High Middle Age (1050-1300) - history

Intro :    -Growth of “vitality” in Latin Christendom

               - Improvement in technology and cultivation of new lands ( agricultural skills) = growing food supply, less death , + de commerce

               - Creation d un market economy  thanks to above and growing population. Rebirth of towns thanks to trade and the improved  Pduction Food. Rise of a new sochail class ( middle class = artisans) . A new categories of person the market is their place.

              - Political/Religious Vitality : Kings extended their authority au depends de feudal lords . Foundation of European state system / Independence of chuch face aux tentatives de control of Kings and lords to appoint bishop ..  Reforme Church

              - Cultural and intellectual awakening  thanks to the Christian outlook construction of an philosophical system that integrated Greek Rationalism into the Christian worldviewroman law incorporated into church law new form of architecture

Section 1 :

The end of Barbarians invasions leads to a greater political stability . It allowed an economic vitality represented by an agricultural productivity = people work to earn more money and not only to feed themselves + population increase . Naissance of merchant adventurer (entrepreneurs new class)

Economic vitality through merchant travelers

The market is the heart of this new economic vitality and still nowadays in Europe the market is a place of trading and in our capitalist world the word “market” is not stranger of those ancient market. The markets was composed of merchant travelers. A merchant  travelers must be brave to face many perils. They must also have an ethics ( some traders should remember that) in order to conduct of profitable business. They must also take example on the concurrence and be fair in their business (price, quality of products). The merchant travelers was supposed to have a lot of moral vertues that is why in his freetime he was studying, especially the law in order to defend themselves.(naissance of middle class through them lawyer society of service..) . They must be fluent in a couple of languages to travel and sell his products everywhere. The appearance is also a big aspect he must dress good and be nice with people who hold power ( his mates or kings). The merchants were orgnasised in businessman association called guilds. The guilds had many goals the main one was to give a kind of power to the merchant by gathering together they used this power to eliminate competition but also by controlling their business in deciding the prices quality standard . Most of those guilds had an chart to respect  which show the moral aspect of the job.  Those charts can be compared to an law code that regulate life in and outside of the business of merchant.

Section 2 :

Most of the Kings and rulers wanted to control the Church which was a solid institution (center of power and knowledge + roi wants its support as an legitimacy of piower heritage roman) spread all over Europe. The Pope Gregory VII reminds the rulers of the spiritual authority of the church and defends his institution against any form of invasioins. It was an change in the way pope treat this case. In the Dictatus Papae the Pope remind the status of the church as an independent institution in the service of god and not of the humans. AN other Pope Innocent III went further by claiming the supremacy of the pope over roayal power due to the authority god conferred them. This vision symbolized the central role of Church and the importance it took during high middle age.

Section III

Another historical point of the high middle age is the crusades. Christianity holds an important place, European civilization is based on Christianity so the crusades are an ideological war but also an way to protect their culture from foreigners invasions. The crusades started following the attack by muslim of Byzantines Empire. Through this was the Pope Urban II tried also to spread his authorituy over the Byzantine church. The crusades had to been made according to the Pope principles in order to have a just war. The motivations were diverse some were fighting for economic purpose but a lot of lords wanted to defend their religion and some fanatics thought it was one of their way to go to heaven. One of this fanatics was James of Vitry a French bishop that appeals the nobles to go in crusades for remission of sins and entrance to heaven. This fanatism involve Christianity in massacre that some explained by an religious purification because they were the ennemys of God.