FOCUS QUESTION What led to Europe’s economic growth and reurbanization?

Most people continued to live in villages in the High Middle Ages, but the rise of towns and the growth of a new business and commercial class was a central part of Europe’s recovery after the disorders of the tenth century. The growth of towns was made possible by some of the changes already described: a rise in population; increased agricultural output, which provided an adequate food supply for town dwellers; and a degree of peace and political stability, which allowed merchants to transport and sell goods. As towns gained legal and political rights, merchant and craft guilds grew more powerful, and towns became centers of production as well as commerce.