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42503 results in Collections

Page 1831 of 2126

  • 4 - Art and architecture

  • from Part I - Common Themes
  • David Abulafia, University of Cambridge
  • Book:
    The New Cambridge Medieval History
    Published online:
    28 March 2008
    Print publication:
    21 October 1999, pp 84-106

  • Summary

    The visual culture of thirteenth-century western Europe saw the refinement and spread of the Gothic style throughout much of north-west Europe, and in this sense it consolidated and extended the substantial achievements of the twelfth. Since the late eleventh century, northwestern Europe had experienced what some analysts have called a 'building boom' which benefited monastic establishments and the expanding cities. Though the thirteenth century saw enormous regional variations in the way the great church was conceived, the period was in other ways marked by increasing standardisation. Between 1100 and 1300 urban cathedral churches throughout western Europe became highly centralised buildings, integrating beneath one roof religious practices previously dispersed across the complex of cathedral buildings. In tandem with these changes, the thirteenth century witnessed transformations in the bases of art production and patronage. The concentration of courtly culture at major centres of power like Paris and London served further to galvanise the importance of the urban artistic economy.

  • 25 - The Celtic lands of the British Isles

  • from Part VI - The Northern and Eastern Frontiers
  • David Abulafia, University of Cambridge
  • Book:
    The New Cambridge Medieval History
    Published online:
    28 March 2008
    Print publication:
    21 October 1999, pp 809-827

  • Summary

    Wales, Ireland and Scotland all exhibited a cultural, linguistic and social dualism between an anglicised and urbanised south and east and a Celtic-speaking, less populous north and west. In thirteenth century, the coastal plain of south Wales was controlled reasonably securely by the Anglo-Norman Marcher lords. In 1238 all the princes of Wales swore allegiance to Dafydd ap Llywelyn ap Iorwerth at Strata Florida and two years later Llywelyn, a man whose deeds it were difficult to relate, died. The aftermath of Llywelyn's death shows clearly how Welsh inheritance practices could lead to political instability. At the beginning of the thirteenth century it still seemed possible that the Anglo-Norman lords and settlers who acknowledged the authority of the king of England might attain political control of the whole of Ireland. The thirteenth-century kings of the Scots were continental rather than Celtic in the way they avoided the partible inheritance and segmentary competition of their contemporaries in Wales and Ireland.

  • 2 - Commerce and communications

  • from Part I - Common Themes
  • David Abulafia, University of Cambridge
  • Book:
    The New Cambridge Medieval History
    Published online:
    28 March 2008
    Print publication:
    21 October 1999, pp 50-70

  • Summary

    The thirteenth century has been called, in economic terms, the autumn of the Middle Ages. Communication and commerce were part and parcel of medieval life, in spite of the arduous nature of travel. The Middle Ages witnessed the continued use of Roman road systems and the addition of many secondary routes creating a dense network across western Europe. Professional transporters handled a portion of medieval overland- and river-based trade. Such transporters worked the Champagne fairs and all towns feeding into them. Medieval towns were the sites par excellence of international trade, and of much regional traffic as well. The growth of international trade in the commercial revolution of the eleventh century was underpinned by the existence of recording methods sufficient to permit complex business transactions at a distance. The phenomenon of the medieval fair represents the best laboratory for the study of commerce and communications in thirteenth-century Europe.

  • (a) - Northern Italy: The maritime republics

  • from 15 - Northern Italy
  • David Abulafia, University of Cambridge
  • Book:
    The New Cambridge Medieval History
    Published online:
    28 March 2008
    Print publication:
    21 October 1999, pp 417-446

  • Summary

    At the turn of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the economies of the three major Italian maritime republics were flourishing. In the east the three republics competed on a relatively even footing; however, the Pisan presence in Byzantium was more restricted than that of Genoa and Venice. Both Genoa and Pisa allied with Emperor Henry VI in his invasion of Sicily in 1194. Venice remained neutral but did not suffer for that. Across the Mediterranean the three republics competed for shares of the wealth that maritime commerce could provide. In the west competition for market share had already brought Pisa and Genoa to war. At home all three republics engaged in extensive building programmes which both enhanced their physical aspects and improved their public infrastructures. In central Europe the second half of the century saw the trade of Venice with the growth areas of southern Germany and Bohemia across the Alps expand dramatically.

  • (b) - Urban society

  • from 1 - Social change in the thirteenth century
  • David Abulafia, University of Cambridge
  • Book:
    The New Cambridge Medieval History
    Published online:
    28 March 2008
    Print publication:
    21 October 1999, pp 26-37

  • Summary

    The line between urban and rural society, the small town and the big village, is a fine one and traditionally depends on whether or not a majority of the population supported itself other than by fishing, farming or tending herds. The principal theme of thirteenth-century urban society is the challenge of population growth, perhaps the most decisive changes in urban society reflect what responses were made to the problems of growth. The concept of urban citizenship was as yet a hazy notion, but in places where the city was the state, being a citizen conferred advantages. The political and economic freedom was an ambiguous benefit to half of urban society: women. Urban society offered some single women new opportunities, either through religious experimentation or the burgeoning wage economy, to live in ways not completely shaped by men. Widows were in the best position to take advantage of all this, but poor women remained the most desperate members of urban society.

  • (c) - Rural society

  • from 1 - Social change in the thirteenth century
  • David Abulafia, University of Cambridge
  • Book:
    The New Cambridge Medieval History
    Published online:
    28 March 2008
    Print publication:
    21 October 1999, pp 38-49

  • Summary

    In the thirteenth century, the rural societies of the Byzantine empire and the Islamic countries apparently underwent less obvious transformations than those in the west. For some historians, the increase in the rural population brought only misery to the villages, accompanied by a widespread decrease in landholding. Rural societies were strongly aware of the need to defend their cohesive character, and this was something that had to be maintained at all costs, despite the tensions which already existed or were about to erupt in these village micro-societies. The decline of serfdom is very noticeable in numerous areas in the west, but it can now be seen that the thirteenth century did not see the end of serfdom. Social transformation was more profound and happened much faster in those rural regions rendered prosperous through the widespread sale of rural products. In the thirteenth century, the number of areas under the jurisdiction of a single seigneurie became rare in the overpopulated regions.

  • (c) - Rus′

  • from 24 - Eastern Europe
  • David Abulafia, University of Cambridge
  • Book:
    The New Cambridge Medieval History
    Published online:
    28 March 2008
    Print publication:
    21 October 1999, pp 796-808

  • Summary

    In the thirteenth century Rus was various polities and places which had less and less relationship with one another. The idea of a thirteenth-century Rus is a modern chronological and geographical convenience, not a coherent historical entity. The Kiev-Novgorod axis was the main artery of Kievan Rus in its Golden Age from the late tenth to the early twelfth century. In 1203 Roman lost Kiev, which was taken and sacked by Riurik Rostislavich of Smolensk with help from the Chernigovan Olgovichi and the Polovtsians. The true Riurikid traditionalists were the princes of Smolensk and Chernigov in the centre and the south. Mikhail of Chernigov had fled in 1240 and tried to organise resistance from abroad. By 1246, isolated and outflanked by the rival families, he too made the trip to Sarai. By contrast with Galician prevarication and Chernigovan gesticulation, the north-eastern princes of Vladimir and Suzdal co-operated fully with the Mongols from the very beginning.

  • 5 - The papacy

  • from Part II - The Church in the Thirteenth Century
  • David Abulafia, University of Cambridge
  • Book:
    The New Cambridge Medieval History
    Published online:
    28 March 2008
    Print publication:
    21 October 1999, pp 105-163

  • Summary

    The papacy was a unique sort of monarchy in that it claimed jurisdiction in both spiritual and temporal affairs. This chapter discusses a characteristic feature of thirteenth-century papal government: the use of general councils as a major instrument of policy. There were three of them: Lateran IV (1215); Lyons I (1245); Lyons II (1274). Between the accession of Innocent III in January 1198 and the death of Boniface VIII in October 1303, eighteen popes ruled the Church. Popes were elected to succeed St Peter. They were heirs to all that authority which Christ had assigned to the leader of the Apostles when he appointed him as head of his newly founded Church. Innocent III was no mere theorist of papal leadership. He was also its leading thirteenth-century exponent. Innocent IV was very much Gregory IX's man. He had served in his curia throughout his working life by rising steadily through the ranks of the papal judiciary,.

  • (a) - The Latin empire of Constantinople and the Frankish states in Greece

  • from 17 - Byzantium after the Fourth Crusade
  • David Abulafia, University of Cambridge
  • Book:
    The New Cambridge Medieval History
    Published online:
    28 March 2008
    Print publication:
    21 October 1999, pp 523-542

  • Summary

    The western or Latin conquest of Constantinople on 13 April 1204 heralded a new era in the history of the Byzantine lands, known in the west as Romania. The internal structure and development of the Latin empire was rather complex. The principality of Morea, the third major Frankish state of Latin Romania, survived the Latin empire by some 170 years. The establishment of Latin rule over extensive portions of Romania opened the way to western immigration and settlement in the territories on a scale much larger than before 1204. The breakdown of imperial government in the years immediately preceding and particularly those following the fall of Constantinople the archontes in many areas of Romania exercised effective rule over the local population. One of the most important economic effects of the Latin conquest of Constantinople was the opening of the Black Sea to unrestricted western commerce.

  • (c) - The rise of the signori

  • from 15 - Northern Italy
  • David Abulafia, University of Cambridge
  • Book:
    The New Cambridge Medieval History
    Published online:
    28 March 2008
    Print publication:
    21 October 1999, pp 458-478

  • Summary

    During the thirteenth century, political life in the city-states of northern Italy began to be dominated by a new breed of political and military leaders, often described as tyrants or despots. By 1300 most cities of northern Italy were under signorial rule. The concept of the signori as tyrannical despots seems to have become current among English historians during the nineteenth century. 'Tyranny' of course has a pedigree as a concept of political analysis that 'despot' lacks. Aristotle elaborated a wide range of tyrannical political actions and strategies. The most notorious of the early 'tyrants', whom later lords were often alleged to imitate, was Ezzelino da Romano. Like the da Romano, the Pallavicino were a typical baronial family, established in the region between Parma and Piacenza, where they held vast territories. Despite the best efforts of the signori themselves, they have been remembered, not for their illustrious achievements, but for their cruelties.

  • (b) - The Maghrib

  • from 19 - Islam and the Mediterranean
  • David Abulafia, University of Cambridge
  • Book:
    The New Cambridge Medieval History
    Published online:
    28 March 2008
    Print publication:
    21 October 1999, pp 622-635

  • Summary

    The triumph of Islam in the Maghrib was the victory of the pure faith of the Prophet over adawa, enmity to the Law on the part of pagans, Christians and Jews, and all Muslims blinded by the ramifications of traditional jurisprudence. The definition of the new faith was that of the great theologian al-Ghazali at the end of the eleventh century, as preached in the Maghrib at the beginning of the twelfth by the Mahdi Ibn Tumart. Less ominous but more serious in the long term was the situation in the eastern Maghrib or Ifriqiya, where the Almohads were faced with a mercurial enemy composed of Almoravids, Arabs and Turks. The creation of a new empire in the central Maghrib was a novel enterprise which threatened the monarchies of Ifriqiya and Morocco. In effect, the Moroccan sultan transferred his capital to his camp, which he built into a replacement for the city he had surrounded.

  • (b) - Byzantium in exile

  • from 17 - Byzantium after the Fourth Crusade
  • David Abulafia, University of Cambridge
  • Book:
    The New Cambridge Medieval History
    Published online:
    28 March 2008
    Print publication:
    21 October 1999, pp 543-568

  • Summary

    It was in the words of Byzantine contemporaries a 'cosmic cataclysm'. The Byzantine ruling class was disorientated and uprooted. Michael Autoreianos was duly ordained patriarch at Nicaea on 20 March 1208. His first official act was to crown and anoint Theodore Laskaris emperor on Easter Day. Thus was a Byzantine empire recreated in exile in Nicaea. Theodore Laskaris died in 1221. His death was followed by civil strife, out of which his son-in-law John Vatatzes emerged as victor. Germanos II bowed to one of the facts of Byzantine political life: emperors were always likely to use Orthodoxy as a weapon or a bargaining counter in their foreign policy. The Byzantine emperor sought to counter the Angevin threat in various ways. He strengthened the sea walls of Constantinople. The lesson of the Fourth Crusade was its vulnerability to an attack from the sea. Michael Palaiologos therefore wooed Venice to prevent it from joining the Angevin camp.

  • (a) - Welfs, Hohenstaufen and Habsburgs

  • from 14 - Germany and Flanders
  • David Abulafia, University of Cambridge
  • Book:
    The New Cambridge Medieval History
    Published online:
    28 March 2008
    Print publication:
    21 October 1999, pp 375-404

  • Summary

    This chapter deals with the demise of the Hohenstaufen, the so-called 'nterregnum', and also with the complex impact on kingship of the territorial principalities of Germany. The Hohenstaufen had at their disposal the duchy of Swabia, widely dispersed crown lands and the important force of the imperial ministeriales, as well as the endorsement of a majority of the German princes and prelates. The Hohenstaufen party was reconciled by the betrothal of Philip's eldest daughter to Otto, who also announced his willingness to avenge the murder of his former rival. Definite measures were first taken by King Philip II Augustus of France, who set about convincing the pope of the need to revive Frederick's candidacy. Albrecht of Habsburg, the only surviving heir of King Rudolf, had none of his father's popularity but instead a reputation for ruthlessness and want of moderation. The German thirteenth century was an age of rapid political and social change, a true period of transition.

  • (b) - Albania, Serbia and Bulgaria

  • from 24 - Eastern Europe
  • David Abulafia, University of Cambridge
  • Book:
    The New Cambridge Medieval History
    Published online:
    28 March 2008
    Print publication:
    21 October 1999, pp 779-795

  • Summary

    It is widely accepted that the fall of Constantinople in 1204 brought to its knees an empire which was already on its way to dissolution, notably on its Balkan edges. Three peoples displayed new vigour: the Bulgars, the Serbs and the Albanians, the frontiers between their lands remaining still fluid, especially those between Bulgaria and Serbia. As for Albania, its separate identity was real enough, even though it had not truly broken with Constantinople. There was certainly a religious frontier in the region, but it would be wrong to exaggerate its impermeability, particularly when the Bulgarian and Serbian kings were prepared to make known their readiness to be crowned by the pope. Serbian expansion was henceforth irresistible, leading the region's inhabitants to ignore for too long the Turkish menace which now threatened Byzantium, once again caught between two foes.

  • (b) - The crusader states

  • from 18 - The crusades
  • David Abulafia, University of Cambridge
  • Book:
    The New Cambridge Medieval History
    Published online:
    28 March 2008
    Print publication:
    21 October 1999, pp 590-606

  • Summary

    At first sight it may seem surprising that the truncated and war-ravaged remnants of the crusader states should have lasted as long as they did. Directly after the Third Crusade there were few places in the Latin Kingdom other than Tyre and Acre that could have held out against full-scale assault. It is difficult to estimate the military resources at the disposal of the rulers of kingdom of Jerusalem in the thirteenth century. The ability of the military Orders to build and garrison substantial fortresses, take a share in the defence of the cities. The ports of the Latin east thus became the entrepots in what was evidently a most lucrative commerce. Trade and the wealth generated by trade were of the utmost importance to the rulers of Latin Syria. In the decades immediately following the Third Crusade the chief theatre of conflict in the east was Antioch.

  • 21 - Castile, Portugal and Navarre

  • from Part V - The Mediterranean Frontiers
  • David Abulafia, University of Cambridge
  • Book:
    The New Cambridge Medieval History
    Published online:
    28 March 2008
    Print publication:
    21 October 1999, pp 668-700

  • Summary

    Alfonso VIII of Castile's victory in July 1212 reversed the thrust of half a century of peninsular history. Castile had by far the most extensive frontiers to defend, and the cost of doing so and of advancing the Christian reconquest of the peninsula was to cripple its kings throughout the thirteenth century and beyond. It then imposes strains on their realm with which their Navarrese and Portuguese neighbours were largely unfamiliar. In 1214, after hunger had emerged the victor at the siege of Baeza, mutual exhaustion had driven Alfonso VIII and the Almohad caliph in Marrakesh to agree to a truce. While Castile, having absorbed Leon, was striking south, and in the north Navarre was being drawn even further into the French orbit, the young kingdom of Portugal had been experiencing almost uninterrupted political crisis. At the beginning of the reign Sancho had to repel the Marinids whom his father had brought into Castile.

Page 1831 of 2126