Changes in Medieval Society Ch 14 Sec 2 Changes in Medieval Society

Medieval Trade Routes ~1100 A.D.

Three field system Replaced the old feudal system of only planting ½ of the land available. ½ would grow crops while the other ½ lay fallow (resting) for a year. Allowing a field to lay fallow prevented the soil from getting exhausted and yielding a poor harvest. The three field system planted on 2/3 of the available land instead of 1/2. planting a summer crop of oats, barley, peas, & beans. A winter crop of wheat or rye. GLOBAL WARMING! Between 800-1200 the earth’s average temperature was warmer than it is today, allowing Western Europeans to grow two crops a year! (Climate changes all the time – usually due to natural cycles of the Sun). With more food, populations surged as people with better diets live longer, can resist disease, and work harder!

guild An association or “group” of people who work in the same job or occupation. Guilds were important for keeping up a high quality product – each guild set a minimum standard for the quality of the product they produced, wages ($$) and working conditions. Ex: Armorer’s Guild had to produce a high quality metal that would resist penetration by weapons. Stone Cutter’s Guild  Armorers Guild

Commercial Revolution The expansion of trade and business in Europe after the Crusades. Commercial = business = buying & selling = trade! (Think commercials on TV or “adds” on your favorite websites – trying to get you to buy something)

burgher A town’s person or town dweller and member of the merchant class.

vernacular Writing in your native tongue – any European language other than LATIN. Examples: Italian, Spanish, French, English

Dante Alighieri Wrote The Divine Comedy in 1321 which is famous for its first part called Dante’s Inferno where he describes the Nine Circles of Hell. Each ring of hell was reserved for certain types of sinners. The further into the circle, the worse the sin.

Thomas Aquinas A Christian Scholar who wrote Summa Theologica, an attempt to synthesize the works of the Ancients (Greeks & Romans) with Christian teachings of his time.

scholastics Scholars who studied in the universities of the Middle Ages

3. How did guilds influence business practices in medieval towns? Guilds increased the quality of goods. Controlled how much of a product would be produced (scarcity = value, if you flood the market prices will drop). Set working conditions and wages. Job training – start off an apprentice, then journeyman – then master.

4. How were Muslim scholars linked to the revival of learning in Europe? Muslims had worked to preserve ancient Greek writings by translating them into Arabic (think House of Wisdom – Ch 10). European scholars then learned about the Greeks from the Arabic translations.

5. In what ways did Burghers expand their freedom from landlords? Burghers were Middle Class town dwellers – business owners, skilled craftspeople, and merchants. They organized and demanded privileges such as freedom from kings grant them independence from the local lord who controlled the town. These independent towns were then free do govern their own local affairs.

6. What was the effect of the development of towns on the feudal system? Towns allowed serfs to escape and better their economic conditions (towns were places of opportunity). Nobles lost their control over towns and the kings gained it, making the king more powerful (Towns = Trade = Money = Power)

7. Why write in the vernacular instead of Latin? Latin was a “dead” language – no one grew up speaking Latin – it was the language of education – the Bible was written in Latin. TO read and write in Latin required learning a second language in addition to your original. The Vernacular was the common language of the people – reading/writing in the vernacular means you write in your native tongue (like English, Spanish, French, German, Italian).