Early Middle Ages

Castles in the medieval time period were more than just a home, but rather a safe haven for the whole town. The first castles were built in the tenth century in Western Europe. Castles played a crucial role in European history. However, by the end of the thirteenth century they had lost their military, political, and social significance and were being abandoned. Castles in the medieval and Anglo Saxon times, especially in European area, were built entirely for proper function towards protection from the outside world.

In the 1300's, an Italian scholar named Petrarch used the term, "dark ages" to describe Europe in the middle ages.People think that Petrarch used this term to describe Europe in the middle ages, because it seemed as if everything was turning/going bad. Not everyone agrees with him, some people think that the middle ages in Europe was in a growth age instead of a dark age. There were good events, like economic growth and education got more significant. But, there were lot's of bad things like, government order and the Black Death, so it is a debatable topic.

The period between 1300 and 1450 encompasses one of the most lamentable eras in European history – dominated by famine, war, plague, and death. During this period, the Roman Catholic Church was arguably the single most powerful institution, with Christianity being referred to as the “matrix of medieval life”. The Roman Catholic Church’s teachings and ceremonies underpinned beliefs surrounding morality, the meaning of life and the afterlife. Failure to follow the orthodoxy of the Catholic Church was deemed heretical, and resulted in the accused being subjected to an inquisition.

With the decline of the Western Roman empire Western Europe was a disjointed land that had no true unifying structure till the rise of Christianity. In Roman antiquity people used the State or empire of Rome to define themselves and give them a sense of unity despite having a diverse group of people within the empire. When Western Rome fell this belief based on a Roman cultural identity disappeared and no longer were people able to identify themselves with any particular group as they once have. The Christian religion was able to fill this vacuum by having the people associate themselves to a religion instead of a given state or cultural group. During Medieval Europe Christianity became the unifying force that would define what it

The history of the modern world derives from thousands of years of human history. Embedded in its history are the many eras of man which have constructed our modern learning, art, beliefs, and order. The middle ages, although represented as “dark”, backwards, and idle, were in fact a bridge linking the classical and modern world. Medieval society may not have been in a sense glorious, but the era of itself was a prime foundation of the modern world’s newfound stability, a revival of the law and teachings from the classical era, a reinvestment and reform in the church, and a precursor to the golden age of art.

Many people cannot agree on whether the European Middle Ages were “Dark Ages” or an “Early Renaissance”. A Dark Age is a time during which a civilization undergoes a decline, while a Renaissance is a new period of growth or activity. Even though there is an equal amount of evidence for both the Dark Ages and the Early Renaissance, some pieces were more effective than others. The European Middle Ages were an Early Renaissance because citizens started to begin new lives as different roles, the feudal system was slowly being forgotten, and the Magna Carta was published.

By the end of eleventh century, Western Europe had experienced a powerful cultural revival. The flourish of New towns provided a place for exchange of commerce and flow of knowledge and ideas. Universities, which replaced monasteries as centers of learning, poured urbanized knowledge into society. New technological advances and economics transformations provided the means for building magnificent architectures. These developments were representative of the mental and behavioral transformations that the medieval world underwent and the new relationships that were brought about between men, women and society in the twelfth century. As in technology, science, and scholasticism, Literature was also reborn with a new

Medieval university was found during the High Middle Ages for the desires of higher education. First educational universities were established in Italy, Spain, and England during late 11th, 12th, and the 13th centuries for the Arts, Music and Medicine.

11) What factors led to the dramatic population growth of Europe between 1500 and 1700?

This form of instruction has become the standard for all later established universities. It became prevalent in Europe, and it is the system all early American universities followed (History). As the foundation of knowledge grew, colleges expanded their curriculums from the simple studies of monasticism to the instruction of science, math, law, and medicine. This sudden boom in education was caused from the

The Middle Ages in Europe mark a roughly thousand year period of time, often thought as a dead period. However, it is far from that. The Middle Ages is rather a Golden Age because it made many advancements, withstood harsh conditions, and transmitted older civilizations’ ideas. This can be seen through both harsh documents and flourished documents.

The Christian religions rise to supremacy in the middle ages was the result of several factors. Christians had long been persecuted by the Roman Empire because the Romans felt that Christianity challenged and offended the Greco-Roman Gods and the Christians were prone to revolt against Roman rule. Christianity survived because it had many teachings that appealed to the downtrodden in Roman society, these teachings being that even though they were suffering they would gain equality and possibly superiority in the next life, Christianity gave them hope.

In our present-day society, we consider anything that came before us as primitive. It is an unfortunate stereotype that all peasants lived in small, dirty shacks and ate gruel while kings and queens were in their lavish castles and gorging themselves with fine cuisine. Yet, one should not discount the Late Medieval Period. Civilization evolved in several ways during this time and it is often ignored as one of the most progressive times in all human history. In just the span of two centuries, our modern lives were shaped by defining events such as the influence of religion and the faith of its adherents being shaken and transformed because of internal strife. Moreover, Peasants gained political power and riches through new economic opportunities,

The population growth in cities was a result of internal migration and an increasing growth rate. Wage labor in factories tempted many people to leave their homes in the countryside and move to the cities to work. In addition, the population of Europe grew tremendously during the 19th century, from approximately 200 million at the start of the century to 430 million at the end of the 1800s. It is important to note,

Medieval Europe was referred to as Christendom as nearly everyone was a Christian. As most people were Christian the Catholic Church was the central part of their lives and they all believed in God and also the devil. Every person attended a service call mass on a Sunday. For a person to be a Christian they had to do all these things and also many others that were also important. All Christians believed, and were worried that they could go to hell or heaven. If they wanted to go to heaven people use to live their lives showing to God that they were good and worthy enough to be accepted into heaven. This message was put into these people’s heads as each Sunday when they went to mass the priest told them what to do and how to do certain things