Changes in Medieval Europe

1. Changes in Medieval Europe The times they are a-changin

2. Farming improves • Wooden tools are replaced with iron • Farmers switch to three-field crop rotation- 1/3rd used for grain, 1/3rd for legumes, 1/3rd unplanted • Produced more food this way, which led to: • Bigger population

3. Trade expands • By the 1000s, warfare and invasions began to decrease, and people felt safe enough to travel

4. Trade expands • Trade fairs were established at intersections of trade routes • When winter came, fairs ended, but roads were not easily traveled • Merchants would gather near a castle or town for winter, which attracted artisans to produce goods for them to sell • This led to the first of the medieval cities

5. Trade expands • The towns asked the king for a charter • Charter- a written document setting down the rules for a town or city • Most included a clause that if you lived there for enough time, you would belong to that town • Popular with runaway serfs

6. Trade expands • As trade expanded, so did the need for money • So did the need for capital- money used to invest in a business • Merchants would join together in partnerships to invest in a business that would be too expensive on their own

7. Blacksmith Joe Blacksmith Bob Makes 50 horseshoes/month $50 each Makes 100 horseshoes/month Can make 500 horseshoes/month $7000

8. Trade expands • People still needed loans from other sources • The church did not allow Christians to loan money with interest • Since they were banned from other jobs, European Jews stepped into this role and became moneylenders • Though they played an important role in helping business, this led to an increase in anti-Jewish beliefs

9. Tenant farmers • Nobles now wanted money to purchase new goods • Began to allow peasants to buy their freedom • By 1300, most former serfs were now tenant farmers- farmers who paid the noble to rent his land to farm for themselves • Some nobles hired former serfs to work the land for them

10. Middle Class • The merchants and artisans that gathered in these towns formed a new middle class • Nobles…. • Didn’t like the new class. Towns and cities became annoyances they could not control

11. Middle Class • New middle class members represented themselves in guilds • Guild- association of either merchants or artisans • Merchant guilds controlled towns, passing laws, taxing the people, and using that money to improve the town • Craft guilds were made of people in one particular trade. They set prices and regulate rules of the trade • No one could work in any trade if not a guild member • Conflict between craft guilds and merchant guilds led to violence

12. The Towns • Cities quickly became overcrowded • People began adding stories to houses • Towns nothing more than narrow streets, tall houses hanging overhead

13. The Towns • Church was usually at center of town • Neighborhoods made of people of similar backgrounds • No garbage/ waste disposal • Garbage thrown out windows • Chamber pots emptied in streets • Perfect for the spread of disease

14. The Towns • http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=E49D9646-2FAD-4A06-A912-3F6E23CCA5CD