In thehistory of Europe,theMiddle Agesormedieval period(also speltmediaevalormediæval) lasted from approximately 500 to 1500 AD. It is the second of the three traditional divisions of Western history:antiquity,medieval, andmodern.Major developments include the economic predominance of agriculture, exploitation of the peasantry, slow inter-regional communication, the importance ofpersonal relationshipsin power structures, and the weakness of state administration. The period is sometimes subdivided into theEarly,High,andLate Middle Ages,and the early medieval period is alternatively referred to as theDark Ages.
Population decline,counterurbanisation,the collapse of centralised authority, the mass migration oftribes(mainlyGermanic peoples), andChristianisation,which had begun inlate antiquity,continued into the Early Middle Ages. The movement of peoples led to thedisintegrationof theWestern Roman Empireand the rise ofnew kingdoms.In the post-Roman world, taxation declined, the army was financed through land grants, and the blending ofLater Romancivilisation and the invaders' traditions is well documented. TheEastern Roman Empire(or Byzantine Empire) survived, but lost theMiddle EastandNorth AfricatoMuslim conquerorsin the7th century.Although theCarolingian dynastyof theFranksreunited many of the Western Roman lands by the early9th century,theCarolingian Empirequickly fell apart into competing kingdoms which later fragmented into autonomous duchies and lordships.
During the High Middle Ages, which began after 1000, the population of Europe increased greatly as theMedieval Warm Periodallowed crop yields to increase, and technological andagricultural innovationsintroduced a "commercial revolution".Slaverynearly disappeared, and peasants could improve their status bycolonisingfaraway regions in return for economic and legal concessions. New towns developed from local commercial centers, and urban artisans united into localguildsto protect their common interests. Western church leaders acceptedpapal supremacytoget ridoflayinfluence, which accelerated the separation of the westernCatholicand easternOrthodox Churchesand triggered theInvestiture Controversybetween thepapacyand secular powers. With the spread ofheavy cavalry,a new aristocracy stabilised their position through strict inheritance customs. In the system offeudalism,nobleknightsowed military service to their lords in return for the lands they had received infief.Stone castleswere builtin regions where central authority was weak, but state power was on the rise by the end of the period. The settlement of Western European peasants and aristocrats towards the eastern and southern peripheries of Europe, often spurred bycrusades,led to the expansion ofLatin Christendom.The spread ofcathedral schoolsanduniversitiesstimulated a new method of intellectual discussion, with an emphasis on rational argumentation known asscholasticism.Masspilgrimagesprompted the construction of massiveRomanesquechurches, while structural innovations led to the development of the more delicateGothic architecture.
Calamities which included agreat famineand theBlack Death,which reduced the population by50 per cent,began the Late Middle Ages in the14th century.Conflicts between ethnic and social groupsintensifiedand local conflicts often escalated into full-scale warfare, such as theHundred Years' War.By the end of the period, the Byzantine Empire and theBalkanstateswere conquered bya new Muslim power: theOttoman Empire;in theIberian Peninsula,Christian kingdoms won theircenturies-old waragainst their Muslim neighbours. The prominence of personal faith is well documented, but theWestern Schismand dissident movements condemned asheresiespresented a significant challenge to traditional power structures in the Western Church.Humanistscholars began to emphasise human dignity, andEarly Renaissancearchitects and artists revived several elements of classical culture in Italy. During the last medieval century, naval expeditions in search for newtrade routesintroduced theAge of Discovery.
Terminology and periodisation
The Middle Ages is the second of the three major periods in the most enduring scheme of analysingEuropean history:antiquity,the Middle Ages and themodern era.[1]The ItalianLeonardo Bruni(d. 1444) was the first to use tripartiteperiodisationin 1442,[2]and it became standard with the German historianChristoph Cellarius(d. 1707).[note 1][4]The adjective "medieval", pertaining to the Middle Ages,[5]derives frommedium aevum( "middle age" ), aNeo-Latinterm first recorded in 1604.[6]It is also spelt "mediaeval" or "mediæval".[5][6]
It customarily spans the period betweenc. 500and 1500, but its start and end years are arbitrary.[7][8][9]A common starting point, first used by Bruni, is 476: the year the lastWestern Roman Emperorwas deposed.[2][10]As an alternative, the conversion of the Roman emperorConstantine the Great(r. 306–337) to Christianity is cited. There is no universally-agreed-upon end date; the most frequently-used dates include 1453 (thefall of Constantinople), 1492 (Christopher Columbus's first voyage to theAmericas), and 1517 (the beginning of theProtestant Reformation).[11]
Europe, according to historianMiri Rubin,"did not live to a single rhythm over this period".Christianisation,the conversion of Europe toChristianity,took place in waves, and(re)urbanisationbegan in different regions at different times.[9]Scholarly consensus characterises the period by the economic predominance of agriculture, exploitation of the peasantry, the importance ofinterpersonal relations—violence,patronage,kinship, andcharisma—in power structures, slow inter-regional communication, and a fragile state bureaucracy.[12]
Historians fromRomance language-speakingcountries tend to divide the Middle Ages into two parts: early ( "high" ) and late ( "low" ). English-speaking historians, following their German counterparts, generally subdivide the period into thirds:Early,High,andLate.[13]During the19th century,the Middle Ages were often known as theDark Ages;with the adoption of the three subdivisions in the early20th century,however, use of that term was restricted to the Early Middle Ages.[14]Historians who regard the Middle Ages as aEurocentricconcept tend to avoid its use inglobal history,although studies of "Medieval India",the" Muslim Middle Ages ", and similar subjects are not uncommon.[15][16]
Sources
Certain aspects of medieval society (including the lives ofwomenorslaves) are poorly documented, which limits a comprehensive study of the period.[17]The systematic publication of medieval written sources began with theRerum italicarum scriptoresbyLudovico Muratori(d. 1750), which was followed by similar series such as theMonumenta Germaniae HistoricainGermanyand theRolls Seriesin the United Kingdom. These large collections primarily containannals,chroniclesand other narrative sources focusing on the deeds of powerful men.[18]Professional historians treat medieval narratives cautiously, since they are often filled with distorted facts or unrealistic information.[19]Documents of state or church administration such asroyal chartersandchrysobullsare indispensable sources of medieval history, although many are forged.[20]Other written sources includegraffiti,seals,and letters.[21]
Since the 1950s,archaeologyhas significantly contributed to studying the history of poorly-documented regions, periods, and groups (such as peasantry);chronological dating,however, is still uncertain.[22][23]Legislation may influence archaeological research. New finds of coins andhoardsare frequently exhibited in jurisdictions with liberal regulation such as England and Wales, but in other countries (such as Italy) finds from unofficial excavations are seldom published.[24]Although medieval images and sculptures may provide useful information about everyday life, a critical approach is necessary; irony, satire, and anachronism were popular stylistic devices of medieval artists.[25]
Later Roman Empire
TheRoman Empirereached its greatest territorial extent during the2nd century AD,and the following two centuries saw the slow decline of Roman control of its outlying territories.[26]Runaway inflation, external pressure on the frontiers, andoutbreaks of plaguecombined to create theCrisis of the Third Century.[27]The army doubled in size[28]and military expenses steadily increased, primarily in response tothe warwith theSasanian Empire.[29]The need for revenue led to increased taxes, more centralised and bureaucratic state administration, and a decline in numbers of thecurial(landowning) class.[29][28]EmperorDiocletian(r. 284–305) split the empire into separately-administeredeasternandwestern halvesin 286. This system, which eventually had twoseniorand twojunior co-emperors(known as theTetrarchy) stabilised the imperial government for about two decades.[30]After aperiod of civil war,Constantine the Great restored internal peace and re-founded the city ofByzantiumas the eastern capital ofConstantinoplein 330.[31]
Roman society stabilised in a new form which differed from the earlierclassical period,with a widening gulf between rich and poor and a decline in the vitality of smaller towns.[32]Another change was theChristianisation of the Roman Empireaccelerated by the conversion of Constantine, although Christianity emerged as the empire's dominant religion only at the end of the4th century.[33]Debates aboutChristian theologyintensified, and those who persisted with theological views condemned at theecumenical councilsfaced persecution.Heretical viewssurvived through proselytising campaigns outside the empire or because of local ethnic-group support; examples includeArianismamong the Germanic peoples andmonophysitismin Egypt and Syria.[34][35]Judaismremained tolerated, although legislation limitedJewishrights.[36]
Theearly Christiansdevelopedtheir own symbolismby the3rd century,often by reinterpreting popular motifs of paganRoman art.[37]The solemnity of later Roman artists' abstract style effectively visualised Christian messages,[38]andChrist's enthroned figurebecame a principal element ofearly Christian art.[39]Under Constantine,basilicas(large halls which had been used for administrative and commercial purposes) were adapted for Christian worship.[40]The firstilluminated manuscripts—hand-written books decorated with colourful miniatures—were produced with the spread ofsilent readingin the5th century.[41]
Civil wars between rival emperors diverted soldiers from the empire's frontier forces, allowinginvadersto encroach beginning in the mid-4th century.[42]Although these movements of peoples have been described as "invasions", they were often not just military expeditions butmass migrationsinto the empire.[43]In 376, hundreds of thousands ofGothsfleeing from theHunsreceived permission from EmperorValens(r. 364–78) to settle in Roman territory in theBalkans.The settlement did not go smoothly and, when Roman officials mishandled the situation, the Goths began to raid and plunder. Valens, attempting to put down the disorder, was killed fighting the Goths at theBattle of Adrianople.[44]TheAlans,Vandals,andSuebicrossed intoGaulin 406, and into present-day Spain in 409; a year later, theVisigoths(a Gothic group)sacked the city of Rome.[45][46]TheFranks,Alemanni,and theBurgundiansended up in Gaul; the Germanic groups now collectively known asAnglo-Saxonssettled in Britain,[47]and the Vandals conquered theprovinceofAfrica.[48]The Hunnic kingAttila(r. 434–53) led invasions into the Balkans in 442 and 447, Gaul in 451 and Italy in 452, but hisHunnic confederationfell apart after his death.[49]
To deal with the migrations, the Eastern Roman elites combined the deployment of armed forces with gifts and grants of offices to the tribal leaders; the Western aristocrats failed to support the army and refused to pay tribute to prevent invasions by the tribes.[43]These invasions led to the division of the western part of the empire into smaller political units, ruled by the invading tribes.[50]The 5th-century emperors were often controlled by military strongmen such asStilicho(d. 408),Aetius(d. 454),Ricimer(d. 472), orOdoacer(d. 493), who were partly (or fully) non-Roman.[51]Odoacer deposedRomulus Augustulus(r. 475–76), the last western emperor, assumed the title ofrex(king) and took full control of Italy, although in theory he ruled as a representative of the eastern emperorZeno(r. 474–91).[52]The Eastern Roman Empire (known as the Byzantine Empire after the fall of its western counterpart) had little ability to control the lost western territories, but itsemperorsmaintained a claim on them.[53]
Early Middle Ages
Post-Roman kingdoms
In the post-Roman world, the fusion of Roman culture with the customs of the invading tribes is well documented.Popular assemblies,which allowed free male tribal members more say in political matters than had been common in the Roman state, developed into legislative and judicial bodies.[54]Much of the scholarly and written culture of the new political entities was based on Roman intellectual traditions.[55]Many no longer supported their armies through taxes, instead relying on granting them land or rent; with less need for large tax revenues, thetaxation systemsdeclined.[56]
In Britain, theCeltic Britons' culture had little impact on the Anglo-Saxon way of life, but the linguistic assimilation of the natives to the newcomers is evident. Byc. 600,new political centres emerged; some local leaders accumulated considerable wealth, and a number ofsmall kingdoms(such asWessexandMercia) were formed. Smaller kingdoms in present-dayWalesandScotlandwere still under the control of the native Britons andPicts.[57]Irelandwas divided into even smaller political units, perhaps as many as150 tribal kingdoms.[58]
TheOstrogothsmoved to Italy from the Balkans underTheoderic the Great(r. 493–526). He set upa kingdommarked by its co-operation between the natives and the conquerors. Power struggles between Romanised and traditionalist Ostrogothic groups followed his death, providing the opportunity for the Byzantines toreconquer Italy.[59]The Burgundians settled in Gaul, where they reorganisedtheir kingdom.[60]Elsewhere in Gaul, the Franks and Celtic Britons established stable polities.Franciawas centred in northern Gaul, and the first king about whom much is known isChilderic I(d. 481). Under his sonClovis I(r. 509–11), the founder of theMerovingian dynasty,the Frankish kingdom expanded and converted to Christianity.[61]Unlike other Germanic peoples, the Franks preferred mainstream Christianity to Arianism; this facilitated their cooperation with the nativeGallo-Romanaristocracy.[62]Britons fleeing fromBritannia—present-day Great Britain—settled in what is nowBrittany.[note 2][63]
Other monarchies were establishedby the Visigothsin theIberian Peninsula,the Suebiin northwestern Iberia,the VandalsinNorth Africa,[64]and theLombardsinnorthern Italy.[65]Coming from the Asian steppes, the nomadicAvarsconquered mostSlavic,Turkicand Germanic tribes in the lowlands along the lower and middle Danube by the end of the 6th century.[66]Another steppe people (theBulgars)defeateda Byzantine imperial army in 681 and established theFirst Bulgarian Empire,subjugating the local Slavic tribes near theDanube Delta.[67]
The settlement of peoples was accompanied by changes in language.Latin,the literary language of the Western Roman Empire, was gradually replaced byvernacularlanguages (which evolved from Latin) collectively known asRomance languages.Greek remained the language of the Byzantine Empire, but Slav migrations expanded the area ofSlavic languagesincentralandeastern Europe.[68]
Byzantine survival
The Eastern Roman Empire remained intact and experienced an economic revival which lasted into the early7th century.Political life was marked by closer relations between the political state and the Christian Church, with theological matters assuming an importance in Eastern politics that they did not have in Western Europe.[69]Legal developments included the codification ofRoman law;[70]the most comprehensive compilation, theCorpus Juris Civilis,was made under EmperorJustinian(r. 527–65).[71]The Byzantines regularly employedeunuchsfor administrative tasks or as guardians or tutors of women and children, since they considered castrated men exceptionally intelligent and loyal servants.[72]
Justinian nearly died during theNika riots,a popular revolt that destroyed half of Constantinople in 532. After crushing the revolt, he reinforced the autocratic elements of the imperial government and mobilised his troops against the western Arian kingdoms. The generalBelisarius(d. 565)seized North Africa from the Vandalsand attacked the Ostrogoths, but his campaign was interrupted by an unexpected Sasanian invasion from the east. Between 541 and 543, a deadlyoutbreak of plaguedecimated the empire. Justinian developed an extensive system of border forts to compensate for the lack of military personnel, but stopped maintaining thepublic roads.He resumed his expansionism in a decade, completing the conquest of the Ostrogothic kingdom and seizing much of southern Spain from the Visigoths.[73]
Justinian's re-conquests and building program have been criticised by historians for bringing his realm to the brink of bankruptcy, but many of the difficulties faced by his successors were due to other factors (including the massive expansion of the Avars and their Slav allies).[74]Eastern border defences collapsed during anew warwith the Sasanian Empire, and the Persians seized Egypt, Syria, and much ofAnatolia.The Avars, Slavs and Persiansattacked Constantinople in 626,but could not conquer it. EmperorHeraclius(r. 610–41) launched an unexpected counterattack against the heart of the Sassanian Empire two years later, recovering the territories previously lost to the Persians.[75]
Western society
In Western Europe, values attached toLatin scholarshipandeducationlargely disappeared. Although literacy remained important, it became a practical skill rather than an indication of status. By the late6th century,the principal means of religious instruction were music and art rather than books.[76]Most intellectual efforts imitated classical scholarship, but someoriginal workswere also created. The writings ofSidonius Apollinaris(d. 489),Cassiodorus(d.c. 585), andBoethius(d.c. 525) were typical of the age.[77]Aristocratic culture focused on great feasts rather than literary pursuits. Family ties among the elites were important, as were the virtues of loyalty, courage, and honour; these ties led to the prevalence of feuds in aristocratic society. Most feuds seem to have ended quickly, with the payment ofcompensation.[78]
Women participated in aristocratic society primarily as wives and mothers, with the mother of an underage ruler especially prominent in Francia. The lack of many child rulers in Anglo-Saxon society meant a lesser role for women as queen mothers, but this was countered by the increased role played byabbessesof monasteries.[79]Women's influence on politics was fragile, and early medieval authors tended to depict powerful women in a bad light.[note 3][81]Women were more respected in Scandinavian societies; aVikingwoman could demand compensation from her husband fordomestic violence,act as aseeress,or even command ships.[note 4][83]Women usually died at a considerably younger age than men, primarily due tocomplications at childbirth.The disparity in numbers between marriageable women and men led to the detailed regulation of legal institutions protecting women's interests, including their right to theMorgengabe( "morning gift" ).[84]Early medieval laws acknowledged a man's right to have long-term sexual relationships with women other than his wife (such asconcubines), but women were expected to remain faithful. Clerics censured sexual unions outside marriage, andmonogamyalso became the norm of secular law in the9th century.[85]
Landholdingpatterns were not uniform; some areas had greatly fragmented holdings but large, contiguous blocks of land were the norm in other areas. These differences permitted a wide variety of peasant societies, some dominated by aristocratic landholders and others with a great deal of autonomy.[86]Land settlement also varied greatly. Some peasants lived in large settlements with as many as700 inhabitants,and others on isolated farms.[87]Since legislation made a clear distinction between free and unfree, there was no sharp difference between the legal status of the free peasant and the aristocrat; it was possible for a free peasant's family to rise to the aristocracy through military service.[88]Demand for slaves was covered with warring and raids. After the Anglo-Saxons' conversion to Christianity, slave hunters mainly targeted the pagan Slav tribes; the English word "slave" derives fromslavicus,theMedieval Latinterm for Slavs.[89]Christian ethics brought about significant changes in the position of slaves during the 7th and 8th centuries, since their right to a more humane treatment was enacted.[90]
City life and culture were declining. Although the northern Italian cities remained inhabited, they decreased significantly in size.[note 5][92]Cities also shrank in northern Europe, and civic monuments and other public buildings were raided for building materials.[93]Jewish communities survived in Spain, southern Gaul and Italy. The Visigothic kings made concentrated efforts to convert theHispanic Jewsto Christianity, but the Jewish communityquickly revivedafter theMuslim conquest of Spain.[94]Muslim rulers employed Jewish courtiers,[95]but Christian legislation forbade the appointment of Jews to government positions.[96]
Rise of Islam
Religious beliefs were in flux along the Eastern Roman and Persian frontiers, as state-sponsored Roman missionaries proselytised among the pagan steppe peoples and the Persians made attempts to enforceZoroastrianismon the ChristianArmenians.[97]The emergence ofIslamin Arabia during the lifetime ofMuhammad(d. 632) brought about more radical changes. After his death, Islamic forces conqueredSyria,Persia,andEgypt.The Eastern Romans halted the Muslim expansion at Constantinople in674–78and717–18;in the west, Islamic troops conqueredNorth Africa,annihilatedthe Visigothic Kingdomin 711, and invadedsouthern Gaulbeginning in 713.[98]
The conquerors bypassed the mountainous northwestern region of the Iberian Peninsula and a small kingdom,Asturias,emerged as the centre of local resistance.[99]The defeat ofMuslimforces at theBattle of Toursin 732 led to the reconquest of southern France by the Franks, but the main reason for the halt of Islamic growth in Europe was the overthrow of theUmayyad Caliphateand its replacement by theAbbasid Caliphate.The Abbasids were concerned with the Middle East, losing control of portions of the Muslim lands in the west. Umayyad descendants took overAl-Andalus(or Muslim Spain), theAghlabidscontrolled North Africa, and theTulunidsbecame rulers of Egypt.[100]The Islamisation of the countryside in Al-Andalus was slow. Christians were regularly employed in state administration, but violent inter-religious conflicts could lead to their mass migration to the north.[101]Except for Byzantium, Muslim Spain was the only place in Europe where eunuchs played a preeminent role in administration and social life, holding positions such as guardians of religious shrines orharemservants.[102]
Trade and economy
As migrations and conquests disrupted trade networks throughout the old Roman lands, goods from long-range trade were replaced with local products. Non-local goods in the archaeological record are usually luxury goods or metal works.[103]In the 7th and8th centuries,new commercial networks were developing in northern Europe. Goods such as furs,walrus ivoryand amber were delivered from the Baltic region to western Europe, triggering the establishment oftollstations and conflicts over their control.[104]In the post-Roman kingdoms,base metalcoinagenearly ceased but bronze Roman coins remained in circulation. Although gold coins were struck, they were mainly used for extraordinary expenditures such as the purchase of land or luxury goods. A shift from gold coinage to the mint of silver pennies began in the late7th century,with the cessation of Byzantine subsidy payments to the Lombards and Franks. The elites' new emphasis on Christian charity also increased the demand for coins of lower value.[105]
The flourishing Islamic economies' constant demand for fresh labour force and raw materials opened a new market for Europec. 750.The continent emerged as a major supplier ofhouse slavesandslave soldiersfor Al-Andalus, northern Africa and theLevant.[106][107]In addition, timber, fur and arms were delivered from Europe to the Mediterranean; Europe imported spices, medicine, incense, and silk.[108]Large rivers, connecting distant regions, facilitated the expansion of transcontinental trade.[109]Contemporaneous reports indicate that Anglo-Saxon merchants visited fairs at Paris, pirates preyed on tradesmen on the Danube, and Eastern Frankish merchants reached as far asZaragozain Al-Andalus.[110]
Church life
The idea of Christian unity endured, although differences in ideology and practice between the Eastern and Western Churches were increasing.[111]Native Roman aversion to Arian conquerors reinforced the traditional Christian concept of theseparation of church and statein the west; this concept was alien to eastern clergymen, however, who regarded the Roman state as an instrument of divine providence.[111]After the Muslim conquests, Byzantine emperors could less effectively intervene in the west. WhenLeo III(r. 717–41) prohibited the display of paintings of human figures in places of worship, thepapacyrejectedhis claimto declare new dogmas with imperial edicts.[112]Although the Byzantine Church condemnediconoclasmin 843, issues such as the rivalry for ecclesiastic jurisdiction over newly-converted peoples and theunilateral modificationof theNicene Creedin the west widened to the extent that differences were greater than similarities.[113]In the west, thetithe(originally a voluntarily contribution) began to be levied as achurch taxon agrarian products during the10th century.[114]
Few westernbishopslooked to the papacy for leadership. The only part of Western Europe where the papacy had influence was Britain, whereGregory the Great(pope 590–604) had sent amissionto convert the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity.[115]Church attendance was low, and meetings with itinerant clergy andpilgrimagesto popular saints'shrineswere instrumental in religious education.[116]Irish missionarieswere most active in Western Europe between the 5th and7th centuries.[117]They were the first to use handbooks, known aspenitentials,to determine appropriate acts ofpenance—typically prayers andfasts—forsinners.They emphasisedsexual moralityand prescribed severe penances for adulterers,fornicatorsand those engaged in non-reproductive sexual acts (such ashomosexuals).[118]In contrast with official Christianity, theBogomilsin the Balkans condemned sexual reproduction because they considered Satan the creator of the physical universe.[119]
The Early Middle Ages saw the rise ofChristian monasticism.Monastic ideals spreadfrom Egyptinhagiographical literature,especially theLife of Anthony.Most European monasteries focused on community experience of the spiritual life, known ascenobitism.[120]The Italian monkBenedict of Nursia(d. 547) developed theBenedictine Rule,which was widely used in western monasteries.[121]In the east, monastic rules compiled byTheodore the Studite(d. 826) gained popularity after they were adopted in theGreat LavraonMount Athosduring the 960s.[122]
Monasteries had a deep effect on local society, acting asland trustsfor powerful families and centres of political authority;[123]they were the main (and sometimes only) outposts of education and literacy in a region. Many surviving manuscripts of the Latinclassicswere copied by monks.[124]Monks were also the authors of new works on history, theology, and other subjects by authors such asBede(d. 735), a native of northern England.[125]The Byzantine missionaryConstantine(d. 869) developedOld Church Slavonicas a newliturgical language,establishing the basis for a flourishing Slavic religious literature; a new script was adoptedc. 900,now known for Constantine'smonastic nameasCyrillic.[126]TheSaxonnunHrosvitha(d. 1000) wrote the first non-liturgical medieval dramas.[127][128]
In Western Christendom,layinfluence over church affairs reached its apex during the10th century.Aristocrats regarded the churches and monasteries undertheir patronageastheir personal property,andsimony—the sale of church offices—was a common practice. Simony aroused a general fear, since many believed that irregularly-appointed priests could not confer validsacramentssuch asbaptism.[129]Monastic communities were the first to react to this fear with rigorous observance of their rules. The establishment ofCluny AbbeyinBurgundyin 909 initiated a more radical change, since Cluny was freed from lay control and placed under the protection of the papacy. TheCluniac Reformsindicated that the reformist idea of the "Liberty of the Church"could be achieved with submission to the papacy.[130]
Carolingian Europe
The Merovingian kings customarily distributed Francia among their sons and destroyed their own power base with extensive land grants. In the northeastern Frankish kingdom ofAustrasia,theArnulfingswere the most prominent beneficiaries of royal favour. As hereditaryMayors of the Palace,they were the power behind the throne beginning in themid-7th century.One,Pepin of Herstal(d. 714), also assumed power in the central Frankish realm ofNeustria.His son,Charles Martel(d. 741), took advantage of the permanent Muslim threat to confiscate church property and raise troops by parcelling it out to the recruits.[131]
TheCarolingians,as Charles Martel's descendants are known, succeeded the Merovingians as the royal dynasty of Francia in 751. The Merovingian kingChilderic III(r. 743–51) was deposed that year, and Charles Martel's sonPepin the Short(r. 751–68) was crowned king with the consent of the Frankish leaders and the papacy. Pepin attacked the Lombards, enforcing their promise to respectpapal possessions.His subsequentdonation of central Italian territoriesto theHoly Seemarked the beginning of thePapal States.[132][133]
Pepin left his kingdom in the hands of his sons: Charles, more often known asCharlemagne(r. 768–814), andCarloman(r. 768–71). When Carloman died, Charlemagne reunited Francia and embarked on a programme of expansion. Hesubjugatedthe Saxons, conquered the Lombards, and created aborder provincein northern Spain.[134]Frankish troops alsodestroyedthe Avars, facilitating the development of small Slav principalities primarily ruled by ambitious warlords under Frankish suzerainty.[note 6][136]The coronation of Charlemagne as emperor on Christmas Day 800 marked the return of the Western Roman Empire, although the Byzantines did not recognise him as a second "emperor of the Romans".[137]
His empire was administered by an itinerant court that travelled with the emperor and about 300 imperial officials (known ascounts), who administered the empire'scounties.[138]The central administration supervised the counts with imperial emissaries, known asmissi dominici,who were roving inspectors and troubleshooters. The clerics of theroyal chapelwere responsible for recording important royal grants and decisions.[139]
Charlemagne's court was the centre of the cultural revival sometimes known as theCarolingian Renaissance.Literacy increased with development of the arts, architecture and jurisprudence, and liturgical and scriptural studies under the auspices of the Anglo-Saxon scholarAlcuin(d. 804). He developed ascript,presently known asCarolingian minuscule,which facilitated reading with the clear separation of words and the extensive use of punctuation. Charlemagne sponsored changes inchurch liturgy,imposing the Roman form of worship on his domains andGregorian chantin liturgical music for the churches.[140]
Breakup of the Carolingian Empire
Charlemagne continued the Frankish tradition of dividing his empire between his sons, but only one son –Louis the Pious(r. 814–40) – was still alive by 813. Louis's reign was marked by divisions of the empire among his sons and civil wars between various alliances of father and sons. Three years after his death, his three surviving sons divided the empire among themselves in theTreaty of Verdun.[141]A kingdom between theRhineandRhonerivers was created forLothair I(r. 817–55) to go with his lands inItaly,and his imperial title was recognised.Louis the German(r. 843–76) controlled the eastern lands in modern-day Germany.Charles the Bald(r. 843–77) received the western Frankish lands making up most of modern-day France.[142]Charlemagne's grandsons and great-grandsons divided their kingdoms among their descendants, eventually destroying all internal cohesion.[143]
There was a brief reunion of the empire byCharles the Fatin 884, although its units retained separate administrations.[144]By his death, early in 888, the Carolingians were close to extinction; non-dynastic claimants assumed power in most of the successor states, such as the Parisian countOdoin Francia (r. 888–98).[145]In the eastern lands, the dynasty ended with the death ofLouis the Child(r. 899–911) and the selection of theFranconiandukeConrad I(r. 911–18) as king.[146]The dynasty was restored in West Francia in 898 and 936, but the last Carolingians could not control the aristocracy. In 987, the dynasty was replaced with the crowning of powerful aristocratHugh Capet(r. 987–96) as king.[note 7][147]
Frankish culture and the Carolingian methods of state administration had a significant impact on neighboring peoples. Frankish threat triggered the formation of new states along the empire's eastern frontier:Bohemia,Moravia,andCroatia.[148]The breakup of the Carolingian Empire was accompanied by invasions, migrations, and raids by external foes. The Atlantic and northern shores were harassed by the Vikings, who alsoraided the British Islesand settled there. In 911, the Viking chieftainRollo(d.c. 931) received permission from the Frankish kingCharles the Simple(r. 898–922) to settle in present-dayNormandy.The eastern parts of the Frankish kingdoms, especially Germany and Italy, were under continualMagyar assaultuntil the invaders were defeated at theBattle of Lechfeldin 955.[149]In the Mediterranean, Arab pirates launched regular raids against Italy and southern France; the Aghlabidsconquered Sicily,and the Umayyads of Al-Andalus annexed theBalearic Islands.[150]
New kingdoms and Byzantine revival
The Viking settlement in the British Isles led to the formation of new political entities, including the small (but militant)Kingdom of Dublinin Ireland.[151]The Anglo-Saxon kingAlfred the Great(r. 871–99) reached an agreement withDanish invadersin 879, acknowledging the existence of an independentViking realmin Britain.[152][153]By the middle of the 10th century, Alfred's successors had restored Anglo-Saxon control of the territory.[154]In northern Britain,Kenneth MacAlpin(d.c. 860) united the Picts and theScotsinto theKingdom of Alba.[155]
TheOttonian dynastyestablished itself inGermanyin the early10th century,driving back the Magyars and fighting thedisobedient dukes.After an appeal by the widowed QueenAdelaide of Italy(d. 999) for protection,Otto I(r. 936–73) crossed the Alps into Italy, married the young widow and had himself crowned king inPaviain 951. His coronation asHoly Roman Emperorin Rome in 962 demonstrated his claim to Charlemagne's legacy.[156]Otto's successors remained keenly interested in Italian affairs, but the absentee German kings were unable to assert permanent authority over the local aristocracy.[157]In the Iberian Peninsula, theBasquefight for independenceled to the formation of theKingdom of Navarreand thecounts of Barcelonagained autonomy in the Carolingian border province. Asturias expanded slowly south, and continued as theKingdom of León.[158][159]
The Eastern European trade routes towards Asia were controlled by theKhazars.Their multi-ethnic empireresistedthe Muslim expansion, and their leaders converted to Judaism.[160]A new trade route developed at the end of the9th century,bypassing Khazar territory and connecting Central Asia with Europe acrossVolga Bulgaria;the local inhabitants converted to Islam.[161]Swedish traders and slave hunters ranged down the rivers of theEast European Plain,capturedKyivfrom the Khazars, and attempted to seize Constantinople in860and907.Contacts with Francia paved the way for missionary efforts by Christian clergy in Scandinavia, andChristianisationwas closely associated with the growth of centralised kingdoms inDenmark,Norway,andSweden.[162]Norse colonistssettled in Icelandand created apolitical systemthat hindered the accumulation of power by ambitiouschieftains.[163]
Byzantium revived under EmperorBasil I(r. 867–86) and his successorsLeo VI(r. 886–912) andConstantine VII(r. 913–59), members of theMacedonian dynasty.The imperial court was the centre of a rebirth of classical learning known as theMacedonian Renaissance.The military was reorganised, which allowed the emperorsJohn I(r. 969–76) andBasil II(r. 976–1025) to expand the empire's frontiers.[164]
Missionary efforts by Eastern and Western clergy resulted in the conversion of theMoravians,Danubian Bulgars,Czechs,Poles,Magyars, and the inhabitants of theKievan Rus'.[165]After Moravia fell due toMagyar invasionsc. 900,dukes of the CzechPřemyslid dynastyconsolidated authority in Bohemia.[166]InPoland,the destruction of old power centres accompanied the formation of the state under thePiast dukes.[167]InHungary,the princes of theÁrpád dynastyused extensive violence to crush opposition by rival Magyar chieftains.[168]TheRurikid princesof Kievan Rus' emerged as the rulers of East Europe's vast forest zones afterRus'raiders sacked the Khazar capital,Atil,in 965.[169]Bulgaria wasannexed bythe Byzantines between 971 and 1018.[148][170]
Architecture and art
Newbasilicaswere built in the major Roman cities and post-Roman kingdoms from the 4th to the 6th centuries.[note 8][171]Byzantine church architecture adopted an alternative model imitating the rectangular plan and thedomeof Justinian'sHagia Sophia,the largest single-roofed structure in the Roman world.[172]As the spacious basilicas became less useful with the decline of urban centres in the west, they gave way to smaller churches until the basilica form of architecture revived in the Carolingian Empire.[173]A new standard feature of Carolingian basilicas is the use of atransept:the "arms" of a T-shaped building which are perpendicular to the longnave.[174]In Al-Andalus, theGreat Mosque of Córdobabecame an extraordinary example ofMoorish architecture.[175]
Halls built of timber or stone were the centres of political and social life. Their design often adopted elements of later Roman architecture such aspilasters,columns, and sculptured discs.[note 9][176]After the disintegration of the Carolingian Empire, the spread of aristocratic castles indicates a transition from communal fortifications to private defence. Most castles were wooden structures, but the wealthiest lords built stone fortresses.[note 10]One or more towers (now known askeeps) were their most characteristic features, but castles often developed into multi-functional compounds withdrawbridges,fortified courtyards,cisternsor wells, halls, chapels, stables and workshops.[178]
Gold pouring into the tribal leaders from the Roman Empire was regularly remoulded into new artifacts, such as massive necklaces and eagle-shapedfibulae,by local goldsmiths. Their unrealistic style, often influenced by Iranianpolychromeandcloisonnémetal works, was introduced into Roman territory by the invading peoples.[179]Artisans working for post-Roman elites developed a distinct, abstract design characterised by ribbons and highly-stylisedanimal motifs.[180]Literary workssuch as theOld Englishepic poemBeowulfand the Nordicsagasrefer to great royal treasures, but only a few of them survived; they includedgrave goodsfrom Childeric's tomb atTournaiand the rich Anglo-Saxon burial atSutton Hoo.Religious art quickly assimilated several elements of secular style, such asstrapworkornamenting and extensive segmentation.[181]Paintings have mostly survived in richly-decoratedGospel Books,including theBook of Kellsand theLindisfarne Gospels—two examples of theInsular artof Ireland and Northumbria.[note 11][183]
TheHellenistictradition of realistic portrayal survived in the Mediterranean.[184]Although the iconoclastic movement restrictedByzantine art,theiconophiles'triumph paved the way for anartistic renewal.[note 12][186]The more naturalistic Mediterranean style was an important inspiration for western artists under Charlemagne, who considered the visual arts a powerful instrument of education and propaganda.[187]After a long pause,Carolingian artrediscovered the human figure and Western artists often depicted people in illuminatedcodices.[note 13]These were often protected bysumptuous book coversmade of gold, pearls, andpolished gemstones.[188]Charlemagne's court seems to have been responsible for the acceptance of figurativemonumental sculptureinChristian art[189]and, by the end of the period, near-life-sized figures such as theGero Crosswere common in important churches.[190]In England,book illuminatorsfreely enriched their Insular heritage with Carolingian motifs such as sprigs of foliage. In post-Carolingian Germany, manuscripts illustrated with lively pictorial cycles indicate the impact of contemporary Byzantine art onOttonian artists.In Christian Spain, artists adoptedIslamic decorativemotifs such asKuficletters andMoorish arches.[191]
Military and technology
The creation of heavily-armouredcataphract-type soldiers as cavalry was an important feature of the later Roman military, although the deployment of highly-specialised troops continued. The invading tribes had different emphases on types of soldiers, ranging from the primarily-infantry Anglo-Saxon invaders of Britain to the Vandals and Visigoths, who had a high proportion of cavalry in their armies.[192]The greatest change in military affairs was the adoption of the Hunniccomposite bowin place of the weakerScythiancomposite bow.[193]The Avarheavy cavalryintroduced the use ofstirrupsin Europe,[194]and it was adopted by Byzantine cavalrymen before the end of the6th century.[195]Another development was the increasing use oflongswordsand the progressive replacement ofscale armourbymailandlamellar armour.[196]
The importance of infantry and light cavalry began to decline during the early Carolingian period with the increasing dominance of elite heavy cavalry, although a large proportion of the armies appear to have beenmounted infantryrather than true cavalry.[197]The use ofmilitia-type leviesof the free population declined. One exception was Anglo-Saxon England, where the armies were still composed of regional levies known as thefyrd.[198]In military technology, one of the main changes was the reappearance of thecrossbowas a military weapon.[199]A technological advance with implications beyond the military was thehorseshoe,which allowed horses to be used in rocky terrain.[200]
High Middle Ages
Society
Betweenc. 950and 1060, severe droughts struck the Middle East and theEurasian Steppeexperienced anomalous cold. The ensuing famines led to riots and military coups in the Byzantine Empire, the Abbasid Caliphate, and Egypt, and forced masses of nomadic Turks to seek new pasture lands inIraq,Anatolia, and the Balkans. Their influx caused much destruction, and culminated in the establishment of theSeljuk Empirein the Middle East.[201]In contrast, a period ofpopulation expansionbegan in Europe and its estimated population grew from 35 to 80 million betweenc. 1000and 1347. The exact causes remain unclear, and improved agricultural techniques,assarting(bringing new lands into production), amore clement climate,and the lack of invasions have been suggested.[202][203]
Feudalismregulated fundamental social relations in many parts of Europe. In this system, a lord granted property—typically land—to avassalin return for services (primarily military) rendered.[204][205]In other parts of Europe such as Germany, Poland, andHungary,inalienableallodsremained the dominant forms of landholding. Their owners owedhomageto the king or a higher-ranking aristocrat, but their landholding was free of feudal obligations.[206][207]In the Byzantine Empire and the Balkan states, thepronoiasystem—landholding with limited rights—benefited the military aristocracy.[208]
Most medieval Western thinkers divided society into threefundamental classes:the clergy, thenobility,and thecommoners.Commoners, about 98 per cent of the total population, were mainly rural peasants and artisans. The number of townspeople was growing, but never exceeded 10 per cent of the total population.[209][210]Many peasants were no longer settled on isolated farms but had gathered into more-defensible small communities, usually known as manors or villages.[202][211]In the system ofmanorialism,a manor was the basic unit of landholding; it consisted of smaller components, such as parcels held by peasant tenants and the lord'sdemesne.[212]As churchmen prohibited the enslavement of coreligionists, a new form of dependency (serfdom) almost completely supplanted slavery by the late11th century.Unlike slaves, serfs hadlegal capacityand their hereditary status was regulated by agreements with their lords. Restrictions on their activities varied, but their freedom of movement was customarily limited and they usually owedcorvées(labour services).[213][214]Peasants left their homelands in return for economic and legal privileges, typically lower taxes, and the right to administer justice in their communities. Cross-border peasant movement had radical demographic consequences, such as the eastwardspread of German settlements.[215]
With the development of heavy cavalry, the uniform class of free warriors split into two groups. Those who could equip themselves as mountedknightswere integrated into the traditional aristocracy, and the others were assimilated into the peasantry.[216]The new elite's position was stabilised through the adoption of strict inheritance customs, such asprimogeniture:the eldest son's right to inherit the family domains undivided.[217]Nobles were stratified in the land and people over whom they had authority; the lowest-ranking nobles did not hold land, and had no vassals.[note 14][219]The nobility was never a closed group; kings could raise commoners to the aristocracy, wealthy commoners could marry into noble families, and impoverished aristocrats could lose their privileged status.[220]Western aristocrats often moved to the peripheries of Latin Christendom with the support of local rulers who appreciated their military skills or as conquerors.[note 15]French-speaking noblemen mainly settled in the British Isles, southern Italy or Iberia, and German aristocrats preferred Central and Eastern Europe.[222]
The clergy was divided into two types. Thesecular clergycared for believers' spiritual needs and mainly served inparish churches,and theregular clergylived under a religious rule as monks,canons,orfriars.[223]The introduction ofclerical celibacy—the ban on priestly marriage—distinguished Catholic clergy from the laity.[224]Church courtshad exclusive jurisdiction over marital affairs,[225]and church authorities supported popularpeace movementsin the west.[226]Laypeople were obliged toconfesstheir sins to a priest at least once a year beginning in the early13th century,which reinforced priestly control of their lives.[227]
Women were officially required to be subordinate to some male: their father, husband, or other kinsman. Women's work generally consisted of household or other domestic tasks, such as child care. Peasant women could supplement the household income by spinning or brewing at home, and they did field-work at harvest time.[228]Townswomen could engage in trade, but often only by right of their husband; unlike their male competitors, they were not always allowed to train apprentices.[229]Noblewomen could inherit land in the absence of a male heir, but their potential to give birth was considered their principal virtue.[230]Since women were notordainedpriests, the only roles open to them in the church were asnuns.[231]
Economic revival
The expansion of population, greater agricultural productivity, and relative political stability laid the foundations for thecommercial revolutionin the 11th century.[232]People with surplus cash began investing in commodities such as salt, pepper, silk, wine and honey in faraway markets.[233][234]Rising trade brought new methods of dealing with money and gold coinage was again minted in Europe, firstin FlorenceandGenoa.New forms of commercial contracts emerged, allowing risk to be shared within the framework ofpartnershipsknown ascommendaorcompagnia.[235]Bills of exchangealso appeared, enabling the easy transmission of money. Since many types of coins were in circulation,money changersfacilitated transactions between local and foreign merchants. Loans could be negotiated with them, which gave rise to the development of credit institutions known as banks.[236]
As local commercial centres developed into towns, economic growth caused a new wave of urbanisation. Kings and aristocrats primarily supported the process in the hope of increased tax revenues.[237]Most urban communities received privileges acknowledging their autonomy, but few cities could eliminate all elements of external control.[238]Townspeople engaged in the same trade or profession were united in confraternities known asguilds.These associations typically made rules governing quality, training, and pricing, and only their members had access to local markets.[239][240]
The Italianmaritime republics,such asAmalfi,Venice,Genoa,andPisa,were the first to profit from the revival of commerce in the Mediterranean.[232]In the north, German merchants established associations known ashansasand controlled trade routes connecting the British islands and theLow Countrieswith Scandinavia and Eastern Europe.[note 16][242]Trading fairswere established and flourishedin northern France,allowing Italian and German merchants to trade with one another and with local merchants.[243]
Economic growth provided opportunities for Jewish merchants to spread throughout Europe with the support of local rulers.[244]Jews could not engage in prestigious trades outside their communities, and often took low-status jobs such as ragmen or tax collectors.[245]They were especially active in moneylending, because they could ignore the Christian clerical condemnation of loan interest.[246]Jewish moneylenders and pawn brokers led toantisemitismwhich manifested itself in theblood libelandpogroms.Church authorities' growing concerns about Jewish influence on Christian life inspired legal segregation[note 17]and theexpulsion of the Jews from England.[248]
Church reforms
Papal electionswerecontrolled byRoman aristocrats during the early 11th century, but EmperorHenry III(r. 1039–56) broke their power and placedreform-mindedclerics on the papal throne. With popular support, they achieved the acknowledgement of their jurisdiction in church affairs in many parts of Europe.[249]Thehead of the Byzantine Church,PatriarchMichael I Cerularius(d. 1059), refusedpapal supremacyand was excommunicated by apapal legatein 1054. After a series of mutual excommunications, thisEast–West Schismled to the separation of theRoman CatholicandEastern Orthodox Churches.[250][251]
Layinvestiture—the appointment of clerics by secular rulers—was condemned at a 1059 assembly of bishops in Rome.[252]Henry's son and successorHenry IV(r. 1056–1105) wanted to preserve the right to appoint his own choices asprelatesin his lands, but his appointments outragedPope Gregory VII(pope 1073–85). Their quarrel developed into theInvestiture Controversy,also involving other powers because kings did not relinquish control of appointments to bishoprics or abbeys voluntarily. All conflicts ended with a compromise—in the case of the Holy Roman Emperors, with the 1122Concordat of Worms.[note 18][254][255]
The High Middle Ages was a time of great religious movements.[256]Old pilgrimage sites such as Rome, Jerusalem, andCompostelareceived increasing numbers of visitors, and new sites such asMonte GarganoandBarirose to prominence.[257]Popular movements emerged to support the implementation of church reform, but theiranticlericalismsometimes led to the rejection ofCatholic dogmaby radical groups such as theWaldensiansandCathars.[258][259]To suppress heresies, the popes appointed special commissioners of investigation known asinquisitors.[260]Monastic reforms continued; the Cluniac monasteries' ceremonies were alien to those who preferred the simplerhermeticalmonasticism of early Christianity, or wanted to live an "apostoliclife "of poverty and preaching. New monastic orders were established, including theCarthusiansand theCistercians.In the 13th century,mendicant orderswho earned their living by begging (theFranciscansand theDominicans) were approved by the papacy.[261]
Individuals who were thought to receive divinerevelationsmight present a challenge to clerical monopolies, but most respected official doctrines. Thevenerationof popularmystics,such asFrancis of Assisi(d. 1226), was oftensanctionedby church authorities.[262]Many popular mystics were women.[263]Among them, the nunHildegard of Bingen(d. 1179/80) was a prolific and highly-respected scholar who proudly said that "no man can be made without a woman".[note 19][265][264]Jewish mysticismculminated in the compilation of theZohar,a 13th-century summary ofkabbalisticteaching.[266]
Rise of state power
The High Middle Ages saw the development of institutions that would dominate political life in Europe beyond the late18th century.[267]The kings' right to rule without a foreign power's intercession became widely accepted, introducing the idea ofstate sovereignty.[note 20][269]The concept ofhereditary monarchywas strengthening,[270]and the firstqueens regnantassumed power as female succession was recognised in most countries.[note 21][272]Thechanceryemerged as the central office of royal government and acourt of appeals.[273]Taxation quickly developed, because revenues from the royal domains could no more cover state expenditures. Extraordinary taxes were initially levied for military purposes, but by the end of the period taxes were collected more regularly.[274]Effective taxation depended on consent which reinforced the role ofrepresentative assemblies,allowing them to exert influence on state administration.[275][276]
The papacy, long attached to an ideology of independence from secular influence, first asserted its claim to temporal authority over the Christian world.[277]ThePapal Monarchyreached its zenith under the pontificate ofInnocent III(pope 1198–1216).[278]As rulers of much of central Italy and feudal overlords of some of the Catholic rulers, the popes became deeply involved in secular politics.[279]Sicily and southern Italy had beenseizedbyNormanwar bands from the local Lombard,ByzantineandMuslim rulersbetween 1016 and 1091, andRoger II(r. 1105–54) united the Norman principalities into theKingdom of Sicily.[280]
In theHoly Roman Empire,the Ottonians were replaced by theSaliansin 1024. They protected the lesser nobility to reduce ducal power, and seizedBurgundybefore clashing with the papacy underHenry IV.[281]After an interval from 1125 and 1137, theHohenstaufenssucceeded the Salians. Their recurring conflicts with the papacy allowed the northern Italian cities and theGerman princesto extort considerable concessions from them. In 1183,Frederick IBarbarossa(r. 1155–90)sanctionedthe right of theLombard citiesto elect their leaders; the princes' autonomy wasrecognisedduring the reign of his grandson,Frederick II(r. 1220–50).[282]Frederick II'sefforts to dominate Italy eventually led to the fall of his dynasty.[note 22]In Germany, a period of interregnum civil war began during which Sicily—Frederick's maternal inheritance—was seized by the ambitious French princeCharles I of Anjou(r. 1266–85).[284]During the civil war, the right of sevenprince-electorsto elect the king was reaffirmed.Rudolf of Habsburg(r. 1273–91), the first German king to be elected after the interregnum, realised that he could not control the whole empire. He grantedAustriato his sons, establishing the basis for theHabsburgs' future dominance in central Europe.[285][286]After his death, three Alpine peasant communities formed theSwiss Confederacyto defend their judicial autonomy against his kinsmen.[287][288]
The French monarchy slowly began to expand its authority over the nobility.[289]The kings faced a powerful rival in theDukes of Normandy,who conquered England in 1066 underWilliam the Conqueror(r. 1035–87). The cross-channel empire further expanded whenHenry II(r. 1154–89) of theAngevin dynastyascended the throne, since he had seized large areas of France through inheritance and marriage.[note 23][291]The firstAnglo-Norman lordshipsin Ireland were established during his reign.[292]TheAngevin Empireremained intact under his sonRichard I(r. 1189–99), but Richard's brotherJohn(r. 1199–1216)lostthe northern French possessions to the French kingPhilip II Augustus(r. 1180–1223).[293]John's financial exactions to pay for his unsuccessful attempts to regain Normandy led to the 1215Magna Carta,a charter that confirmed the rights and privileges of free men in England.[294]In France, Philip Augustus's sonLouis VIII(r. 1223–26) distributed large portions of his father's conquests among his younger sons asappanages—virtually independent provinces—to facilitate their administration.[295]His sonLouis IX(r. 1226–70) improved local administration by appointing inspectors, known asenquêteurs,to oversee the royal officials' conduct. Theroyal court at Parisbegan hearing litigants in regular sessions almost year-round.[296]
The Iberian Christian states began to push back against the Islamic powers in the south, a period known as theReconquista.[297]After a number of divisions and reunifications of the Christian states, the Christian north had coalesced into the four kingdoms ofCastile,Aragon,Navarre,andPortugalby 1230.[298][299]Aragon emerged as a naval power, conqueringSicilyfrom theItalian AngevinsandSardiniafrom the Genoese.[300][301]Southern Iberia remained under the control of Islamic states, initially under theCaliphate of Córdoba(which broke up in 1031 into a shifting number of petty states known astaifas). Although theAlmoravidsand theAlmohads(two dynasties from theMaghreb) established centralised rule of southern Iberia in the 1110s and 1170s respectively, their empires quickly disintegrated and allowed further expansion of the Christian kingdoms.[302]The Catholic Scandinavian states also expanded; the Norwegian kings assumed control of the Norse colonies in Iceland andGreenland,Denmark seizedparts of Estonia,and the Swedes conqueredFinland.[303]
In the east, Kievan Rus'fell apartinto independent principalities. Among them, the northernVladimir-Suzdalemerged as the dominant power after Suzdalian troopssacked Kyivin 1169.[304]Poland alsodisintegratedinto autonomous duchies, enabling the Czech kings to expand in the prosperousDuchy of Silesia.[305]The kings of Hungary seizedCroatia,but respected the liberties of the native aristocracy. They claimed (but only periodically achieved) suzerainty over other lands and peoples such asDalmatia,Bosnia,and the nomadicCumans.[306]The Cumans supported the Bulgarians andVlachsduring theiranti-Byzantine revoltthat led to the restoration ofBulgariain the late12th century.[307]West of Bulgaria,Serbiagained independence.[308]
With the rise of theMongol Empirein theEurasian SteppeunderGenghis Khan(r. 1206–27), a new expansionist power reached Europe.[309]The Mongols conquered Volga Bulgaria, shattered the Rus' principalities, and laid waste to large regions in Poland, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia and Bulgariabetween 1236 and 1242.Their commander-in-chief,Batu Khan(r. 1241–56)—a grandson of Genghis Khan—set up his capital inSaraion the Volga, establishing theGolden Horde:a virtually-autonomous Mongol state. The Mongols extracted heavy tribute from the Rus' principalities, and the Rus' princes had to ingratiate themselves with the Mongol khans for economic and political concessions.[note 24][311]Under Mongol pressure, theAnatolian Seljuk Sultanatedisintegrated into small (but often aggressive)Turkic lordshipssuch as the one ruled by theOttoman clanon the Byzantine border.[312]The Mongol conquest was followed by apeaceful periodin eastern Europe, facilitating the development of direct trade contacts between Europe and China through newGenoese coloniesin the Black Sea region.[313]The new land and sea routes to the Far East weredescribed bythe traderMarco Polo(d. 1324).[232]
Crusades
Clashes with secular powers led to the militarisation of the papacy. In response to a Byzantine appeal for military aid against the Seljuk Turks,Urban II(pope 1088–99) proclaimed theFirst Crusadeat theCouncil of Clermont.He declared the liberation of Jerusalem as its ultimate goal, and offeredindulgence—the remission of sins—to all who took part.[314]Tens of thousands of commonersformed loosely-organised bandsto march to the east. They lived by looting, and attacked Jewish communities. Few of them reached Anatolia, and those who succeeded wereannihilatedby the Turks.[315]The official crusade departed in 1096 under the command of prominent aristocrats such asGodfrey of Bouillon(d. 1100) andRaymond of Saint-Gilles(d. 1105). The crusaders defeated the Turks in major battlesat DorylaeumandAntioch,allowing the Byzantines to recover western Anatolia. The westerners consolidated their conquests in the Middle East intocrusader states,but their security depended on external military assistance (which led to further crusades).[316]Muslim resistance was raised by ambitious warlords such asSaladin(d. 1193), whocaptured Jerusalemin 1187.[317]New crusades prolonged the crusader states' existence for another century, until the last strongholds fell to theMamluks of Egyptin 1291.[318]
The papacy also used the crusading ideology in othertheaters of war.[319]The Iberian crusades became fused with theReconquista,and reduced Al-Andalus to theEmirate of Granadaby 1248. The German and Scandinavian rulers' expansion against the neighbouringpagantribes developed into theNorthern Crusades,forcing the assimilation of a number of Slavic,BalticandFinnicpeoples into the culture of Catholic Europe.[320]TheFourth Crusadewas diverted from the Holy Land to Constantinople andcaptured the cityin 1204, setting up aLatin Empirein the east.Michael VIII Palaiologos(r. 1259–82), ruler of a Byzantinerump state,[note 25]recaptured the city in 1261 butparts of Greeceremained under western rule.[321][322]TheAlbigensian Crusade,against the Cathars ofOccitania,provided an opportunity for the French monarchyto expand into the region.[323]
With its unique ceremonies and institutions, thecrusading movementbecame a leading element of medieval life.[note 26]A crusader oath could be fulfilled with a cash paymentbeginning in 1213,which gave rise to the sale ofplenary indulgencesby church authorities.[325]The crusades fused monastic life with military service in the framework of a new type of monastic order, themilitary order,including theKnights Templar,theHospitallersand theTeutonic Knights.[326][327]The Teutonic Knights focused much of their activity in the Baltic, where they foundedtheir own statein 1226.[328]
Intellectual life
Cathedral chapterswere expected to operate a school beginning in the late11th century,and the more-lenientcathedral schoolsquickly marginalised the traditionalmonastic schools.Schools reaching the highest level of mastery in the disciplines they taught received the rank ofstudium generale,oruniversity,from the pope or the Holy Roman Emperor.[329][330]The new educational institutions encouraged scholarly discussion.[331]Debates between therealistsand thenominalistsabout the concept of "universals"were especially heated. Philosophical discourse was stimulated by the rediscovery ofAristotle(d.322 BC), theAncient Greek philosopher,and his emphasis onempiricismandrationalism.Scholars such asPeter Abelard(d. 1142) andPeter Lombard(d. 1164) introducedAristotelian logicinto theology.[332]Scholasticism(a new method of intellectual discourse and pedagogy) required the study of authoritative texts, notably theVulgateandpatristicliterature, but references to them could no longer override rational arguments.[333]Scholastic academics summarised their (and other authors') views on specific subjects in comprehensive sentence collections known assummae,including theSumma TheologicabyThomas Aquinas(d. 1274).[334]
Chivalryand the ethos ofcourtly lovedeveloped in royal and noble courts. This culture was expressed in thevernacular languages,rather than Latin, and consisted of poems, stories, legends, and popular songs. Often the stories were written down inchansons de geste(songs of great deeds), glorifying their male heroes' often-brutal acts, includingThe Song of RolandandThe Poem of the Cid.Chivalric romancepraised chaste love, and eroticism was primarily expressed in poems bytroubadours.[335][336]Chivalric literature was inspired byclassical mythologyand the Celtic legends of theArthurian cyclecollected byGeoffrey of Monmouth(d.c. 1155).[337]Other literary genres included spiritualautobiographies,chronicles, philosophical poems, andhymns.[note 27][338]Theatre developed inmystery plays,but comicfarcessuch as those byAdam de la Halle(d. 1287/88) also became popular.[339]
The 11th-century discovery of a copy of theCorpus Juris Civilispaved the way for the systematic study of Roman law atBologna,which led to the recording and standardisation of legal codes throughout Western Europe.[note 28]Around 1140, the monk Gratian (fl. 12th century)—a teacher at Bologna—wrote what became the standard text ofecclesiastical lawin Catholic Europe: theDecretum Gratiani.[342]Greek and Islamic influence replacedRoman numeralswith thedecimalpositional number system,and the invention ofalgebraallowed more-advanced mathematics. Astronomy benefited from the translation ofPtolemy'sAlmagestfrom Greek into Latin. Medicine was studied, especially in southern Italy, where Islamic medicine influenced theschool at Salerno.[343]
Architecture and the arts
Encastellationcontinued, with stone fortresses built in regions where central authority was weak.[344]Many weremotte-and-baileystructures, butBergfriede(tower castles) were preferred in central Europe and competing urban families built tall towers in Italian cities and towns.[note 29][346]The great pilgrimages encouraged the construction of large churches along pilgrimage routes.[note 30]This led to the development of stone architecture which resembled classical Roman building design and is known asRomanesque.Romanesque buildings have massive stone walls decorated with sculpture inreliefand are typically covered bybarrel,groinorrib vaults,[348]but they have a number of regional variants.[349]Traditional Byzantine religious architecture remained dominant in the Balkans, although some Serbian churches have a Romanesque influence.[note 31][351]
Romanesque art (especially metalwork) was at its most sophisticated inMosan art,in which distinct artistic personalities—includingNicholas of Verdun(d. 1205)—became apparent, and an almost-classical styleis seen in works such as afont at Liège.[352]Few wall paintings survive, although references to images abound in written sources. The employment of itinerant artists, and the use ofsketchesofmuralsfacilitated the transmission of artistic motifs over long distances.[note 32]Embroideryflourished; churches and castles were decorated bytapestries,and clerical vestments were adorned withneedleworkimages.[354]
Structural innovations introduced the evolution ofGothic architecturefrom Romanesque. They includedpointed archesto reduce lateral thrust,flying buttressesto reinforce walls, and rib vaults to minimise theirstaticimportance. The new solutions allowed the extensive use of largestained glasswindows.[355]Gothic architecture emerged during the reconstruction of theSaint-Denis Abbey,near Paris, under AbbotSuger(d. 1151).[356][357]The new style quickly spread, dominating religious architecture in much of Catholic Europe until the end of the Middle Ages.[note 33][360]
Manuscript illuminationgradually moved from monasteries to lay workshops, and thebook of hoursdeveloped as a form of devotion for laypeople.[361]Metalwork continued as the most prestigious form of art, withLimoges enamela popular and relatively-affordable option.[362]In Italy, the innovations ofCimabue,Duccio,and theTrecentomasterGiotto(d. 1337) greatly increased the sophistication and status ofpanel paintingandfresco.[363]Increasing prosperity during the12th centuryresulted in greater production of secular art; manycarved-ivoryobjects such as gaming pieces, combs, and small religious figures have survived.[364]
Technology and the military
Technology developed primarily in minor innovations and the adoption of advanced technologies from Asia with Muslim mediation.[365]Major technological advances included the first mechanical clocks and convexspectacles,and the manufacture ofdistilled spirits.[366][367]In Europe, horizontal treadleloomswere introduced in the11th century;windmillswere first built after 1100, andspinning wheelsappearedc. 1200.[366][368]Large scale construction projects advanced building technology, and increased demand for raw materials like timber, stone, and bricks.[369]Shipbuilding improved with the use of therib-and-plankmethod rather than the Roman system ofmortise and tenon.Other improvements to ships includedlateensails and thestern-post rudder,both of which increased sailing speed.[370]Theastrolabeandcompassallowed navigation at a great distance from shore.[371]
The development of a three-fieldrotation systemfor crops increased land use by over30 per cent,with a consequent increase in production.[372]The improvement of theploughallowed heavier soils to be farmed more efficiently. The spread ofhorse collarsled to the use ofdraught horses,who required less pasture than oxen.[373]Legumes such as peas, beans, and lentils were grown more widely, in addition to cereal crops.[374]
In military affairs, the use of specialised infantry increased. Along with the still-dominant heavy cavalry, armies often included mounted and infantrycrossbowmen,sappersand engineers.[375]Crossbow use increased, partly because of the increase insiegewarfare.[note 34][199]This led to the use of closed-facehelmets,heavy body armour, andhorse armour.[377]In contrast, the Mongols remained lightly-armoured steppe horsemen even after they adopted Chinese military devices.[note 35]The extensive use of spies for reconnoitering enemy land was a prominent factor in their successful military campaigns.[379]
Late Middle Ages
Society and economy
The average annual temperature began decliningc. 1200,gradually introducing theLittle Ice Age.Climate anomalies caused agricultural crises, culminating in theGreat Famine of 1315–1317.[380]Starving peasants slaughtered their draft animals, and survivors had to make extraordinary efforts to revive farming.[381]This was followed in 1346 by theBlack Death,apandemicthat spread throughout Europe and killed about one-third of the population. As plague continued to strike Europe until 1400, its total population fell by about50 percent.[note 36][382]
The trauma of the plague led topogroms against the Jewsand the self-mortification offlagellants.[384]Peasants who survived the pandemic paid lower rents to landlords, but demand for agricultural products declined and lower prices barely covered their costs. Urban workers received higher salaries, but were heavily taxed. Governments occasionally tried to raise rural rents or keep urban salaries low, provokingpopular uprisingswhich included theJacqueriein France, thePeasants' Revoltin England, and theCiompi RevoltinFlorence.[385]Conflict polarised ethnic groups, and local statutes prohibited intermarriage and limited guild membership along ethnic lines.[note 37][387]Private feuds were almost permanent in politically-fragmented regions, and local skirmishes often escalated into full-scale warfare.[388]
Labour services owed by peasants for their land tenure were often changed into cash rent, providing landlords with a stable source of income. Landlords joined to extort privileges from their governments, but royal administrations began to protect the interests of the poor.[389]Serfdom was officially abolished in many places,[390]although in other regions (primarily central and eastern Europe) it was imposed on tenants who had been free.[391]The rise of banking continued, fuelled partly by the cross-border movement of papal revenues with the mediation of large merchant houses. They also loaned money to warring royalty at great risk, and some were bankrupted when kings defaulted on loans.[note 38][393]
The Jewish communities were permanently expelled from France and, provisionally, from most German cities and principalities. In contrast, Hungarian and Polish rulers encouraged the immigration of Jewish moneylenders.[394]Massive pogromsled to the mass conversion of Spanish Jews in 1391. The "new Christians"were suspected of heresy, and theSpanish Inquisitionwas established to test their faith. Jews who refused to convert were exiledfrom Spainin 1492, andfrom Portugalin 1497. Most Spanish Jews left forthe Ottoman Empire.[395][396]
State resurgence
Although the growth of central governments continued, more than 500 autonomouspolitiesexisted at the end of the period.[397]Successful dynasties reigned over several states (primarily in close cooperation with local elites), but could not freely redistribute resources throughout their realms.[note 39][398]Fiscal and military matters were regularly discussed with representatives of elite groups—primarily the nobility, prelates, andburghers—at legislative assemblies known as parliament,diet,cortes,orLandtag.[399]Legal procedures improved as discretionary justice, previously dispensed by kings and their retainers, was delegated to professional lawyers.[398]
In Germany, elected emperors were no more than supreme arbiters even if they had a significant power base in their hereditary lands.[note 40][401][402]Imperial authority was even more limited in Italy, whereFlorence,Milan,and Venice exploited the power vacuum to expand.[403]The centuries-old rivalry between England and France escalated into theHundred Years' WarwhenEdward III(r. 1327–77) laidclaim tothe French throne in 1337.[404][405]The English won the battles ofCrécyandPoitiers,captured the city ofCalais,and took control of an expandedGasconyby 1360. Aristocratic feuds escalated into acivil war,allowingHenry V of England(r. 1413–22) to seize much of France.[406][407]The unconquered French regions put up a strong resistance, boosted by the visions of peasant girlJoan of Arc(d. 1431). By 1453,Charles VII of France(r. 1422–61) expelled the English from the country except forCalais.[408][409]England fought a long civil war known as theWars of the Roses,which ended afterRichard III(r. 1483–85) died fighting atBosworthand his opponent,Henry Tudor,consolidated power asHenry VII(r. 1485–1509).[410]The wars prevented the English from expanding in the British Isles, but royal power remained weak inScotlandand much ofIrelandwas ruled by feuding local lords.[411][412]
Succession trouble was not uncommon in the Iberian kingdoms; intermarriages between royal houses created conflicting claims to thrones, and royal bastards could successfully claim their paternal inheritance.[413][414]Portugal opened a new theater of anti-Muslim warfare inMoroccobyseizing Ceutain 1415.[415]Aragon and Castile were divided by conflicts between magnate factions or about the limits of royal government, but the CastilianIsabella I(r. 1474–1504) and her Aragonese husbandFerdinand II(r. 1479–1516) reinforced royal power.[416]They completed theReconquista,conqueringGranada in 1492.[417]
The idea of elective kingship revived in the central European and Scandinavian monarchies for a variety of reasons, including aristocratic aversion to foreign influence.[418][419]Royal power was restored in Poland early in the14th century,during a period when the Teutonic Knights' expansion intensified. The Knights primarily targetedLithuania,a loose confederation of mainly-pagan Lithuanian chieftains and Orthodox Rus' principalities. The common enemy prompted aPolish–Lithuanian unionsealed by the marriage of Lithuanian grand dukeJogaila(r. 1377–1434) and the Polish queenJadwiga(r. 1384–99), and theLithuanian conversionto Catholicism.[420][421]In Scandinavia,Margaret I of Denmark(r. 1387–1412) consolidated Denmark, Norway, and Sweden in the 1397Union of Kalmar,but only theDanish–Norwegian unionwas lasting.[note 41][424]
After Polish, Hungarian, andLithuanian invasions,andsuccession crisesundermined the Golden Horde's power in the14th century,the princes ofMuscovybegan annexing the Rus' principalities (often in competitionwith Lithuania).[note 42]Under Grand PrinceIvan III(r. 1462–1505), the conquest of the great trading cities ofNovgorodandTvercompleted Muscovy's dominance in the northeast.[427][428]In southeastern Europe, the small Vlach principalities ofWallachiaandMoldaviaemerged; their rulers primarily accepted the suzerainty of Hungarian or Polish kings.[429]
Collapse of Byzantium and rise of the Ottomans
Facing financial crises and threats from the west, the restored Byzantine Empire was unable to prevent Turkish expansion in Anatolia. Revolts byCatalan mercenariesand recurring civil wars further weakened the empire,[note 43]allowing theOttoman Turksto establish a strategic bridgeheadat Gallipoliin 1354.[431][432]Within a century, the Ottomans reduced the competing southeastern European kingdoms, principalities and lordships totributary states.[433][434]International coalitions, such as the crusades of Nicopolis (1396) andVarna(1444), could not stop their advance.[435]The last Byzantine emperor,Constantine XI(r. 1449–53), died during the conquest of Constantinople by SultanMehmed II(r. 1451–81).[436]Talented military commanders could repel individual Ottoman attacks[note 44]but, by the end of the century, the Ottomans conquered almost all of the Balkans; Bulgaria was occupied in 1396, Serbiain 1459,Byzantine Greecein 1460,Bosniain 1463,and the Ottomans broke theAlbanian lords'resistance by 1488.[438]Ottoman rule was highly centralised, and sultans often appointedslavesto the highest offices. During the late15th century,the sultans began murdering their brothers to avoid succession crises.[439]
Controversy in the church
Since prolongedpapal electionsand conflicts with the Roman aristocracy had undermined papal authority in Italy, the seat of the papacy was moved to the city ofAvignonin 1309. During the period of theAvignon Papacy,Frenchmen assumed leadership of the Catholic Church. When the French kingPhilip IV(r. 1285–1314) broughtfalse chargesagainst the wealthy Knights Templar,Pope Clement V(pope 1305–14) could not preventtheir suppressionin 1312.[440][441]Although the papal seat was returned to Rome in 1377 due to popular pressure, disputes among the church leadership led to theWestern Schism;two and,later,three rival lines of popes were each supported by several states. The schism was resolved at theCouncil of Constancewith the resignation of one pope and the deposition of his two rivals, which paved the way for the election of an Italian cardinal asPope Martin V(1417–31).[442][443]
Theological debates intensified.[444]English theologianJohn Wycliffe(d. 1384) criticised popular acts of devotion such as pilgrimages, and challenged Catholic doctrine on theEucharist.[445]His teachings influenced two major movements condemned as heretical by Catholic authorities:Lollardyin England andHussitismin Bohemia.[446]The Bohemian movement began with teachings of Czech theologianJan Hus(d. 1415), who was burned at the stake at Constance. Hussitism, the target ofanti-heresy crusades,survived as an officially-recognised denomination in Bohemia.[note 45][448][449]In the hope of western support against the Ottomans, Byzantine church leaders submitted themselves to the papacy at the 1438–39Council of Florence;most Orthodox believers rejected papal supremacy, however, and those who supported thechurch uniondied in exile.[note 46][451]
Mysticism and devotional literature flourished.[452]Meister Eckhart(d. 1327), a critic of Aquinas, urged the faithful to focus on perfecting their inner divine core. Although his works were censured for heresy, copies of his sermons survived which were read by Protestant reformerMartin Luther(d. 1546).[453]The most characteristic late-medieval reform movement, theDevotio Modernaemphasised lay piety, community experience and personal faith.[454]In the Orthodox world, the Athonite monksGregory of Sinai(d. 1346) andGregory Palamas(d. 1359) promoted a form of meditative prayers known asHesychasm.[455]A general fear of evil practices led to the firstwitch trialsc. 1450and a popular handbook, theMalleus Maleficarum(Hammer of the Witches), laid the groundwork forearly modern witch hunts.[456]
Scholars, intellectuals, and exploration
Prominent late-medieval philosophers departed from Aristotelian logic. Among them,William of Ockham(d.c. 1348) concluded thatnatural philosophycould not prove God's existence. Under his influence, most scholars who researched subjects yielding verifiable conclusions (such as mathematics or physics) no longer analysed theological issues.[457]Marsilius of Padua(d. 1342), however, was still inspired by Aristotle to argue in favor of a community's right to regulate its life and control the clergy.[458]Scholars such asPetrarch(d. 1374) intensively studiedclassical literature;many emphasised human dignity, and were known ashumanists.[459]
The poetry ofDante(d. 1321) and the prose ofBoccaccio(d. 1375), both from Florence, indicate that the ItalianTuscan dialecthad matured into a literary language on a par with Latin. English reached the same level withThe Canterbury TalesbyGeoffrey Chaucer(d. 1400). French became standardised with theoretical discussions about chivalric literature. One of the sharpest critics of chivalric romances,Christine de Pizan(d.c. 1430), wrote the feminist utopianThe Book of the City of Ladies.[460]Literacy improved as new schools and universities were established throughout Europe,[note 47]often sponsored by urban authorities or wealthy individuals.[463][464]The invention of theprinting presswithmovable typesimplified the mass publication of books, and competition between publishing houses contributed to the quick spread of news and ideas.[465]
Several factors, primarily a growing demand for gold and European merchants' eagerness to avoid customs payments, prompted the search for a direct maritime route to India along the African coasts. Initially, the Portuguese led the explorations;Dinis Diaslanded atCap Verdein 1444,Bartolomeu Dias(d. 1500) sailed as far as theCape of Good Hopein 1486, andVasco da Gama(d. 1524) reached India in 1498. After visiting the African slave markets, the Portuguese became deeply involved in the slave trade with Europe and the Muslim world.[note 48][468]Christopher Columbus proposed a westward, alternative route to India. He gained Isabella of Castile's support forhis voyage of explorationthat led to the European discovery of the Americas in 1492.[469][470]
Technological and military developments
In cloth production, the second main employer after agriculture,[471]the increased use ofsheep withlong-fibred wool allowed a stronger thread to be spun[368]and the use of buttons to close garments enabled a better fit.[472]Popular tailoring designs were quickly spread by pedlars, and trends infashionwere dictated by the Burgundian ducal court in much of 15th-century Europe.[473]In metalworking, theblast furnaceincreased the quantity and quality of iron.[474]The firstpatent law,in 1447 in Venice, granted a ten-year monopoly to inventors for their inventions.[475]
As increased tax revenues allowed the employment ofmercenariesin growing numbers,[476]wars began to be primarily fought by professional soldiers throughout nearly all of Europe in the mid-14th century.[477]Mercenaries were initially hired for wars, but astanding armywas created in France in the late 1440s.[478]Around 1438,child tributefrom the Christian population began supplying the Ottoman army with professional foot soldiers known asJannisaries.[479]In Bohemia, religious enthusiasm, stern discipline and the use ofwagon fortswere key factors in Hussite victories.[480]The earliest references tocannonswere recorded in the early14th century,and the use of cheaphandgunsquickly began to spreadc. 1360.[481]
Art and architecture
The wealthiest Italian and French princes regularly hired foreign artists, which led to the convergence of courtly styles. ThisInternational Gothicreached much of Europe around 1400, producing masterpieces in sculpture and miniature.[note 49][483][484]Throughout Europe, secular art increase in quantity and quality; the mercantile classes of Italy and Flanders became important patrons during the15th century,commissioning small portraits and a growing range of luxury items such as jewellery,cassonechests, andmaiolicapottery.[485]In France and Flanders, tapestry weaving of series such asThe Lady and the Unicornbecame a major luxury industry.[486]
Florence emerged as the center of intellectual and artistic life for most of theQuattrocento.TheMedici—the city's most influential family—gathered a significant collection of classical sculptures and opened it to local artists. The Tuscan architectBrunelleschi(d. 1446) studied thePantheonin Rome before completing the plan of the dome of theFlorence Cathedral.The use ofone-point perspectivefor creating the illusion of depth was another innovation, demonstrated by reliefs on the bronze door of theFlorence BaptisterybyLorenzo Ghiberti(d. 1455).Early Renaissanceartists restoredthe nudeand eroticism (including homoerotocism) in artworks such as the bronze statueDavidbyDonatello(d. 1466) andThe Birth of Venusby the painterBoticelli(d. 1510).[487]Flemish painters quickly improved their technique. When completing hisGhent Altarpiece,Jan van Eyck(d. 1441) usedoil paintto create a translucent surface and tiny bushes to achieve a more lifelike representation of the natural world.[488]
Printing houses throughout Europe began the mass production of inexpensive playing cards and primitive religious images during the mid-15th century.Block books—woodcutscontaining illustrations and text—rapidly became popular, with best-sellers including theBiblia pauperum(Paupers' Bible) andArs moriendi(Art of Dying).[489]Horror stories were widely read, including German booklets describing the cruel acts of Wallachian princeVlad the Impaler(r. 1456–62).[490]The first large illustrated printed book, theNuremberg Chronicle,was published in 1493.[491]
Modern perceptions and historiography
According toDavid Lindberg,the medieval period has frequently been described as a "time of barbarism, ignorance, and superstition" which placed "religious authority above personal experience and rational activity".[492]This is a legacy of theRenaissanceandEnlightenment,when scholars favourably contrasted their intellectual culture with the past. Renaissance scholars saw the Middle Ages as a period of decline from the high culture and civilisation of the classical world. Enlightenment scholars saw reason as superior to faith, and viewed the Middle Ages as a time of ignorance and superstition.[11]One misconception is that all people in the Middle Ages believed that theEarth was flat.[493]This is untrue; lecturers in medieval universities commonly argued that evidence indicated the Earth was a sphere.[494]Science historianEdward Grantsaid, "If revolutionary rational thoughts were expressed in the Age of Reason, 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".[495]
During the19th century,the brutality of theFrench Revolutionsparked intense nostalgia for the medieval period. Thismedievalisminspired several influential intellectuals, including British historianThomas Carlyle(d. 1881), French architectEugène Viollet-le-Duc(d. 1879), and German composerRichard Wagner(d. 1883).Romantic nationalismsought the origins of modern nations in the Middle Ages, stimulating oppressed ethnic groups'national awakeningand the expansionism of empires.[496]The professionalisation of historical study began with the German historianLeopold von Ranke(d. 1886). He emphasised primary sources and studied several aspects of history, but his students focused on political history. Historians of the FrenchAnnalesschool such as the medievalistMarc Bloch(d. 1944) broadened their perspective, examining culture, society, and identity.Marxism,with its emphasis onclass conflict,influenced historical research in theSoviet Bloc.Monographs on the medieval history of certain groups such as women, Jews, slaves, heretics and homosexuals have been regularly published since the 1970s, with the influx of people from diverse social backgrounds into universities.[497]
Notes
- ^Medieval writers had divided history into periods such as theSix Agesor theFour Empires,and considered their time to be the last before theend of the world.[3]
- ^Brittany takes its name from this settlement by Britons.[63]
- ^Among the powerful women, the Arian Visigothic queenGoiswintha(d. 589) was a vehement but unsuccessful opponent of her people's conversion to Catholicism, and the Frankish queenBrunhilda of Austrasia(d. 613) was torn to pieces by horses at the age of 70.[80]
- ^In the9th century,Unn the Deep-Mindedassumed the command of aknarrship after her son died; the 10th-century "Birka Warrior"was a woman interred with an axe, sword, quiver of arrows, and spears.[82]
- ^Rome, for instance, shrank from a population of hundreds of thousands toc. 30,000by the end of the6th century.[91]
- ^Among the Slav rulers,Liudewit(d. 823) held lands along theSavariver, andPribina(d. 861) in theMarch of Pannonia.[135]
- ^Hugh Capet was a grandson of King Odo's brother,Robert I,who was also a king of West Francia (r. 922–23).[147]
- ^Examples include a 4th-century basilica uncovered under theBarcelona Cathedral,the five-aisledCathedral of Saint Étiennein Paris and theBasilica of Sant'Apollinare in ClasseinRavenna.[171]
- ^Later Roman ornaments decorate Charlemagne'spalace at Aachen,the Carolingianroyal palace at Ingelheim,and the Asturiankings' palace at Oviedo.[176]
- ^An early example of a stone fortress isthe residential keepbuilt byTheobald I, Count of Blois(d. 975)c. 950.[177]
- ^As illuminated books were flowing from the British Isles to Francia, the Insular style had a marked impact on Frankish art.[182]
- ^Under the Macedonian emperors, the old churches were redecorated and newly-built churches such as theDaphni Monasteryin Greece were embellished with mosaics and icons. Richly-decorated ivory panels, such as theHarbaville Triptych,indicate the renewal ofivory carvingduring the period.[185]
- ^Examples include vivid caricatures in theUtrecht Psalterand more naturalistic miniatures in theGospel Book of Charlemagne.[188]
- ^In France, Germany, and the Low Countries there was a further type of "noble", theministerialis—in effect, unfree knights. They descended from serfs who had been warriors or government officials, allowing their descendants to hold fiefs and become knights while technically remaining serfs.[218]
- ^TheAnglo-NormanaristocratRobert Bruce(d. 1141) received theLordship of Annandalein southern Scotland fromKing David I(r. 1124–53), butJohn de Courcy(d. 1219)—also an Anglo-Norman knight—seizedUlaidin Ireland by force.[221]
- ^These two groups—Germans and Italians—took different approaches to their trading arrangements. Most German cities co-operated when dealing with the northern rulers; the Italian city-states engaged in internecine strife, culminating in theWar of Saint Sabasin the Levant.[241]
- ^Jews were required to wear adistinctive badgeon their clothes and live intheir own districtsof the towns.[247]
- ^Most compromises were based on a distinction between a prelate's spiritual and temporal responsibilities, allowing bishops and abbots to swear an oath of fealty to the emperor (or king) in return for their investment in thepossessionsof bishoprics and abbeys without formally sanctioning the monarch's claim to controltheir election.[253]
- ^Often facingmisogyny,Hildegard endorsed the traditional view of female fragility in her early works but later she emphasised that men and women were dependent on each other. Although a nun, she provided the first description of afemale orgasm.[264]
- ^The idea is mainly attributed to theearly modernphilosophersJean Bodin(d. 1596) andThomas Hobbes(d. 1679), but the concept developed during conflicts between the emperors and the papacy. A 1202 papaldecretalsaid that "a king is an emperor in his kingdom", implying the equal status of secular monarchs.[268]
- ^Urraca(r. 1109–26) reigned in León andCastile,Petronilla(r. 1137–62) inAragón,andConstance(r. 1194–98) inSicily.[271]
- ^Frederick IIwas known for his erudition and unconventional lifestyle; he had a harem and wore Arab-style garments, including a mantle decorated withverses from the Quranduring his imperial coronation in Rome.[283]
- ^Henry inheritedAnjoufromhis father,and seizedAquitaineby marrying heiressEleanor(r. 1137–1204) months after her marriage toLouis VII of France(r. 1137–80) wasannulled.[290]
- ^A good example is PrinceAlexander Nevsky(d. 1263) who made four visits to Sarai to gain the Khans' favor. He overcame his rivals with Mongol assistance, crushed an anti-Mongol riot inNovgorod,and received a grant of tax exemption for the Orthodox Church.[310]
- ^After the fall of Constantinople to the crusaders, three Byzantine successor states emerged:Epirusin northern Greece and Albania,Nicaeain western Anatolia, andTrebizondin northeastern Anatolia. Michael VIII had ruled Nicaea before seizing Constantinople.[321]
- ^Those who decided to participate in a crusade took an oath and placed the mark of the cross on their clothes. The crusaders enjoyed privileges (including a moratorium on debts), but those who failed to fulfil the crusader oath facedinfamyor excommunication.[324]
- ^Examples include the spiritual works ofGuibert of Nogent(d.c. 1125), the lyric correspondence between Abelard and his former loverHéloïse(d.c. 1164),The Two CitiesbyOtto of Freising(d. 1158), the poems ofAlan of Lille(d. 1202/03), andStabat Mater,a hymn to the Virgin Mary.[338]
- ^Among the earliest law codes, theConstitutions of Melfiwas compiled in Sicily, theSiete Partidas(Seven Parts) in Castile, and theLandslov(Code of the Realm) in Norway.[340]In contrast, thecommon lawsystem in England developed through the adoption of principles and procedures (such astrial by jury) in royal courts.[341]
- ^Reportedly, the talltorri(towers) made some Italian towns look like brick-and-stone forests. The small Tuscan town ofSan Gimignanois an example, although only a few of the family towers have survived.[345]
- ^TheBasilica of Saint-SernininToulouseis one of the earliestpilgrimage churcheson theCamino de Santiago(Way of Saint James).[347]
- ^The Church of the Virgin in theStudenica Monasteryillustrates the blending of Byzantine and Romanesque traditions in Serbia. Its west portal, with itstympanum,was completed by southern Italian builders in the late12th century.[350]
- ^The widespread dissemination of artistic motifs by copying and recopying sketches is indicated by the similarity between wall-paintings depicting the life of the Virgin Mary inSt Mark's Basilicain Venice and theCathedral of Christ's Transfigurationin the Rus' city ofPskov.[353]
- ^Prominent examples include cathedralsin Chartres,Reims,and theSainte-Chapellein France,Salisbury Cathedralin England,Cologne Cathedralin Germany,Milan Cathedralin Italy, andSaint Vitus Cathedralin Prague.[358][359]
- ^Crossbows are slow to reload, which limits their use on open battlefields. Slowness is less of a disadvantage in a siege, since a crossbowman can hide behind fortifications while reloading.[376]
- ^The Mongols were reportedly the first to usegunpowderin Europe during themid-13th century.[378]
- ^Towns were especially hard-hit because of their crowded conditions;[382]one town,Lübeckin Germany, lost90 per centof its population to the Black Death.[383]
- ^In Bohemia, a mid-14th-century Czech treatise accused the local German artisans of plotting to keep prices high. In 1392, the bakers' guild inRigaexcluded those who married non-German women. InLimerick,"No one of Irish blood or birth" could hold office or be hired as an apprentice.[386]
- ^This happened with theBardiandPeruzzifirms during the 1340s, when KingEdward III of Englandrepudiated their loans to him.[392]
- ^The most successful dynasties were theLuxembourgs,Habsburgs,andJagielloniansin central and eastern Europe, theTrastámarasin the Mediterranean, and theValois of Burgundy.[398]
- ^The Luxemburgs held thelands of the Bohemian Crown,the Habsburgs were expanding in Austria, and theWittelsbachsruledBavariaand thePalatinate.[400]
- ^One of the most successful queens of the period, Margaret primarily ruled with her young male relatives—first withher underage son,then with heryoung nephew.The Swedes left the Kalmar Union in 1448.[422][423]
- ^Initially a tiny principality, Muscovy gained strength against its more-powerful neighbors with support from the Mongol khans. During the 1320s, Moscow became the seat of thehead ofthe Orthodox Church in the Rus' principalities.[425][426]
- ^Thefirst civil warbroke out when EmperorAndronikos II(r. 1282–1328) disinherited his grandson,Andronikos III(r. 1328–41), forfratricide.Thesecond civil warwas fought over the regency forAndronikos III'sunderage son,John V(r. 1341–90), between the powerful aristocratJohn Kantakouzenos(d. 1383) and his opponents. Kantakouzenos was crowned co-emperor asJohn VI(r. 1347–54), but his conflict withJohn Vcaused thethird civil war.[430]
- ^Skanderbeg(d. 1468) resisted Ottoman conquest for more than two decades at the head of aleague of Albanian lords;John Hunyadi(d. 1456) defeated the Ottomansat Belgrade,and the Moldavian princeStephen the Great(r. 1457–1504)at Vaslui.[437]
- ^The Bohemian Diet elected themoderate HussiteCzech aristocratGeorge of Poděbrady(r. 1457–71) king, which gave the Hungarian kingMatthias Corvinus(r. 1458–90) an excuse to conquer parts of the Czech lands. Poděbrady was succeeded by the Catholic Polish princeVladislaus II(r. 1471–1516), but the Diet enacted the Czech right to freely choose between Hussitism and Catholicism in 1485.[447]
- ^One of the main Byzantine supporters of the church union,Basilios Bessarion(d. 1472), aroused Italian scholarly interest in Greek studies during his exile.[450]
- ^Although medieval documents often described people asliteratusorilliteratus,estimations of literacy are uncertain because both terms are ambiguous;[461]one estimate, in 1500, was ten per cent of males and one per cent of females.[462]
- ^The Portuguese princeHenry the Navigator(d. 1460) presided over an auction of African slaves atLagosin 1444.[466]He is often, but not universally, described as the prime mover of Portuguese exploration.[467]
- ^The portal sculptures of the Burgundian ducal mausoleum atChampmoland the miniatures in theTrès Riches Heures du Duc de Berry(Very Rich Hours of theDuke of Berry) are International Gothic examples.[482]
Citations
- ^Power 2006,p. 3.
- ^abHankins 2001,pp. xvii–xviii.
- ^Mommsen 1942,p. 238.
- ^Murray 2004,p. 4.
- ^abHornby 2005,p. 955.
- ^abOnions, Friedrichsen & Burchfield 1994,p. 566.
- ^Fried 2015,p. viii.
- ^Wickham 2016,p. 1.
- ^abRubin 2014,p. 1.
- ^Rubin 2014,p. 5.
- ^abDavies 1996,pp. 291–293.
- ^Arnold 2021,pp. 21, 132–134.
- ^Power 2006,p. 304.
- ^Mommsen 1942,p. 226.
- ^Holmes & Standen 2018,pp. 15–16.
- ^Heng 2021,pp. 18–24.
- ^Harris 2008,p. 4.
- ^Arnold 2021,pp. 26–27.
- ^Arnold 2021,pp. 37, 40.
- ^Arnold 2021,pp. 44–45.
- ^Curta 2019,pp. 17–23.
- ^Curta 2019,pp. 28–29.
- ^Wickham 2009,p. 204.
- ^Naismith 2023,pp. 17–19.
- ^Arnold 2021,pp. 47–50.
- ^Heather 2006,pp. 10–14.
- ^Collins 2010,pp. 3–6.
- ^abBrown 1989,pp. 24–25.
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- Heather, Peter(2006) [2005].The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians.Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-532541-6.
- Henderson, George(1993) [1972].Early Medieval.Medieval Academy Reprints for Teaching. Vol. 29.University of Toronto Press.ISBN978-0-8020-6984-9.
- Heng, Geraldine(2021).The Global Middle Ages.Elements in the Global Middle Ages.Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-1-009-16116-9.
- Hoffmann, Richard C. (2014).An Environmental History of Medieval Europe.Cambridge Medieval Textbooks.Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-0-521-70037-5.
- Holmes, Catherine;Standen, Naomi(November 2018)."Introduction: Towards a Global Middle Ages".Past & Present.238(suppl_13).Oxford University Press:1–44.doi:10.1093/pastj/gty030.ISSN0031-2746.
- Hornby, A. S.(2005) [1948]. Wehmeier, Sally; McIntosh, Colin; Turnbull, Joanna; Ashby, Michael (eds.).Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary(Seventh ed.).Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-431606-4.
- Ilardi, Vincent (2007).Renaissance Vision from Spectacles to Telescopes.Memoires of the American Philosophical Society. Vol. 259.American Philosophical Society.ISBN978-0-87169-259-7.
- James, Edward(2009).Europe's Barbarians: AD 200–600.The Medieval World.Pearson Longman.ISBN978-0-582-77296-0.
- Jordan, William Chester(2002) [2001].Europe in the High Middle Ages.The Penguin History of Europe.Vol. III.Penguin Books.ISBN978-0-140-16664-4.
- Keen, Maurice(1976) [1968].The Pelican History of Medieval Europe.Penguin Books.ISBN978-0-14-021085-9.
- Kitzinger, Ernst(1969) [1940].Early Medieval Art in the British Museum(Second ed.).Trustees of the British Museum.SBN7141-1327-1.
- Lasko, Peter(1972).Ars Sacra, 800–1200.The Pelican History of Art.Penguin Books.SBN14-056036-X.
- Lee, Alexander (2021). "Culture and the Arts". InLazzarini, Isabella(ed.).The Later Middle Ages.Short Oxford History of Europe.Oxford University Press.pp. 109–134.ISBN978-0-19-873163-4.
- Lightbown, Ronald W.(1978).Secular Goldsmiths' Work in Medieval France: A History.Reports of the Research Committee of the Society of Antiquaries of London. Vol. 36.Thames & Hudson.ISBN978-0-500-99027-8.
- Lindberg, David C.(2003). "The Medieval Church Encounters the Classical Tradition: Saint Augustine, Roger Bacon, and the Handmaiden Metaphor". In Lindberg, David C.;Lindberg, David C.(eds.).When Science and Christianity Meet.University of Chicago Press.pp. 7–32.ISBN978-0-226-48214-9.
- Lock, Peter (2006).The Routledge Companion to the Crusades.Routledge Companions to History.Routledge.ISBN978-0-415-39312-6.
- McCormick, Michael (2010) [2001].Origins of the European Economy: Communications and Commerce, AD 300–900.Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-0-521-66102-7.
- Mommsen, Theodore E.(April 1942). "Petrarch's Conception of the 'Dark Ages'".Speculum.17(2).The University of Chicago Press:226–242.doi:10.2307/2856364.ISSN0038-7134.JSTOR2856364.
- Morris, Rosemary(2001) [1988]. "Northern Europe Invades the Mediterranean, 900–1200". InHolmes, George(ed.).The Oxford Illustrated History of Medieval Europe.Oxford Illustrated History.Oxford University Press.pp. 175–234.ISBN978-0-19-285220-5.
- Murray, Alexander (2004). "Should the Middle Ages Be Abolished?".Essays in Medieval Studies.21.West Virginia University Press:1–22.doi:10.1353/ems.2005.0010.ISSN1538-4608.
- Naismith, Rory (2023).Making Money in the Early Middle Ages.Princeton University Press.ISBN978-0-691-17740-3.
- Nees, Lawrence (2002).Early Medieval Art.Oxford History of Art.Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-284243-5.
- Nicolle, David(1996).Medieval Warfare Source Book, Volume I: Warfare In Western Christendom.Arms and Armour Press.ISBN978-1-854-09236-6.
- Onions, C. T.;Friedrichsen, G. W. S.;Burchfield, R. W.,eds. (1994) [1966].The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology.Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-861112-7.
- Peters, Ted(2005). "Science and Religion". In Jones, Lindsay (ed.).Encyclopedia of Religion.Vol. 12 (Transcendental meditation - Zwingli, Huldrych) (Second ed.).Macmillan Reference.p. 8182.ISBN978-0-02-865980-0.
- Power, Daniel (2006).The Central Middle Ages: Europe 950–1320.The Short Oxford History of Europe.Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-925312-8.
- Ramirez, Janina(2022).Femina: A New History of the Middle Ages, Through the Women Written Out of It.WH Allen.ISBN978-0-7535-5957-4.
- Ringrose, Kathryn M. (2016) [2013]. "The Byzantine Body". InBennett, Judith M.;Karras, Ruth Mazo(eds.).The Oxford Handbook of Women and Gender in Medieval Europe.Oxford University Press.pp. 362–378.ISBN978-0-19-877938-4.
- Rubin, Miri(2014).The Middle Ages: A Very Short Introduction.Very Short Introductions.Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-969729-8.
- Russel, Jeffrey Burton(1991).Inventing the Flat Earth: Columbus and Modern Historians.Bloomsbury Publishing.ISBN978-0-275-95904-3.
- Sedlar, Jean W. (1994).East Central Europe in the Middle Ages, 1000–1500.A History of East Central Europe. Vol. III.University of Washington Press.ISBN978-0-295-97290-9.
- Singman, Jeffrey L. (1999).Daily Life in Medieval Europe.Daily Life through History.Greenwood Press.ISBN978-0-313-36076-3.
- Stalley, Roger(1999).Early Medieval Architecture.Oxford History of Art.Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-284223-7.
- Swanson, Robert (2021). "The Church and Religious Life". InLazzarini, Isabella(ed.).The Later Middle Ages.Short Oxford History of Europe.Oxford University Press.pp. 79–107.ISBN978-0-19-873163-4.
- Thomson, John A. F. (1998).The Western Church in the Middle Ages.Arnold.ISBN978-0-340-60118-1.
- Vale, Malcolm (2001) [1988]. "The Civilization of Courts and Cities in the North, 1200–1500". InHolmes, George(ed.).The Oxford Illustrated History of Medieval Europe.Oxford Illustrated History.Oxford University Press.pp. 297–351.ISBN978-0-19-285220-5.
- Watts, John(2014) [2009].The Making of Polities: Europe, 1300–1500.Cambridge Medieval Textbooks.Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-0-521-79664-4.
- Wickham, Chris(2009).The Inheritance of Rome: Illuminating the Dark Ages, 400–1000.The Penguin History of Europe.Vol. II.Penguin Books.ISBN978-0-713-99429-2.
- Wickham, Chris (2016).Medieval Europe.Yale University Press.ISBN978-0-3002-0834-4.
Further reading
- Aberth, John (2019).Contesting the Middle Ages: Debates that are Changing our Narrative of Medieval History.Routledge.ISBN978-0-415-72930-7.
- Abulafia, David,ed. (1999).c.1198-c.1300.The New Cambridge Medieval History.Vol. V.Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-1-139-05573-4.
- Allmand, Christopher,ed. (1998).c.1415-c.1500.The New Cambridge Medieval History.Vol. VII.Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-1-139-05575-8.
- Cantor, Norman F.(1993) [1991].Inventing the Middle Ages: The Lives, Works, and Ideas of the Great Medievalists of the Twentieth Century.HarperCollins.ISBN978-0-688-12302-4.
- Chazelle, Celia;Doubleday, Simon;Lifshitz, Felice;Remensnyder, Amy G., eds. (2012).Why the Middle Ages Matter Medieval Light on Modern Injustice.Routledge.ISBN978-0-415-78065-0.
- D'Arcens, Louise (2021).World Medievalism: The Middle Ages in Modern Textual Culture.Oxford Textual Perspectives.Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-882595-1.
- Fouracre, Paul,ed. (2005).c.500-c.700.The New Cambridge Medieval History.Vol. I.Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-1-139-05393-8.
- Gurevich, Aron(1992).Historical Anthropology of the Middle Ages.Translated by Howlett, Janet.University of Chicago Press.ISBN978-0-226-31083-1.
- Hartnell, Jack (2019).Medieval Bodies: Life and Death in the Middle Ages.W. W. Norton & Company.ISBN978-1-324-00216-1.
- Jones, Michael,ed. (2000).c.1300-c.1415.The New Cambridge Medieval History.Vol. VI.Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-1-139-05574-1.
- Kaufmann, J. E.; Kaufmann, H. W. (2004).The Medieval Fortress: Castles, Forts and Walled Cities of the Middle Ages.Da Capo Press.ISBN978-0-2747-9776-9.
- Luscombe, David;Riley-Smith, Jonathan,eds. (2004).c.1024-c.1198.The New Cambridge Medieval History.Vol. IV (Part 1).Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-1-139-05402-7.
- Luscombe, David;Riley-Smith, Jonathan,eds. (2004).c.1024-c.1198.The New Cambridge Medieval History.Vol. IV (Part 2).Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-1-139-05403-4.
- McKitterick, Rosamond,ed. (1995).c.700-c.900.The New Cambridge Medieval History.Vol. II.Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-1-139-05571-0.
- Moore, Robert I.(2006) [1987].The Formation of a Persecuting Society: Authority and Deviance in Western Europe 950-1250(2nd ed.).Blackwell Publishing.ISBN978-1-405-12964-0.
- Reuter, Timothy,ed. (2000).c.900-c.1024.The New Cambridge Medieval History.Vol. III.Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-1-139-05572-7.
- Reynolds, Susan(2001) [1994].Fiefs and Vassals: The Medieval Evidence Reinterpreted.Clarendon Press.ISBN978-0-19-820648-4.
- Smith, Julia(2005).Europe After Rome: A New Cultural History, 500–1000.Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-924427-0.
- Stuard, Susan Mosher, ed. (1987).Women in Medieval History and Historiography.University of Pennsylvania Press.ISBN978-0-8122-1290-7.
External links
- De Re Militari: The Society for Medieval Military History
- Medievalists.netNews and articles about the period.
- Medieval History Database (MHDB)
- Medieval Worlds,Official website– Comparative and interdisciplinary articles about the period.
- The LabyrinthResources for Medieval Studies.
