high middle ages 1000-1300

Before the high middle ages, Europe left much to be desired. However during the period between 100-1300 changes came about to Europe that would affect the way people thought and lived. There was a religious revival, an intellectual revival and a new respect for the arts.

Before the religious revival, churches were privatized and therefore many people could not partake in religious gathering. There was no centralized church. Also, the monasteries had become “dumping grounds.” The church officials had no power over the churches anymore, and religious institutions became very corrupt. Reforms began to take place in the 900-1300s. There was a need and a want to cleanse the church from corruption and remove power from the rich families to back to the church officials. Reforms including instituting strict codes for papal elections, strict codes that bishops must follow and Kings returning the churches power over to the bishops once again. While many of the reforms were good for the church and its people, the anti-Semitism ideas that people held grew stronger during this time period. Many countries during this period began to put harsh restrictions on Jews.

The Intellectual revival was a result of Europeans beginning to take a liking to classical text and which lead to a rise in literacy and education. Schools began to appear very rapidly during the high middle ages. Almost all schools were run by the church originally until schools began to develop for individual interest in urban areas. This in turn led to the rise of “higher learning” and the development of universities all over Europe. Because the Europeans were able to get access to classical text, they began to expand upon the ideas of philosophy and science that they had read about and studied.

With the intellectual revival taking place, it leads to the expansion of the appreciation of literature, and the arts. Poetry and drama became very popular especially with the increases usage of vernacular languages (French, German, and English). The arts movement also lead to unique and beautiful architecture. The unique form was known as “gothic”, which was used on many cathedrals throughout Europe. There was also a revival of Ancient roman architecture.

It is easy to say that the High Middle ages was a glorious time in European history and will always be remembered for being so. The ideas that developed during this time are still with us today.