Editing Middle Ages (section)

=== Rise of state power ===
{{Main|England in the Middle Ages|France in the Middle Ages|Germany in the Middle Ages|Italy in the Middle Ages|Scotland in the Middle Ages|Spain in the Middle Ages|Poland in the Middle Ages}}

[[File:Europe mediterranean 1190.jpg|Europe and the Mediterranean Sea in 1190|thumb|upright=1.3]]

The High Middle Ages was the formative period in the history of the modern Western state. Kings in France, England, and Spain consolidated their power and established lasting governing institutions.<ref name=Backman283>Backman ''Worlds of Medieval Europe'' pp. 283–284</ref> New kingdoms such as [[Kingdom of Hungary|Hungary]] and [[Kingdom of Poland (1025–1385)|Poland]], after their conversion to Christianity, became Central European powers.<ref name=Barber365>Barber ''Two Cities'' pp. 365–380</ref> The Magyars settled Hungary around 900 under King [[Árpád]] (d. c. 907) after a series of invasions in the 9th century.<ref name=Davies296>Davies ''Europe'' p. 296</ref> The papacy, long attached to an ideology of independence from secular kings, first asserted its claim to temporal authority over the entire Christian world; the [[Temporal power (papal)|Papal Monarchy]] reached its apogee in the early 13th century under the pontificate of {{nowrap|[[Innocent III]]}} (pope 1198–1216).<ref name=Backman262>Backman ''Worlds of Medieval Europe'' pp. 262–279</ref> [[Northern Crusades]] and the advance of Christian kingdoms and military orders into previously [[pagan]] regions in the Baltic and [[Finland|Finnic]] north-east brought the forced assimilation of numerous native peoples into European culture.<ref name=Barber371>Barber ''Two Cities'' pp. 371–372</ref>

During the early High Middle Ages, Germany was ruled by the [[Ottonian dynasty]], which struggled to control the powerful dukes ruling over [[stem duchy|territorial duchies]], tracing back to the Migration period. In 1024, they were replaced by the [[Salian dynasty]], who famously clashed with the papacy under Emperor {{nowrap|[[Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry IV]]}} (r. 1084–1105) over Church appointments as part of the [[Investiture Controversy]].<ref name=Backman181>Backman ''Worlds of Medieval Europe'' pp. 181–186</ref> His successors continued to struggle against the papacy as well as the German nobility. A period of instability followed the death of Emperor {{nowrap|[[Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry V]]}} (r. 1111–1125), who died without heirs, until [[Frederick I Barbarossa|{{nowrap|Frederick I}} Barbarossa]] (r. 1155–1190) took the imperial throne.<ref name=Jordan143>Jordan ''Europe in the High Middle Ages'' pp. 143–147</ref> Although he ruled effectively, the basic problems remained, and his successors struggled into the 13th century.<ref name=Jordan250>Jordan ''Europe in the High Middle Ages'' pp. 250–252</ref> Barbarossa's grandson [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]] (r. 1220–1250), who was also heir to the throne of Sicily through his mother, clashed repeatedly with the papacy. His court was famous for its scholars, and he was often accused of [[Heresy in Christianity|heresy]].<ref name=Denley235>Denley "Mediterranean" ''Oxford Illustrated History of Medieval Europe'' pp. 235–238</ref> He and his successors faced many difficulties, including the invasion of the [[Mongols]] into Europe in the mid-13th century. Mongols first shattered the Kyivan Rus' principalities and then [[Mongol invasion of Europe|invaded Eastern Europe]] in 1241, 1259, and 1287.<ref name=Davies364>Davies ''Europe'' p. 364</ref>

[[File:Bayeux Tapestry scene44 William Odo Robert.jpg|The [[Bayeux Tapestry]] (detail) showing [[William the Conqueror]] (centre), his half-brothers [[Robert, Count of Mortain]] (right) and [[Odo, Earl of Kent|Odo]], Bishop of [[Bayeux]] in the [[Duchy of Normandy]] (left)|thumb|left]]

Under the [[Capetian dynasty]] the French monarchy slowly began to expand its authority over the nobility, growing out of the [[Île-de-France]] to exert control over more of the country in the 11th and 12th centuries.<ref name=Backman187>Backman ''Worlds of Medieval Europe'' pp. 187–189</ref> They faced a powerful rival in the [[Dukes of Normandy]], who in 1066 under [[William the Conqueror]] (duke 1035–1087), conquered England (r. 1066–1087) and created a cross-channel empire that lasted, in various forms, throughout the rest of the Middle Ages.<ref name=Jordan59>Jordan ''Europe in the High Middle Ages'' pp. 59–61</ref><ref name=Backman189>Backman ''Worlds of Medieval Europe'' pp. 189–196</ref> Normans also settled in Sicily and southern Italy, when [[Robert Guiscard]] (d. 1085) landed there in 1059 and established a duchy that later became the [[Kingdom of Sicily]].<ref name=Davies294>Davies ''Europe'' p. 294</ref> Under the [[Angevin kings of England|Angevin dynasty]] of {{nowrap|[[Henry II of England|Henry II]]}} (r. 1154–1189) and his son [[Richard I]] (r. 1189–1199), the kings of England ruled over England and large areas of France,<ref name=Backman263>Backman ''Worlds of Medieval Europe'' p. 263</ref>{{efn-ua|This grouping of lands is often called the [[Angevin Empire]].<ref name=Feudal285>Barlow ''Feudal Kingdom'' pp. 285–286</ref>}} brought to the family by Henry II's marriage to [[Eleanor of Aquitaine]] (d. 1204), heiress to much of southern France.<ref name=Eleanor>Loyn "Eleanor of Aquitaine" ''Middle Ages'' p. 122</ref>{{efn-ua|Eleanor had previously been married to [[Louis VII of France]] (r. 1137–1180), but their marriage was annulled in 1152.<ref name=Eleanor />}} Richard's younger brother [[John, King of England|John]] (r. 1199–1216) lost Normandy and the rest of the northern French possessions in 1204 to the French King [[Philip II Augustus]] (r. 1180–1223). This led to dissension among the English nobility. John's financial exactions to pay for his unsuccessful attempts to regain Normandy led in 1215 to ''[[Magna Carta]]'', a charter that confirmed the rights and privileges of free men in England. Under {{nowrap|[[Henry III of England|Henry III]]}} (r. 1216–1272), John's son, further concessions were made to the nobility, and royal power was diminished.<ref name=Backman286>Backman ''Worlds of Medieval Europe'' pp. 286–289</ref> The French monarchy continued to make gains against the nobility during the late 12th and 13th centuries, bringing more territories within the kingdom under the king's personal rule and centralising the royal administration.<ref name=Backman289>Backman ''Worlds of Medieval Europe'' pp. 289–293</ref> Under [[Louis IX]] (r. 1226–1270), royal prestige rose to new heights as Louis served as a mediator for most of Europe.<ref name=Davies355>Davies ''Europe'' pp. 355–357</ref>{{efn-ua|Louis was [[canonised]] in 1297 by Pope [[Boniface VIII]].<ref name=Hallam401>Hallam and Everard ''Capetian France'' p. 401</ref>}}

In Iberia, the Christian states, which had been confined to the north-western part of the peninsula, began to push back against the Islamic states in the south, a period known as the ''[[Reconquista]]''.<ref name=Davies345>Davies ''Europe'' p. 345</ref> By about 1150, the Christian north had coalesced into the five major kingdoms of [[Kingdom of León|León]], [[Kingdom of Castile|Castile]], [[Kingdom of Aragon|Aragon]], [[Kingdom of Navarre|Navarre]], and [[Kingdom of Portugal|Portugal]].<ref name=Barber341>Barber ''Two Cities'' p. 341</ref> Southern Iberia remained under control of Islamic states, initially under the [[Caliphate of Córdoba]], which broke up in 1031 into a shifting number of petty states known as ''[[taifa]]s'',<ref name=Davies345 /> who fought with the Christians until the [[Almohad Caliphate]] re-established centralised rule over Southern Iberia in the 1170s.<ref name=Barber350>Barber ''Two Cities'' pp. 350–351</ref> Christian forces advanced again in the early 13th century, culminating in the capture of [[Seville]] in 1248.<ref name=Barber353>Barber ''Two Cities'' pp. 353–355</ref>