Chapter+10.1+Notes

Chapter 10.1 Notes ( Peasants, Trade, and Cities)

The New Agriculture (page 315) In the early Middle Ages, Europe had a relatively small population.Between 1000 and 1300, however, the population almost doubled, from 38 million to 74 million people. This period is called the High Middle Ages.During this period, food production increased dramatically. There were several reasons for this increase. There was more peace and stability during this time, because the invasions of the early Middle Ages had stopped. There was also a change in climate during the High Middle Ages that improved growing conditions. There was also more land to farm, because peasants cut down trees and drained swamps. New inventions also helped the development of farming. Two of these inventions, the horse collar and the horseshoe, made it possible for horses to plow fields instead of oxen. Because horses were faster, this increased production. The shift from a two-field to a three-field system of crop rotation also added to the increase in food production. Labor-saving devices were also invented during this time. The people of the Middle Ages used the power of water and wind to do jobs such as grinding grain that had previously been done by humans or animals. Iron was mined in various areas of Europe and was used to make tools for farming and building. Iron was crucial for making the carruca, a heavy, wheeled plow with an iron plowshare that could turn over heavy clay soils. The use of this plow led to the growth of farming villages. Plows and teams of horses were too expensive to be bought by one family, so the entire village shared the cost.

The Manorial System (page 317) A manor was an agricultural estate run by a lord and worked by peasants.Although there were free peasants, more and more peasants became serfs.Serfs were peasants who were legally bound to the land. Serfs had to work for the lord and pay rents, and they were subject to the lord’s control. By 800, probably 60 percent of the people of western Europe were serfs. A serf’s work included farming the lord’s land, building barns, and digging ditches. Serfs usually worked about three days a week for their lords. The rest of the week, they worked their own land to grow food for themselves. The serfs paid rent by giving the lords a share of everything they raised. Lords had various legal rights over their serfs. Serfs could not leave the manor, or marry anyone outside the manor, without the lord’s approval. Peasants also had to pay lords for certain services, such as having their grain ground in the lords’ mills. Some lords had the authority to try peasants in their own courts. But serfs were not slaves. The land assigned to serfs to support themselves could not be taken away, and their responsibilities to the lord were fairly fixed. It was also the lord’s duty to protect his serfs.

Daily Life of the Peasantry (page 318) The life of peasants in Europe was simple. Their houses were made of wood frames surrounded by sticks. The spaces between sticks were filled with straw and then plastered over with clay. Most houses consisted of one or two rooms. The basic staple of a peasant’s diet was bread. It was very nutritious because it was made of wheat, rye, barley, millet, and oats. Peasants also ate vegetables from their gardens, cheese from cow’s or goat’s milk, and nuts, berries and fruit. Chickens provided eggs and sometimes meat. Peasants usually ate meat only on the great feast days, like Christmas and Easter. The seasons of the year determined most of a peasant’s activities. Harvest time was in August and September. In October, peasants worked the ground for the planting of winter crops. In November, excess livestock were slaughtered. In February and March, the land was plowed for the planting of spring crops. Early summer was a fairly relaxed time, but there was still weeding and sheepshearing to be done. In every season, the serfs worked both their own land and the lords’ land. They also tended gardens next to their homes. Peasants had breaks from their work, however, thanks to the feast days (holidays) of the Catholic Church. The feast days celebrated the great events of the Christian faith or the lives of Christian saints. A total of more than 50 days were holidays. The feast days, Sunday mass, baptisms, marriages, and funerals brought peasants into contact with the village church. The village priest taught the peasants the basic ideas of Christianity so that they could gain the Christians’ final goal.salvation. The role of peasant women was both important and difficult. They had to work in the fields and at the same time bear children. Their ability to manage the household could determine whether their family would starve or survive in difficult times.

• The Revival of Trade (page 319) The revival of trade in Europe was gradual. Cities in Italy took the lead. Venice developed a fleet of trading ships and became a major trade center by the end of the tenth century. While Venice and other Italian cities were busy trading in the Mediterranean, the towns of Flanders were doing the same in northern Europe.Flanders was the area along the coast of what is now Belgium and northern France. Its location made it an ideal center for the traders of northern Europe. Merchants from England, Scandinavia, France, and Germany met there to trade their goods for the woolen cloth made in Flanders. By the twelfth century, trade developed between Flanders and Italy. As trade increased, demand for gold and silver coins arose. A money economy slowly began to emerge. A money economy is an economic system based on money rather than barter. Trading companies and banking firms were set up to manage the sale of goods. All of these practices were part of the rise of commercial capitalism, an economic system in which people invest in trade and goods in order to make profits.

The Growth of Cities (page 320) The revival of trade led to a revival of cities. Merchants began to settle in the old Roman cities. They were followed by craftspeople who could make goods for the merchants to sell. Many new cities and towns were founded in northern Europe. Merchants usually built settlements near castles because the castles were located on trade routes and could offer protection. Walls were to protect the settlements. Merchants and artisans of these cities became known as burghers or bourgeoisie. (These words come from the German word burg, which means “a walled enclosure.”) Medieval cities were small in comparison with ancient or modern cities. A large trading city had about five thousand people. Most towns were dependent on the food grown in the surrounding manors. The towns were often part of the territory that belonged to a lord and were subject to his authority. But townspeople needed the freedom to trade. They also needed their own laws and were willing to pay for them. Lords and kings saw this as an opportunity to make money and were willing to sell the townspeople the rights they wanted. These included the right to buy and sell property and freedom from military service. Some new towns also received the right to govern themselves by electing their own officials and having their own courts. Over time, medieval cities developed their own governments. Only males who had been born in the city, or who had lived there for some time, were citizens. In many cities, these citizens elected a city council. The members of the city council served as judges and passed laws. Elections were usually rigged to make sure that only patricians (members of the wealthiest families) were elected.

Daily Life in the Medieval City (page 321) Stone walls surrounded medieval towns. The walls were expensive to build, so the space inside was limited and crowded. Streets were narrow, and houses were built against one another. The second and third stories were built out over the streets. The houses were built mostly of wood, so the danger of fire was great. The cities were often dirty and smelled from animal and human waste. Air pollution and water pollution were a fact of life. Because of pollution, cities did not use the rivers for drinking water, but relied on wells instead. There were more men than women in the medieval cities. Women were expected to supervise the household, prepare meals, raise the children, and manage the family’s finances. They were often expected to help their husbands in their trades, as well. Some women developed their own trades to earn extra money. Many women became brewers, weavers, and hatmakers.

Industry and Guilds (page 322) From the twelfth century on, craftspeople began to organize themselves into guilds, or business associations. There were guilds for almost every craft. There were also guilds for groups of merchants, such as dealers in silk and wool. Craft guilds directed almost every aspect of the production process. They set the standards for the goods produced and determined the prices for the goods. They also determined the number of people who could enter a trade and what procedure they had to follow to do so. A person who wanted to learn a trade first became an apprentice, usually around the age of 10. Apprentices were not paid but received room and board from their masters. After five to seven years of service, apprentices became journeymen and worked for wages. To become masters, journeymen had to produce a masterpiece, a finished piece in their craft. This piece was used to judge whether a journeyman was qualified to become a master and join the guild.

Directions: Answer the following questions provided?

1. How did the use of the carruca lead to the growth of farming villages?

2. How were serfs different from slaves?

3. What events gave peasants a break from their work?

4. What two areas in Europe were major trading centers during the Middle Ages?

5. What rights were townspeople willing to buy from lords and kings?

6. Why were medieval towns so crowded?

7. What process did a person follow to learn a trade and join a guild?

8. List five factors that led to an increase in food production during the High Middle Ages.