Rural, urban and trade development in 11th century NW Europe - setting the medieval stage

"At the beginning of the eleventh century the culture and economy of the West were almost wholly rural. It is true that many of the old Roman cities still exísted, and rnoreover that they were important. Not only were they walled towns and centres of defence, but they contained the cathedrals and therefore the remains of diocesan administration.

The population of the Holy Land during the Crusading period

It is often thought that the crusaders in the different crusader states in the Holy Land were a tiny Christian elite ruling over predominantly Muslim populations. The facts are different.