1. Broadwater School History Department Broadwater School History Department How free were Medieval Townspeople? Step One: Keeping up the standard The guilds controlled the making and sale of goods very tightly. People could not make or sell goods in a town unless they were the member of a guild, for example … The guilds controlled the training of apprentices. This meant that not everyone could … You could only make goods and have apprentices if you were a master craftsman. This meant that not everyone had the freedom to ….

2. Broadwater School History Department Broadwater School History Department How free were Medieval Townspeople? Step One: Keeping up the standard The guilds controlled the making and sale of goods very tightly. People could not make or sell goods in a town unless they were the member of a guild, for example … there were rules about who could make and sell goods in a town. The guilds controlled the training of apprentices. This meant that not everyone could … make, buy and sell things in a town. You could only make goods and have apprentices if you were a master craftsman. This meant that not everyone had the freedom to …. start a business or to make money in a town.

3. Broadwater School History Department Broadwater School History Department How free were Medieval Townspeople? Step Two: Keeping people in order The rich and important townsmen passed laws which helped to protect the freedom of everyone in the town, but they stayed firmly in control. Charters gave the town freedom from the control of the Lord of the Manor, for example … Town Councils governed the towns. They were made up of the richest and most powerful men. They made rules that controlled life in the town, for example … There were many different sorts of rules and laws, for example …

4. Broadwater School History Department Broadwater School History Department How free were Medieval Townspeople? Step Two: Keeping people in order The rich and important townsmen passed laws which helped to protect the freedom of everyone in the town, but they stayed firmly in control. Charters gave the town freedom from the control of the Lord of the Manor, for example … they had the right to buy and sell land in the town and the townspeople became “freemen”. Town Councils governed the towns. They were made up of the richest and most powerful men. They made rules that controlled life in the town, for example … there were rules on food hygiene, doctors, drains, public toilets and wandering pigs. There were many different sorts of rules and laws, for example … there were rules that said only guild members could buy and sell goods. There were also rules to keep the town safe, for example in a fire or an attack.

5. Broadwater School History Department Broadwater School History Department How free were Medieval Townspeople? Step Three: Keeping people out. Towns were places where outsiders came to trade and where people could gain freedom from a lord, but outsiders were sometimes mistrusted, treated cruelly or kept out. Invaders and strangers were often kept out, for example … Sometimes there were special rules, for example … Sometimes strangers were treated very badly, for example …

6. Broadwater School History Department Broadwater School History Department How free were Medieval Townspeople? Step Three: Keeping people out. Towns were places where outsiders came to trade and where people could gain freedom from a lord, but outsiders were sometimes mistrusted, treated cruelly or kept out. Invaders and strangers were often kept out, for example … most towns had walls and their gates were shut at night. Sometimes there were special rules, for example …Scots people were not allowed into York. Sometimes strangers were treated very badly, for example … the massacres of the Jews in London and York.