Between the eleventh and the fifteenth centuries, European society expanded its intellectual and social horizons. This class focuses upon European culture during the High and Late Middle Ages, roughly 1000-1400. We will discuss the revival of urban life, shifts in power relations and social structures, the rise of universities, new economies, gender relations, and religious dissent. Since a short course such as this can only cover a limited amount of material from such a vast time period, the readings give priority to texts that illuminate individual lives. Thus we will read autobiographies, hagiographies, and first-person accounts of contemporary events.