During the High Middle Ages, trade and contact with Byzantine and Muslim civilizations revived learning in Western Europe. Universities developed to meet the growing demand for educated professionals as towns and commerce grew. Religion heavily influenced medieval thinking, with scholars studying the Bible and church teachings. Figures like Thomas Aquinas sought to integrate faith and reason. While most focused on religion, some like Roger Bacon and Albertus Magnus made early scientific advances. The late Middle Ages saw famine, plague, and the Hundred Years' War between England and France devastate the population.