At the end of the 12th century, Western Europe was split into different states which were beginning to become the countries that are known today.
The Holy Roman Empire ruled a big part of Europe including the modern countries of Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria, eastern France and much of northern Italy, apart from Venice. Historians believe Emperor Charlemagne began the Holy Roman Empire in 800 AD.
The countries of France and Spain were split into kingdoms. England was ruled by a king whose family also had a lot of land in France. Norway was influenced by England, while the other Scandinavian countries and Poland were influenced by Germany.
At that time, there was a lot of trade between towns and states. This caused the towns to grow larger. Germany, Holland and Belgium had many big towns that grew peacefully, often trading with each other. Because of the peace and wealth of these towns, they showed their pride by building huge Town Halls, often with very tall towers.
In England and France, most people did not live in towns. They lived on farms, which were often owned by a rich nobleman (or lord). The house of the lord was usually called a manor house. Italy was mostly split up into small city states which often fought each other. Cities often had high walls and many of the houses built at this time were tall, high towers.[1][2]
The Church[change | change source]
In Western Europe, in the Middle Ages, almost everyone belonged to the Roman Catholic Church. The Roman Catholic Church has one head - the Pope. During the Middle Ages, one language was used in churches all across Europe - Church Latin, which had developed from ancient Latin. The churches of each area had a local bishop who came under the Pope. . Each Bishop had a throne where he could sit when priests and people came to him. A church which has a Bishop's throne is called a "cathedral". Cathedrals were usually the biggest and most beautiful churches.
In the early Middle Ages, many monasteries were built all over Europe. A group of holy men lived and worked and prayed there. Monks belonged to different "orders" which had different rules. The biggest number of monasteries were homes to the monks of the Benedictine Order. Their monasteries were generally in towns and they often built very big churches called "Abbeys" for the monks and the townspeople to worship in. Other orders of monks, like the Cistercians, did not live near towns. Nowadays their abbeys are seen as beautiful ruins in the English countryside.
In France, there were also Benedictines, as well as Cluniac Orders. The great monastery at Cluny, built in the Romanesque style, was the biggest in Europe. The abbey and other buildings were very well planned so for hundreds of years other monasteries were influenced by that plan.
In the 13th century St. Francis of Assisi started the Franciscans, who were often called the "Grey Friars" because of their grey-brown robes. The Dominicans were founded by St. Dominic in Toulouse and Bologna. The Dominicans built many of Italy's Gothic churches.[1][2]
