End Of The Early Medieval Period Cities example essay topic

Introduction The medieval period in European history begins after the fall of the Roman Empire around 500 C.E., and continued until the early modern period beginning around 1500. The medieval period is split into the sub-categories of early medieval (500-1000), central middle ages (1000-1300), late medieval (1300-1500), and followed by the early modern period (1500-1800). At each of these periods of time important political, economic, social, cultural, religious and scientific changes were being made in Western Europe. Early Medieval The collapse of the Roman Empire led to the emergence of three successor civilizations; Byzantium, Islam, and Western Europe.

The absence of a strong central government led Western Europeans landowner's vulnerable to barbarian invasions, attacks from other landowners, and later Islamic invasions. This political and economic turmoil caused the abandonment of farmlands and the depopulation of cities. However, through all this Christianity prospered through domestic proselytization, and the tireless work of monks and nuns converting the lay man. The monasteries monks and nuns operated, provided a more stable environment than anywhere else in Western Europe.

St. Benedict's monasteries required a life of poverty, chastity, and obedience to the abbot for anyone living on the grounds. Monasteries also engaged in agriculture production and the copying and study of Latin heritage. Around the 700's, the Carolingians became the first powerful empire of Western Christendom. The Carolingians were founded by Charles Martel, but their greatest leader was his grandson Charlemagne.

Charles Martel had a large army of mounted soldiers, who used stirrups to better stay on their horses, to defeat the Umayyad's at Tours in 732 to halt the Islamic advance into Europe. During its height, Charlemagne's empire stretched from the Pyrenees Mountains in the East to the Avars in the West, and from the North Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. The Carolingians were the first empire to use lower case letters and also helped preserve Rome's Latin heritage. In the middle of the ninth century the Carolingian Empire collapsed due to internal fragmentation and the external invasions of the Magyars, Muslims, and Vikings.

These events led to the creation of a "centralized kingdom in England, autonomous duchies and counties in West Francia, a Holy Roman Empire in East Francia; and powerful cities in the Italian peninsula". (Hollister, 125) The terrorizing tactics of the Magyars, Muslims, and Vikings ended around 1000, when they were either defeated or adopted Christianity. By the end of the early medieval period cities were expanding, trade and commerce thriving, and the Church was growing stronger. Central Middle Ages The Central Middle Ages was a time of agricultural revolution, self-developing society, population expansion and religious crusading and reform. The peace and stability of the central middle ages led to changes in farming methods and technologies. The use of the three-field system allowed farmers to put more land into production during a year, increasing crop size.

While, the cultivation of more land allowed for more farms by pushing back the sea with dikes and the draining of swamps. The introduction of new protein rich crops like lentils, peas, and beans gave Europeans a better diet. These developments doubled crop yields and eliminated famine in Western Europe. With more food being produced, the population of towns and cities swelled in size and new urban charters were drawn up. In these cities guilds and industries were established to produce goods for trade and everyday use.

The main economic and social system during this time was manorialism. Lord's who owned large estates would employ peasants to produce the Lords feudal obligations and in return peasants would receive his own lands to support himself, but be forced to pay a variety of fees for using the Lords implements and facilities. A system of mutual rights and responsibilities called feudalism was the political system in the central middle ages. Elites would provide higher ranking nobles with feudal obligations of warriors, food, and / or animals in return for their protection or use of the land. After the schism in 1054 with the Byzantine emperor, Christianity was divided into Western Catholic and Eastern Orthodoxy sects. Urban masses began to challenge the authority of the church claiming that it no longer addressed the needs of the urban public.

Heretics, like the Cathar's and Albigensian's, came into existence and spoke out about church wealth and believed in a dualistic theology. In response, the church instituted monastic reforms against worldliness and complacency within its ranks. In 1122, the power of the Papacy began to expand with the Concordat of Worms which was a compromise between the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor over lay investiture. Also during this time, the Crusades played an important role in occupying professional soldiers. After the Byzantine emperor's plea for help to Pope Urban II crusading forces were assembled and traveled to the Holy Land. Over the next hundred years they would be four crusades with the first crusade being the most successful and the fourth crusade forever splitting Western Catholic church and the Eastern Orthodox church.

As the central middle ages came to an end France and England evolved into centralized states, while the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor were fighting each other. During this period, an important document was drafted by the English in 1215. The Magna Carta, as it was called, stated the king is not above the law. The central middle ages ended with pride and enthusiasm for most people but the times to come would eliminate those feelings. Late Medieval Ages The Late Medieval Ages was a time of crisis, response, and recovery.

By the 1300's, Western Europe was overpopulated and suffering form inflation. These problems would be solved in the form of colder weather, which led to a great famine, and the devastating effects of the plague. The plague killed one out of every three people in Europe; left villages deserted, created a labor shortage, and devastated the European economy. With labor shortages, and abundant land to farm, this became a golden age for peasants. As a result serfdom declines in this period and peasants now had the opportunity to improve their social status.

The church, during this time, suffers a period waning prestige as a result from a forty year schism over the location of the papacy in Avignon. The pope also felt pressure from the Conciliar movement. The movement sought to make church councils the supreme authority in the church. The movement was met with heavy resistance and ended in 1449. English claims on French soil created the notion that French people should be ruled by a French king. This ultimately led to the Hundred Years' War, which was lasted one-hundred sixteen years.

The war was fought on French soil and drastically devastated the lands. The French ended up pushing England back across the channel with the leadership of Joan of Arc. During this time, innovations in water power, printing, mining and shipping allowed more trade to occur and increased literacy. Europeans were now seeking new routs to the treasures of the East.

The fall of Constantinople to the Turks in 1453 brought a vast wealth of knowledge back to Western Europe. The Medieval Ages ended with the defeat of the Muslims in Spain, and the discovery of the new world. Early Modern Period The Early Modern Period was a time when the Catholic Church lost its monopoly on religion in the West. The invention of the printing press in the period before allowed Europeans to make books faster, with more books out in the world then ever before, people could express their thoughts and beliefs to a larger audience, and literacy increased. An example of reaching a larger audience was the Protestant Reformation in which Martin Luther was able to spread his teachings all over Europe. In response the Church established the Counter-Reformation to attack corruption, and called the Council of Trent to fight Protestant increases in converts.

By, the 1560's Protestantism had reached its peak. The Council of Trent reinvigorated the Catholic Church and strengthened the power of the papacy. The Catholic Church also had to deal with German princes trying to increase their power and in result the Peace of Augsburg signed. The agreement gave German princes the right to choose their own religion for their region. Another event from the period before, the fall of Constantinople brought a great wealth of knowledge from the times of antiquity. The result of this breadbasket of knowledge produced the renaissance and the works from the great artist like Leonardo da Vinci, among others.

The Early Modern Period also saw the Thirty Years' War, waged entirely in Germany. The war was fought in four phases and was full of alliances and backstabbing. The war ended in 1648 with the peace of Westphalia. In conclusion, the Early Modern Period was a time that emerged from the stepping stones of the Middle Ages, which was a slow but steady and important time of advancement. Birnbaum, H., Flier M., "Medieval Russian Culture" University of California Press. 1984.

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