Developments in Europe c. 1200 - c. 1450
Learning Objectives for Unit 1: Global Tapestry (c. 1200 - c. 1450)
The study of developments in Europe between and CE centers on three primary learning objectives designed by E. Adamson. Students must be able to explain how the beliefs and practices of the predominant religions in Europe—specifically Christianity, Judaism, and Islam—affected and shaped European society. Additionally, it is necessary to explain the causes and consequences of political decentralization across Europe during this period. Finally, one must explain the specific effects of agricultural developments on social organization in Europe within this timeframe.
Historical Overview and the Post-Roman Landscape
Following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, Western Europe entered a period characterized by extreme political fragmentation. The centralized bureaucracy that had defined Roman order died out by approximately CE, replaced by decentralized monarchies and feudalism. During this era, often referred to as "The Dark Ages," urbanization declined significantly as people abandoned decaying cities to live in isolated groups in the countryside. The infrastructure of the Roman legacy, such as roads, fell into disrepair, leading to the dissolution of long-distance trade. In this rural environment, Roman slavery was replaced by serfdom as the primary form of unfree labor. By the post-classical period ( CE to CE), the center of the West shifted to France, the Low Countries, southern and western Germany, and eventually England. These weak states relied on subsistence agriculture, and intellectual activity saw a marked decline. Frequent invasions, particularly raids by seagoing Vikings from Scandinavia, further weakened Western stability.
The Hierarchy and Power of the Roman Catholic Church
Latin or Western Christendom filled the political and administrative void left by the Roman Empire’s collapse. The Roman Catholic Church, centered on the Pope, developed a hierarchical organization modeled after the Roman Empire, including bishops, priests, and monasteries. This hierarchy consists of the Supreme Pontiff (Pope), elected by the College of Cardinals. Traditionally, each cardinal votes four times a day until a two-thirds majority is reached. Ballots are burned after each vote: black smoke signifies an unsuccessful vote, while white smoke signals a successful election, leading to the announcement "Habeum papam!" ("We have a pope!"). Beneath the Pope are Cardinals, Archbishops (who head archdioceses), Bishops (who head dioceses), Monsignors, Pastors (heads of parishes), Parish Priests, Deacons, and Abbots (superiors of monasteries). The Church controlled administrative, educational, and welfare functions, and Latin served as its official language. To convert the population, the Church used a "top-down" strategy, converting local "pagan" kings to gain access to their subjects. By , most of Europe had embraced Christianity. The Church offered religious legitimacy to rulers in exchange for protection. In terms of legal authority, the Church established Canon Law. Violators could face excommunication (banishment from the church), while kings or lords who violated these laws could face interdiction, which was a ban on sacraments being performed on their land.
Political Decentralization, Feudalism, and Manorialism
Because of the lack of a centralized bureaucracy, a decentralized society emerged through feudalism and manorialism. Feudalism describes the political and military relationship between kings and their nobles, while manorialism describes the economic and social relationship between nobles and their peasants. In the feudal system, a warrior elite of landowning lords exercised authority over self-sufficient landed estates called manors. A feudal contract involved kings or powerful lords granting fiefs (land) to vassals or lesser lords in exchange for loyalty and military service ("Land for Loyalty"). Manorialism was characterized by local agricultural estates worked by serfs. Serfs were not slaves—they could not be sold—but they were tied to the land as chattel and passed along with the land. In exchange for the protection of the lord, serfs turned over a portion of their goods and labor. This was a system of subsistence agriculture where intellectual and commercial activity remained limited until the High Middle Ages.
The High Middle Ages: Stability and Growth ( - )
By approximately CE, the frequent invasions by Muslim armies from the south, Hungarians (Magyars) from the east, and Vikings from the north began to subside, providing the security needed for European society to flourish. This coincided with a warming trend after CE, which boosted agricultural productivity and led to a population surplus. This era, the High Middle Ages, was defined by expansion, growth, and a return to urbanization. Cities such as London, Paris, and Venice grew alongside international hubs like Constantinople, Cordoba, and Hangzhou. Trade expanded to include wood, beeswax (for candles), furs, wheat, salt, cloth, and wine. Socially, this period saw the blending of Greco-Roman remnants, Germanic tribal culture, and Roman Catholic influence. Medieval scholars like Thomas Aquinas worked to reconcile classical natural philosophy with Christian beliefs.
Agricultural Productivity and Technological Innovations
Significant increases in economic productive capacity occurred due to several key technological innovations. In the century, the moldboard plow—a curved iron plate—was introduced, allowing for the deeper turning of heavy European soil. The three-field system was implemented to manage soil fertility, where only one-third of the land was left unplanted (fallow) each year. The development of the horse collar was another critical advancement; replacing oxen with horses for plowing significantly boosted the economy, reduced reliance on subsistence farming, and allowed for the growth of market-based towns, industry, and the arts. These developments are often compared to the Champa rice of Asia, a quick-maturing, drought-resistant rice that allowed for two harvests per season ( days each).
Labor Organization and Craft Guilds
Social organization was heavily influenced by the diversification of labor. Forms of labor included free peasant agriculture, nomadic pastoralism, craft production, and various forms of coerced labor like serfdom or the government-imposed labor (similar to the mit’a of the Inca Empire). In urban centers, Craft Guilds were established to organize tradesmen of the same occupation, such as Masons, Carpenters, Painters, Cloth Makers, Tanners, Bakers, Shoemakers (cobblers), and Candle makers. Guilds followed strict rules: they banned illicit trading by non-members, fixed prices, and ensured high quality standards to create a "closed shop" monopoly. Guilds also provided social welfare, caring for sick members and orphans, and arranging burials. Membership was regulated to ensure numbers did not exceed business requirements.
The Changing Role of Women
In the earlier part of the medieval period, women enjoyed a degree of freedom and independence. They could find autonomy within convents through the Catholic Church or by participating in craft guilds as weavers, brewers, and bakers. However, by the High Middle Ages, women were increasingly pushed out of most craft guilds, with their roles restricted primarily to spinning, midwifery, and prostitution. While they maintained obligations to their feudal lords to be paid through labor, they lost much of the independence they previously held in religious and commercial spaces.
The Crusading Tradition and Interregional Impacts
Between and CE, Europe engaged in the Crusades, religious "holy wars" authorized by the Pope. Participants who took a vow were offered an indulgence, which removed penalties for confessed sins. The most famous of these aimed to reclaim Jerusalem and other holy sites from Islamic control. While the Crusades failed to have a lasting political or religious impact in the Middle East—where Turkic and Mongol invasions were more significant—they had profound consequences for Europe. They brought Spain, Sicily, and the Baltic region permanently into Christendom and weakened the Byzantine Empire, especially after the sack of Constantinople. The Crusades opened channels for trade and technological transfer: Europeans developed a taste for Asian luxury goods, learned sugar production techniques, and gained access to Muslim scholarship and Greek learning. However, the Crusades also deepened the rift between Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism and were characterized by extreme cruelty toward Muslims and Jews.