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