The travel to distant lands, the sight of cities of wealth and power, and the contact with peoples decidedly superior to themselves in civilization, not only excited the imagination and led to a broadening of the minds of those who returned, but served as well to raise the general level of intelligence in western Europe. Some new knowledge also was brought back, but that was not at the time of great importance. The principal gain came in the elimination forever of thousands of quarreling, fighting noblemen, [27] thus giving the kingly power a chance to consolidate holdings and begin the evolution of modern States; in the marked change of attitude toward the old problems; in the awakening of a new interest in the present world; in the creation of new interests and new desires among the common people; in the awakening of a spirit of religious unity and of national consciousness; and especially in the awakening of a new intellectual life, which soon found expression in the organization of universities for study and in more extensive travel and geographical exploration than the world had known since the days of ancient Rome. The greatest of all the results, however, came through the revival of trade, commerce, manufacturing, and industry in the rising cities of western Europe, with the consequent evolution of a new and important class of merchants, bankers, and craftsmen, who formed a new city class and in time developed a new system of training for themselves and their children. THE REVIVAL OF CITY LIFE. The old cities of central and northern Italy, as was stated above, continued through the early Middle Ages as places of some little local importance. In the eleventh century they overthrew in large part the rule of their Prince-Bishops, and became little City- Republics, much after the old Greek model. Outside of Italy almost the only cities not destroyed during the period of the barbarian invasions were the episcopal cities, that is cities which were the residences of bishops.