CHANGES IN MEDIEVAL SOCIETY

Chapter 14 Section 2

Key Terms

Three field system Guild Commercial Revolution Burgher Vernacular Thomas Aquinas Scholastics

A Growing Food Supply

800-1200 climate warmed

Depended on oxen for plows

Horses could do 3 times the work

900 farmers used a harness around the chest

The Three-Field System

800 AD three fields instead of two

Two planted one fallowed

Grow up to 2/3’s land each year

Food production increased

Children could better resist disease

The Guilds

2nd change in economy

Guild- an organization of individuals in the same business or occupation working to improve economic and social conditions of its members

Merchant guilds 1st

The Guilds

Artisans, wheelwrights, tailors, winemakers began craft guilds Control number of

goods Keep prices up

Husbands and wives worked together

More women in cloth guild

The Guilds

Set quality and standard of work

Set wages and working conditions

Bakers required to sell loaves of certain size and quality

Supervised training of new workers

The Guilds

1000’s merchants and artisans made goods for local and long distance trade

Powerful force in medieval society

More and better products

Wealth helped establish influence over government and towns

Commercial Revolution

Was the expansion of trade and business

Fairs and Trade Needed cash and

credit to exchange goods

Bills of exchange established exchange rates

Letters of credit eliminated carrying cash

Commercial Revolution

Cloth, bacon leather, dyes, rope commonly traded

Not everything was made on the manor

Good from foreign lands

Trade routes opened because of the Crusades

Sell at a profit merchants reinvested the profits

Business and Banking

Traders needed large amounts of cash or credit

Bills established exchange rates

Letters of credit made trade easier

Trading firms and associations offered these services

Business and Banking

Merchants looked for new markets

Merchants purchased items from distant lands

Church not allowed to charge interest (usury)

Banking important business in Italy

Urban Life Flourishes

1000-1150 population 30 to 40 million

Towns grew and flourished

Compare to Constantinople, European towns were unsophisticated

Paris 60,000 people in 1200

Towns 1200 to 2500 people

Society Changes

Changes had major affect on European lives

Two important changes Involved what people

did for a living and where they lived

Towns attracted new workers

Grew into cities Life changed from the

manor

Trade and Towns Grow Together

Towns sprung up all over

Living in town had its drawbacks Narrow streets Filled with animals Household and

human waste in the street

Little bathing Danger of fire

Trades and Towns Grow Together

Many serfs ran away

If a serf lived for a year and a day in town they were free

Had better lives in town

Merchant Class Shifts Order

Did not fit into social order

Feudal lords ran early towns

Burghers-merchant class town dwellers demanded privileges Freedom from tolls Right to govern

town

Revival of Learning

Muslim connection Christian scholars

visited Muslim libraries

Few Scholars knew Greek

Jewish scholars translated Arabic and Greek into Latin Science,

philosophy, mathematics, law

Scholars and Universities

Meant a group of scholars meeting

People not buildings made up the university

Paris and Bologna were first

Oxford and Salerno Most students were

sons of burghers

Scholars and Universities

Church or government job

Bachelor's degree in Theology take 5 – 7 years

Master of Theology 12 years

Vernacular- everyday language

Scholars and Universities

Most writing had been in Latin

Some are read today Dante’s Inferno Canterbury Tales

Since most people could not read Latin, printed in the vernacular

Aquinas and Medieval Philosophy

Christian scholars excited about Greek philosophy

Thomas Aquinas- argued most religious truths could be proved my logic

Scholastics- scholars who met at the university called this or schoolmen

Aquinas and Medieval Philosophy

Used knowledge of Aristotle to debate issues

Teachings on law and government had an effect on those institutions today