Europeanhistory欧洲历史.doc

European History/Print versionFrom Wikibooks, the open-content textbooks collection< European History This page may need to be reviewed for quality.Jump to: navigation, search This is the print version of European HistoryYou won't see this message or any elements not part of the book's content when you print or preview this page.European HistoryThe current, editable version of this book is available in Wikibooks, the open-content textbooks collection, athttp://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/European_HistoryPermission is granted to copy, distribute, and/or modify this document under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License.· GNU Free Documentation License [edit] Chapter 01 - The Crises of the Middle Ages[edit] IntroductionThe Middle Ages were a period of approximately 1000 years of history, which is generally accepted to span from the fall of the Roman Empire towards the end of the 5th century, to the Protestant reformation in the 16th century. This period began with a demographic downturn at the end of the Roman imperial era, with European populations shrinking and many cities and rural estates abandoned. A cooling climate, disease and political disorder all played a part in this opening period, which saw Classical Mediterranean civilization eclipsed. Across Europe, there emerged smaller, more localized hybrid societies combining Roman, Christian and Germanic or Celtic barbarian influences. By the 9th and 10th centuries, populations had reached a minimum, and Europe became a largely rural and somewhat backward region. Commerce and learning flourished in the Islamic world, China and India during the same period. Islamic armies conquered Spain during the 7th and 8th centuries, but were defeated by the Frankish kingdom in 732 when they attempted to enter France.The turn of the first millennium saw renewed growth and activity, as kings and cities consolidated their authority and began to repopulate lands left empty since Rome's decline. Warmer weather after 900 allowed more land to be brought into food production. The feudal system of agriculture, where peasants were tied to their estates by obligations to local lords or the church, provided a degree of economic stability. This was aided by the arrival in Europe of the horse collar from Asia, which increased crop yields by allowing horse-drawn plows, rather than the use of slower oxen. Commercial towns flourished in England, France and the Low Countries, and German rulers dispatched monks and peasants to clear forests and settle in Eastern Europe and the Baltic regions The city-states of northern Italy rose in influence and wealth. Islamic Spain became a center of learning and culture where Christians, Muslims and Jews coexisted in relative amity. Despite many local wars and disputes between knights, the High Middle Ages from 1000-1250 saw growing populations and prosperity enough to build great cathedrals and send European armies abroad on crusades.After 1250, demographic stagnation emerged, as populations reached a limit that medieval agriculture could support, and growth slowed or stopped. Major conflicts between powerful kingdoms, such as the Hundred Years' War between England and France, became more frequent, and the Christian church, previously secure in its spiritual authority, was racked by schisms and increasing financial corruption. The year 1348 saw a catastrophe as virulent bubonic plague -- the Black Death -- entered Italy in ships from Asia, and spread across the continent in three years, killing by some estimate one-third of all Europeans. Many believed it was the end of the world foretold in Christian myth. Along with its suffering, the plague wrought economic havoc, driving up the cost of labor and making the old feudal system untenable, as surviving peasants scorned its demands.The following century and a half transformed Europe, from a patchwork of feudal fiefdoms under loose royal and church control into a collection of newborn but increasingly unified national states. Towns became centers of resistance and dissent to the old royal and church authorities. Former noble and knightly influence declined, and rulers realigned themselves toward the increasingly wealthy and influential burgher and merchant classes. The emergence of the printing press, and spreading literacy, increased religious and political conflict in many countries. By 1500, Christopher Columbus had sailed across the ocean to the New World, and Martin Luther was about to take much of Europe out of the orbit of the Roman church. These developments opened the modern era of history, and brought the Middle Ages to their true end.A number of modern institutions have their roots in the Middle Ages. The concept of nation-states with strong central governmental power stems from the consolidation of powers by some kings of the Middle Ages. These kings formed royal courts, appointed sheriffs, formed royal armies, and began to coll。