Effects of the Crusades.--These long, holy wars, or "Crusades," had a profound effect upon Europe. The rude Christian warrior from the west was astonished and delighted with the splendid and luxurious life which he met at Constantinople and the Arabian East. Even though he was a prince, his life at home was barren of comforts and beauty. Glass, linen, rugs, tapestries, silk, cotton, spices, and sugar were some of the things which the Franks and the Englishmen took home with them from the Holy Land. Demand for these treasures of the East became irresistible, and trade between western Europe and the East grew rapidly. The Commercial Cities of Italy.--The cities of Italy developed this commerce. They placed fleets upon the Mediterranean. They carried the crusaders out and brought back the wares that Europe desired. In this way these cities grew and became very wealthy. On the west coast, where this trade began, were Amalfi, Pisa, Genoa, and Florence, and on the east, at the head of the Adriatic, was Venice. The rivalry between these cities of Italy was very fierce. They fought and plundered one another, each striving to win a monopoly for itself of this invaluable trade. Venice, finally, was victorious. Her location was very favorable. From her docks the wares could be carried easily and by the shortest routes up the Po River and thence into France or northward over the Alps to the Danube. In Bavaria grew up in this trade the splendid German cities of Augsburg and Nuremberg, which passed these goods on to the cities of the Rhine, and so down this most beautiful river to the coast. Here the towns of Flanders and of the Low Countries, or Holland, received them and passed them on again to England and eastward to the countries of the Baltic. Development of Modern Language.--Thus commerce and trade grew up in Europe, and, with trade and city life, greater intelligence, learning, and independence. Education became more common, and the universities of Europe were thronged. Latin in the Middle Age had been the only language that was written by the learned class. Now the modern languages of Europe took their form and began to be used for literary purposes. Italian was the first to be so used by the great Dante, and in the same half-century the English poet Chaucer sang in the homely English tongue, and soon in France, Germany, and Spain national literatures appeared. With this went greater freedom of expression. Authority began to have less weight.