The High Middle Ages

The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the period of European history conventionally dated from about 1000 to about 1300 CE, the middle phase of the broader Post-Classical and Medieval Period. It saw rapid population growth across Europe, the revival of towns and long-distance trade after the disruptions of the early medieval centuries, the rise of the Italian city-states as commercial powers, and an intellectual and architectural flowering, including the founding of Europe's first universities and the Gothic cathedrals, sometimes called the renaissance of the twelfth century.