The ribirth of the cities
1.The economy inthe Late Middle Ages
The Late Middle Ages was aperiod of economic develpmen
Agticultural development
New agricultar techniques and tools, three-field syste, irrigation techniques and use of manure, allowed production to incrase greatly
Nutrition and resistance to diseases improved. The European population almost doubled
The population growth meant that more agricultural land was necessary. Repopulation of conquered regions, cut down forests and drained
Craft production
Agricultural surplus improved the economy,
the number of artisans grew and craft production expanded
The most important craft activity was textile production and masonry
Urban artisaans formed guilds
Membership was obligatory and the guild established rules for production, quality, prices, wages and the maximum number of workers
The guilds also regulated acess to the three professional categories: apprentice (up to 12 years of age,) jouneyman and master (artisans who owned their own workshop).
The increase in trade
Trade increased thaks to the food surplus and the growth of craft production. The following factors facilitated trade.
Roads became safer
The creation of new mints
Bills of exchange appeared
Banks granted more loans
Major towns and cities gad permanent shops weekly markets
Artisans and traders created leagues: The mais leagues were the Hanseatic and Mediterranean
At the main ponsts on these overland routes, traders held large markets called fairs
2 Social changes in the Late Middle Ages
The term bourgeoisie appeared. It initially referred to city inhabitants in general, but later only to those who worked in crafts or tradex
Social and economic inequality
Urban oligarchy dominant minority
Upper noblity: They weren´t traders but lived on the income from their lands.
Upper boureoisie: were traders and bankers
Regular urban clergy, regular clergy there were two main economic groups
The upper clergy archbishop or bishop cathedral was their centre
The lower clergy parish priests, friars mendiacant orders.
The petite bourgeoisies mideratly wealthy artisans, small-scale traders, lawyers and doctors
The Jews: the jews live in Jewish Quarters. Thet usuallt worked as artisans, doctors, bankes and traders
The lower nobility hidalgos
Other city inhabitants diverse group
3 Political changes
The economic and sicial changes during theLate Middle Ages also affected political organisation.
The importance of the cities
The wealth their cities produced could help them limit the power of the nobility
Monarch granted cities privileges through legal codes called charters. A collection of laws which gave cities greater autonomy allowed their inhabitants more freedom
Monarchs allowed city governments called conuncils
Officials known as magistrates upper bourgeoisie to participate in parliament
Urban taxes enabled monarchs to increasse their military power and administrative poower
In some regions, cities were so prosperous that they beame independent city-states
Medieval parleaments
Medieval parliaments were assemblies
They consisted of representatives of the three estates to advise the monarch. They voted on new taxes
Necertheless, these assemblies limites royal power by forcing monarchs to negotiate their policies forward.
The church and political power
The french Crown main supporters of the popes
Papal See movieng from Rome to Avignon in the early 14th century
In 1378, the Western Schism occurred resulted in the appointment of two popes
4.The crisis of the Late Middle Ages
During the 14th and part of the 15th century, Europe experienced a severe political, economic and social crises. The causes were
Agricultural crises: bad harvest. Famine
Epidemics: Food shortages weakened the population= Black Death
Wars: The instability of the feudal system resulted in various conflicts in the gundred Years´War
Tax increases: Monarchs´ declining resources resulted in tax increases
5. Culture in the Late Middle Ages
The origins and spread of universities
Until the 13th century, only the clergy had access to higher education.
Sue to the political and economic changes, the nobility and particularly the bourgeoisie now needed better education
Intially, eposcopal and urban schools emerged. Shortlly after teachers created institutions that were independent of the church. These were the first universities in Paris, Bologna, Oxford, Salamanca and Coimbra
The universities tught Classical knowledge: arts, medicine, theoligy and law
Science advanced slowly because people in the Late Middle Ages didn´t value experimentation
The invention of the printing press
during the Late Middle Ages, demand for books increased greatly
The manuscripts the monasteries produced were expensive and took a lot of time to write by hand
Books therefore became a new type of commodity
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