Introduction for Chapter 10

10. Life in Villages and Cities of the High Middle Ages, 1000–1300

>How and why did life change over the course of the High Middle Ages? Chapter 10 examines the lives of ordinary people during the High Middle Ages. During this period, agricultural improvements led to population growth. Relative security and the increasing food supply allowed for the growth and development of towns and a revival of long-distance trade. Cities developed into intellectual and cultural centers, and the university, a new type of educational institution, came into being. Traditions and values were spread orally and in written form through poems, stories, and songs. Gothic cathedrals were physical manifestations of medieval people’s deep faith and pride in their own community.

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Life in the High Middle Ages. In this scene from a German manuscript, the artist shows men and women of different ages sowing seed and harvesting grain. (Rheinisches Landesmuseum, Bonn/The Bridgeman Art Library)

>What was village life like in medieval Europe?

>How did religion shape everyday life in the High Middle Ages?

>What led to Europe’s economic growth and reurbanization?

>What was life like in medieval cities?

>How did universities serve the needs of medieval society?

>How did literature and architecture express medieval values?

1050–1300 1215
– Steady rise in population; period of milder climate – Fourth Lateran Council orders Jews and Muslims to wear distinctive clothing
ca. 1100 1225–1274
– Merchant guilds become rich and powerful in many cities; artisans begin to found craft guilds – Life of Thomas Aquinas; Summa Theologica
1100–1300 1241
– Height of construction of cathedrals in Europe – Contract between Lübeck and Hamburg, first in the Hanseatic League
1100s ca. 1300
– Hospitals and other homes for the sick begin appearing – Bill of exchange becomes most common method of commercial payment in western Europe
1160s 1300s
– Silver mines opened in Germany, allowing for more coinage – Clocks in general use throughout Europe
ca. 1200
– Founding of first universities
Table 10.1: > CHAPTER CHRONOLOGY