Transcript Economic Expansion and Change

ECONOMIC EXPANSION AND
CHANGE IN MEDIEVAL
EUROPE
Chapter 8 Section 4
4.5.12
An Agricultural Revolution
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By the 800s, peasants were using iron plows.
A new kind of harness also allowed peasants to use
horses rather than oxen to pull the plows, allowing
them to plow more land, enlarge their fields and
plant more crops.
The windmill allowed peasants in areas with no
fast-moving streams to grind their grain into flour.
Expanding Food Production
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Feudal lords pushed serfs to clear forests, drain
swamps, and reclaim wasteland for farming and
grazing.
Peasants also adopted the three-field system,
planting one with grain, one with peas and beans,
and leaving a third unplanted.
With this increased food production, the population
doubled between about 1000 and 1300.
Trade Revives
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Traders and customers
did business at local
trade fairs near
navigable rivers or
where busy trade
routes met.
New Towns
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These small centers of
trade slowly developed
into medieval cities, the size
of which Europe had not
seen since Roman times.
Merchants were granted a
charter setting out the rights
and privileges of the town.
12. If a man shall have had a quarrel with another, but without breaking into a
fortified house, and if the parties shall have reached an agreement without
bringing a suit before the provost, no fine shall be due to us or our provost on
account of the affair.
New Business Practices
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Europeans were developing new ways of doing
business. For example, many merchants joined
together to form a partnership.
Merchants also developed a system of insurance to
reduce business risks.
From Middle Eastern merchants, they adopted the
bill of exchange. A merchant deposited money with
a banker in his home city. The banker gave him a
bill of exchange for cash in a distant city.
Social Changes
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This commercial revolution reshaped medieval
society.
The use of money undermined serfdom, with many
peasants paying their rent in cash rather than labor.
By 1300, most peasants were tenant farmers
(farmers who paid rent for their land) or hired
laborers.
Merchants and artisans became the new middle
class. A group that was not very wealthy, but not
poor either.
Guilds
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In medieval towns, merchants and artisans formed
associations known as guilds.
Merchant guilds appeared first, dominating town
life by passing laws and levying taxes. Artisans
came to resent the powerful merchants and formed
their own craft guilds. In some cases, struggles
between to two led to riots.
Guild Hall
Guilds
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Guild members cooperated to protect their
economic interests.
No one except guild members could work in any
trade.
They set rules to protect the quality of goods,
regulate hours of labor and set prices. They
operated schools and hospitals and looked after
the needs of their members.
Becoming a Guild Member
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At seven or eight, a child would become an
apprentice, or trainee, to a guild master.
Apprentices spent seven years learning the trade.
They were paid no wages.
Few apprentices became a guild master unless they
were related to one. Most worked for guild
members as journeymen.
Women and the Guilds
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Women became apprentices in trades ranging from
ribbon making to papermaking to surgery.
Women dominated in some trades and had their
own guilds. In Paris, they outnumbered men in silk
and woolen guilds. A third of the guilds in Frankfurt
were composed entirely of women.
Town and City Life
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Medieval towns were surrounded by high protective
walls. To keep up with constant growth, the city
might rebuild its walls farther and farther out every
few years.
They featured a jumble of narrow streets lined with
tall houses. Upper floors hung out over the street,
making those below dim even in daytime.
Large cities featured a great cathedral where the
bishop resided.
Cathedrals
Town Life
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Even rich towns had no garbage collection or sewer
system. Residents simply flung their waste into the
street.
Larger cities might pass laws, such as one requiring
butchers to dump their garbage on the edge of
town.
Towns were filthy, smelly, noisy and crowded.