Although German kings frequently appointed high-ranking clergy to important civic positions, Pope Gregory issued a decree, in 1075, which banned the practice. King Henry IV, 1056- 1106 , who was no stranger to the practice, fiercely opposed the decree since his Investiture of the bishop of Milan, the second most important …

In twelfth century armed combat tournaments attendees generally participated in a melee. The 'melee' was a free for all battle among combatants armed with blunted weapons. Losers were taken prisoner and held for ransom, allowing the victors to reap huge profits at the expense of the losers.

In the high middle ages, , Chivalry was the code of ethics employed by nobility. Chivalry encouraged 'civilized' behavior. Knights were encouraged to defend the church and the meek, and to engage in combat only when an opponent was similarly armed.

In the eleventh century the Catholic church instituted the Peace of God to stop knights from constantly battling each other and especially to stop them from hurting and killing noncombatant persons such as clergy, the poor, merchants and women. The church urged knights to take an oath of respect for …

See carruca aratum|see carruca .

A carruca is a heavy, wheeled plow, that revolutionized agriculture in the high middle ages, . The aratum , a light, wooden, non-wheeled plow was used previously. The aratum could be effective in the light soil regions of the Mediterranean, however it was ineffective in the dense clay soils of northern and …