This article addresses the specificity of the 11th and 12th centuries within the framework of the ‘long Middle Ages’ as defined by Jacques Le Goff. Moving beyond a focus on the clergy alone, it examines the ecclesial dimension of social organization, as articulated through the concept of ecclesia. On the basis of a synthetic analysis of archaeological and historical evidence from Western Europe, the study seeks to document and characterize the successive phases of a so-cial dynamic generated by the establishment and subsequent proliferation of places of worship. It distinguishes two successive processes: an initial phase of social polarization, followed by a phase of territorialization in the organization of society. Within this broader trajectory, the article situates and evaluates the effects of the transformation of ecclesiastical institutions, a process often associated with what is conventionally termed the ‘Gregorian Reform’.
Chapter Title
Structure, dynamics, and transformation of the ecclesia: the long Middle Ages or an ecclesiastical revolution?
Authors
Language
English
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-1076-8.06
Peer Reviewed
Publication Year
2026
Copyright Information
© 2026 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Book Title
In Search of the High Middle Ages. Change and Continuity in 11th–12th-century Italy
Editors
Alberto Cotza, Giuseppe Petralia
Peer Reviewed
Number of Pages
560
Publication Year
2026
Copyright Information
© 2026 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Publisher Name
Firenze University Press
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-1076-8
ISBN Print
979-12-215-1075-1
eISBN (pdf)
979-12-215-1076-8
eISBN (xml)
979-12-215-1078-2
Series Title
Reti Medievali E-Book
Series ISSN
2704-6362
Series E-ISSN
2704-6079