Medieval Europe: Urban Growth & Royal Power
Technical Innovations and Population Growth
Technical Innovations: New techniques of cultivation emerged, such as the three-year rotation, allowing only a third of the land to remain fallow. New agricultural tools included the Norman or moldboard plow, the horse collar, horseshoes, windmills, and watermills.
Population Growth:
- Cause: Increased agricultural production led to better nutrition and, consequently, population growth.
- Result: A search for new farmland.
Medieval Towns and the Rise of the Bourgeoisie
Medieval Towns: New cities emerged at road junctions, near rivers, or by ports. Their inhabitants were called the *bourgeoisie*.
Parts of the City:
- Street plan
- Wall
- Center
- Housing
- Religious buildings
- Palaces
- Streets
- Sewer
Craftspeople, Guilds, Fairs, and Markets
Craftspeople and Guilds: Workshops: Artisans grouped in small workshops. The shop owner was the master craftsman. Work was manual, and the workshop served as a home, shop, and place of manufacture.
Fairs and Markets:
- Market: A gathering of merchants in the city where goods were exchanged, including agricultural equipment.
- Fair: Markets held once or twice a year, involving large quantities of goods and significant amounts of money.
Financing and the Bourgeoisie
Financing Activities:
- Bill of Exchange: A written document certifying that a person delivered a sum of money to another.
Emergence of the Bourgeoisie:
- Basis of Wealth: Money was the foundation of the bourgeoisie’s power.
- Bourgeois Groups: High bourgeoisie and petty bourgeoisie.
Inhabitants of the Cities
Inhabitants of the Cities:
- Privileged Groups: Nobles and clergy.
- Humble People: Guild journeymen and apprentices.
Urban Culture
In the 10th and 11th centuries, literacy was primarily reserved for clerics, royal officials, and some wealthy merchants. In the 12th century, improving economic conditions and the development of urban life led to greater literacy among the burghers engaged in business. This need for knowledge enhanced the development of schools in cities, dependent on the Church or the government. Soon, the desire of teachers and students to learn led to the rise of universities.
Strengthening Royal Power
In the 12th century, kings had limited power over their kingdoms. Kings granted the bourgeoisie privilege letters, granting them freedom to move throughout the kingdom, open markets, and not depend on any feudal lord. The middle class borrowed money to pay their war debts to the kings.
Courts or Parliaments
Courts or Parliaments: Assemblies that advised the king, composed of clergy, nobility, and bourgeoisie.
Wars Between Monarchies in Europe
Wars Between Monarchies in Europe:
- Facing Countries: France and England.
- Objective: The King of England aimed to be recognized as King of France.
The Black Death and its Consequences
Black Death: In 1347, the Black Death spread throughout Europe, causing widespread death.
Peasants’ Revolt: The rural population declined due to war and pestilence. Feudal lords, facing eroding incomes, increased taxes on many farmers.
Urban Unrest: Cities experienced higher mortality rates than rural areas. The scarcity of food and the decline in business caused the ruin of artisans and merchants. Protests spread across many European cities, sometimes resulting in pogroms.
New Urban Construction: Gothic Art
New Urban Construction: Gothic art, a new artistic style, developed between the 12th and 15th centuries, characterized by tall, bright buildings.
Characteristics of Gothic Architecture:
- Pointed Arch: A tall, light, and pointed arch.
- Vault: Formed by the junction of two arches and ribbed vaults, higher than in Romanesque architecture.
- Arborantes and Buttresses: Arborantes were placed on the outer walls, and buttresses were topped with pinnacles.