Introduction to Medieval Europe, 300–1500

Description

The Middle Ages as a period in European history Try to imagine a world in which: ■ population density at its highest level was less than that of present-day Russia, without the latter’s infrastructure ■ medical knowledge was appalling, which meant that most people died young and had to live with serious physical suffering ■ people, consequently, lived under a demographic ‘high-pressure’ regime, which means that only by maximising fertility were they able to keep ahead of mortality ■ there was an abundance of young people ■ infrastructure (roads, bridges) and means of transportation were of poor quality/primitive, so ■ few people ever travelled far – hence, geographical scope and the mental outlook of most people were narrow ■ economic production was overwhelmingly agricultural ■ as a result, most people were peasants who lived in small villages ■ technological development and mechanisation of human labour were very limited ■ the Christian religion informed practically every aspect of daily life ■ most people did not have any formal education, and were unlikely to be able to read or write. Welcome to the Middle Ages! The Middle Ages are not just a straightforward part of world history taking place all over the globe. According to longaccepted agreement among historians, adopted by standard university curricula and standard textbooks all over the world, the Middle Ages are a period in Europe’s past that roughly covers the millennium between 500 and 1500 CE. Nowadays, the term ‘medieval’, with ‘feudal’ used as a regular alternative, often represents something backward and barbaric, which then is contrasted with more splendid cultures that preceded and followed the Middle Ages. Where did such ideas come from? List of illustrations ix List of boxes xi Illustration acknowledgements xiii Introduction 1 The Middle Ages as a period in European history 1 From scarcity to hegemony 8 Medievalism 9 The book’s arrangement 11 Part I: The early Middle Ages, 300–1000 13 1 The end of the Roman Empire in the West 15 Governing an empire 17 Taxation and fiscal policy 21 The Roman army and the frontier 22 Economic structure and prosperity 24 The barbarian world of the north 25 The collapse of the Roman order in the West 27 The later Migration Period 32 Barbarian ethnogenesis 34 The barbarian kingdoms in the West 34 Balance: the end of Roman civilisation? 41 The survival of the Roman Empire in the East 43 Points to remember 48 Suggestions for further reading 49 2 The establishment of two world religions: Christianity and Islam 50 The Christian Church in the transition from Antiquity to the Middle Ages 50 The relationship between emperor and pope 54 Material wealth, accumulation and distribution 56 Church organisation 57 Orthodoxy and heterodoxy 62 Saints and miracles 66 Monasticism 67 Spreading the faith 70 The Arab conquests and the establishment of Islam 79 Points to remember 84 Suggestions for further reading 85 3 The powerful and the poor: society and economy in the Frankish kingdoms and beyond 86 Warlords and landlords 87 Trade and gift-exchange 97 Early medieval politics 103 Dynamic peripheries 117 Points to remember 124 Suggestions for further reading 125 Part II: The central Middle Ages, 1000–1300 127 4 Accelerated growth 129 Population growth 129 Volume and nature of agricultural production 130 New types of local lordship 134 Knights and peasants: image and reality 143 Points to remember 152 Suggestions for further reading 153 5 Early kingdoms and principalities 154 Charlemagne’s legacy 154 Alternative modes of early state formation 172 The institutionalisation of the state 182 Points to remember 187 Suggestions for further reading 188 6 Religious reform and renewal 189 Aspirations to reform 189 The papal monarchy 197 Reformation and renewal in monastic life 199 The faithful become visible 207 Points to remember 216 Suggestions for further reading 216 Part III: Expansion and maturation, 1000–1500 219 7 The beginnings of European expansion 221 The West becomes more aggressive 221 Shifting centres of gravity 223 Take-off to a commercial revolution 240 Points to remember 256 Suggestions for further reading 256 8 Thinking about man and the world 257 The medieval view of the world and mankind 257 The higher education programme of Late Antiquity and its survival in the early Middle Ages 266 The formation of universities 277 The humanism of the late Middle Ages 289 Points to remember 295 Suggestions for further reading 296 9 Towns and the urbanisation of medieval society 297 The phenomenon of the pre-industrial town 297 The beginnings of urban society 302 Autonomy and liberty 304 Urban society and urban economy in the later Middle Ages 317 Professional structures 318 Points to remember 323 Suggestions for further reading 323 Part IV: The late Middle Ages, 1300–1500 325 10 Between crisis and contraction: population, economy and society 327 War, famine and pestilence 327 Theories on demographic decline and economic development 335 Economic crisis or contraction? 341 Characteristics of late medieval society 341 Social contrasts and social conflicts 347 Points to remember 355 Suggestions for further reading 355 11 The consolidation of states 357 Types of state: sovereignty versus suzerainty 357 The course of events 360 The Holy Roman Empire and Italy: stalemate 363 Driving forces in the formation of states 380 State institutions and social order 384 Points to remember 396 Suggestions for further reading 397 12 Crisis in the Church and the reorientation of the faithful 398 Who leads Christendom? 398 The popes in Avignon and the bureaucratisation of the Curia 403 The Great Schism and the conciliar movement 404 Religious life 406 Points to remember 419 Suggestions for further reading 420 Epilogue 421 Acceleration 422 The medieval roots of modern culture 425 Timeline 428 Glossary 439 Bibliography of secondary literature 446 Index 471