Growth of Medieval Society

1. Growth of Medieval Society 1050-1350AD

2. Trade and Commerce • European economies (before 1200) suffered because of: • Lack of strong government • Poor transportation and lack of roads • Tolls (money to travel) being charged by nobles on roads • Banking/Finance was weak because of: • Barter: trading goods for goods and without money • Heavy church taxes limited personal profit

3. The Crusades and Trade • New products were introduced into Europe during and after the Crusades such as silk, spices, furs • New cities of trade arose: • Genoa • Venice • Milan • Florence • Pisa • Southern trade was more sea oriented and specialized in luxury items • North specialized in ordinary item • Both northern and southern trade helped travel and economies develop • (Better ships = more exploration) (more exploration = new goods) (new goods = more money) • This helped finance/banking with more money in the economy

4. Population Growth • Population in towns/villages grew after the Crusades • This helped the economy • Manufacturing grew as more people meant more goods needed • Serfs could now find jobs outside of the manor (they could get paid with money) • Products were now sold and not bartered • Manor land was divided up • Oldest son got the land and the others went out and started new lives • Towns replaced manors • People moved outside of manor walls giving rise to towns • Growth of leagues occurred • League: organization promoting trade and securing protection • By 1300, people wanted to govern themselves • Formed allies: ally: another city that acts as a trade partner and protector • Hanseatic League: league in northern Europe made up of at least 50 cities to offer protection and promote trade in the Baltic and North Sea regions

5. Formation of Guilds • Guild: association of people in the same craft who set rules to uphold standards and protect members • Controlled business in medieval Europe • Modern equivalent is a union (example: PSEA) • Masons: fraternal (male) organization that gets its origin from guilds • Types of Guilds: • Craft Guild: made up of male/female artisans who PRODUCE products for trade • Merchant Guild: controlled the SELLING of products • Role of Guilds: • Regulated business and helped people learn to trade • How? • Apprentice: people learn to trade by studying a master • Journeyman: once they learn the trade, they go out and practice it • Master Artisan: last step as person who mastered the trade and became successful in business

6. Guild Protection • Guilds served as policing forces • Some protection came in the form of benefits • Old age benefits (like retirement) • Fire/Theft benefits (like insurance) • Hospitals were built to help people • Problem: • The benefits were directed at men • What did women do? • Women were considered “inferior” to me • Church said God was in “man’s image”, not woman’s • St. Thomas Aquinas: theologian (one who studies religion) said that everyone was in God’s image

7. Role of Women • Most worked at home or in the fields • They got paid less than men for the same job • Women could NEVER become a Master Artisan • Most women were not educated and never learned to read/write • Chivalry improved the treatment/respect for women • Women were kept lower in society until the early to mid 1900s

8. Medieval Learning and Culture • The Middle Ages saw the advancement of: • Education • Philosophy • Literature • Art/Architecture • Medieval universities became centers for study, teaching, and research • Education was centered around the Church • Why? • Priests/bishops knew how to read/write so they acted like teachers • Monks kept records and wrote books • The desire for education grew and famous universities came about: • London • Paris • Salerno • Padua • Salamanca • Bologna

9. Student Life • Very different than today…How? • Students made the rules • Students hired the teachers • Students paid teachers to did a better job more money • Students could leave lectures if they were too boring • Problems? • Scarcity of books…most teachers read from their book • Books were handwritten and very expensive • Some decorative books cost over $100 (back then) • BUT…some books were passed on from generation to generation

10. Scientific Knowledge • Knowledge in the Middle Ages was adopted from the Greeks • Roger Bacon: used experiments to test theories in chemistry • Medicine still did reflect ideas of alchemy: science and magic mixed • As science advanced, there more emphasis on experimentation/observation than on magic • Theories started being proven/disproved • New inventions helped (ex. Clock, Mirror, Arabic Numerals (1,2,3…))

11. Medieval Literature and Art/Architecture • Many epics were written: • Beowulf (struggle of good vs. evil) • King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table • Song of Roland (about Charlemagne’s best military leader) • Who told them? • Troubadours: poets/musicians who traveled from castle to castle (ex. of story told: Robin Hood) • Not all were about heroes: • Fables: stories that taught a lesson (like a Biblical parable) • Church had its own form of entertainment: • Used drama to emphasize a point: • Mystery Plays: stories from the Bible with no explanation • Miracle Plays: based on events not found in the Bible • Morality Plays: based on good vs. evil (God vs. Satan) • Medieval Art/Architecture expressed faith • Cathedral: (large church) was the most true expression of faith and greatest medieval art • Whole communities worked on cathedral construction

12. Medieval Architecture and Music • Gothic Architecture: • Developed in the late 1200s • Some examples: • Köln Cathedral (Cologne, Germany) • Notre Dame de Paris (Paris, France) • York Minster Cathedral (London, England) • Chartes Cathedral (France) • St. Patrick’s Cathedral (New York City, New York, US) • All have tall spires, pointed arches and flying buttresses: support system • These cathedrals have tall roofs and thin walls • Sculptures inside were sculptures of Mary/Jesus • Outside, 3D relief sculptures were Gargoyles: evil looking creatures to ward off evil • Art/Music: • Gained realism • Giotto (1276-1337): used light/shadow for realism • Gregorian Chant: new music that took use of the great sound capabilities of the cathedrals – developed into modern hymns

13. Medieval Philosophy • Scholasticism: study of faith through reason • Used things like geometry to prove theories/principles • Peter Abelard: wrote Sic et Non (Yes and No) about how the Bible could be interpreted in many ways • The Church disliked him for writing this • Thomas Aquinas: wrote Summa Theologica which gave logical proof of God and the authority of the Church • He is considered the greatest scholastic philosopher

14. Scholastic Philosophers