Guest Author - Helen B. Wharton

Watch the news on television or check the headlines on the internet, on any given day, and the chances are good there will be at least one story about Climate Change and Global Warming. Climatic fluctuations are not new. The climate of the Earth seems to follow a cyclic ebb and flow, sometimes globally, sometimes only regionally or only in one Hemisphere. The climate changes that are of interest in this article are those that influenced the people of Medieval and Renaissance Europe.

There is some evidence to suggest that the final chapter of Classical Antiquity, and the Roman Empire, was brought to a close due to climatic change. The years 536 to 539 CE were possibly the coldest in recorded history. From 535 to 555 the people of Europe suffered extreme cold, heavy rain and floods, crop failure, famine and large decline in population. And so began the Middle Ages, also referred to as the Dark Ages.

Archeologists, excavating sites throughout Europe have found evidence that farms, villages and towns which thrived during the Roman Period, rapidly declined and were abandoned in the 6th Century.

Conditions began to improve in the 9th Century, the beginning of the Medieval Warm Period, also known as the Medieval Climate Optimum, which lasted until the 14th Century.

During this era the climate in Europe and North America was clement and stable. Summers were warm, with an average temperature about 1 degree warmer than the mid 20th Century. Winters were mild, an average temperature of 1 to 2 degrees warmer than mid 20th Century, and the growing season was longer than before and dependably produced good harvests. As a result the population rose rapidly. Wine grapes were grown as far north as Yorkshire, in England, during this time.

It was at this time that Vikings explored and established settlements in Iceland and Greenland, attracted by green pastures for their herd animals.

Cultural accomplishments during the Medieval Climate Optimum were amazing. For example, this period in time saw the reign of Charlemagne on the European Continent, the Norman Conquest of England, the signing of the Magna Carta and an increase in trade and Eastern influence from the Crusades.

Music, science, art and architecture flourished, for it was the golden age of Gothic Cathedrals. Favorable harvests and increased population provided the workforce needed to build such shining examples of Medieval Architecture as the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, Chartres and Rouen Cathedrals in France, York Minster, Lincoln Cathedral and Westminster Abbey in England, and many other equally impressive cathedrals throughout all of Europe.To see some beautiful photos and information about Chartres Cathedral check out: http://www.greatbuildings.com/Chartres_Cathedral.html

For the next article about climate and it's influence on Renaissance see The Little Ice Age