Crusade. The Crusaders consolidated their conquests as a number of Crusader states During the 12th century and 13th century, there were a series of conflicts between these states and surrounding Islamic ones. Further crusades were called to aid these states,[108] or to try to regain Jerusalem, which was captured by Saladin in 1187.[109] Military religious orders such as the Knights Templar and the Knights Hospitaller were formed and went on to play an integral role in the Crusader states.[110] In 1203, the Fourth Crusade was diverted from the Holy Land to Constantinople, and captured that city in 1204, setting up a Latin Empire of Constantinople[111] and greatly weakening the Byzantine Empire, which finally recaptured Constantinople in 1261, but the Byzantines never regained their former strength.[112] By 1291 all the Crusader states had been either captured or forced from the mainland, with a titular Kingdom of Jerusalem surviving on the island of Cyprus for a number of years after 1291.[113]

Popes called for crusades to take place other than in the Holy Land, with crusades being proclaimed in Spain, southern France, and along the Baltic.[108] The Spanish crusades became fused with the Reconquista, or reconquest, of Spain from the Moslems. Although the Templars and Hospitallers took part in the Spanish crusades, Spanish military religious orders were also founded in imitation of the Templars and Hospitallers, with most of them becoming part of the two main orders of Calatrava and Santiago by the beginning of the 12th century.[114] Northern Europe also remained outside Christian influence until the 11th century or later; these areas also became crusading venues as part of the Northern Crusades of the 12th through the 14th centuries. This too spawned a military order, the Order of the Sword Brothers. Another order, the Teutonic Knights, although originally founded in the Crusader states, focused much of its activity in the Baltic after 1225, and in 1309 moved its headquarters to Marienburg in Prussia.[115]

Intellectual life

Main article: 12th-century Renaissance A medieval scholar making precise measurements in a 14th-century manuscript illustration

During the 11th century, developments in philosophy and theology began to stimulate intellectual activity. There was debate between the realists and the nominalists over the concept of "universals". Philosophical discourse was stimulated by the rediscovery of Aristotle and his emphasis on empiricism and rationalism. Scholars such as Peter Abelard and Peter Lombard introduced Aristotelian logic into theology. The late 11th and early 12th century also saw the rise of cathedral schools throughout western Europe, which signaled the shift of learning from monasteries to cathedrals and towns.[116] Cathedral schools were then in turn replaced in the late 11th century by the universities established in major European cities.[117] Philosophy and theology fused in scholasticism, an attempt by 12th and 13th-century scholars to reconcile Christian theology with itself, which eventually resulted in the a system of thought that tried to systemic approach to truth and reason.[118] This culminated in the thought of Thomas Aquinas, who wrote the Summa Theologica, or Summary of Theology.[119]

Besides the universities, royal and noble courts saw the development of chivalry and the ethos of courtly love. This culture was expressed in the vernacular languages rather than Latin, and comprised poems, stories, legends and popular songs spread by troubadors. Often the stories were written down in the chansons de geste, or "songs of great deeds", such as The Song of Roland or The Song of Hildebrand.[120]

Legal studies also advanced during the 12th century. Both secular law and canon law, or ecclesiastical law, were studied in the High Middle Ages. Secular law, or Roman law, was advanced greatly by the discovery of the corpus iuris civilis in the 11th century, and by 1100 Roman law was being taught at Bologna. This teaching of Roman law led to the recording and standardization of legal codes throughout western Europe. Canon law was also studied, and around 1140 a monk named Gratian, a teacher at Bologna, wrote what became the standard text of canon law – the Decretum.[121]

Among the results of the Greek and Islamic influence on this period in European history was the replacement of Roman numerals with the decimal positional number system and the invention of algebra, which allowed more advanced mathematics. Astronomy also advanced, with the translation of Ptolomey's Almagest from Greek into Latin in the late 12th century. Medicine was also studied, especially in southern Italy, where Islamic medicine influenced the school at Salerno.[122]

Science and technology

Main articles: Medieval science and Medieval technology A stained glass window from Chartres Cathedral depicting a blacksmith putting a horseshoe on a horse

In the 12th and 13th centuries, Europe saw a number of innovations in the management of the means of production and economic growth. Major technological advances include the invention of the windmill, the first mechanical clocks, the first investigations of optics and the creation of crude lenses, the manufacture of distilled spirits and the use of the astrolabe.[123]

A major agricultural innovation was the development of a 3-field rotation system for planting crops. The development of the heavy plow allowed heavier soils to be farmed more efficiently, an advance that was helped along by the spread of the horse collar and the horseshoe, both of which lead to the use of draught animals in place of oxen. Horses are faster than oxen and require less pasture, factors which aided the utilization of the 3-field system.[85]

The development of cathedrals and castles advanced building technology, leading to the development of large stone buildings. Ancillary structure included new town halls, houses, bridges, and tithe barns.[124] Shipbuilding also improved, with the use of the rib and plank method rather than the old Roman system of mortice 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.[125]

Art and architecture

Main articles: Romanesque art and Gothic art

At this time, the establishment of churches and monasteries, and a comparative political stability, lead to the development of a form of stone architecture loosely based upon Roman forms, hence later named Romanesque. Where available, Roman brick and stone buildings were recycled for their materials. From the fairly tentative beginnings known as the First Romanesque, the style flourished and spread across Europe in a remarkably homogeneous form. The features are massive stone walls, openings topped by semi-circular arches, small windows, and, particularly in France, arched stone vaults.[126] Manuscripts continued to be illuminated in scriptoriums across Europe, and many new churches were painted with large murals, some of which survive.[127]

From the early 12th century, French builders developed the Gothic style, marked by the use of rib vaults, pointed arches, flying buttresses, and large stained glass windows. The Gothic style was mainly used in churches and cathedrals, and continued in use until the 16th century in much of Europe. Classic examples of Gothic architecture include Chartres Cathedral and Reims Cathedral in France as well as Salisbury Cathedral in England.[128]

Church and society

Main article: Gregorian reform Francis of Assisi, depicted by Bonaventura Berlinghieri in 1235, founded the Franciscan Order.[129]

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 stricy religious life. Cluny Abbey, founded in the Mâcon in 909, was established as part of the Cluniac Reforms, a larger movement of monastic reform in response to this fear.[130] The monastery quickly established a reputation for austerity and rigour. Cluny sought to maintain a high quality of spiritual life by electing its own abbot without iInterferance from laymen, thus maintaining economic and political independence from local lords and placing itself under the protection of the papacy.[131]

Monastic reform inspired change in the secular church. The ideals that it was based upon were brought to the papacy by Pope Leo IX on his election in 1049, and provided the ideology of the clerical independence that lead to the Investiture Controversy in the late 11th century. This involved Pope Gregory VII and Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor, who initially clashed over episcopal appointments, disputes that turned into a battle over the ideas of investiture, clerical marriage and simony. The emperor saw the protection of the Church as one of his responsibilities as well as wanting to preserve the right to appoint his own choices as bishops within his lands. The papacy, however, insisted on the Church's independence from secular lords These issues themselves remained unresolved after the compromise of 1122 known as the Concordat of Worms. The conflict represents a significant stage in the creation of a papal monarchy separate from and equal to lay authorities. It also had the permanent consequence of empowering German princes at the expense of the German emperors.[130]

The High Middle Ages was a period of great religious movements. Besides the Crusaders and monastic reformers, other people sought to participate in new forms of religious life. New monastic orders were founded, including the Carthusians, the Cistercians, and the military orders such as the Knights Templar. These new orders were formed in response the feeling of the laity that Benedictine monasticism no longer met the needs of the laymen. Laymen and those wishing to enter the religious life wanted to return to the simpler hermetical monasticism of early Christianity or to live an Apostolic life.[132] In the 13th century, mendicant orders – the Franciscans and the Dominicans – who swore vows of poverty and earned their living by begging, were approved by the papacy.[133] Besides the recognized orders, other religious groups such as the Waldensians and the Humiliati attempted to return to the life of early Christianity in the middle 12th and early 13th centuries, but they were condemned as heretical by the papacy. Others joined the Cathars, another heretical movement condemned by the papacy. In 1209, a crusade was preached against the Cathars, the Albigensian Crusade, which in combination with the medieval Inquisition, finally eliminated them.[134]

Late Middle Ages

Main article: Late Middle Ages

Famine and plague

A medieval manuscript illustration of a bishop blessing victims of the Black Death

The first years of the 14th century were marked by a number of famines, culminating in the Great Famine of 1315–1317.[135] The causes of the Great Famine were not just related to the ongoing climatic change that was taking place, a slow transition from the Medieval Warm Period to the Little Ice Age, but also had causes in overspecialization in single crops, which left the population vulnerable when bad weather caused crop failures.[136] Other troubles included an economic downturn and the aforementioned climate change – which resulted in the average annual temperature for Europe declining 2 degrees Celsius during the 14th century.[137]

These troubles were followed in 1347 by the Black Death, a disease that spread throughout Europe in the years 1348, 1349, and 1350.[138] The death toll was probably about 35 million people in total in Europe, about one-third of the population. Towns were especially hard-hit because of the crowded conditions. Large areas of land were left sparsely inhabited, and in some places fields were left unworked. Because of the sudden decline in available labourers, the price of wages rose as landlords sought to entice workers to their fields, but the lower rents were balanced out by the lower demand for food, which cut into agricultural income. Urban workers also felt that they had a right to greater earnings, and popular uprisings broke out across Europe.[139] Conditions were further unsettled by the return of the plague throughout the rest of the 14th century, and continued to strike Europe throughout the rest of the Middle Ages.[138]

State resurgence

The Late Middle Ages also witnessed the rise of strong, royalty-based nation-states throughout Europe, particularly in England, France, and the Christian kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula (Aragon, Castile, and Portugal). The long conflicts of the later Middle Ages strengthened royal control over the kingdoms, even though they were extremely hard on the peasantry. Kings profited from warfare by gaining land and extended royal legislation throughout their kingdoms.[140] Paying for the wars required that the methods of taxation become more efficient and the rate of taxation often increased.[141] The requirement to obtain the consent of those taxed meant that representative bodies such as the English Parliament or the French Estates General gained some power and new authority.[142]

Joan of Arc in a 15th-century depiction

Throughout the 14th century, French kings sought to expand their influence throughout the kingdom at the expense of the territorial holdings of the nobility.[143] This ran into difficulties when they attempted to confiscate the holdings of the English kings in southern France, leading to the Hundred Years' War,[144] which lasted until 1453.[145] The stresses of this war almost caused the disintegration of the French kingdom during the early years of the war.[146] In the early 15th century, France once more teetered on the brink of dissolving, but in the late 1420s military successes led by Joan of Arc led to the eventual victory of the French kings over the English with the capture of the last of the English possessions in southern France in 1453.[147]

In modern-day Germany, the Empire continued, but the elective nature of the imperial crown meant that there was no strong dynasty around which a strong state could form.[148] Further east, the kingdoms of Poland, Hungary, and Bohemia grew into powerful kingdoms.[149] The Iberian Peninsula kingdoms continued to gain land from the Muslim kingdoms of the peninsula,[149] with Portugal concentrating on expanding overseas during the 15th century while the other kingdoms were riven by difficulties over the royal succession and other concerns throughout the 15th century.[150][151] England, after losing the Hundred Years' War, went on to suffer a long civil war known as the Wars of the Roses, which lasted into the 1490s.[151]

Controversy within the Church

The troubled 14th century saw both the Avignon Papacy of 1305–1378,[152] also called the "Babylonian Captivity of the Papacy" (a reference to the Babylonian Captivity of the Jews),[153] and then the Great Schism that lasted from 1378 to 1418, when there were two, then later three, rival popes, each supported by a number of states.[154] In the early years of the 15th century, after a century of turmoil, ecclesiastical officials convened in Constance in 1414, and in 1415 the council deposed one of the rival popes, leaving only two claimants. Further depositions followed, and in November 1417 the council elected Martin V as pope.[155]

Besides the schism, the western church was riven by theological controversies, some of which turned into heresies. John Wyclif, 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 holding views on the Eucharist that were contrary to church doctrine.[156] Wyclif's teachings influenced two of the major heretical movements of the later Middle Ages – Lollardry in England and Hussitism in Bohemia.[157] The Bohemians were also influenced by the teaching of Jan Hus, who was eventually burned at the stake in 1415 after being condemned as a heretic by the Council of Constance. The Hussite church, although subject to a crusade being called against it, survived past the end of the Middle Ages.[158]

Modern image

Medieval illustration of the spherical Earth in a 14th-century copy of L'Image du monde Further information: Dark Ages and Science in the Middle Ages

The medieval period is frequently caricatured as supposedly a "time of ignorance and superstition" which placed "the word of religious authorities over personal experience and rational activity."[159]

Others argue that reason was generally held in high regard during the Middle Ages. The historian of science Edward Grant, writes that "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".[160] Also, contrary to common belief, David Lindberg says "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".[161]

The caricature of the period is also reflected in a number of more specific notions. For instance, a claim that was first propagated in the 19th century[162] and is still very common in popular culture is the supposition that all people in the Middle Ages believed that the Earth was flat. This claim is mistaken.[162] In fact, lecturers in the medieval universities commonly advanced evidence in favor of the idea that the Earth was a sphere.[163] Lindberg and Numbers write: "There was scarcely a Christian scholar of the Middle Ages who did not acknowledge [Earth's] sphericity and even know its approximate circumference".[164]

Notes

  1. ^ This is the date of the deposition of the last western Roman Emperor.[8]
  2. ^ A reference work published in 1883 equates the Dark Ages with the Middle Ages, but beginning with William Paton Ker in 1904, the term "Dark Ages" is generally restricted to the early part of the Medieval period. For example, the 1911 edition of Britannica defines the Dark Ages this way. See Dark Ages for a more complete historiography of this term.
  3. ^ This system, which eventually encompassed two senior co-emperors and two junior co-emperors, is known as the Tetrarchy.[15]
  4. ^ An alternate date of 480 is sometimes given, as that was the year Romulus Augustulus' predecessor Julius Nepos died; Nepos had continued to assert that he was the western emperor while holding onto Dalmatia.[8]
  5. ^ His grave was discovered in 1653 and is remarkable for its grave goods, which included a number of weapons and a large quantity of gold.[36]

Citations

  1. ^ Nees Early Medieval Art pp. 109–112
  2. ^ a b Power Central Middle Ages p. 304
  3. ^ a b Leonardo Bruni, James Hankins, History of the Florentine people, Volume 1, Books 1–4, (2001), p. xvii.
  4. ^ a b c Renato Bordone; Giuseppe Sergi, Dieci secoli di medioevo, Einaudi, Turin, 2009
  5. ^ a b Albrow Gllobal Age p. 205
  6. ^ a b Robinson "Medieval, the Middle Ages" Speculum
  7. ^ "Middle Ages" Dictionary.com
  8. ^ a b c Wickham Inheritance of Rome p. 86
  9. ^ See the title of Saul Companion to Medieval England 1066–1485
  10. ^ Kamen Spain 1469–1714 p. 29
  11. ^ a b Mommsen "Petrarch's Conception of the 'Dark Ages'" Speculum
  12. ^ Cunliffe Europe Between the Oceans pp. 391–393
  13. ^ Collins Early Medieval Europe pp. 3–5
  14. ^ Heather Fall of the Roman Empire p. 111
  15. ^ a b Collins Early Medieval Europe p. 9
  16. ^ Collins Early Medieval Europe p. 24
  17. ^ Cunliffe Europe Between the Oceans pp. 405–406
  18. ^ Collins Early Medieval Europe pp. 31–33
  19. ^ Bauer History of the Medieval World pp. 47–49
  20. ^ Bauer History of the Medieval World pp. 56–59
  21. ^ Bauer History of the Medieval World pp. 80–83
  22. ^ Collins Early Medieval Europe pp. 59–60
  23. ^ a b Cunliffe Europe Between the Oceans p. 417
  24. ^ James Europe's Barbarians pp. 67–68
  25. ^ Bauer History of the Medieval World pp. 117–118
  26. ^ Wickham Inheritance of Rome p. 79
  27. ^ Collins Early Medieval Europe pp. 116–134
  28. ^ Wickham Inheritance of Rome pp. 95–98
  29. ^ Wickham Inheritance of Rome pp. 100–101
  30. ^ Collins Early Medieval Europe p. 100
  31. ^ a b Collins Early Medieval Europe pp. 96–97
  32. ^ Wickham Inheritance of Rome pp. 102–103
  33. ^ Backman Worlds of Medieval Europe pp. 86–91
  34. ^ James Europe's Barbarians pp. 82–85
  35. ^ a b James Europe's Barbarians pp. 77–78
  36. ^ James Europe's Barbarians pp. 79–80
  37. ^ James Europe's Barbarians pp. 78–81
  38. ^ Collins Early Medieval Europe pp. 196–208
  39. ^ Wickham Inheritance of Rome pp. 81–83
  40. ^ Bauer History of the Medieval World pp. 200–202
  41. ^ Bauer History of the Medieval World pp. 206–213
  42. ^ James Europe's Barbarians pp. 95–99
  43. ^ Collins Early Medieval Europe pp. 140–143
  44. ^ Collins Early Medieval Europe pp. 143–145
  45. ^ Collins Early Medieval Europe pp. 149–151
  46. ^ Cunliffe Europe Between the Oceans pp. 427–428
  47. ^ Collins Early Medieval Europe pp. 218–233
  48. ^ Wickham Inheritance of Rome pp. 170–172
  49. ^ Colish Medieval Foundations pp. 62–63
  50. ^ Lawrence Medieval Monasticism pp. 10–13
  51. ^ Lawrence Medieval Monasticism pp. 18–24
  52. ^ Wickham Inheritance of Rome pp. 185–187
  53. ^ Hamilton Religion in the Medieval West pp. 43–44
  54. ^ Colish Medieval Foundations pp. 64–65
  55. ^ Bauer History of the Medieval World pp. 246–253
  56. ^ Bauer History of the Medieval World pp. 347–349
  57. ^ Bauer History of the Medieval World p. 344
  58. ^ Wickham Inheritance of Rome pp. 158–159
  59. ^ Wickham Inheritance of Rome pp. 164–165
  60. ^ Stalley Early Medieval Architecture p. 73
  61. ^ Bauer History of the Medieval World pp. 371–378
  62. ^ a b Backman Worlds of Medieval Europe p. 109
  63. ^ Backman Worlds of Medieval Europe pp. 117–120
  64. ^ Colish Medieval Foundations pp. 66–70
  65. ^ a b Bauer History of the Medieval World pp. 427–431
  66. ^ Backman Worlds of Medieval Europe p. 139
  67. ^ Backman Worlds of Medieval Europe pp. 141–144
  68. ^ Backman Worlds of Medieval Europe pp. 144–145
  69. ^ Bauer Worlds of Medieval Europe pp. 147–149
  70. ^ Collins Early Medieval Europe pp. 378–385
  71. ^ Collins Early Medieval Europe p. 387
  72. ^ Collins Early Medieval Europe pp. 394–404
  73. ^ Wickham Inheritance of Rome pp. 435–439
  74. ^ Wickham Inheritance of Rome pp. 439–444
  75. ^ Collins Early Medieval Europe pp. 385–389
  76. ^ Wickham Inheritance of Rome pp. 500–505
  77. ^ Nees Early Medieval Art p. 145
  78. ^ Stalley Early Medieval Architecture pp. 29–35
  79. ^ Stalley Early Medieval Architecture pp. 43–44
  80. ^ Cosman Medieval Wordbook p. 247
  81. ^ Stalley Early Medieval Architecture p. 45
  82. ^ Stalley Early Medieval Architecture p. 49
  83. ^ Adams History of Western Art pp. 171–175
  84. ^ Jordan Europe in the High Middle Ages pp. 5–12
  85. ^ a b c Backman Worlds of Medieval Europe p. 156
  86. ^ Backman Worlds of Medieval Europe pp. 164–165
  87. ^ Barber Two Cities pp. 37–41
  88. ^ Hamilton Religion on the Medieval West p. 33
  89. ^ Barber Two Cities pp. 33–34
  90. ^ Barber Two Cities pp. 48–49
  91. ^ Barber Two Cities pp. 60–67
  92. ^ Backman Worlds of Medieval Europe p. 160
  93. ^ Barber Two Cities pp. 74–76
  94. ^ Backman Worlds of Medieval Europe pp. 283–284
  95. ^ Barber Two Cities pp. 365–380
  96. ^ Backman Worlds of Medieval Europe pp. 262–279
  97. ^ Barber Two Cities pp. 371–372
  98. ^ Backman Worlds of Medieval Europe pp. 181–186
  99. ^ Jordan Europe in the High Middle Ages pp. 143–147
  100. ^ Jordan Europe in the High Middle Ages pp. 250–252
  101. ^ Backman Worlds of Medieval Europe pp. 187–189
  102. ^ Jordan Europe in the High Middle Ages pp. 59–61
  103. ^ Backman Worlds of Medieval Europe pp. 189–196
  104. ^ Backman Worlds of Medieval Europe p. 263
  105. ^ Backman Worlds of Medieval Europe pp. 286–289
  106. ^ Backman Worlds of Medieval Europe pp. 289–293
  107. ^ Kaufmann and Kaufmann Medieval Fortress pp. 268–269
  108. ^ a b Riley-Smith "Crusades" Middle Ages pp. 106–107
  109. ^ Payne Dream and the Tomb pp. 204–205
  110. ^ Lock Routledge Companion to the Crusades pp. 353–356
  111. ^ Lock Routledge Companion to the Crusades pp. 156–161
  112. ^ Backman Worlds of Medieval Europe pp. 299–300
  113. ^ Lock Routledge Companion to the Crusades p. 122
  114. ^ Lock Routledge Companion to the Crusades pp. 205–213
  115. ^ Lock Routledge Companion to the Crusades pp. 213–224
  116. ^ Backman Worlds of Medieval Europe pp. 232–237
  117. ^ Backman Worlds of Medieval Europe pp. 247–252
  118. ^ Loyn "Scholasticism" Middle Ages pp. 293–294
  119. ^ Colish Medieval Foundations pp. 295–301
  120. ^ Backman Worlds of Medieval Europe pp. 252–260
  121. ^ Backman Worlds of Medieval Europe pp. 237–241
  122. ^ Backman Worlds of Medieval Europe pp. 241–246
  123. ^ Backman Worlds of Medieval Europe p. 246
  124. ^ Barber Two Cities p. 68
  125. ^ Barber Two Cities p. 73
  126. ^ Adams History of Western Art pp. 181–189
  127. ^ Adams History of Western Art pp. 189–192
  128. ^ Adams History of Western Art pp. 195–216
  129. ^ Hamilton Religion in the Medieval West p. 47
  130. ^ a b Rosenwein Rhinoceros Bound pp. 40–41
  131. ^ Barber Two Cities pp. 143–144
  132. ^ Barber Two Cities pp. 145–147
  133. ^ Barber Two Cities pp. 155–167
  134. ^ Barber Two Cities pp. 185–192
  135. ^ Loyn "Famine" Middle Ages p. 128
  136. ^ Backman Worlds of Medieval Europe pp. 373–374
  137. ^ Backman Worlds of Medieval Europe p. 370
  138. ^ a b Schove "Plague" Middle Ages p. 269
  139. ^ Backman Worlds of Medieval Europe pp. 374–380
  140. ^ Watts Making of Polities pp. 201–219
  141. ^ Watts Making of Polities pp. 224–233
  142. ^ Watts Making of Polities pp. 233–238
  143. ^ Watts Making of Polities p. 166
  144. ^ Watts Making of Polities p. 169
  145. ^ Loyn "Hundred Years' War" Middle Ages p. 176
  146. ^ Watts Making of Polities pp. 180–181
  147. ^ Watts Making of Polities pp. 317–322
  148. ^ Watts Making of Polities pp. 170–171
  149. ^ a b Watts Making of Polities pp. 173–175
  150. ^ Watts Making of Polities pp. 327–332
  151. ^ a b Watts Making of Polities p. 340
  152. ^ Thomson Western Church pp. 170–171
  153. ^ Loyn "Avignon" Middle Ages p. 45
  154. ^ Loyn "Great Schism" Middle Ages p. 153
  155. ^ Thomson Western Church pp. 184–187
  156. ^ Thomson Western Church pp. 197–199
  157. ^ Thomson Western Church p. 218
  158. ^ Thomson Western Church pp. 213–217
  159. ^ Lindberg "Medieval Church Encounters" When Science & Christianity Meet p. 8
  160. ^ Grant God and Reason p. 9
  161. ^ quoted in the essay of Ted Peters about Science and Religion at "Lindsay Jones (editor in chief). Encyclopedia of Religion, Second Edition. Thomson Gale. 2005. p.8182"
  162. ^ a b Russell Inventing the Flat Earth pp. 49–58
  163. ^ Grant Planets, Stars, & Orbs pp. 626–630
  164. ^ Lindberg and Numbers "Beyond War and Peace" Church History

References

External links

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Singular Middle Ages Plural - Middle Ages
  1. In history, the Middle Ages is the period of time in Europe between the decline of the Roman Empire and the revival of letters (the Renaissance). Henry Hallam regards it as beginning with the sixth and ending with the fifteenth century.
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