The Late Middle Ages – Rising from the Dark 12-5

Reeducation Western Europe takes a turn for the better, economically and in regards to education after the crusaders return from the holy land. Reintroduction Goods – Spices, cotton Education – Numbers, Math, Medicine, Architecture Trade – India, Egypt, China, Muslims

Monarchs Western European Monarchs gained lots of power because of all the knights and noble who died or sold their land to fight in the Crusades. This leads to more unified “countries” and centralized governments and the decline of the feudal system.

Rise of Towns As a result of the reintroduction of foreign goods to Europe, people demanded more domestic goods as well. Increase in production More people wanted to buy their goods. Less people were tied to their feudal alliances (declined) and people began moving from small manors to towns and cities where they could produce their goods and SELL them.

Banking At first “the church” did not allow Christian bankers to collect interest on loans called “usury.” So there weren’t many institutions that lent money. Italy, and later the rest of Europe became increasingly secular (nonchurch) after the crusades and decided not to follow this church rule. Result - More institutions were willing to loan money. Loans increase the amount of money in circulation; thus stimulating the economy More artisans, more traders, more consumers.

Education The crusades reintroduced Europe to the values of education. The Byzantines and the Muslims kept alive Greco-Roman achievements as well as embraced Indian, Chinese and African scholars. The Western Europeans learned from these cultures and grew from their teachings.