I'd say that (1) there's a lot more to the medieval period than just the high middle ages in England and France and (2) a world with orcs, owlbears, etc is goin

I'd say that (1) there's a lot more to the medieval period than just the high middle ages in England and France and (2) a world with orcs, owlbears, etc is going to tend to be more thinly populated than similar historical analogues, meaning finding unclaimed land becomes more plausible.