New Schools and Churches

Key to the flowering of the Middle Ages was a new emphasis on learning and a new form of church architecture termed Gothic. In many ways, these developments laid the foundation for other trends of the period. The schools trained men to staff new bureaucracies and at the same time fed religious fervor. The Gothic style gave luster to its rich patrons, the increasingly powerful rulers of the time, who offered needed support both to the schools and to the architects who produced the style.