Surname 2
Student’s Name:
Instructor’s Name:
Course:
Date:
The Medieval era in Europe
History often divides Europe’s Medieval ages into three distinct eras: The Early Middle Ages, the High Middle Ages, and the Late Middle Ages. Early Middle Ages are presumed to had had begun as soon as the Roman empire collapsed between the 5th and 10th centuries, i.e., between 500 to 1000 A.D. This period witnessed Mediaeval age’s drastic improvements in farming techniques and agricultural technology – yielding more food which in turn supported the rapid population growth in Europe (Chapter Twelve 332-3). High Middle Ages are believed to have started following the aftermath of the Early Middle Ages – which took place between 1000 and 1300 A.D. And the Late Middle Ages followed soon afterward, and it’s conventionally believed to have come to an end around 1500 A.D.
Historians among other great scholars from the ancient times have cited the decline of the Roman Empire as the leading cause of the Mediaeval era; particularly so, the crumble of the Western Roman Empire. Unlike Byzantine’s Empire which lasted until Ottoman’s 15th century’s conquests; by 480A.D., the Western parts of the Roman empire had started to succumb to Goths’ frequent irruptions and repeated invasions – effectively leading down to a rabbit hole birth of the Medieval era. During this period, the Roman empire not only failed to enforce its rule but it also witnessed the division of most of its vast territories – which it had conquered in the past 1000years of its Roman rule – into several and distinct forms of polities throughout Europe. In other words, during this era, the Roman empire started losing its strengths which had enabled it to effectively exercise its power control over its Western spheres’ provinces.
Some of the most remarkable factors that led to this decline include but not limited to the economic downturn of the Roman empire, ineffectiveness and an inevitable shrink of its army, health concerns and rapid growth of the Roman populace, emperors’ incompetence, leadership conflicts or wrangles within the empire, the resurgence of the religion of Christianity which came with so much changes within the Roman empire, among other inefficiencies with the empire’s civil administration. Here in this paper, will discuss and provide an extensive survey of the periods that followed the decline of the western powers of the Roman empire; particularly so, the High Middle Ages. To achieve this objective, the paper will pay a closer look into some of the aspects such as the period’s political development, social hierarchy, military, religion, culture and social arts among other factors that defined the High Middle Ages and their eventual contributions to the renaissance and birth of modernity.
High Middle Ages in Europe (AD 1000-1300)
From the historical context, we have learned that tremendous growth in Europe happened during the Medieval era of the High Middle Ages. Therefore, it should not be surprising then that some of the primary and dominant Eurasian State nations such as Germany, England, France, and Russia were all founded during this Medieval period of the High Middle Ages.
Warfare and political developments in the High Middle Ages
Fast forward, between 950 to around 1250 A.D., Europe experienced very significant territorial expansions, political, economic and cultural developments. From the outset of the 10th century, this kind of growth was considerably unimaginable. However, as time went by and the High Middle Ages continued to take root in Europe’s vast regions, it kept getting more imminent and inevitable. Some of the reasons why such broad development or expansion was practically impossible during the 10th century are the fact(s) that during that period, Europe was under siege from almost all corners. Quite the majority of the Europeans were engaged in consistent attack tussles with one another; for example, by the Arab Muslims who ruled south Europe and some parts of the West, Magyars who ruled the Southeast of Europe and Vikings, who were very unpredictable and untamable due to their relentless attempts to expand to almost every direction in Europe (Chapter Twelve 330).
Nonetheless, 1100 A.D. marked an era where most of the European polities had growingly become very popular – characterized by extensive powers. Because they had mightier and well-established armies or forces, some of these individual elites and monarchs started to contemplate on the foreseeable prospects of invading and conquering the Middle East. Although by 920 A.D. Carolingian rulers’ era had come to an end; in the Eastern spheres of Europe, Magyars were still very influential whereas the Western spheres had to withstand Vikings’ settlement (Chapter Twelve 328). However, regardless of all these revolutions and resurgences; the French’s central monarchy didn’t face any direct or real threat from these individual elites’ and Monarchist expansions until Louis VII’s era (1137-1180 A.D), who faced an insurmountable challenge of solving Angevin Empire’s problems.
History submits to us that this was considered one of the most significant challenges that Louis VII and French’s central monarchy had faced. This was a real threat to the sovereignty considering that most of the Angevin empire’s problems were based upon the Normandy and Anjou in the ‘English-west French’ State. Moreover, solutions to the Angevin Empire’s problems purely depended on how Louis VI tackled the English strength of administration which was under Plantagenets’ rule. However, William the Conqueror’s ascend to the English throne in 1066 refueled and reestablished Angevin Empire and persistently remained one of the greatest threats to the French kingship until when Phillip II Augustus managed to defeat Angevin Empire and quashed its influence in regional geopolitical sphere throughout his reign between 1180 to 1223 A.D. Notably, the mother of his overall conquest and success came with the triumphs against both Otto IV of Germany and John of England. The consequential defeat of John of England forced him not only to face shame but also baronial revolts in England – eventually compelling him to accept the issuance of Magma Carta in 1215 A.D. This kind of new political development in the English institutions caused feudalism crises in Europe. For example, the French and the English engaged in war with each other in more than 100years that followed. Nonetheless, with both Otto VI and John defeated, St. Louis IX (1226-1270 A.D), led the French Kingdom to become one of the most formidable feudal kingdoms of the High Middle Ages’ era; thanks to its gradual emergence of the central monarchy. His efforts to the implementation of systemic justice earned him respect and reputation in medieval society.
The High Middle Ages’ Cultural developments
The medieval era; particularly so, the High Middle Ages marked the period of both intellectual and artistic resurgence. This is the era that witnessed the birth of architecture – a factor the left the European continent bedecked with several Universities, Churches, and Cathedrals (Chapter Twelve 347-8). The university, as we know it today – faculties, the schools, and degrees – dates back to the High Middle Ages. Or better still, modern universities [and things such as student leadership] are all the products of the High Middle Ages’ era where the first university had started in Bologna, Italy. Soon after Emperor Frederick Barbarossa approved Bologna students’ guild charter in 1158; Popes, the Kings, and Princes began to compete in terms of establishing new Universities across Europe. Thanks to this competition, Universities became very popular not only in Europe but also across the world. Consequently, by the end of the High Middle Ages, more than 80 universities had been established across Europe; most of which were built in Germany, Italy, England and France.
One of the basic requirements for students to join these universities was the completion of the conventional curriculum of liberal arts – a syllabus that was comprised of rhetoric, grammar, geometry, and arithmetic, music among other subjects (Chapter Twelve 347-8). The lecture method was the primary method of teaching in the medieval era. A lecture is a derivative form of a word from the Latin verb for “read.” However, unlike today where print media is readily available, lecturers from the High Middle Ages didn’t have the privilege of accessing scholarly sources of studies, and therefore most of their teaching came from reading primary texts such as the collections of laws [assuming the subject was law] and adding some notes to their coursework. Notably, there were no exams during this era. However, if a student applied to join the University, the oral examination could be given by a panel of selected teachers (Chapter Twelve 347-8). Either way, universities produced competent administrators, teachers among other professionals to the Medieval society.
The calls for crusades and the struggle for Jerusalem during the High Middle Ages
For the fact that the High Middle Ages era saw the unprecedented building of Churches and Cathedrals meant that religion was on its trajectory trend in Medieval societies. Consequently, rulers such as Otto I – after defeating Magyars – established his kingship on the moral values and teaching of the Church; particularly so, based on the teachings of Christianity (Chapter Twelve 342-4).
Strengthening of the early Church came with the support of the Church’s institutional reforms in Medieval society. This meant that leadership was no longer centralized alongside nobility (Chapter Twelve 332). Historians believe that this became the stepping stone in terms of helping Papal reforms – which had emerged through the monastery. Notably, one of the most significant takeaways from these reforms is the discovery that they detached all kinds of secular rulers’ powers from meddling with the policies and other appointments of the Church. Eventually, as the church began to obtain overwhelming superiority, it started to face more stiff oppositions but thanks to papacy’s strong forces, it had weathered the storm by 1100A.D. Consequently, because of Papacy’s great dominance and well organization, they called for the ‘famous’ religious crusades which led to the struggle for Jerusalem. On the contrary to this great resurgence of Papacy, the Eastern Roman Empire – also known as the Byzantine Empire – was on the last stages of its total decline.
Consequently, by 1071 A.D.; just after Byzantine’s decline, the process of religious crusades gathered pace – eventually seeing the separation of the Eastern Church from the Catholic west – since 1054A.D. This shows that it faced severe threats from the Catholic Church’s sudden resurgence. Nonetheless, the influence of the Catholic Church had taken root as it can be illustrated from the fact that when the first religious crusade took place between 1096 and 1099 A.D., it was very influential to the capture of Jerusalem by the feudal nobles (Chapter Twelve 351-2). Due to this Jerusalem pilgrimage, Muslim leaders also started to gather and increase their religious influence in the region – leading to the second crusade in 1147 A.D. Consequently, unlike the first crusade, the second crusade brought insignificant victory to the feudal nobles of the Catholic church; and they eventually lost Jerusalem to Salah al-Din al-Ayyubid in 1187 A.D. From that time onwards, neither did the third nor the forth crusaders yield any treasurable success to the Catholic church’s feudal nobles. Therefore, as far as Medieval religion is concerned; these crusaders embedded with the struggle for Jerusalem defines the renaissance and birth of modernity in religion.
Conclusion
From the discussion above, it’s evident that the High Middle Ages’ era was atypical as characterized by Europe’s growth; economic, sociopolitical, cultural and artistic; renaissance and birth to modernity. This era saw one of the greatest economic revivals of millennia. Improvement in technological savviness and agricultural techniques meant that more food was produced, a factor that not only improved people’s economic states but also improved their living standards – leading to rapid population growth in Medieval societies. Also, throughout this era, European societies’ leaders were in constant war with each other; whether warfare was purposive to defend national territories from invasion or just participating in crusades, aristocracies in European’s Medieval societies were intimately and actively involved in warfare.
Besides, cultural developments redefined and reshaped the history of religion. For instance, the Churches are unquestionably one of the most fundamental works that architectural development brought into Medieval society. This is the reason why this period witnessed the church cruising to its acme of power – eventually becoming very influential in Medieval society.
Work(s) cited
Chapter Twelve. “The emergence of Europe in the Early Middle Ages.” Coursebook. Print.
Pages 324-353.