The church and the great feudal lords dominated medieval society, with the power of the bourgeoisie emerging from the twelfth century. The church provided cultural continuity across Western Europe and functioned as the primary patron of the arts. The diverse aspirations of the builders of the monasteries, pilgrimage churches, cathedrals, and the churches of the Franciscans shaped the architecture and art of the time. French cathedrals were adorned with sculpture and glass that presented a transcendent vision of life, while Franciscans placed greater emphasis on narrative fresco cycles that related the more humane, compassionate aspect of the Christian gospel.

The clergy dominated artistic expression, providing role models for the active and the contemplative life--for lords and knights, as well as bishops and priests. The feudal lords were offered the model of the Christian knight. In this predominantly masculine world, women were likened to Eve, and offered the ideal, redemptive example of the Virgin Mary and female saints. The bourgeoisie, on the other hand, typically expressed a collective rather than individual voice through municipal patronage. Medieval artists, who served all classes, were mostly anonymous artisans, either within monasteries or under the city guilds.

In the late Middle Ages, artists first went beyond symbolic depictions nature to portray the specific characteristics of local landscapes, From the twelfth-century onward, medieval cities became increasingly powerful and rich, developing into two types: those, such as Nuremberg, that were dominated by a feudal lord, and built under the shadow of his castle, and those, such as Florence and Siena, that established a republican form of government, and were ruled from a city hall. Through interaction with the Islamic world, Europe recovered some of the knowledge of antiquity and a renewed taste for pleasure gardens. This garden revival contributed to a way of life that was pursued more widely in the Renaissance.