Medieval Society

The feudal system declines as agriculture, trade, finance, towns, and universities develop.

In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, a revival of trade and the associated growth of towns and cities changed the economic foundation of Europe from being almost exclusively agricultural.
Italian cities took the lead, especially Venice, Florence and Genoa.
The Italian cities traded mainly in the Mediterranean area.

Craft workers began to make goods that were sent all over Europe in trade.
Fairs were held each year in towns, where merchants sold cloth, food, leather, and other goods.
Supporting the fairs were new organizations - Guilds
organizations of people in the same occupation such as cloth makers, bakers, or glass makers.
Guilds set standards for quality, prices, wages, working conditions
Guilds supervise training of new members of their craft
The wealth of guilds influences government and economy

Europe sees Commercial Revolution— changes in business and trade
Trade fairs are held several times a year in towns
Trade routes open to Asia, North Africa, and Byzantine ports

In the early 1100s, the population of western Europe grew rapidly.
Expanding trades also led to a revival of cities.
Merchants began to settle in the old Roman cities.
Artisans followed. They brought skills to make goods that merchants could sell.

Often times, towns were tied to the lords that surrounded them.
Many people resented the control of the lords.
Many peasants fled to the towns because, by living there a year and a day, they became free—no longer subject to the power of wealthy lords.
Wealthier people in the towns fought for—and won—the right not to pay taxes to lords and to govern themselves.

New cities and towns were also founded, especially in northern Europe.
Typically, a group of merchants built a settlement near a castle for the trade and the lord’s protection.
If the settlement prospered, walls were built to protect it.
The merchants and artisans of these cities later came to be called burghers or bourgeoisie , from the German word burg, which means “a walled enclosure.”

Medieval cities were comparatively small at first.
A large trading city would have only about five thousand inhabitants.
In the late 1200’s however, London had more than 40,000 people.
The larger Italian cities had more than 80,000 inhabitants.
Constantinople and the major Arab cities were much larger, however.

Towns were dirty places, with narrow filthy streets.
Built entirely of wood, they were fire hazards.
Waste disposal back in the Middle Ages was very crude.
People would simply dump their trash out the window and onto the streets. This, of course, would attract rats and other vermin.
In fact, conditions were so bad that the average lifespan for a peasant in these days was only 25 years!

Growing trade and wealth helped lead to a growing interest in learning.
Groups of scholars gather to teach and learn.
Many towns developed schools linked to the cathedrals, which taught religion and church law.
These were called universities.

Bologna, Italy
Oldest continuous university in the world.
Founded in 1088.

Medieval Society

by e007534 on Aug 15, 2011

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Medieval Society — Presentation Transcript