Chapter 14.2- Trade, Towns, and Financial Revolution

 Between 1000 and 1300, agriculture, trade, and finance made remarkable progress

 Towns and cities grew…due in part to growing population and territorial expansion of western Europe

 Unleashed creativity led to the birth of a new institution in Europe- the university

I. A Growing Food Supply

 Needed a better way of farming

 Expanding civilization requires an increased food supply

 Farming was helped by a warmer climate (800 to 1200 CE)

 New methods as well A. Using Horsepower

 Oxen were depended on previously…easy to keep, but moved very slowly

 Horses needed better food, but a team of horses could plow twice as much land in a day as a team of oxen

 Needed new type of harness…early Middle Ages, harnesses went around the horses’ neck (like a dog collar) and would nearly strangle them when it pulled

 Before 900, new harness was introduced that fitted across the horse’s chest…taking pressure off its neck

o As a result, horses gradually replaced oxen for plowing and for pulling wagons

B. The Three-Field System  Villagers also began to organize their land differently

 Old, 2-field system- 1 field used to plant food, the other field lay fallow (1/2 of land wasn’t in use at any one time)

 Around 800, some villages switched to 3 fields…2/3 land in cultivation, with 1/3 laying fallow

 Three-Field System…growing on 2/3 of land instead of 1/2, food production increased… villagers had more to eat

 With food surplus (and healthier foods) came a population increase

 Deforestation also occurred, as more forest land was cleared for cultivation

II. Trade and Finance Expand  Trade and finance expanded along with agriculture

 Partly a response to population growth

 By 1000’s, artisans and craftsmen were manufacturing goods by hand for local and long-distance trade

 Trade routes spread across Europe from Flanders to Italy

 Trade routes were opened to Asia, partly due to the Crusades

A. Fairs and Trade

 Most trade took place in towns

 Cloth was the most common trade item… also bacon, salt, honey, cheese, wine, leather, dyes, knives, and ropes

 With local fairs, self-sufficient manors became obsolete B. The Guilds

 Guild= an association of people who worked at the same occupation…similar to a union today

 In medieval towns- guilds controlled all wages and prices in their craft

 Over time, skilled artisans began craft guilds

o Ex: wheelwrights, glassmakers, winemakers, tailors, druggists

o Guilds enforced standards of quality

o Only masters of trade could be guild members

o Child was apprenticed to a master for 5- 7 years to learn the trade

o Then the apprentice was a journeyman and could work for wages o Journeyman then needed to make a “master piece” and if their product met the guild standards, they were welcomed into the guild as masters

C. A Financial Revolution

 The fairs and guilds created a need for large amounts of cash

 Merchants had to purchase goods first to be able to sell later, but Church forbade usury

 Usury= lending money at interest…or selling to make a profit

 Many of Europe’s Jews lived in the growing towns and were moneylenders

o Guilds excluded Jews o Moneylending was one of the few ways that Jews were permitted to make a living

o Many Jews had to live in segregated parts of towns called the ghetto

o Jews were also forbidden from holding land, so they had never become part of the feudal system

 Over time, the Church relaxed its rule on usury…eventually banking was an important business, especially in Italy

III. Urban Splendor Reborn

 All over Europe, trade blossomed, and better farming methods caused a spurt in population growth o 1000 to 1150- population of western Europe went from 30 million to 42 million

 Towns grew (but still smaller than Constantinople)

 Europe’s largest city= Paris…about 60,000 people by 1200

A. Trade and Towns Grow Together

 By the later Middle Ages, trade was the lifeblood of new towns

 Feudalism began breaking down, some serfs ran away

 Most medieval towns developed haphazardly

 Streets were narrow and filled with horses, pigs, oxen, and their refuse  No sewers, people dumped household waste, animal and human, into the street in front of their house

 Most people never bathed (expose yourself to evil spirits)

 Houses were built with wood and thatched roofs (wattle and daub), so they were a constant fire hazard

B. Towns and Social Order

 By the 1100’s, custom developed that a serf could become free by living in a town for a year and a day.

 Merchants and craftspeople didn’t fit into the traditional medieval social order of noble, clergy, and peasant

 Burghers= town dwellers  Burghers eventually resented feudal lords attempts to levy fees, taxes, and rents

 Many burghers organized themselves and demanded privileges

IV. Revival of Learning

 Growing trade and cities brought a new interest in learning

 The University stood at the center of the growth of learning

A. Scholars and Writers

 University originally designated a meeting of a group of scholars, not the building

 Early universities in Paris, Bologna, Oxford, Salerno

 Most students were the sons of burghers or well-to-do artisans  For most students the goal was a job in government or the Church

o Bachelor’s degree in Theology= 5-7 years

o Master of Theology= about 12 years

 Scholars and writers continued to use Latin

 Vernacular- everyday language of a person’s homeland

 Some poets began using the vernacular in their writings

 Dante Alighieri wrote The Divine Comedy (1321) in Italian

 Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales (1387-1400) in English

 Christine de Pisan wrote The City of Ladies (1405) in French  Brought literature to the masses

B. The Muslim Connection

 Revival of learning sparked European interest in the works of ancient scholars

 Growth of trade was accelerated by the Crusades

 Brought Europeans into contact with Muslims and Byzantines

o Muslims and Byzantines had preserved the writings of Greek philosophers in their libraries

 1100’s, Christian scholars from Europe began visiting Muslim libraries in Spain

o Few Western scholars knew Greek

o Jewish scholars translated Arabic versions of works by Aristotle and other Greek writers into Latin  Crusaders also brought back superior Muslim technology in ships, navigation, and weapons

C. Aquinas and Medieval Philosophy

 Christian scholars were excited by Greek writings

 Question: Could a Christian scholar use Aristotle’s logical approach to truth and still keep faith with the Bible?

 Thomas Aquinas- mid-1200’s, scholar who argued that the most basic religious truths could be proved by logical argument

o Wrote the Summa Theologica, between 1267 and 1273

o Influenced by Aristotle

o Combined ancient Greek thought with Christian thought of his time  Aquinas and his fellow scholars were known as schoolmen, or scholastics

o Used their knowledge of Aristotle to debate many issues of their time

o Teachings on law and government influenced the thinking of many western Europeans, especially the English and French

o Democratic institutions and traditions began to develop. Name: ______Date: ______Period: ___

Chapter 14.2 Formative Reading Quiz

1. Who was Thomas Aquinas? (Time Period, Location, Key Achievements). Thomas Aquinas- mid-1200’s, scholar who argued that the most basic religious truths could be proved by logical argument  Wrote the Summa Theologica, between 1267 and 1273

 Influenced by Aristotle

 Combined ancient Greek thought with Christian thought of his time

2. Draw a Diagram of the Three-Field System, and explain its impact and significance. Field 1- Crop Field 2- Crop Field 3- Fallow Three field-system increased amount of land under cultivation at one time from ½ to 2/3… 1/3 was left fallow to rest…resulted in food surplus and population increase

3. What was usury, and what was its impact on medieval society? Usury- charging interest on a loan, or increasing price of item to make a profit… considered a sin by the early Catholic Church…as a result majority of early moneylenders, bankers, and merchants were Jewish and Muslim…eventually, Catholic Church softened its stance against usury, and Christians got involved in commerce and finance…especially Italian cities.