CHAPTER FIVE -
REVIVAL IN THE HIGH MIDDLE AGES
The Early
and Central Middle Ages were centuries when feudal relations reflected the unchallenged
dominance of a military elite. At the peak of their power, feudal lords ruled
their manors as private little worlds, controlling military power, law and
punishment, economics (taxes) and even the religious institutions in their
realms. Beginning in the late 11th century (1000's), however, feudal
lords and vassals began to lose their control. In three areas, feudal lords
faced increasing challenges from:
Although
this process took centuries, revival of a more formally structured and complex
society is clearly evident during the period historians call the High
Middle Ages.
This period of revival was
made possible by a couple of things. One was the fact that the amount of
violence in European society declined, beginning in the late 1000's and 1100's.
Outside invasions by groups such as the Vikings and Magyars subsided as these
groups settled and became assimilated into European culture. Due to pressures of the
Church and elite women, internal warfare and chronic violence in
The second area of change
was in agriculture production, which increased dramatically in the 11th
and 12th centuries due to better agricultural techniques and
beneficial weather patterns. More food meant more stability, larger populations,
more surpluses, and more opportunities for those living in
RELIGIOUS REVIVAL
In the area of religion,
the Catholic Church began to reassert its power in two ways. One was a movement
within the Church to confront the problems of moral and financial corruption.
An influential internal reform movement began in the 10th century,
and made itself felt throughout the 11th century; it was called the
Cluniac Reforms. It began in a monastery in the south of
The second area of reform
took place at the highest level of the Church leadership. During the Central
Middle Ages, popes were weak and often corrupt, manipulated by powerful
families or even participating in political intrigue in
One dramatic indication of
this increased status and wealth was the explosion of construction taking place
throughout
The increased authority of
the Church was also made clear in 1095 when Pope Urban II called for a holy war
to be fought against the Muslims (we discuss the rise and spread of Islam in
later weeks). Pope Urban II initiated the First Crusade - a
Christian holy war intended to end Muslim control of
Over the next century and a
half, there were six more Crusades. However these later Crusades became increasingly
driven by the ambitions of knights (for land and wealth) and the political
agendas of popes and kings in
Another significant
consequence of the Crusades was the increased interaction Europeans had with
the Mediterranean and Near Eastern cultures - connections that virtually
disappeared with the collapse of
ECONOMIC REVIVAL
One of the most exciting
areas of revival was in social/economic conditions. The increase in food supply
and agricultural production meant that trade increased. Commerce and
interaction, which declined or completely halted during the dangerous
disruptive years of the Central Middle Ages, reemerged. Increased trade
led to several related and extremely important developments. One was the
reintroduction of movement and interchange in parts of
Another change was the
reemergence of currency throughout
Towns, which had shrunk or even died out
during the rural age of feudalism, grew into revitalized cities and urban
centers. People started flocking into these towns since they
provided more opportunities than the elite-controlled countryside. There was
finally a niche that non-military based people could fill other than being
a peasant - there was the opportunity for upward mobility as a merchant or
craftsperson, now that goods and products could be traded. This new,
vibrant class of people taking advantage of economic opportunities was the middle
class (in the middle between the military elite and the
agricultural/peasant class.) The middle class, although numerically small in
the High Middle Ages, displayed a dynamism and ambition that immediately
challenged and continued to erode the position and power of the aristocratic
elite. This struggle between the aristocracy and the middle/commercial class
continued for centuries and was a defining feature of Modern European
history. (see
map)
Middle
class leaders in the towns acquired increased economic influence for two
reasons. One is that these urban dwellers accumulated currency and thus wealth.
Secondly, townspeople living in areas controlled by feudal lords paid highly
desired taxes to these feudal leaders; the lords became increasingly dependent
on these taxes. Thus those living in the
towns could start to make demands of these feudal lords.
Interestingly, the feudal lords did not recognize the threat of this middle
class and the beginning of a commercial economy. All they saw was the tax money
they could collect. Feudal lords even built walls to make towns more attractive
and thus bring in more tax money. In fact words such as burgher and
bourgeoisie, German and French for middle class, come from the root word
"wall." As these bourgeoisie recognized the dependency of the
feudal lords on their taxes, they started making demands of the feudal lords,
threatening to take their business (and tax money) elsewhere. These concessions
gained by the townspeople, called liberties,
included legal autonomy, lower taxes and most importantly, freedoms from
peasant and serf obligations. One of the most important developments that took
place in parts of
Towns, commercial
development and the reappearance of a middle class in West/Cen Europe all
eroded the agricultural dominance of the feudal lords/vassals. A new class
emerged - providing mobility and opportunity to the lower classes in
POLITICAL REVIVAL
Political revival was the
most threatening to feudal lords and vassals. This was the process by
which kings started to successfully build states in some parts of
CONCLUSION
We have covered an
extremely involved and complex issue this week - the development of European
civilization during the Middle Ages. There are many specific issues and stories
associated with this period - you can pursue these topics on your own through
further reading and study if your curiosity has been sparked. What you
need to keep in mind for this class are four key things:
1. understand that
during the Middle Ages, there was a blending of
2. understand the
relationships of feudalism and manorialism which gave some stability at
a local level to people during turbulent and violent times;
3. understand some of
the long term *legacies* of these feudal relationships and traditions;
4. understand the ways
in which
We come back to
Interesting Related Web Sites
Knighthood,
Chivalry and Tournaments
Internet Sourcebook -
Crusades
What it was like in the Middle
Ages
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FOUR
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