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 …

Manorialism extended the concept of feudal fiefdom's as a principal land owner, or Lord, was the overseer and master of a Manor. The Manor was the principal dwelling on the Lord's property or estate. The Lord had servants on the Manor known as serfs. The Lord was allowed to retain …