History Main / TheHighMiddleAges

[[quoteright:350:[[Creator/GustaveDore http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/5fe91de607eea38222e5de3f42affb09.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[Literature/TheCanterburyTales I speke of manye hundred yeres ago...]]]]

Speaking of UsefulNotes/TheCrusades, they lasted throughout this entire period, but particularly after the mid-1100's they start to draw a lot of attention away from continental Europe. Although some very important things happened during the Crusades (such as the always common succession wars or the signing of the Magna Carta in 1215) they tend to make up the popular fiction of the era. In truth, the Crusades were big, even involving several monarchs of the time, but there was always something going on back home. The High Middle Ages saw the rise of knights as a martial nobility, and it typically involved stereotypical knightly things such as chivalry and tournaments. The economy was also improving, mostly due to agricultural yields. This brought greater stability to Europe, and increased crop yields also meant more specialization for workers. Things like banks, corporations, and workers unions (guilds at the time) originated in this area, usually evolving from ideas gained from trade with the Muslim empires. It also meant more blacksmiths, carpenters, stonemasons, jewelers, and other non-subsistence based careers. This in turn meant more products to buy and sell, better building techniques and more organized construction efforts (such as proper castles and churches), and advances in agricultural tools. It also meant there was room for an intellectual revival, since people now had time to devote to studies and scholasticism. Secular studies were on the rise, particularly of ancient Greco-Roman works that were later immortalized in the Renaissance. Universities even sprang up during this time, and all in all the world was becoming a more connected, advanced place. Things were on a stable recovery from TheLowMiddleAges.

The period also saw the final decline of Roman power from which there would not be a recovery. Although the Eastern Roman Empire had outlasted the Western half for hundreds of years, the rise of Islam brought a real challenge to its doorstep. Muslim conquests of Eastern Roman lands sparked the Crusades, which also marked a period of cooperation between the Eastern and Western churches. This all ended in 1204, when Constantinople was sacked by a group of rogue Crusaders. This became the point of no return for the Roman Empire. Although it would survive for 200 years more, it was never able to regain it's former glory.

In actual history, this is the high spot between the Vikings and TheBlackDeath. The modern nations began to take shape, and with them the foundations of the legal system and government bureaucracy. The first great European universities were founded as a renaissance began flickering into life, and then disaster struck. A combination of internal strife and climatic disaster, capped by the Black Death, brought the brief golden age to an end. Whole villages were swallowed up by the advancing wilds as civilisation retreated.

Our story picks up where it left off, in 1066. [[UsefulNotesTheHouseOfNormandy The Normans]], a group of Frenchmen of partial Viking (primarily Danish) descent, conquered modern-day England from the ruling UsefulNotes/AngloSaxons. England had erupted into a succession crisis largely divided between the Vikings, who conquered the isles in the 800s, and the Anglo-Saxons, a group of slightly less Viking-ish but still pretty Viking-like peoples from Northern Germany.

Our story picks up where it left off, in 1066. The Normans, a group of Frenchmen of partial Viking (primarily Danish) descent, conquered modern-day England from the ruling Anglo-Saxons. England had erupted into a succession crisis largely divided between the Vikings, who conquered the isles in the 800s, and the UsefulNotes/AngloSaxons, a group of slightly less Viking-ish but still pretty Viking-like peoples from Northern Germany.

Our story picks up where it left off, in 1066. The Normans, a group of Frenchmen of partial Viking (primarily Danish) descent, conquered modern-day England from the ruling Anglo-Saxons. England had erupted into a succession crisis largely divided between the Vikings, who conquered the isles in the 800s, and the UsefulNotes/Anglo-Saxons, a group of slightly less Viking-ish but still pretty Viking-like peoples from Northern Germany.

Our story picks up where it left off, in 1066. The Normans, a group of Frenchmen of partial Viking (primarily Danish) descent, conquered modern-day England from the ruling Anglo-Saxons. England had erupted into a succession crisis largely divided between the Vikings, who conquered the isles in the 800s, and the Anglo-Saxons, a group of slightly less Viking-ish but still pretty Viking-like peoples from Northern Germany.

Although the Anglo-Saxons won at the famous Battle of Stamford Bridge, William of Normady saw the opportunity to further expand his lands. He invoked a claim to the throne of England, a country that had only been unified for less than 100 years by that point. He invaded and swiftly conquered England, defeating king Harold Godwinson, whose armies were battered from fighting the Danes.

Our story picks up where it left off, in 1066. The Normans, a group of Frenchmen, conquered modern day England from the ruling Anglo-Saxons. England had erupted into a succession crisis largely divided between the Vikings, who conquered the isles in the 800s, and the Anglo-Saxons, a group of slightly less Viking-ish but still pretty Viking-like peoples from Northern Germany. Although the Anglo-Saxons won at the famous Battle of Stamford Bridge, William of Normady saw the opportunity to further expand his lands. He invoked a claim to the throne of England, a country that had only been unified for less than 100 years by that point. He invaded and swiftly conquered England, defeating king Harold Godwinson, whose armies were battered from fighting the Danes. The Normans would, for some time, find it hard to hold on to their new conquests, as they suffered internal strife for nearly 100 years before things finally settled down and the modern, still existing kingdom of England we know today started to take shape. However, the Norman's instituted their own famous rule of law that is well renowned throughout history. For example, the Domesday Book was a preparatory census taking stock of the demographics of England to help the new-found Norman rulers understand the kingdom they had just inherited better. The Normans, being a duchy of France, also brought the inexorable tie between the Kingdom of France and the Kingdom of England. England would continue to expand under the rule of the Normans and other French dukes, pushing further and further into formerly Celtic territories like Cumbria and Wales. However, one of the most important events in English history occurred in 1215, when the First Baron's War erupted in England. The wildly unpopular King John saw many of his Barons rise up in revolt. Much of this came over disputes concerning the church, the appointment of bishops, the authority of the King over said bishops, and of course, taxes. King John himself was subject to HistoricalVillainUpgrade because the Baron's ultimately won and, of course, portrayed him incredibly negatively. The end of the war saw King John being forced to sign the Magna Carta, often hailed as the first document cementing modern Britain and reinvigorating democracy in Europe. However, the actual document was quite limited, with the most significant change being the appointment of 25 Barons (later to become the House of Lords) to levy taxes instead of giving the King that power, this forcing the King to go through Parliament to gain any new taxes. It was an incredibly small but crucial step in the formation of modern Britain. As should become evident in both the English and French revolutions half a millennium later, who controls the purse-strings ultimately can wedge their way into enough power to have the king beheaded.

Elsewhere, in continental Europe, the superstates of the Carolingian Empire began to break down. Otto I's coronation by the Pope in 962 marked the end of East Francia and the birth of the UsefulNotes/HolyRomanEmpire, which at this time was at the peak of its power. From there, the Empire would enter into a complicated relationship with the church that would culminate in the issue of Investiture. Officially, the Pope was above all monarchs in Western Europe, but since Otto's reign the Emperors had taken it upon themselves to appoint the various religious offices within Germany. Obviously, this made the Pope angry, and for the next few years or so internal turmoil erupted between those members of the Empire who supported the Church and those who supported the Emperor. This dividing factor would later be a drive for Protestantism in Germany, as many of the more secular princes would choose to leave the Catholic church. In 1122, the Concordat of Worms was signed. It essentially admitted that the Pope held authority over the Emperor, and it also sparked the decline of the Emperor's power in favor of the princes. This was complete in the 1250's when Frederick II died and for years the Empire struggled to find an heir. Eventually, local loyalties to the church or to the princes replaced loyalties to the Emperor, and he became little more than a figurehead ruling over a collective confederacy of infighting states. Despite its weakness, the Empire would still remain a major force in Europe, and it would continue to be the largest of the European kingdoms.

Italy was fractured into numerous tiny states following the destruction of the Lombard Kingdom of Charlamagne. Northern Italy belonged to the UsefulNotes/HolyRomanEmpire, while the rest belonged to small, independent states. These trading cities would establish vast commercial empires, being Europe's main link to the rest of the world after the split between the Church in Rome and the Church in Constantinople left relations between Catholic and Orthodox rulers less than warm.

In Scandinavia, the former Vikings settled into more rigid, defined kingdoms and eventually Christianized. The Poles formed their own kingdom after Slavs migrated into lands the Germans had abandoned in the Migration Period. Lithuania also formed as a duchy, and would remain one of the last pagan kingdoms in Europe, famously leading it to war with the Teutonic Order and the Livonian Order. Hungary formed much in the same way, uniting various Slavic tribes (although claiming decent from the Hunnic Empire of Attila, hence the name). The few remaining Christian Iberian kingdoms were starting to carve away slowly at Moorish Spain, but it wouldn't be until the Late Middle Ages that they managed to retake it all. Merchant republics like Venice and Genoa were growing in power. Although they owned very little land compared to their neighbors, they were immensely rich and powerful because they controlled the primary trade routes of Western Europe. The Kievian Rus also rose in prominence, but it dissolved into quarreling minor principalities and was later conquered by the Mongols.

Italy was fractured into numerous tiny states following the destruction of the Lombard Kingdom of Charlamagne. Northern Italy belonged to the HolyRomanEmpire, while the rest belonged to small, independent states. These trading cities would establish vast commercial empires, being Europe's main link to the rest of the world after the split between the Church in Rome and the Church in Constantinople left relations between Catholic and Orthodox rulers less than warm.

Elsewhere, in continental Europe, the superstates of the Carolingian Empire began to break down. Otto I's coronation by the Pope in 962 marked the end of East Francia and the birth of the HolyRomanEmpire, which at this time was at the peak of its power. From there, the Empire would enter into a complicated relationship with the church that would culminate in the issue of Investiture. Officially, the Pope was above all monarchs in Western Europe, but since Otto's reign the Emperors had taken it upon themselves to appoint the various religious offices within Germany. Obviously, this made the Pope angry, and for the next few years or so internal turmoil erupted between those members of the Empire who supported the Church and those who supported the Emperor. This dividing factor would later be a drive for Protestantism in Germany, as many of the more secular princes would choose to leave the Catholic church. In 1122, the Concordat of Worms was signed. It essentially admitted that the Pope held authority over the Emperor, and it also sparked the decline of the Emperor's power in favor of the princes. This was complete in the 1250's when Frederick II died and for years the Empire struggled to find an heir. Eventually, local loyalties to the church or to the princes replaced loyalties to the Emperor, and he became little more than a figurehead ruling over a collective confederacy of infighting states. Despite its weakness, the Empire would still remain a major force in Europe, and it would continue to be the largest of the European kingdoms.

Stretching roughly from about the Norman Conquest (''1066 and All That'') to the early 1300s, but most often imagined as about the 12th or 13th century, this is the era of UsefulNotes/TheCrusades, RobinHood, and fat, lecherous, [[ChurchMilitant irascible]], but good-hearted [[ChristianityIsCatholic friars]]. Also home to [[KnightInShiningArmor knights]], beautiful [[EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses princesses]] with [[TheLateMiddleAges anachronistic]] [[NiceHat hennins]], and tall, spire-tipped Gothic architecture (note that most versions of the story of KingArthur are depicted as if they were set in this era, though strictly speaking he belongs to [[DarkAgeEurope Late Antiquity]]). Expect to see a {{corrupt church}}man or two wandering the landscape [[BurnTheWitch burning witches]], heretics, and pretty much ''anyone'' who doesn’t agree with [[MedievalMorons him]].

Our story picks up where it left off, in 1066. The Normans, a group of Frenchmen, conquered modern day England from the ruling Anglo-Saxons. England had erupted into a succession crisis largely divided between the Vikings, who conquered the isles in the 800s, and the Anglo-Saxons, a group of slightly less Viking-ish but still pretty Viking-like peoples from Northern Germany. Although the Anglo-Saxons won at the famous Battle of Stamford Bridge, William of Normady saw the opportunity to further expand his lands. He invoked a claim to the throne of England, a country that had only been unified for less than 100 years by that point. He invaded and swiftly conquered England, defeating king Harold Godwinson, whose armies were battered from fighting the Danes. The Normans would, for some time, find it hard to hold on to their new conquests, as they suffered internal strife for nearly 100 years before things finally settled down and the modern, still existing kingdom of England we know today started to take shape. However, the Norman's instituted their own famous rule of law that is well renowned throughout history. For example, the Domesday Book was a preparatory census taking stock of the demographics of England to help the new-found Norman rulers understand the kingdom they had just inherited better. The Normans, being a duchy of France, also brought the inexorable tie between the Kingdom of France and the Kingdom of England. England would continue to expand under the rule of the Normans and other French dukes, pushing further and further into formerly Celtic territories like Cumbria and Wales. However, one of the most important events in English history occurred in 1215, when the First Baron's War erupted in England. The wildly unpopular King John saw many of his Barons rise up in revolt. Much of this came over disputes concerning the church, the appointment of bishops, the authority of the King over said bishops, and of course, taxes. King John himself was subject to HistoricalVillainUpgrade because the Baron's ultimately won and, of course, portrayed him incredibly negatively. The end of the war saw King John being forced to sign the Magna Carta, often hailed as the first document cementing modern Britain and reinvigorating democracy in Europe. However, the actual document was quite limited, with the most significant change being the appointment of 25 Barons (later to become the House of Lords) to levy taxes instead of giving the King that power, this forcing the King to go through Parliament to gain any new taxes. It was an incredibly small but crucial step in the formation of modern Britain.

Elsewhere, in continental Europe, the superstates of the Carolingian Empire began to breakdown. Otto I's coronation by the Pope in 962 marked the end of East Francia and the birth of the HolyRomanEmpire, which at this time was at the peak of its power. From there, the Empire would enter into a complicated relationship with the church that would culminate in the issue of Investiture. Officially, the Pope was above all monarchs in Western Europe, but since Otto's reign the Emperors had taken it upon themselves to appoint the various religious offices within Germany. Obviously, this made the Pope angry, and for the next few years or so internal turmoil erupted between those members of the Empire who supported the Church and those who supported the Emperor. This dividing factor would later be a drive for Protestantism in Germany, as many of the more secular princes would choose to leave the Catholic church. In 1122, the Concordat of Worms was signed. It essentially admitted that the Pope held authority over the Emperor, and it also sparked the decline of the Emperor's power in favor of the princes. This was complete in the 1250's when Frederick II died and for years the Empire struggled to find an heir. Eventually, local loyalties to the church or to the princes replaced loyalties to the Emperor, and he became little more than a figurehead ruling over a collective confederacy of infighting states. Despite its weakness, the Empire would still remain a major force in Europe, and it would continue to be the largest of the European kingdoms.

The setting is likely to be a [[TheThemeParkVersion mythologized]] UsefulNotes/{{Britain}} or UsefulNotes/{{France}}, though there are examples from farther afield. [[UsefulNotes/{{Israel}} Jerusalem]], which had pretty much been ignored since BiblicalTimes, will now also be used as the stage for all sorts of spectacular battles involving scimitar-wielding [[ArabianNightsDays Saracens]] and sinisterly handsome [[UsefulNotes/TheKnightsTemplar Knights Templar]].

The setting is likely to be a [[TheThemeParkVersion mythologized]] UsefulNotes/{{Britain}} or UsefulNotes/{{France}}, though there are examples from farther afield. [[UsefulNotes/{{Israel}} Jerusalem]], which had pretty much been ignored since BiblicalTimes, will now also be used as the stage for all sorts of spectacular battles involving scimitar-wielding [[ArabianNightsDays Saracens]] and sinisterly handsome [[TheKnightsTemplar Knights Templar]].

* WarriorMonk: Not only were there many militant churchmen like Bishop Turpin in ''The Song of Roland'', but this was the era of the military religious orders such as TheKnightsHospitallers, TheKnightsTemplar, and TheTeutonicKnights.

** The [[ComicBook/DieAbrafaxe Abrafaxe]] came to the 1270s during the final third of the Don Ferrando arc. After going through Palestine, Egypt and Mesopotamia the Don disappeared and the Abrafaxe continued their journey via India, Malaya and Japan before reaching [[UsefulNotes/DynastiesFromShangToQing the Yuan Empire]] in 1282 (January 1983-December 1991). Following that a leap in time brings them back to 1176, around the time of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa's defeat in the battle of Legnano (No. 193-207). Much later they return for the Templars arc (No. 358-381, set ca. 1118), which involves the beginnings of TheKnightsTemplar and a search for the treasure of Prester John. It is followed by the Johanna arc (No. 382-405, set ca. 1250), in which the Abrafaxe meet Albertus Magnus and encounter Nicolas Flamel (who had appeared under a different name in the Templars arc).

* The old Sierra adventure game ''ConquestsOfTheLongbow''.
* The beginning of the English campaign of ''EmpireEarth'' is set during the Norman Conquest. It then reenact UsefulNotes/TheHundredYearsWar and UsefulNotes/TheNapoleonicWars.

* ''Film/AlexanderNevsky''
* ''Becket''
* ''Film/{{Braveheart}}''
* ''Film/ElCid''
* ''Film/FirstKnight''
* Any version of the story of Francis of Assisi (''e.g., Brother Sun, Sister Moon''; ''Francesco''; or ''St. Francis of Assisi'')
* ''Film/KingdomOfHeaven''
* ''Film/LesVisiteurs''

Our story picks up where it left off, in 1066. The Normans, a group of Frenchmen, conquered modern day England from the ruling Anglo-Saxons. England had erupted into a succession crisis largely divided between the Vikings, who conquered the isles in the 800s, and the Anglo-Saxons, a group of slightly less Viking-ish but still pretty Viking-like peoples from Northern Germany. Although the Anglo-Saxons won at the famous Battle of Stamford Bridge, William of Normady saw the opportunity to further expand his lands. He invoked a claim to the throne of England, a country that had only been unified for less than 100 years by that point. He invaded and swiftly conquered England, defeating the famous king UsefulNotes/AlfredTheGreat, whose armies were battered from fighting the Danes. The Normans would, for some time, find it hard to hold on to their new conquests, as they suffered internal strife for nearly 100 years before things finally settled down and the modern, still existing kingdom of England we know today started to take shape. However, the Norman's instituted their own famous rule of law that is well renowned throughout history. For example, the Domesday Book was a preparatory census taking stock of the demographics of England to help the new-found Norman rulers understand the kingdom they had just inherited better. The Normans, being a duchy of France, also brought the inexorable tie between the Kingdom of France and the Kingdom of England. England would continue to expand under the rule of the Normans and other French dukes, pushing further and further into formerly Celtic territories like Cumbria and Wales. However, one of the most important events in English history occurred in 1215, when the First Baron's War erupted in England. The wildly unpopular King John saw many of his Barons rise up in revolt. Much of this came over disputes concerning the church, the appointment of bishops, the authority of the King over said bishops, and of course, taxes. King John himself was subject to HistoricalVillainUpgrade because the Baron's ultimately won and, of course, portrayed him incredibly negatively. The end of the war saw King John being forced to sign the Magna Carta, often hailed as the first document cementing modern Britain and reinvigorating democracy in Europe. However, the actual document was quite limited, with the most significant change being the appointment of 25 Barons (later to become the House of Lords) to levy taxes instead of giving the King that power, this forcing the King to go through Parliament to gain any new taxes. It was an incredibly small but crucial step in the formation of modern Britain.

** During the ''Digedags'' era, the protagonists travelled to the 13th century, where they met [[BreakoutCharacter Ritter Runkel]].

Stretching roughly from about the Norman Conquest (''1066 and All That'') to the early 1300s, but most often imagined as about the 12th or 13th century, this is the era of TheCrusades, RobinHood, and fat, lecherous, [[ChurchMilitant irascible]], but good-hearted [[ChristianityIsCatholic friars]]. Also home to [[KnightInShiningArmor knights]], beautiful [[EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses princesses]] with [[TheLateMiddleAges anachronistic]] [[NiceHat hennins]], and tall, spire-tipped Gothic architecture (note that most versions of the story of KingArthur are depicted as if they were set in this era, though strictly speaking he belongs to [[DarkAgeEurope Late Antiquity]]). Expect to see a {{corrupt church}}man or two wandering the landscape [[BurnTheWitch burning witches]], heretics, and pretty much ''anyone'' who doesn’t agree with [[MedievalMorons him]].

Speaking of TheCrusades, they lasted throughout this entire period, but particularly after the mid-1100's they start to draw a lot of attention away from continental Europe. Although some very important things happened during the Crusades (such as the always common succession wars or the signing of the Magna Carta in 1215) they tend to make up the popular fiction of the era. In truth, the Crusades were big, even involving several monarchs of the time, but there was always something going on back home. The High Middle Ages saw the rise of knights as a martial nobility, and it typically involved stereotypical knightly things such as chivalry and tournaments. The economy was also improving, mostly due to agricultural yields. This brought greater stability to Europe, and increased crop yields also meant more specialization for workers. Things like banks, corporations, and workers unions (guilds at the time) originated in this area, usually evolving from ideas gained from trade with the Muslim empires. It also meant more blacksmiths, carpenters, stonemasons, jewelers, and other non-subsistence based careers. This in turn meant more products to buy and sell, better building techniques and more organized construction efforts (such as proper castles and churches), and advances in agricultural tools. It also meant there was room for an intellectual revival, since people now had time to devote to studies and scholasticism. Secular studies were on the rise, particularly of ancient Greco-Roman works that were later immortalized in the Renaissance. Universities even sprang up during this time, and all in all the world was becoming a more connected, advanced place. Things were on a stable recovery from TheLowMiddleAges.

* TheCrusades: These are a perennially favorite backdrop for medieval fiction.

Stretching roughly from about the Norman Conquest (''1066 and All That'') to the early 1300s, but most often imagined as about the 12th or 13th century, this is Era of TheCrusades, RobinHood, and fat, lecherous, [[ChurchMilitant irascible]], but good-hearted [[ChristianityIsCatholic friars]]. Also home to [[KnightInShiningArmor knights]], beautiful [[EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses princesses]] with [[TheLateMiddleAges anachronistic]] [[NiceHat hennins]], and tall, spire-tipped Gothic architecture (note that most versions of the story of KingArthur are depicted as if they were set in this era, though strictly speaking he belongs to [[DarkAgeEurope Late Antiquity]]). Expect to see a {{corrupt church}}man or two wandering the landscape [[BurnTheWitch burning witches]], heretics, and pretty much ''anyone'' who doesn’t agree with [[MedievalMorons him]].

It is probably because it ended so badly that this period is remembered so well, the halycon days before the Black Death stalked the land, hence the idealised popular image of this time, which hasn't changed much in five centuries.

Our story picks up where it left off, in 1066. The Normans, a group of Frenchmen, conquered modern day England from the ruling Anglo-Saxons. England had erupted into a succession crisis largely divided between the Vikings, who conquered the isles in the 800s, and the Anglo-Saxons, a group of slightly less Viking-ish but still pretty Viking-like peoples from Northern Germany. Although the Anglo-Saxons won at the famous Battle of Stamford Bridge, William of Normady saw the opportunity to further expand his lands. He invaded and swiftly conquered England. The Normans would, for some time, find it hard to hold on to their new conquests, as they suffered internal strife for nearly 100 years before things finally settled down and the modern, still existing kingdom of England we know today started to take shape.

Their neighbor, France, was shaping up a bit better. France hit a low point with the election of Hugh Capet, the first King of France from outside the Carolingian dynasty. At this point, France was extremely decentralized, and the King held little power. This began to change with the ascension of Louis IV, who started a trend of growing monarchical power that would continue in France all the way to the French Revolution.

In Scandinavia, the former Vikings settled into more rigid, defined kingdoms and eventually Christianized. The Poles formed their own kingdom after Slavs migrated into lands the Germans had abandoned in the Migration Period. Lithuania also formed as a duchy, and would remain one of the last pagan kingdoms in Europe, famously leading it to war with the Teutonic Order and the Livonian Order. Hungary formed much in the same way, uniting various Slavic tribes (although claiming decent from the Hunnic Empire of Attila, hence the name). The few remaining Christian Iberian kingdoms were starting to carve away slowly at Moorish Spain, but it wouldn't be until the Late Middle Ages that they managed to retake it all. Merchant republics like Venice and Genoa were growing in power. Although they owned very little land compared to their neighbors, they were immensely rich and powerful because they controlled the primary trade routes of Western Europe. The KievianRus also rose in prominence, but it dissolved into quarreling minor principalities and was later conquered by the Mongols.

And then the [[TheBlackDeath plague]] came. The virulent disease spread in Europe from 1346 to 1353, and it definitely hit Europe the hardest. Before its spread, the world was engulfed by the Mongol Empire, whose conquest entered the High Middle Ages in the running for "shittiest historical period ever". They added an estimated 70,000,000 dead on top of the 200,000,000 possible dead from the Black Death. The Mongol's conquered an area spreading from the Sea of Japan to the Baltic Sea, sacking the city of Baghdad in one of the most destructive sieges in history and deliberating spreading the plague as a biological weapon. They even came close to conquering Europe, before being stopped for as of yet unknown reasons. It is rumored the Mongol's had to return home to elect a successor, but this idealized view is often discounted in favor of more realistic scenarios. What is known is that the Mongol Empire spread the plague, both on purpose and on accident. Their uniting of Asia allowed easier travel through the whole continent, which meant an easier chance for the disease to spread. Trade galleys from the Middle East carried infected individuals to the Italian cities, and from there the disease disseminated on various trade routes. Europe suffered greater than most to the plague, as their understanding of medicine was far more limited than the rest of the world. This resulted in possibly over half the population dying from the disease. Only isolated areas far from trade routes, such as the Polish heartlands, were spared from the disease. '''Agnolo di Tura''' recounts the Black Death:

* The beginning of the English campaign of ''EmpireEarth'' is set during the Norman Conquest. It then reenact UsefulNotes/TheHundredYearsWar and the NapoleonicWars.

** The [[ComicBook/DieAbrafaxe Abrafaxe]] came to the 1270s during the final third of the Don Ferrando arc. After going through Palestine, Egypt and Mesopotamia the Don disappeared and the Abrafaxe continued their journey via India, Malaya and Japan before reaching [[DynastiesFromShangToQing the Yuan Empire]] in 1282 (January 1983-December 1991). Following that a leap in time brings them back to 1176, around the time of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa's defeat in the battle of Legnano (No. 193-207). Much later they return for the Templars arc (No. 358-381, set ca. 1118), which involves the beginnings of TheKnightsTemplar and a search for the treasure of Prester John. It is followed by the Johanna arc (No. 382-405, set ca. 1250), in which the Abrafaxe meet Albertus Magnus and encounter Nicolas Flamel (who had appeared under a different name in the Templars arc).

** The [[ComicBook/DieAbrafaxe Abrafaxe]] came to the 1270s during the final third of the Don Ferrando arc. After going through Palestine, Egypt and Mesopotamia the Don disappeared and the Abrafaxe continued their journey via India, Malaya and Japan before reaching [[DynastiesFromShangToQing Yuan Dynasty China]] in 1282 (January 1983-December 1991). Following that a leap in time brings them back to 1176, around the time of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa's defeat in the battle of Legnano (No. 193-207). Much later they return for the Templars arc (No. 358-381, set ca. 1118), which involves the beginnings of TheKnightsTemplar and a search for the treasure of Prester John. It is followed by the Johanna arc (No. 382-405, set ca. 1250), in which the Abrafaxe meet Albertus Magnus and encounter Nicolas Flamel (who had appeared under a different name in the Templars arc).