Medieval Europe lost contact with the outside world

Evidence

Attention has been called to the peculiar fact that many families of high noble status in European countries have foreign origins. In England, the Fitzgeralds and the Dukes of Leicester come from Florence, the Dukes of Portland from Holland. In France, the Broglies come from Piedmont, the Dukes des Cars from Perugia, the Luynes from Arezzo. In Austria, the Clarys come from Florence. In Prussia, the Lynars come from Faenza. In Poland, the Poniatowskis come from Bologna. In Italy, the Roccas come from Croatia, the Ruspolis from Scotland, the Torlonias from France, and so on. One would expect members of the nobility to be little disposed to such transplantation by virtue of their attachment to landed property and their traditional nationalism, which is usually tied to a conservative Weltanschauung. All the more potent, then, must be the assimilating forces that are involved in such a changing about within what has been called the republic of nobility. — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 500 (#contradicts, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Western Europe lost knowledge of Africa after Rome’s collapse; Europe prospered from trade with the Mongols after Crusader conquest failed; Europe’s high nobility was highly mobile across national borders — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 500

Related

• Europe’s high nobility was highly mobile across national borders (similarity 0.84)
• Medieval Europe actively lost its earlier knowledge of the wider world (similarity 0.80)

Broader Connections

• Western Europe lost knowledge of Africa after Rome’s collapse #expands (0.85)
• Europe prospered from trade with the Mongols after Crusader conquest failed #qualifies (0.80)
• Europe’s high nobility was highly mobile across national borders #contradicts (0.72) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 500