Changes in Medieval SocietyChanges in Medieval Society

Chapter 14, Section 2

Main Idea

• Important changes occurred in medieval society between 1000-1300!

• Feudal system DECLINED as agriculture, trade, towns, and universities developed

• The changes in the Middle Ages laid the foundations for modern Europe!

A Growing Food Supply

• Expanded civilization required a larger food supply

• 800-1200- Warming climate improved farming

• New methods developed to farm more land

Food Supply, continued

• Horsepower– Plowing: switched from using oxen to using horses– Farmers able to clear huge forests more quickly,

equaling MORE FARMLAND & MORE FOOD• Three-Field System

– Organization of fields into three fields instead of two; two remain planted and one rests for a year

– Better farming technique = MORE FOOD• More food = better health & longer life = INCREASED POPULATION OF EUROPE!!!!

Food Supply, continued

Guilds

• Guild: an organization of people in the same job field trying to improve economic & social conditions of its members

• Each craft had its own guild (ex: blacksmiths, winemakers, glassmakers)

• Guilds controlled wages, prices, standards of production, and specific training methods for new workers (*strict rules to follow!)

• Guild members could work their way up the ladder of success to one day owning their own shop

Commercial Revolution

• Commercial Revolution: expansion of trade and business that improved European economies

• Crusades = Increased trade! So many new items were now available!

• European & Asian trade routes were BOOMING!

• Trade fairs were set up several times a year for merchants to come together and sell their goods

• People didn’t rely on their self-sufficient manor for all of their needs anymore… they wanted new and exiting goods to enrich their lives

Trade Fairs

Changes in Society

• Slow to occur, but had a major effect on European life

• Increased trade led to many changes, such as:

– WHAT people did to earn a living

– WHERE they lived

• Towns attracted workers, which grew into populated cities!!!

Urban (City) Life Grows

• HUGE population growth!

• Western European cities were no Constantinople, but they were beginning to grow

• More TRADE = More PEOPLE!

• Some drawbacks to life in a medieval town…– No sewers! Human waste dumped in streets

– Most people never bathed & houses lacked fresh water and ample light

– Houses made of wood & thatched roofs = fire hazard!

Urban Life, continued

• Even with cities’ problems, many people chose to move there for economic & social opportunities

• Manors & feudal life just seemed too small!• Serfs still not legally allowed to leave, but many

ran away, seeking a more fulfilling life in the city• Urban growth WEAKENS feudalism!!!!

Merchant Class Shifts Social Order

• Merchants & craftspeople did not fit into traditional medieval social order (noble-clergy-peasant)

• Burghers: merchants living in towns & demanding rights (did not want to be taxed by feudal lords trying to control cities!)

The Revival of Learning

• Crusades brought Europeans into greater contact with Muslims & Byzantines

• New interest in learning (& forgotten Greek writings that disappeared after fall of Rome!)

• All at once, Europeans acquired a huge new body of knowledge

• Crusaders brought back to Europe superior Muslim technology (shipbuilding, navigation, weaponry)

Scholars & the University

• Universities… a brand new institution!– At the center of learning boom; great place for new

ideas to occur!

• Scholastics: scholars who met at universities• Most scholastics were sons of wealthy burghers or

artisans– Goal was to get a job in government or in the Church

• Some poets began writing in vernacular, or the everyday language of their homeland

Scholars & Universities, continued

• Vernacular helped bring literature to many people!

– Dante Alighieri ~ The Divine Comedy

– Geoffrey Chaucer ~ The Canterbury Tales

Excerpt: Canterbury Tales

33    And made forward erly for to ryse, 34    To take oure wey ther as I yow devyse. 35    But nathelees, whil I have tyme and space, 36    Er that I ferther in this tale pace, 37    Me thynketh it acordaunt to resoun 38    To telle yow al the condicioun 39    Of ech of hem, so as it semed me, 40    And whiche they weren, and of what degree…

Aquinas & Medieval Philosophy

• Christian scholars were excited about the ideas of Greek philosophers, but wondered if it went against the Bible to use Aristotle’s logic

• Mid-1200s: Roman Catholic scholar Thomas Aquinas said the most basic religious truths could be proved by logical argument

• Believed in God, but thought faith should be subject to logical proof!

• Aquinas & fellow scholastics used their knowledge of Aristotle to debate many issues of their time!– Influences Western European thought!