The document summarizes the rebirth of cities in Europe during the High Middle Ages from the 11th to 13th centuries. Agricultural innovations like the triennial rotation and iron plough increased food production and allowed the population to grow from 36 to 80 million. The surplus population moved to cities to sell extra crops and buy goods, stimulating new industries and the rise of trade guilds and international fairs. This urban growth produced a new social class, the bourgeoisie, and led to political changes like the establishment of parliaments. Culturally, this era saw the rise of Gothic architecture, universities, and more realistic paintings and sculptures.

1. Unit 5:
The Rebirth of Cities.
(High Middle Ages)
(11th, 12th &13th centuries)

4. Extra Information:
High Middle Ages was a period of prosperity.
Agricultural production increased, population
increased too and there was a boom of cities.
New economic activities appeared.
People who lived in the cities were called
bourgeoisie and they constituted a new social
group.
This new social group led to changes in politics
Culturally speaking there was a new appreciation
of culture, the beginning of universities and the
creation of a new artistic style, the Gothic.

5. 1) The Rebirth of cities. What, when,…?
• It consists in a increase in the size and
number of cities.
• It appeared in the 11th century and
lasted till the 13th century.
2) Why?
• It happened thanks to the new
agricultural techniques that increased
the production of crops.
• Thanks to these extra crops population
increased

6. Extra Information:
• Some of the new population went to the
cities in order to live there.
• Peasants went to the cities in order to sell
their extra crops.
• With the profit peasants could buy other
products.
• This promoted the industrial activity (or
crafts) in the cities.
• Which led to the creation of workshops
and guilds.

7. Agricultural Innovations
3) Tell me and explain the two main
technical innovations.
• The triennial rotation: the land was
divided in three parts and only one
third of the land was left
uncultivated.
• The mouldboard plough: it was made
of iron and it made deeper furrows
(lines) and aerated the soil. Thanks
to this production increased.

8. Extra Information:
In the biennial rotation
one half of the land was
cultivated and the other
half was let to fallow (en
barbecho, es decir, sin
cultivar).
In the triennial rotation
only one third of the
land is let uncultivated
(to fallow) and the rest
is cultivated; one third
with a summer crop and
one third with a winter
crop. Thanks to this
system they produced
more crops.

9. Mouldboard plough
(arado de vertedera)

10. Extra information
Other advances were:
• The horse collar
• The use of horses
(faster than oxen)
• Metal horseshoes
• Watermills
• New lands to cultivate
(from marshes and
forests)

11. Extra information
 In these three centuries the population of
Europe increased from 36 to 80 million people.

12. Medieval Cities
4) Why did cities reappear?
Because people went to the cities to sell their
surplus crops (extra crops) and also to buy
other products.
Dubrovnik,
Croatia

13. Medieval city

14. 5) What buildings or urban spaces could
we find in cities?
We could find markets, the cathedral, the
workshops and shops of the guilds, the auction
houses (or “lonjas” in Spanish), town halls,
universities, hospitals, convents…
Extra Information:
How were the hygienic conditions of cities?
In the cities, the streets were unpaved, narrow
and dirty and lacked sewer system. Rats and
parasites proliferated and infectious diseases
were easily spread.

16. Parts of a city

17. Lonja de la seda de
Valencia (siglo XV)
Reconstruction of a
medieval market

18. Town Hall of Bruges (Brujas), Belgium.
(14th century).
University of
Oxford (13th c.)

19. Extra information
In this section we are going to talk about local
trade (guilds – gremios) and long distance trade
(fairs – ferias).
Both were very important and thanks to them
economy was very prosperous.
Economy

20. 6) What were the guilds and what were their objectives?
• Guilds were associations of artisans that worked in the
same product.
• Their objectives were by one side to control the
production, the prices, working hours… and the final
price and by the other side; they provided social
assistance to its members.
Guilds
REGLAMENTO DE UN GREMIO DE TEJEDORES (TEXTO ADAPTADO)
Nadie puede ser maestro tejedor de lana si antes no ha pagado el
impuesto por desempeñar el oficio al rey. Cada maestro tejedor
puede tener en su taller dos telares y cada hijo de maestro tejedor
puede tener dos en el taller de su padre mientras que esté soltero y si
él sabe trabajar el mismo oficio. Cada maestro puede tener en su
taller un aprendiz, ninguno más. Y nadie debe empezar a trabajar
antes de levantar el sol, bajo pena de multa de doce dineros para el
maestro y seis para el oficial.

21. 7) What were the three categories or workers of guilds
and what were their characteristics?
The three categories were:
• The master craftsman: he was the owner of the
workshop and the expert in his field. In order to
become a master, you had to pass an exam and produce
a masterpiece.
• The journeyman or artisan: he received a salary from
his work.
• The apprentice: he didn’t receive a salary. He only
received food and shelter.
Guilds

22. Typical medieval workshop

23. A medieval baker with his
apprentice.
Blacksmith
Tailor shop (sastrería)

24. 8) Explain how trade in High Middle Ages was.
• Trade revived in the 11th.
• Long-distance trade took place in fairs that
were held every year. Some examples were
Medina del Campo, Bruges, Champagne...
9) Mention some new banking techniques.
Some new banking techniques were bills of
exchange, money changers and the creation of
banks.
Long distance trade

26. Money changer and his wife. (1539)

27. Medieval money changer
(Cambista medieval)
Caja de cambista, con balanza y
dinerales

28. Extra information:
A bill of exchange was a document that guaranteed
that the owner of the document received the
money mentioned in the document. It worked like a
cheque.
Bill of exchange,
1585.

29. 10) Who were the people who lived in the cities and what
social group did they constitute?
The people who lived in the cities were the bourgeois
(burgueses) and the social group was the bourgeoisie
(burguesía), who were not dependent on working the
land.
Society
Extra Information:
There were high bourgeoisie and low bourgeoisie.
- High bourgeoisie were the bankers, traders and
leaders of the guilds and they controlled the city.
- The low and medium bourgeoisie (the commoners)
were the rest of the people, such as master artisans,
shop owners, artisans, apprentices, servants…

30. Politics
Extra information
The importance of cities and the appearance of a new social
group led ultimately to changes in politics.
Cities usually supported the king with money and soldiers. This
was very important for the king because they were trying to
create a powerful monarchy and they needed this support.
(Remember that the nobility still had a lot of power).
As a reward kings gave to cities political and economic privileges.
• Political:
– “Fuero” or communal charter (that gave autonomy and
independence to the city).
– Creation of Parliaments (where the bourgeoisie helped
the king govern with the nobility and high clergy).
• Economic: celebration of markets and fairs.

31. 11) What was the main
difference with High
Middle Ages in the
political aspect?
In this period we have the
creation of Parliaments
(Cortes, Diet, États
Généreaux), where the
representatives of cities
could be represented and
helped the king to take
political decisions.
Cortes of Fernando II de Aragón, 1495

32. Mini Quiz:
•When and where were the first
”Parliaments” celebrated?
a) In England
b) In the Kingdom of León
c) In Paris, France
In the Kingdom of León, in 1188, with the king
Alfonso IX. (In fact León is considered the
cradle of the European Parliamentarism).

33. 12) What was a “fuero” or communal charter
and what did cities obtain from them?
A “fuero” or communal charter was a
document granted to the city by the king
or the lord and gave to the city rights and
autonomous government.
The symbol of this independence was the
“rollo”.

34. Some typical “rollos” of
Spanish villages and
cities.

35. 13) Explain how was culture and art during this
period.
Bourgeoisie showed a new appreciation for
culture and art.
This led to the appearance of a new artistic
style –Gothic and the creation of universities.
Some universities of this period were in
Bologna, Paris, Oxford, Cambridge, Palencia
(1212) and Salamanca (1218).
Extra information: During the 12th and 13th centuries,
there was a cultural and religious renewal. These are some
important characteristics:
Culture and Art

36. 14) When and where did Gothic appear?
Gothic appeared in the 12th century in Northern France
15) What are the three more important architectural
elements of Gothic architecture?
The three new architectural elements of Gothic
architecture are:
• Pointed arch
• Ribbed vault,
• Flying buttresses
17) How did they decorate the windows?
They decorated the windows with stained glasses and if
the shape was circular with rose windows.
18) What vertical decorative elements did they use in order
to decorate the exterior of the Gothic churches?
They used pinnacles, spires and gables.
Gothic architecture

37. Rib Vault or Ribbed Vault
Rib Vault
Pinacles
Flying
Buttress

38. Pinacle (pináculo)
Spire (aguja)
Gable (gablete)

39. Mini Quiz
Pointed arch
(arco apuntado)
Rib Vault
(bóveda de
crucería)
Flying Buttress
(arbotante)
Pinacle
(pináculo)

40. Mini Quiz
Spire (aguja)
Rose window
(rosetón)
Gable (gablete)

41. Stained glass
(vidriera)

42. 19) How were Gothic paintings and sculptures?
• They still represented religious topics.
• They were more realistic and proportioned
• They showed emotions and communication
• In painting they tried to represent volume
(through shading).
• They represented landscapes and perspective.
• They also used gold for details and decoration
of the paintings.
Gothic sculpture and painting

43. Virgen de Tortosa, de Pere Serra
(siglo XIV).

44. Extra information: The Crusades
The Crusades were military expeditions that tried to
expel the Muslims from the Holy Land. They were
convened (convoked) by the Pope Urban II at the end
of the 11th century; they lasted till the 13th century and
there were 8 crusades in total.

46. Extra Information: The military orders
• They were religious orders that had a military and
religious function. They were monks and warriors at
the same time.
• They were in charge of protecting the Holy places
and the pilgrims that arrived to the Holy Land.
• Some military orders were the Templars, the
Hospitallers, the order of the Holy Sepulchre and
in Spain the orders of Santiago, Montesa,
Calatrava, Almansa…