"But how did medieval Europe stop being medieval Europe? The answer is through protectionism" That is false. Protectionism may (or may not) have helped specif

"But how did medieval Europe stop being medieval Europe? The answer is through protectionism" That is false. Protectionism may (or may not) have helped specific industries in individual countries, but it was net harmful for medieval Europe, because nearly all international trade in medieval Europe was with other European countries. It's a very interesting question how medieval Europe stopped being medieval. The short version is peace and trade. When society is dominated by local warlords, you tend to have neither. Europe's rise out of medievalness was basically achieved by an alliance between medieval kings and a growing merchant class. The kings used the wealth of the merchants to increase the power of the central goverment, which then protected the merchants from the random exactions of over-powerful nobles.