Iberia

• The reconquest by the Christian realms in Spain
• The rich and complex cultural blend in Iberia in which Christian, Islamic and Jewish cultures lived in a condominium

Sancho I of Navarre, ruled 1000-1035

Rodrigo Dias de Vivar ("El Cid") 1043-1099

Ireland

Brian Boru, ruled 976-1014

Rory O' Conner, ruled 1156-1186

Eastern Europe

Polish Kingdom 1138 A.D.

1138, King Boleslav III divided his realm among three sons.

Rus, 1138

Italian area

influenced by Byzantine Empire, Norman Kingdom and German Empire.

Papal States, Carolingian Period

Lombards

Communes

1. Groups of prominent laymen began to form sworn associations called communes, "the common thing".
2. Leaders called themselves the popolo: "the people."
3. Ca. 1300, many of the Italian communes are actually donated by despotic rulers.

German territories

Ottonian Germany, 950

962, Ottonian monarchs crowned emperors

Investiture Controversy

The Controversy over lay investiture: the investing of ecclesiastical offices by laymen

The Roman Church along with the rise of a papal monarchy

1. The Curia: College of Cardinals, Lateran Councils, Legal and financial machinery expanded, Pope's system of legates
2. Disciplinary mechanism: Excommunication, The interdict, The Inquisition