CCSS2 Unit 7 : Cities in Medieval Europe

Unit 7 : Cities in Medieval Europe

p.124 Part 1: Economic and Political Transformations

1.1 Economic Transformation

-From the 11^th-13^th centuries à a constant increase in the European population

-Technological innovations improved quality + quantity of harvests:

            1.Three year crop rotation: they divided the land into 3 parts to grow winter cereals, the other spring cereals and to leave one part fallow (resting)

            2. The iron-wheeled mouldboard plough better aerated the soil.

            3. A new type of harness let them use horses as draught animals (faster than oxen).

1.2 Political Transformation

-Monarchs wanted to impose their authority over feudal lords.

-They created parliaments (cortes).

            -assemblies with the privileged estates (nobility + clergy) and bourgeoisie

            -the king asked them for help (new taxes, troop recruitment). 

p.126 Part 2: Medieval Cities

-11^th century urban growth

2.1 Political Organization

-Cities were under the control of the feudal lord who owned the land the city was built on.

-city dwellers (the bourgeoisie) didn’t approve

-they demanded greater autonomy

-Sometimes the kings granted the cities fueros (charters) (documents specifying the rights of the lord/king and the inhabitants)

City Administration

1.The City Council the inhabitants delegated their power to.

-the richest / most influential families

-had to collect taxes, regulate the market, organize city defense (militia) etc.

2. Magistrates/mayors/ jurors / burgomasters were in charge of:

            -executing the orders of the council

            -keeping public order

            -administering justice

2.2 Economy p.127

-Crafts (a job that uses specific knowledge; a trade)

1. Textiles: weavers, dyers

2. Construction: builders, carpenters, stonemasons

3. Food: bakers, cheesemakers

GUILDS p.127

-Established from 12^th century on

-associations of craftworkers who practiced the same trade

- members supported each other

-you had to be in the guild to work in a trade

-they had to follow the accepted practices about the products they made (ex. materials, manufacturing processes, selling price etc.) and working hours

WORKSHOPS

-usually on the ground floor of a craftworker’s home

-had 3 kinds of people:

1. The Master was the owner of the place, tools, raw materials and the products made there.

2. A Journeyman received a wage from the master. He could become a master if he passed the guild’s test by making a masterpiece.

3. Apprentices didn’t earn a wage. They spent years learning the trade to become journeymen.

TRADE p.128

-Peasants sold wheat, meat, fruit etc. in weekly markets

-Trade fairs in some cities--> big markets that lasted for weeks where merchants from different regions came to sell valuable products like textiles, champagne etc.

-this led to the profession money-changer à the appearance of bankers --> lent money to merchants in exchange for interest and sent money to destinations.

-FOREIGN TRADE developed, helped by

-bigger, faster ships

-the astrolabe and compass from the Moors.

MAIN EUROPEAN TRADING AREAS

1. Southern Europe:

-Italy (Genoa, Pisa, Venice)

-Barcelona

-brought products from Africa and the East

2. Central and Northern Europe

-Bruges, Antwerp, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Augsburg

-Hanseatic League formed by several German cities in the 14^th century to protect their interests in other countries. They controlled the trade of the North and Baltic Seas.

-Merchants sold their products in Western Europe (wheat, furs, iron, copper etc.) and bought wool, salt, wine etc.

2.3 Society p.130  àSOME changes from 12^th century on…

Social Groups

1.NOBILITY

-They continued to have privileges.

-Some stayed on their fiefs.

-Others moved to the cities, built palaces and became part of the royal court (people who accompanied the king or noble).

2.CLERGY

-Bishops moved to cities.

-Mendicant religious orders  appeared in the 13^th century. Friars (members) lived from begging or working, but couldn’t own property. (ex. Franciscans + Dominicans)

3. PEASANTRY

-Many continued on the fiefs like before.

-Some fled the fiefs for the cities, where they could become craftworkers or traders and have a better life.

4. BOURGEOISIE

-Had 2 distinct groups:

            1. The high bourgeoisie --powerful merchant or banking families, guildmasters etc.  àThey controlled the city governments.

            2. The petite bourgeoisie -- People who worked for others (ex. apprentices, servants)

Part 3: Daily Life in Medieval Cities p.132

-Most were organized around a main square with a cathedral and town hall.

-Many had walls with trade controlled by the gates.

-They were noisy, dirty places with marrow streets without sidewalks.

-Rubbish was thrown out the windows into the streets.

Part 4: Culture, Architecture and Art p.136

4.2 Architecture and Art

-12^th – 15^th centuries: GOTHIC style

-The goal was to increase the sensation of HEIGHT and LIGHT

Typical features:

-high buildings

-stained glass and rose windows

-pointed arches

-ribbed vaults (2 pointed arches intersecting)

-flying buttresses (arches that support the pressure from a vault)

-pinnacles (big points on top)

Sculpture:

-It was also didactic (like Romanesque), but more expressive.

Themes were usually religious.

Painting Characteristics

(early gothic --> late gothic):

-Tempera --> oil paints

-stylized --> realistic

-religious themes --> portraits and scenes of daily life

Part 5: From the Crisis of the 14^th Century to the Early Modern Age p.140

14^th Century problems:

1.Economic crisis b/c of bad harvests --> famine--> high mortality

2. Epidemics like the Black Death (plague) à1/3 of Europe’s population died

3. Wars, like the Hundred Years War (1337-1413).

4. Social conflicts: the petite bourgeoisie revolted against the high bourgeoisie and beggars and bandits increased

5. The Church suffered the Western Schisms: an internal split that caused there to be 3 popes at once.

Recovery:

1.Good harvests helped the population increase.

2. Some kings managed to assert their power over the nobility and high bourgeoisie.

3. Humanism developed among scholars and leaders.

4. Gutenberg invented the printing press, making books cheaper and more available.

5. Innovations in navigation brought new geographical discoveries.

6. At the end of the 15^th century: Medieval Society à Early Modern Age