Urban culture and education developed as well. The restoration of commerce with the East, as well as ties with Muslim thinkers, notably in Spain, allowed for the recovery of old learning and science.

Unlike the Carolingian period's dabbling with antiquity, the twelfth century saw a real resurgence of classical study. During the twelfth century, schools and curriculum expanded beyond the clergy to educate lay men and some women, dramatically expanding literacy among laypeople and their involvement in governance and society.

In France, Gothic architecture began to replace the simple and hefty Romanesque form adopted by fortress Europe during the insecure early Middle Ages in the mid-twelfth century. Its new grace and beauty—soaring arches, towering flying buttresses, brilliant light, and stained glass—were a witness to its newfound grace and beauty.

Urban culture and education developed as well. The restoration of commerce with the East, as well as ties with Muslim thinkers, notably in Spain, allowed for the recovery of old learning and science. Unlike the Carolingian period's dabbling with antiquity, the twelfth century saw a real resurgence of classical study. During the twelfth century, schools and curriculum expanded beyond the clergy to educate lay men and some women, dramatically expanding literacy among laypeople and their involvement in governance and society.

In France, Gothic architecture began to replace the simple and hefty Romanesque form adopted by fortress Europe during the insecure early Middle Ages in the mid-twelfth century. Its new grace and beauty—soaring arches, towering flying buttresses, brilliant light, and stained glass—were a witness to its newfound grace and beauty.

Three primary socioeconomic categories were depicted in Middle Ages art and literature: those who battled as mounted knights (the landed nobles), those who prayed (the clergy), and those who toiled in fields and shops (the peasantry and village craftsmen). Long-distance traders and merchants arose as a fourth social stratum with the resurgence of cities in the eleventh century. They worked, like the peasants, but in ways that were foreign to the traditional groups.

They were freemen who frequently acquired enormous riches, but unlike the aristocracy and clergy, they did not own property, and unlike the peasantry, they did not work in fields and businesses. Their ascent to power generated a significant schism in the old social order, as they drew the leadership behind them.

No medieval social category was completely uniform—not the nobles, clergy, townsfolk, or even peasants. The nobility was not just a distinct social class; it also had significant social divides within its ranks.

Noblemen ranged from tiny vassals with no subordinate vassals to strong barons, the main vassals of a king or prince with numerous vassals of their own. The exercise of control over others was intimately tied to dignity and standing within the aristocracy; a chief with numerous vassals clearly outperformed the tiny rural aristocrat who served another and was lord over none but himself.

Even among the nobility's domestic employees, a social hierarchy formed based on assigned manorial responsibilities. Despite the fact that peasants in the perspective of the

Although they were considered peasants by the law, the chief stewards—tasked with managing the functioning of the lord's manor as well as the care and education of the noble children—became powerful "lords" inside their "domains."

Some freemen felt the steward's position enviable enough to give up their own freedom and work as domestic slaves in the hopes of achieving it.

Although they were considered peasants by the law, the chief stewards—tasked with managing the functioning of the lord's manor as well as the care and education of the noble children—became powerful "lords" inside their "domains." Some freemen felt the steward's position enviable enough to give up their own freedom and work as domestic slaves in the hopes of achieving it.

Many monks (as well as nuns who progressively took the vows of poverty, obedience, and chastity without a clerical title) retreated completely.

The regular clergy, on the other hand, were never fully isolated from the secular society. They kept in touch with the laity through charitable activities such as feeding the poor and caring for the sick, liberal arts education in monastic schools, special pastoral commissions from the Pope, and serving as supplemental preachers and confessors in parish churches during Lent and other peak religious seasons.

It became a distinguishing feature of Dominican and Franciscan friars to live a common life according to a specific rule while being engaged in worldly service. Some monks ascended to positions of power as a result of their study and rhetorical abilities.