![]() ![]() North of the Alps, a major metropolis like Paris might have had perhaps 4,000 people.Ĭompared to other parts of the world, such as neighboring parts of Europe, Islamic North Africa, or the Middle East, these towns were minuscule.īy 1300, parts of Europe were heavily urbanized, and the towns substantially bigger. Around the year 1000, urban life was at a low ebb in Europe, much lower than had been the case in the Roman Empire.Ī big city in Italy around the year 1000 might have contained 10,000 to 20,000 inhabitants. The population of Europe changed in terms of how and where it lived. The Urbanization of EuropeĪs a result of the confluence of these many changes-societal, militarily, technological, and climatic-Europe’s population grew and changed in nature. The cooling down of the climate during the final century of the High Middle Ages helped usher in the demographic catastrophes of the Late Middle Ages. Learn more about the innovations and events that had huge effect on demography during the High Middle Agesīut for the Middle Ages at least, the warming trend of the little optimum was good. Historically, warming periods have been good for the human race, while cold periods have been problematic. Grapes were grown further north than they are today, and Greenland, currently snow-covered, was green. Cold, wet weather, especially several years of it, caused crops to rot in the fields.Įurope was warmer during the little optimum than it is today. The dual factors of warm and dry weather were beneficial to agriculture. “Good” weather meant-believe it or not-“warm,” or warmer than it had been. Historians arrived at the following conclusion: Beginning around 800 and ending roughly in 1200, Europe entered a period of very good weather, named “the little optimum.” (Image: Kuttelvaserova Stuchelova/Shutterstock)īy combining these various techniques, historians have a reasonably detailed understanding of what the earth’s climate was like in the past. Peat bogs, like the one shown here, have been known to preserve everything from cheeses from the Middle Ages, to statues. When studied level by level, peat bogs indicate what sorts of plants were flourishing at what time in that area, both cold and warm weather species. Studied for their ability to preserve objects within, peat bogs have been known to preserve everything from cheeses from the Middle Ages to statues.Īnything that fell into peat bogs became preserved, even pollen grains. Perhaps the greatest weapon of the medievalist’s arsenal is the peat bog. This is a transcript from the video series The High Middle Ages. ![]() Tree rings also offer evidence of climatic changes. As the weather turned colder and wetter, the glaciers advanced down the mountain and they retreated off the mountain when the weather turned warmer and drier. Glacier movements, now charted scrupulously, lend clues to long-term changes in weather patterns. Various methods can help us reconstruct what the climate has done in the past. We probably know more about the medieval climate than we know about present-day climate. Given the controversy surrounding what the Earth’s climate is doing today, the history of the medieval climate might seem beyond our knowledge. In addition to technological changes and food production, another change favored increased population: climatic change. 145/Public domain) Climatic Change in Medieval Europe (Image: Nicole Oresme, translation of Aristotle’s Ethics, Politics, and Economics, Rouen (France), Bibliothèque Municipale, Ms. Europe also developed a more sophisticated monetization system during this period. This demographic growth led to urbanization, which in turn led to the Commercial Revolution, as Europe became involved in trading around the world. By Philip Daileader, Ph.D., The College of William and Mary From the years 1000 to 1300, Europe’s population nearly doubled. ![]()
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