[33] The independence of the country was not formally recognized till 1648 A.D.
[34] See page 315.
[35] See page 473.
[36] Courland, Livonia, and Esthonia.
[37] See pages 319, 462.
CHAPTER XXIII
EUROPEAN CITIES DURING THE LATER MIDDLE AGES
192. GROWTH OF THE CITIES
THE CIVIC REVIVAL
Civilization has always had its home in the city. [1] The statement applies as well to medieval times as to the present day. Nothing marks more strongly the backwardness of the early Middle Ages than the absence of large and flourishing cities throughout western Europe. The growth of trade in the later Middle Ages led, however, to a civic revival beginning in the eleventh century. This change from rural to urban life was scarcely less significant for European history than the change from the feudal to the national state.