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Essay about Rival Middle Ages

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ban revival AD 1000/1215
The early middle ages are generally recognized as a period of decline and stagnation, in the years following the fall of the Roman Empire in ad474, the west is generally viewed by historians as underdeveloped, in comparison to the Byzantine Empire, and the Islamic world. However between 1,000 and 1215 ad, Western Europe began a series of profound changes . The period of tribal migration, war, and colonisation diminishes; this period gives way to a more settled system of emerging nation states. Now it becomes possible for the bourgeoning states to raise taxation such as the Norman Poll tax from the developing money economy, as well as technical advances in farming, and social changes, when taken in conjunction with …show more content…

The surplus produced by the revolutionary development of new agricultural techniques, combined with the decreasing death rate from barbarian invasions and internecine wars would lead to population growth. The revolutionary changes in agriculture, was not just in the methods of farming but in the development of new sources of power and machinery, these would play a major role in the growth of the agricultural economy. The adoption of the heavy plough, the carruca over the Roman era light aratra plough, would allow the eleventh century farmer to cultivate the heavier soil of North Western Europe. Like the change in climate, when the weather improved in the 8th century, it is possible to suggest the heavy plough was an invention of an earlier century. When a heavy plough was used in conjunction with horses shod with iron shoes, and the padded horse collar which is thought to have arrived in Europe around AD800/900 from the East the resulting increase in crop production, would ensure a greater profit for the mill owning manorial lord, whose seigniorial control ensured a large increase in income. The excess crops provided by the new techniques would necessitate the use machinery for corn grinding, the mills were also put to use, pulverising olives and fulling cloth, and

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