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1 The Origins of Western Civilizations
2 Gods and Empires in the Ancient Near East
3 The Greek Experiment
4 Expansion of Greece
5 Roman Civilization
6 Christianity and the Transformation of the Roman World
7 Rome's Three Heirs: The Byzantine, Islamic, and Early Medieval Worlds
8 The Expansion of Europe: Economy, Society, and Politics in the High Middle Ages
9 The High Middle Ages: Religious and Intellectual Developments
10 The Later Middle Ages
11 Commerce, Conquest, and Colonization
12 The Civilization of the Renaissance
13 Reformations of Religion
14 Religious Wars and State Building
15 Age of Absolutism and Empire
16 Scientific Revolution
17 Enlightenment
18 The French Revolution
19 Industrial Revolution and Nineteenth Century Society
20 From Restoration to Revolution, 1815-1848
21 What is a Nation? Territories, States, and Citizens, 1848-1871
22 Imperialism and Colonialism
23 The Challenge of the Modern West
24 The First World War
25 Turmoil Between the Wars
26 The Second World War
27 The Cold War World: Global Politics, Economic Recovery, and Cultural Change
28 Red Flags and Velvet Revolutions: The End of the Cold War, 1960-1990
29 Globalization and the Twenty-First-Century World

Chapter 8: The Expansion of Europe: Economy, Society, and Politics in the High Middle Ages

Chapter Summary

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By the beginning of the 14th century Europe seemed to have recovered itself from the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. Threats from Vikings, Magyars, and the Muslims began to slow down and Europe became the dominant military, economic and political power. Although the process of this transformation was never easy, it can be argued that Europe was now on a more firm path to growth and improvement. There are a number of reasons why Europe was able to remake itself. An agricultural revolution spread unevenly across England and parts of France and western Germany. A number of technological breakthroughs made it possible for peasants and lords to obtain a greater yield from the land. This, in turn, made it possible for early medieval towns and cities to grow prosperous and support even larger populations. Manorialism or serfdom became a predominant form of land organization during the period, and although the serf's life was always harsh, he at least knew that his obligations were fixed by custom.

In 1095, Pope Urban II made his famous proclamation at Clermont, thus setting in motion the First Crusade against the infidels inhabiting the Holy Lands. Although the Crusades illustrated a new spirit of adventure among European kings, princes and knights, a balance sheet would show that the Crusades were hardly a total success. If anything, the Crusades hardened the sense of "holy war" between the Christian west and Islamic east.

The political, economic and military institution known as feudalism slowly developed in the High Middle Ages as an attempt to bring some order to the politically fragmented world of medieval Europe. At the same time, new national monarchies made their appearance in England, France, Germany and Spain, and owed their success to citizen participation and loyalty. We could make the bold claim that perhaps the modern nation-state was born during the High Middle Ages.

 

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