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The transition from the Early Middle Ages to the High Middle Ages was a gradual process that unfolded over several centuries, from roughly the late ninth to the mid-eleventh century. The transition was marked by a series of profound transformations in politics, demography, economics, religion, and culture, and it laid the foundations for the dynamic, expansive, and innovative civilization of the High Middle Ages. Understanding the causes of this transition is essential for understanding the origins of medieval Europe and the roots of modern European civilization.
The transition from the Early to the High Middle Ages was not a single event but a cluster of demographic, climatic, and institutional changes that accelerated in the late tenth century. Pierre Riché, “Les Carolingiens” (1983), is the indispensable French treatment of the political side; R. I. Moore, “The First European Revolution” (2000), is the standard wider reading.
The End of the Invasions
The most visible cause of the transition was the end of the invasions that had characterized the early Middle Ages. The Vikings, the Magyars, and the Saracens had terrorized Western Europe for more than two centuries, raiding, settling, and disrupting the political and economic life of the continent. By the late tenth century, however, the situation had begun to change. The Vikings were converting to Christianity and settling into land-holding societies; the Magyars were defeated at the Battle of Lechfeld in 955 and gradually converted to Christianity; the Saracens were gradually pushed back from the Mediterranean by the emerging naval powers of Italy and southern France.
The end of the invasions produced a period of relative stability that allowed for the demographic recovery, the expansion of settlement, and the growth of towns and trade that characterized the period. The political vacuum that had been created by the collapse of the Carolingian Empire was gradually filled by new political structures, including the Ottonian and Salian empires in Germany, the Capetian monarchy in France, the Norman and Plantagenet kingdoms in England, and the emerging kingdoms of the Christian Iberian Peninsula.
The Demographic Recovery
The demographic recovery was another major cause of the transition. The population of Western Europe had been in decline since the late Roman period, and the invasions of the ninth and tenth centuries had accelerated this decline. By the year 1000, the population of Europe (excluding the Byzantine Empire) was perhaps 38 million, a relatively low figure compared to the population of the Roman Empire. From the late tenth century onward, however, the population began to grow, and it continued to grow throughout the medieval period, reaching perhaps 74 million by 1300.
The causes of the demographic recovery are debated, but the major factors are clear. The end of the invasions reduced the loss of life and allowed for more stable family formation. The agricultural revolution of the eleventh and twelfth centuries — the diffusion of the heavy plow, the adoption of the three-field system, the introduction of the horse collar and the horseshoe — increased the productivity of the land and supported a larger population. The expansion of settlement into new lands, especially in eastern Europe and the Baltic, made more resources available. And the gradual improvement in diet and health increased the resistance to disease.
The Religious Transformation
The religious transformation of the eleventh and twelfth centuries was another major cause of the transition. The Gregorian Reform of the papacy, the Investiture Controversy between popes and emperors, the Crusades, and the rise of new religious orders (the Cistercians, the Premonstratensians, the Carthusians) all contributed to a major shift in the religious and intellectual life of Europe. The reform of the Church led to a higher standard of clerical life, a more sophisticated system of canon law, and a more effective system of pastoral care. The Crusades mobilized the military energy of the European aristocracy in a new direction and stimulated the commercial and intellectual exchange with the wider world. The new religious orders offered a more austere and more authentic form of monastic life that attracted a wide following.
The religious transformation was closely tied to the cultural transformation of the period. The reform of the Church stimulated the development of new forms of religious art (Romanesque and Gothic architecture, the illumination of manuscripts, the sculpture of the tympana and the jambs). The Crusades stimulated the development of new forms of vernacular literature (the chansons de geste, the romances of the Holy Land). The new religious orders developed new forms of spirituality that emphasized personal devotion, affective prayer, and mystical union with God.
The Cultural Transformation
The cultural transformation of the eleventh and twelfth centuries was another major cause of the transition. The Renaissance of the Twelfth Century, as it was called by the American historian Charles Homer Haskins, was a major intellectual and cultural revival that produced a new interest in classical learning, a new emphasis on systematic inquiry, and a new confidence in the power of human reason. The rediscovery of the Roman law of the Corpus Juris Civilis in the late eleventh century, the encounter with the philosophy of Aristotle through Arabic translations in the twelfth century, and the development of the scholastic method in the Paris and Bologna schools all contributed to a major shift in the intellectual life of Europe.
The cultural transformation was also reflected in the development of new forms of art and architecture. The Romanesque style, which dominated Western Europe from the mid-tenth century to the mid-twelfth, was replaced by the Gothic style in the mid-twelfth century, with its soaring vaults, its pointed arches, its ribbed vaults, and its flying buttresses. The Gothic style made it possible to construct taller, lighter, and more flexible buildings than ever before, and the great Gothic cathedrals of the period are among the most impressive buildings in European history.
The Political Transformation
The political transformation of the period was another major cause of the transition. The collapse of the Carolingian Empire in the late ninth century had produced a fragmented political landscape, with local lords exercising effective power in their territories and kings struggling to maintain their authority. By the late tenth century, however, the situation had begun to change. The Ottonian dynasty in Germany, the Capetian dynasty in France, the Norman and Plantagenet kings in England, and the Christian kings of Spain all developed new instruments of royal government, including royal courts, royal mints, royal taxation, and royal administrative systems.
The political transformation was closely tied to the economic and demographic transformations of the period. The growth of towns and trade provided new sources of revenue for the kings, and the royal support of the towns was an important element of the royal strategy against the feudal lords. The development of the common law in England, the parlement in France, and the cortes in Spain were major institutional innovations that allowed the kings to govern their territories more effectively and to develop a sense of national identity.
Sources
Principal sources used in this article:
- R. I. Moore, The First European Revolution, c. 970–1215 (Blackwell, 2000).
Further reading:
- Pierre Riché, Les Carolingiens (PUF, 1983).
For a recent single-volume synthesis with full scholarly apparatus, see the relevant chapter of Barbara H. Rosenwein, A Short History of the Middle Ages (University of Toronto Press, 2014).