High Middle Ages

1. High Middle Ages 1050-1350

2. Agricultural Revolution • New Technology • iron plows • horse harness rather than oxen – quicker • windmill to grind grain

3. Expanding Production • peasants cleared forests, drained swamps, reclaimed waste land • led to population increase

4. Trade Revives • people began to desire more than what was produced on the manor • peasants wanted iron for tools • nobles wanted fine wool, furs, and spices from Asia

5. New Trade Routes • traders formed merchant caravans for safety • regular trade routes were set up • local goods (honey, furs, fine cloth, tin, lead) were exchanged for • imported goods (Chinese silks, Byzantine gold jewelry, Asian spices) • Constantinople to Venice to Flanders to England

6. Trade Fairs • located near navigable rivers and where trade routes met • people from nearby villages, towns, and castles attended • entertainment included jugglers, acrobats, and dancing bears

7. New Towns • merchants would wait out the winter near a castle or bishop’s palace • artisans came to live • eventually populations reached 10,000 • most prosperous cities were in northern Italy and Flanders – which were centers of the wool trade and prosperous textile industries

8. Charter • merchants would ask the local lord for a written document that set out the rights and privileges of the town • in return the merchants paid the lord a large sum of money, a yearly fee, or both • charters usually allowed townspeople to choose their own leaders and control their own affairs • most had a clause declaring any serf who lived in the town a year and a day to be free

9. Commercial Revolution • money reappeared • merchants borrowed from moneylenders to buy goods • capital – money for investment • new business practices • partnerships – merchants pooled their funds to finance a large-scale ventures • insurance was created to compensate for lost or destroyed merchandise • bills of exchange used – deposit money in a bank in one city and cash in the paper in another city (from Middle East)

10. social changes • use of money undermined serfdom • lords needed money to buy goods • peasants sold produce to townspeople and paid the lord’s rent with money rather than labor

11. by 1000 – middle class of merchants, traders, and artisans emerged between nobles and peasants • nobles resented middle class for being a disruptive influence • clergy felt the practice of usury (lending money at interest) was immoral • by 1300 – few serfs were left in Western Europe

12. Role of Guilds • guilds – associations of merchants and artisans that dominated life in medieval towns by passing laws, levying taxes, and deciding how to spend funds • each guild represented a different occupation • in some towns there were riots between craft guilds and wealthier merchant guilds • guilds limited membership, monopolized labor, made rules to ensure quality, regulated hours of labor, regulated prices, provided social services by opening schools and hospitals and aiding widows and children of guild members • apprentice (trainee) began to serve a guildmaster around age 7 and spent 7 years learning the trade and only received bed and board • most became journeymen (salaried workers), few became guildmasters • women were in guilds • some inherited shops • some apprenticed as ribbonmakers, papermakers, and surgeons • in some cities a third of all guildmembers were women

13. City Life • cities were surrounded by walls for protection • narrow streets and tall houses • larger cities had a great cathedral or a splendid guild house • hawkers sold stuff during the day • unlit streets were deserted at night • no garbage or sewage collection • people yelled “gardyloo” as they flung their waste out a window into the street • filthy, smelly, noisy, crowded • facilitated the spread of disease • wooded buildings were a fire hazard

14. Major Changes • return of a money economy • trade brought new products, ideas, and technology • middle class changed the social structure • monarchs increased their power • increased contact with other cultures