Europe in the High Middle Ages1000-1300

Europe in the High Middle Ages

• The New Agriculture• Daily life of the Peasantry• The Nobility of the Middle

Ages– Held the political,

economic, and social power

– Were warriors– Social divisions based

on wealth and landholdings

– Aristocratic women

Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204)

The Revival of Trade• Revival began in the

eleventh and twelfth centuries

• Gradual process• Accelerated by Crusades• Centers of growth: Italian

states, Flanders• Increase demand for

money; growth of banking

Growth of Cities

• Beginning in 10th century, many new cities in northern Europe

• Fortified strongholds by merchants for trade

• Develop own governments w/unique laws

• Cities remained small, Europe remains rural

Evolution of the European Kingdoms:

• England– Wm of Normandy (the

Conqueror– Magna Carta, 1215– English Parliament,

1295• House of Lords• House of Commons

• France– Capetian kings– Process of cautious centralization– King eventually gained the power to

• Make church pay taxes• Mint money & employ professional soldiers apart

from feudal armies

– Estates General

• The Lands of the Holy Roman Empire– Germany & Italy only nominally controlled by

Holy Roman Emperors– Actually split into regional states run by feudal

lords & city-states– Pope directly controlled central Italy

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The Migrations of the Slavs

Development of Russia

• Oleg (c. 873-913), created the Rus state of Kiev• Vladimir (c. 980-1015), becomes Orthodox

Christian• Alexander Nevsky (c. 1220-1263)

– Defeated an invading German army in 1242– Cooperated with the Mongols and rewarded

with title of grand prince

Christianity and Medieval Civilization

• The Papal Monarchy• Reform of the Papacy• The Church Supreme• New Religious Orders

and New Spiritual Ideas

The Culture of the High Middle Ages

• Rise of Universities– Irnerius (1088-1125), Bologna, first university in Europe– Competition for new universities– Liberal arts curriculum– Degrees

• Development of Scholasticism– Theology; “queen of all sciences”– Scholasticism: philosophical and theological system of the medieval schools– Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), Summa Theologica

Abbey of Saint Denis, Paris

Bayeux Cathedral

The Bayeux Cathedral in northern France, with its soaring vaulted ceiling and somber grey stone, is an excellent example of Norman Gothic architecture. Like all European cathedrals, it has undergone numerous architectural modifications over the centuries.

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The Early Crusades

Medieval Europe and the World: The Crusades

• The First Crusades– Pope Urban II, 1088-1099

• Alexius I asked for help• Council of Clermont, 1095

– First Crusade, 1096-1099• Jerusalem, 1099• Crusader feudal states

• Saladin captures Jerusalem in 1187• Later Crusades

– The Fourth Crusade – Marks the severing of East and West – A series of failed efforts to recapture the Holy Land