Medieval Europe living standards

Which of the Medieval western European kingdoms had the best living standards in the 12th century?

in the Iberian Peninsula

merchant republics

Looking at that map, why was France fucked back then? They're squashed on both sides and only have like a sliver of land left

Henry II fucked them hard

I mean he literally cucked the French king out of Aquitaine

His sons ruined everything though

That was the french eastern border for a long time before the annexation of Burgundy drastically pushed it east in the 15th century

The western territories are french areas held by the English Crown, technically the English King owed the French King fealty in matters (tax) relating to those territories but in reality they were so often at war it didn't amount to much.

Northern Italy and the County of Flanders were the richest regions.

Duke of Normandy conquers England
Count of Anjou marries heiress of Normandy + England (meaning most of Northern France was under the King of England)
His son marries Duchess of Aquitaine (Pretty much all Southwestern France)

If the King of England was French then surely the French wouldn't feel that they were ruled by a foreign king

That map is horribly inaccurate in the Middle East, it groups all different states in that time period as a single Caliphate

England. Always England.

I always heard medieval England was an absolute shithole.

England was a fucking backwater up to 1500s

Low Countries or Italy

t. Nigel Slowbottom

Probably a bit muddy.

But otherwise, lovely.

Not if you're that poor fella in the foreground

Dithmarshen

They're foam lances, he's fine.

>gets knocked off by a foam lance
I bet he's French

England had the lowest crime rates in Europe
and there was less chance of your home being pillaged or raided by some foreign army, unless you lived on the Scottish border or in the Welsh Marches and even then it wasn't very common

Make it 1700s

Any Medieval Western European Kingdom.

Provided that you were living in an Urban Commune/Free City/City State and are a Citizen.

Otherwise its rural feudalcuckery for you.

Every country was a backwater until late 1700s when Britain first industrialised. Britain was the first nation to reach stage 2 in the demographic transition model