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| Historical events and politics | |
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Bayeux Tapestry depicting the Battle of Hastings during the Norman invasion of England
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| British Isles | |
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Main articles: England in the Middle Ages, Scotland in the High Middle Ages, and History of Gwynedd during the High Middle Ages
In England, the Norman Conquest of 1066 resulted in a kingdom ruled by a Francophone nobility. The Normans invaded Ireland by force in 1169 and soon established themselves throughout most of the country, although their stronghold was the southeast. Likewise, Scotland and Wales were subdued to vassalage at about the same time, though Scotland later asserted its independence. The Exchequer was founded in the 12th century under King Henry I, and the first parliaments were convened. In 1215, after the loss of Normandy, King John signed the Magna Carta into law, which limited the power of English monarchs.
[edit] Tags:Middle Ages,Normans,England In The Middle Ages,Norman Conquest,Francophone,Scotland,Wales,Exchequer,King Henry I,Parliaments,Normandy,King John,Magna Carta,English Monarchs, | |
| Scandinavia | |
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Main articles: History of Denmark#Christianity and the Establishment of Denmark, History of Norway#The Viking kings, and Early Swedish history
From the mid-tenth to the mid-11th centuries, the Scandinavian kingdoms were unified and Christianized, resulting in an end of Viking raids, and greater involvement in European politics. King Cnut of Denmark ruled over both England and Norway. After Cnut's death in 1035, England and Norway were lost, and with the defeat of Valdemar II in 1227, Danish predominance in the region came to an end. Meanwhile, Norway extended its Atlantic possessions, ranging from Greenland to the Isle of Man, while Sweden, under Birger Jarl, built up a power-base in the Baltic Sea. However, the Norwegian influence started to decline already in the same period, marked by the Treaty of Perth of 1266. Also, civil wars raged in Norway between 1130 and 1240.
[edit] Tags:Period,Early Swedish History,Viking,Cnut,Valdemar Ii,Greenland,Isle Of Man,Birger Jarl,Baltic Sea,Treaty Of Perth,Civil Wars Raged In Norway,Christian, | |
| France and Germany | |
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Main articles: France in the Middle Ages and Germany in the Middle Ages
By the time of the High Middle Ages, the Carolingian Empire had been divided and replaced by separate successor kingdoms called France and Germany, although not with their modern boundaries. Germany was under the banner of the Holy Roman Empire, which reached its high-water mark of unity and political power.
[edit] Tags:Roman Empire,France In The Middle Ages,Germany In The Middle Ages,Carolingian Empire,Holy Roman Empire, | |
| Hungary | |
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Main article: Kingdom of Hungary in the Middle Ages
King Saint Stephen I of Hungary.
In the High Middle Ages, the Kingdom of Hungary (founded in the year 1000), became one of the most powerful medieval states in central Europe and Western Europe. His people was Christianized by the King Saint Stephen I of Hungary who was remembered by the contemporary chroniclers as a very religious monarch, with wide knowledge in Latin grammar, strict with his own people but kind to the foreigners. He eradicated the remnants of the tribal organization in the Kingdom and forced the people to sedentarize and adopt the christian religion, ethics, way of life and founded the Hungarian medieval state organizing it politically in counties using the Germanic system as a model.
The next monarchs usually kept a close relationship with Rome like Saint Ladislaus I of Hungary, and a tolerant attitude with the pagans that escaped to the Kingdom searching for sanctuary (for example Cumans in the 13th century), which eventually created certain discomfort for some Popes. With entering in Personal union with the Kingdom of Croatia and annexation of other small states, Hungary became a small empire that extended its control over the Balkans and all the Carpathian region. The Hungarian royal house was the one that gave the most saints to the Catholic Church during medieval times.
[edit] Tags:Kingdom Of Hungary,Catholic Church,Kingdom Of Hungary In The Middle Ages,Stephen I Of Hungary,Ladislaus I Of Hungary,Pagans,Cumans,Popes,Personal Union,Balkans,Carpathian,Hungarian,Religious,Western Europe, | |
| Southern Europe | |
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Main articles: Spain in the Middle Ages and Italy in the Middle Ages
Much of the Iberian peninsula had been occupied by the Moors after 711, although the northernmost portion was divided between several Christian states. In the 11th century, and again in the thirteenth, the Christian kingdoms of the north gradually drove the Muslims from central and most of southern Iberia.
In Italy, independent city states grew affluent on eastern maritime trade. These were in particular the thalassocracies of Pisa, Amalfi, Genoa and Venice.
The Pontic steppes, c.1015
[edit] Tags:Moors,Spain In The Middle Ages,Italy In The Middle Ages,Iberian Peninsula,Thalassocracies,Pisa,Amalfi,Genoa,Venice,Pontic Steppes, | |
| Eastern Europe | |
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The High Middle Ages saw the height and decline of the Slavic state of Kievan Rus' and the emergence of Poland. Later, the Mongol invasion in the 13th century had great impact on Eastern Europe, as many countries of that region were invaded, pillaged, conquered and vassalized.
During the first half of this period (c.1025-1185) the Byzantine Empire dominated the Balkans south of the Danube, and under the Comnenian emperors there was a revival of prosperity and urbanisation; however, their domination of the region came to an end with a successful Bulgarian rebellion in 1185, and henceforth the region was divided between the Byzantines in Greece, including some parts of Macedonia and Thrace, the Bulgarians in Moesia and most of Thrace and Macedonia and the Serbians to the northwest. The Eastern and Western churches had formally split in the 11th century, and despite occasional periods of co-operation during the 12th century, in 1204 the Fourth Crusade used treachery to capture Constantinople. This severely damaged the Byzantines, and their power was ultimately usurped by the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century. The power of the Latin Empire, however, was short lived after the Crusader army was routed by the Bulgarian Emperor Kaloyan in the battle of Adrianople (1205).
[edit] Tags:Kievan Rus',Emergence Of Poland,Mongol Invasion,Eastern Europe,Byzantine Empire,Danube,Comnenian,Bulgarian,Macedonia,Thrace,Moesia,Serbians,Fourth Crusade,Constantinople,Ottoman Empire,Latin Empire,Bulgarian Emperor,Kaloyan,Battle Of Adrianople (1205),Poland,Byzantine, | |
| Climate and agriculture | |
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The Medieval Warm Period, the period from 10th century to about the 14th century in Europe, was a relatively warm and gentle interval ended by the generally colder Little Ice Age. Farmers grew wheat well north into Scandinavia, and wine grapes in northern England, although the maximum expansion of vineyards appears to occur within the Little Ice Age period. This protection from famine allowed Europe's population to increase, despite the famine in 1315 that killed 1.5 million people. This increased population contributed to the founding of new towns and an increase in industrial and economic activity during the period. Food production also increased during this time as new ways of farming were introduced, including the use of a heavier plow, horses instead of oxen, and a three-field system that allowed the cultivation of a greater variety of crops than the earlier two-field system - notably legumes, the growth of which prevented the depletion of important nitrogen from the soil.
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| The rise of chivalry | |
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Household heavy cavalry (knights) became common in the 11th century across Europe, and tournaments were invented. Although the heavy capital investment in horse and armor was a barrier to entry, knighthood became known as a way for serfs to earn their freedom. In the 12th century, the Cluny monks promoted ethical warfare and inspired the formation of orders of chivalry, such as the Templar Knights. Inherited titles of nobility were established during this period. In 13th-century Germany, knighthood became another inheritable title, although one of the less prestigious, and the trend spread to other countries.
[edit] Tags:Knights,Tournaments,Cluny,Orders Of Chivalry,Templar Knights,Inheritable, | |
| The Church | |
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The East-West Schism of 1054 formally separated the Christian church into two parts: Western Catholicism in Western Europe and Eastern Orthodoxy in the east. It occurred when Pope Leo IX and Patriarch Michael I excommunicated each other, mainly over disputes as to the existence of papal authority over the four Eastern patriarchs.
[edit] Tags:East-west Schism,Western Catholicism,Eastern Orthodoxy,Pope Leo Ix,Patriarch Michael I,Excommunicated,Patriarchs, | |
| Military orders | |
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In the context of the crusades, monastic military orders were founded that would become the template for the late medieval chivalric orders.
Knights Templar were a Christian military order founded after the First Crusade to help protect Christian pilgrims from hostile locals and highway bandits. The order was deeply involved in banking, and in 1307 Philip the Fair (Philippe le Bel) had the entire order arrested in France and dismantled on charges of heresy.
The Knights Hospitaller were originally a Christia] organization founded in Jerusalem in 1080 to provide care for poor, sick, or injured pilgrims to the Holy Land. After Jerusalem was taken by the First Crusade, it became a religious/military order that was charged with the care and defense of the Holy Lands. After the Holy Lands were eventually taken by Islamic forces, it moved its operations to Rhodes, and later Malta.
The Teutonic Knights were a German religious order formed in 1190, in the city of Acre, to both aid Christian pilgims on their way to the Holy Lands and to operate hospitals for the sick and injured in Outremer. After Islamic forces captured the Holy Lands, the order moved to Transylvania in 1211 and later, after being expelled, invaded pagan Prussia with the intention of Christianizing the Baltic. Yet, before and after the Order's main pagan opponent, Lithuania, converted to Christianity, the Order had already attacked other Christian nations such as Novgorod and Poland. The Teutonic Knights' powerhold, which became considerable, was broken in 1410, at the Battle of Grunwald, where the Order suffered a devastating defeat against a joint Polish-Lithuanian-Russian army. After Grunwald, the Order declined in power until 1809 when the Order was officially dissolved. There were ten crusades in total.
[edit] Tags:Crusades,Holy Land,Military Orders,Chivalric Orders,Knights Templar,First Crusade,Philip The Fair,Knights Hospitaller,Jerusalem,Pilgrims,Military Order,Rhodes,Malta,Teutonic Knights,Acre,Outremer,Lithuania, | |
| Scholasticism | |
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Main article: Scholasticism
The new Christian method of learning was influenced by Anselm of Canterbury (1033–1109) from the rediscovery of the works of Aristotle, at first indirectly through Medieval Jewish and Muslim Philosophy (Maimonides, Avicenna, and Averroes) and then through Aristotle's own works brought back from Byzantine and Muslim libraries; and those whom he influenced, most notably Albertus Magnus, Bonaventure and Abélard. Scholastics believed in empiricism and supporting Roman Catholic doctrines through secular study, reason, and logic. They opposed Christian mysticism, and the Platonist-Augustinian beliefs in mind dualism and the view of the world as inherently evil. The most famous of the scholastics was Thomas Aquinas (later declared a "Doctor of the Church"), who led the move away from the Platonic and Augustinian and towards Aristotelianism. Aquinas developed a philosophy of mind by writing that the mind was at birth a tabula rasa ("blank slate") that was given the ability to think and recognize forms or ideas through a divine spark. Other notable scholastics included Roscelin, Abélard, and Peter Lombard. One of the main questions during this time was the problem of universals. Prominent opponents of various aspects of the scholastic mainstream included Duns Scotus, William of Ockham, Peter Damian, Bernard of Clairvaux, and the Victorines. [1]
[edit] Tags:Aristotle,Thomas Aquinas,Scholasticism, | |
| Golden age of monasticism | |
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The late 11th century/early-mid 12th century was the height of the golden age of Christian monasticism (8th-12th centuries).
Benedictine Order - black robed monks
Cistercian Order - white robed monks
Bernard of Clairvaux
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| Mendicant orders | |
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The 13th century saw the rise of the Mendicant orders such as the:
Franciscans (Friars Minor, commonly known as the Grey Friars), founded 1209
Carmelites (Hermits of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Carmel, commonly known as the White Friars), founded 1206–1214
Dominicans (Order of Preachers, commonly called the Black Friars), founded 1215
Augustinians (Hermits of St. Augustine, commonly called the austin Friars), founded 1256
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| Heretical movements | |
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Heresy existed in Europe before the 11th century but only in small numbers and of local character: a rogue priest, or a village returning to pagan traditions; but beginning in the 11th century mass-movement heresies appeared. The roots of this can be found with the rise of urban cities, free merchants and a new money-based economy. The rural values of monasticism held little appeal to urban people who began to form sects more in tune with urban culture. The first heretical movements originated in the newly urbanized areas such as southern France and northern Italy. They were mass movements on a scale the Church had never seen before, and the response was one of elimination for some, such as the Cathars, and the acceptance and integration of others, such as St. Francis, the son of an urban merchant who renounced money.
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| Cathars | |
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Cathars being expelled from Carcassonne in 1209
Main article: Cathars
Catharism was a movement with Gnostic elements that originated around the middle of the 10th century, branded by the contemporary Roman Catholic Church as heretical. It existed throughout much of Western Europe, but its home was in Languedoc and surrounding areas in southern France.
The name Cathar most likely originated from Greek katharos, "pure". One of the first recorded uses is Eckbert von Schönau who wrote on heretics from Cologne in 1181: "Hos nostra Germania catharos appellat."
The Cathars are also called Albigensians. This name originates from the end of the 12th century, and was used by the chronicler Geoffroy du Breuil of Vigeois in 1181. The name refers to the southern town of Albi (the ancient Albiga). The designation is hardly exact, for the centre was at Toulouse and in the neighbouring districts.
The Albigensians were strong in southern France, northern Italy, and the southwestern Holy Roman Empire.
The Bogumils known as the Bosnian church, were strong in Bosnia, and public religion supported by the Bosnian kings.
Dualists believed that historical events were the result of struggle between a good force and an evil force and that evil ruled the world, but could be controlled or defeated through asceticism and good works.
Albigensian Crusade, Simon de Montfort, Montségur, Quéribus
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| Waldensians | |
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Peter Waldo of Lyon was a wealthy merchant who gave up his wealth around 1175 after a religious experience and became a preacher. He founded the Waldensians which became a Christian sect believing that all religious practices should have scriptural basis. Waldo was denied the right to preach his sermons by the Third Lateran Council in 1179, which he did not obey and continued to speak freely until he was excommunicated in 1184. Waldo was critical of the Christian clergy saying they did not live according to the word. He rejected the practice of selling indulgences, as well as the common saint cult practices of the day.
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| Trade and commerce | |
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In Northern Europe, the Hanseatic League, a federation of free cities to advance trade by sea, was founded in the 12th century, with the foundation of the city of Lübeck, which would later dominate the League, in 1158–1159. Many northern cities of the Holy Roman Empire became hanseatic cities, including Amsterdam, Cologne, Bremen, Hanover and Berlin. Hanseatic cities outside the Holy Roman Empire were, for instance, Bruges and the Polish city of Gdańsk (Danzig), as well as Königsberg, capital of the monastic state of the Teutonic Knights. In Bergen, Norway and Novgorod, Russia the league had factories and middlemen. In this period the Germans started colonising Eastern Europe beyond the Empire, into Prussia and Silesia.
In the late 13th century, a Venetian explorer named Marco Polo became one of the first Europeans to travel the Silk Road to China. Westerners became more aware of the Far East when Polo documented his travels in Il Milione. He was followed by numerous Christian missionaries to the East, such as William of Rubruck, Giovanni da Pian del Carpini, Andrew of Longjumeau, Odoric of Pordenone, Giovanni de Marignolli, Giovanni di Monte Corvino, and other travellers such as Niccolò da Conti.
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| Science | |
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Main articles: Science in the Middle Ages and Medieval medicine
Map of Medieval Universities.
Philosophical and scientific teaching of the Early Middle Ages was based upon few copies and commentaries of ancient Greek texts that remained in Western Europe after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. Most of them were studied only in the Latin as knowledge of Greek was very limited.
This scenario changed during the Renaissance of the 12th century. The intellectual revitalization of Europe started with the birth of medieval universities. The increased contact with the Islamic world in Spain and Sicily during the Reconquista, and the Byzantine world and Muslim Levant during the Crusades, allowed Europeans access to scientific Arabic and Greek texts, including the works of Aristotle, Alhazen, and Averroes. The European universities aided materially in the translation and propagation of these texts and started a new infrastructure which was needed for scientific communities.
Detail of a portrait of Hugh de Provence, painted by Tomasso da Modena in 1352
At the beginning of the 13th century there were reasonably accurate Latin translations of the main works of almost all the intellectually crucial ancient authors,[1] allowing a sound transfer of scientific ideas via both the universities and the monasteries. By then, the natural science contained in these texts began to be extended by notable scholastics such as Robert Grosseteste, Roger Bacon, Albertus Magnus and Duns Scotus. Precursors of the modern scientific method can be seen already in Grosseteste's emphasis on mathematics as a way to understand nature, and in the empirical approach admired by Bacon, particularly in his Opus Majus.
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| Technology | |
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Main articles: Medieval technology and artes mechanicae
During the 12th and 13th century in Europe there was a radical change in the rate of new inventions, innovations in the ways of managing traditional means of production, and economic growth. In less than a century there were more inventions developed and applied usefully than in the previous thousand years of human history all over the globe. The period saw major technological advances, including the adoption or invention of windmills, watermills, printing (though not yet with movable type), gunpowder, the astrolabe, spectacles, scissors of the modern shape, a better clock, and greatly improved ships. The latter two advances made possible the dawn of the Age of Exploration. These inventions were influenced by foreign culture and society.
Alfred Crosby described some of this technological revolution in The M Tags: | |
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