Chapter 23 - A Changing Medieval World

Section 1 - Revival of Trade and Towns: A. New Ways of Farming (1. How did the use of the horse and iron "heavy plow" change farming? 2. What is "crop rotation"? 3. What is "fallow"? 4. What is the "three-field system"? 5. How did the Church have a role in the improvement of farming? 6. What happened to the population of Europe as food became cheap and more plentiful?)

"From A.D. 1000 to 1500, the period known as the High Middle Ages, the number of people in Europe grew steadily. This population boom was fueled by an increase in food supplies that resulted from improvements in agriculture. Ever since Roman times, peasants had used wooden plows that only scratched the surface of the ground. These plows worked well on the thin soils of southern Europe. But new plows had iron blades that could cut through and turn over the thicker soils of northern Europe. With the iron plow, people could farm more land. To pull this iron plow, farmers began using horses instead of oxen. Horses were faster and did more work for the amount of food they ate. In order to use horses as draft animals, peasants developed a harness that helped horses pull heavier loads without injury. The increasing use of horseshoes protected horses' soft hooves. Horse power and the new plow allowed peasants to cultivate more land. They cleared forests, planted new fields, and produced more food. Farmers also developed a system of crop rotation, the practice of changing the use of fields over time. In the early Middle Ages, peasants usually divided their farmland into two large fields. Each year, only one field was planted. The other was left fallow, or unplanted (land). The following year, the fallow one was planted. This process allowed the soil to recover some of its natural fertility. Later, farmers developed a three-field system of crop rotation. A three-field system was a system of planting invented in the High Middle Ages which increased the amount of land that could be planted each year. In this system, a third of the land was planted with spring crops, such as oats and barley. A third was planted with winter crops, such as winter wheat and rye, and the final field/third was left fallow. The three-field system had great advantages. First, it increased the amount of land that could be planted each year. Second, it protected farmers from starvation if one of the crops failed. During the 1200s, an order of monks called the Cistercians helped expand farming in Europe. The Cistercians embraced poverty and simplicity. They sold surplus agricultural products, such as wool. Many Cistercian monasteries were built in the countryside. With the help of peasants, Cistercians cut down forests, drained marshes, and bought huge areas of land under cultivation for the first time. By introducing sheep farming to many regions, the Cistercians increased wool production. This strengthened the textile, or cloth, industry and trade. Thanks to the new farming methods, the supply of grains increased. This helped feed the growing populations in Europe. Scholars estimate that the population of Europe nearly doubled between A.D. 1000 and 1300, rising from 39 million to 74 million people. This surge in population transformed the medieval world."

The Black Death (1. What is the "bubonic plague"? 2. What is the "Black Death"? 3. Along what routes did the Black Death spread? 4. How did water travel help the spread of the plague? 5. How did the plague change people's behavior? 6. What kinds of religious persecution did the plague cause?)

"In 1347, ten years after the start of the Hundred Years' War, Europe was struck by a terrible epidemic, a disease that spreads quickly through a population. The epidemic was the bubonic plague (a deadly infection spread by flees that live on rats), a deadly infection. Victims usually died within a few days, often in terrible agony, with their bodies covered in buboes, or swellings. At the time, people called the epidemic the Great Dying. Much later it came to be known as the Black Death (epidemic of the bubonic plague that killed as many as one third of all Europeans between 1347 and 1352). No one knew what caused the plague. It may have been carried by infected flees that lived on rats. However, one form of the plague was transferred through the air and inhaled. The epidemic began in Central Asia. From there, it slowly spread along trade networks (noun: a system that connects places or things) that linked China, India, and the Middle East. Before reaching Europe, the Black Death had killed millions in Asia. People infected with the plague rode merchant ships from the East to ports throughout Europe. The disease swept toward southern Europe from ports on the Black Sea, such as Caffa. First Italy, and then France, Spain, and England were struck. Travelers carried the plague up rivers and on overland trade routes, deep into the heart of Europe. In the decades that followed, the plague would often to seem to ease, before returning with terrifying force. Giovanni Boccaccio lived through the plague in Florence and wrote a detailed account of what he saw: 'The plight of the lower and most of the middle classes was... pitiful to behold. Most of them remained in their houses, either through poverty or in hopes of safety, and fell sick by thousands. Since they received no care or attention, almost all of them died. Many ended their lives in the streets... many others who died in their houses were only to be dead because the neighbours smelt their decaying bodied. Dead bodies filled every corner.' —Giovanni Boccaccio, 'The Decameron.' The plague slowly tore apart European society. All societies are based on human contact; but as the plague spread, fear of contact drove many into isolation. The rich fled the towns, often taking the town doctors with them. In the towns, entire families were wiped out. As many as one third of all Europeans—tens of millions of people—died between 1347 and 1352, when the first wave of the plague finally ran its course. Thousands of villages throughout Europe became ghost towns. In the midst of this mysterious horror, terrified people looked for scapegoats. Scapegoats are people who are blamed for a problem that they did not cause. Some Christians falsely accused the Jews of spreading the plague by poisoning wells. In many European towns, Jews were exiled or killed in anti-Jewish riots. In Strasburg, the town council ordered that the city's 2,000 Jews to convert to Christianity or to be burned to death. The pope issued an order that Jews should not be killed or forced to convert. However, his order was widely ignored."

B. Trade and Industry Grow (1. What was done with surplus crops? 2. For what products were France and Spain known? 3. For what industry were northern European countries like Flanders known? 4. How did Italian merchants become rich? 5. How did the Crusaders contribute to the growth of trade? 6. How did merchant banks work and what are bills of exchange? 7. Where did families become rich through merchant banking?)

"Population growth and advances in farming brought about important changes, especially in trade and industry. The medieval economy boomed. As food became plentiful, surplus crops from one area were traded for surplus crops from another. Regions specialized crops that grew best in particular climates and soils. In Spain, olive orchards supplied olive oil. In France, grapes were processed into wines. Surplus crops could also be traded for manufactured goods from distant lands. Some places became famous for a specific manufactured product. For example, the region of Flanders in northern France produced fine wooden cloth. This textile industry made northern towns rich. In southern Europe, Italian merchants set up a booming trade with the East. As population and wealth increased, so did the demand for trade goods. The families of rich merchants and the nobility wanted expensive clothes, weaponry, and jewelry. The market for such goods encouraged specialization and long-distance trade. In the early Middle Ages, trade networks shrunk. Few people ventured far from their villages. But after A.D. 1000, commerce revived. Trade began tying Europe to the wider world, bringing the cultures of Europe, Asia, and Africa into contact once again. The Crusades contributed to this revival of trade. Crusaders returned from the Holy Land with a taste for Asian spices, perfumes, silks, and other goods. Italian merchants worked to satisfy these tastes by importing trade goods from Asia in their ships. As trade increased merchants needed to transfer large sums of money. Merchants often traveled long distances to buy and sell their goods. Such journeys were difficult and risky. A merchant carrying coins could lose a fortune through a shipwreck or a robbery. Italian merchants solved this problem by creating a system that included bills of exchange. This was a system similar to the one used by Muslim traders. Bills of exchange allowed a merchant to deposit money in a bank in one area and withdraw money from a bank in a different city. Merchants no longer needed to carry money on dangerous journeys. The banking system made many Italian families rich, especially in cities such as Florence. In Italy, banking also contributed to one of the most important developments pf the High Middle Ages—the revival of towns and urban life."

H. Effects of the Black Death (1. What levels of society did the plague affect? 2. How did the plague affect the art of the time? 3. How did the plague help the prosperity of peasants? 4. What is the "Peasant's Revolt"? 5. How did the plague affect the church? 6. How did the plague change the social order in Europe?)

"The Black Death shook the medieval world. It hastened changes that were already underway and introduced disturbing new themes to European art. Towns and the countryside lost vast numbers of people from every social rank: peasants, merchants, priests, scholars, and nobles. A terrible gloom settled over the survivors. The art at the time reveals an obsession with death and disease. With too few people to cultivate land, much farmland reverted to pasture. Because so many peasants had died, manor lords were desperate for workers. Serfs who survived demanded wages for their work and left manors to work where wages were highest. In response to such changes, manor lords tried to limit the serfs' movements and freeze wages at pre plague level. As social tensions rose, peasants and townspeople across Europe revolted. In 1387, English peasants mounted the Peasants' Revolt (unsuccessful revolt by peasants against feudal lords in England in 1387), killing lords and forming manors. Although such revolts were crushed, feudalism never recovered. The Black Death also affected the Church. England, for example, lost an estimated 40 percent of its clergy. The Church was forced to hire men who were often uneducated. This in turn encouraged a movement to reform Church practices. In the pre plague medieval world, everyone's place in society was fixed at birth. After the Black Death, Western Europeans were less tied to a stable social and spiritual community. As social tensions increased, serfs defied manorial lords, and many began criticizing medieval traditions. Throughout Western Europe, the shock of the Black Death hastened the end of the Middle Ages."

Section 3 - Breakdown of Medieval Society: G. Famine and Warfare (1. How did a change in weather lead to famine? 2. What was the "Hundred Years War"? 3. How was the Hundred Years War a mew kind of conflict? 4. How did the Hundred Years' War affect England and France as nations? 5. What kind of weapon led to the frequent success of the English side in the Hundred Years War? 6. What kinds of weapons began to be used that brought about the end of the age of knights and castles? 7. How did Joan of Arc turn the tide of the Hundred Years War from the English to the French?)

"The plague was only one of a series of disasters to strike Europe in the 1300s. By 1000, Europe had enjoyed two centuries to economic growth. But now Europeans faced troubled times. A change in the weather may have played a part. From 1315 to 1317, it rained so much that crops were ruined. Cattle died of diseases brought on by the wet weather. In northern Europe, many people died of starvation and the years became known as the Great Famine. A famine is a serious shortage of food. Europe had barely recovered from the famine when war broke out. The conflict began when Edward III of England claimed the throne of France. He was supported in this claim by the Flemish, whose textile industry depended on the wool exported from England to Flanders. The conflict between the kingdoms of England and France lasted from 1337 to 1453 and became known as the Hundred Years' War (destructive war between France and England that lasted from 1337 to 1453). Although few battles were fought during this war, rural areas in particular suffered as roaming armies destroyed crops and bought starvation to peasant communities. In the early 1300s, England and France were becoming unified states, or nations. The Hundred Years' War increased the sense of patriotism that was developing in each kingdom. So the war was kind of new conflict—a war between nations. The English won key battles early in the war, partly because of a powerful weapon: the longbow. Arrows from the English longbow struck with great force, piercing the armor of French knights. In the battle of Crecy in 1546, the French army disintegrated under a thick rain of arrows. In the battle of Agincourt, fought in 1415, the longbow brought the English another major victory. Thousands of French soldiers were massacred, and France lost important members of its nobility. Soon, both sides were using even deadlier new weapons: guns and cannons. Guns shot through armor, and cannons blasts pierced through even the strongest castle walls. Clearly, the age of knights and castles was ending. By the early 1400s, it appeared that France was losing the war. The tide was turned by a young peasant woman known as Joan of Arc. Joan claimed that voices from heaven had told her to dress in knight's clothing and lead the French army to victory. Joan led French soldiers against the English and won important victories. Joan was eventually captured by the English, tried for heresy, and burned at the stake. The French, who defeated the English after Joan's death, honor her today as a national heroine and saint. Joan of Arc turned the fortunes of France during the Hundred Years' War. In 1453, England was finally defeated. However, the war had caused much suffering in France. During the early years of the war, the French suffered from the attacks of an even greater and invisible (adjective: not visible) enemy—the plague.

C. Growing Towns (1. What were market town fairs like by the 1100s and 1200s? 2. What is a guild? 3. What kinds of services did guilds perform for businesses? 4. What kinds of things lured people to towns from the manors?)

"Throughout Europe, towns and cities had been in decay for centuries. Although trade between towns had never completely ceased (verb: to stop), it had declined. But now, as trade revived, the older towns began to grow and new towns were built. During the Middle Ages some towns held weekly markets where people from nearby villages could trade for food and other useful items. In time, merchants and craftworkers—such as shoemakers, tailors, and metalworkers—set up shops in the towns. In some regions, merchants hired people to manufacture products such as woolen cloth or leather goods. By the 1200s, Europe's towns had become bustling centers of trade and industry where people came to buy and sell goods. Some became famous for their great fairs. Merchants from all over Europe brought goods to sell at these fairs. Jugglers, musicians, and animal trainers came to entertain. In France during the 1100s and 1200s, fairs were held in the province of Champagne. At the Champagne fairs, cloth from northern Europe was exchanged for spices and objects from the Mediterranean. As the demands for goods increased, the number of skilled craftworkers in towns grew. Artisans with the same skills often banded together to form guilds. A guild (association of people who have a common interest) is a group of workers, practicing the same craft, who have joined together to protect their economic interests. Merchants, grocers, and shoemakers—along with many other kinds of workers—all formed guilds. Craft guilds were financed by their members, who paid fees. In return, the guild protected workers and their families. If a guild worker died, the guild would pay for the worker's funeral and often care for the worker's family. Some guilds provided free schooling. Guilds also financed building programs. Guilds registered businesses. For example, only those who had been properly trained and tested by the guild could set up their own businesses. The guild carefully controlled quality. If a member produced shoddy goods or cheated customers, the guild punished him. To prevent unfair competition, the guild set the price for all the goods its members sold. The guild also controlled where and to whom a member could sell goods. The rules of the Weavers Guild found in Beverly, England, from the year 1209 warned: 'Weavers... may sell their cloth to no foreigner, but only to merchants of the city. And if it happens that, in order to enrich himself, one of the weavers... wishes to go outside the city to sell his merchandise, he may be very sure that the honest men of the city will take all his cloth and bring it back to the city... And if any weaver... sell his cloth to a foreigner, the foreigner shall lose his cloth." —Beverly Town Documents. In the very local world of manors ruled by lords, towns offered new freedoms. Towns were often beyond the control of manorial lords. In some places, wealthy townsmen, not lords, controlled local governments. The commerce of the towns brought increasing wealth and prosperity to society. Many townspeople grew rich through their labor. Rural peasants, many of whom lived in poverty, could not help but notice that towns offered a better life. The towns' promise of freedom and prosperity was hard to resist. Peasants began deserting the rural manors, thus weakening the feudal system. Peasants arriving in the towns must have been awed by their first view of urban life. Around the busy marketplaces, huge buildings were rising—houses, guildhalls, and mansions. But soaring even higher were the churches and cathedrals, whose spires drew the eye up toward heaven. The High Middle Ages was a time not only of economic growth, but of deep religious faith.

Why leave a field fallow?

Along with creating and using the horse and iron "heavy plow", farmers also developed a system of crop rotation, the practice of changing the use of fields overtime. In the early Middle Ages, peasants usually divided their farmland into two large fields. Each year, only one field was planted. The other was left fallow, or unplanted (land). The following year, the fallow was planted. This process allowed the soil to recover some of its natural fertility. Later, farmers developed a three-field system of crop rotation. A three-field system of crop rotation was a system of planting invented in the High Middle Ages which increased the amount of land that could be planted each year. In this system, a third of the land was planted with spring crops, such as oats and barley. A third was planted with winter crops, such as winter wheat and rye, and the final field was left fallow. This was extremely helpful, because if one crop failed, famine could be prevented by using the second crop planted, and replanting the failed crop in the fallow field.

3-Field system

Along with many other advances farmers made in the High Middle Ages, farmers also developed a system of crop rotation, the practice of changing the use of fields overtime. In the early Middle Ages, peasants usually divided their farmland into two large fields. Each year, only one fields was planted. The other was left fallow, or unplanted (land). The following year, the fallow one was planted. This process allowed the soil to recover some of its natural fertility. Later, farmers developed a three-field system, of crop rotation. A three-field system was a system of planting invented in the High Middle Ages which increased the amount of land that could be planted each year. In this system, a third of the land was planted with spring crops, such as oats and barley. A third was planted with winter crops, such as winter wheat and rye, and the final field was left fallow. The three-field system had great advantages. First, it increased the amount of land that could be planted each year. Second, it protected farmers from starvation if one of the crops failed.

Purpose of guilds

As the demands for goods increased, the number of skilled craftworkers in towns grew. Artisans with the same skills often banded together to form guilds. A guild (association of people who have a common interest) is a group of workers, practicing the same craft, who have joined together to protect their economic interests. Merchants, grocers, and shoemakers—along with many other kinds of workers—all formed guilds. Craft guilds were financed by their members, who paid fees. In return, the guild protected workers and their families. If a guild worker died, the guild would pay for the worker's funeral and often care for the worker's family. Some guilds provided free schooling. Guilds also financed building programs. Guilds regulated businesses. For example, only those who had been properly trained and tested by the guild could set up their own businesses. The guild carefully controlled quality. If a member produced shoddy goods or cheated customers, the guild punished him. To prevent unfair competition, the guild set the price for all the goods its members sold. The guild also controlled where and to whom a member could sell goods. The rules of the Weavers Guild in Beverly, England, from the year 1209 warned: "Weavers... may sell their cloth to no foreigners, but only to merchants of the city. And if it happens that, in order to cherish himself, one of the weavers... wishes to go outside the city to sell his merchandise, he may be very sure that the honest men of the city will take all his cloth and bring it back to the city... And if any weaver... sell his cloth to a foreigner, the foreigner shall lose his cloth." —Beverly Town Documents.

What orders of monks helped develop new farming techniques?

During the 1200s, an order of monks called the Cistercians helped expand farming in Europe. The Cistercians embraced poverty and simplicity. They sold surplus agricultural products, such as wool. Many Cistercian monasteries were built in the countryside. With the help of peasants, Cistercians cut down forests, drained marshes, and brought huge areas of land under cultivation for the first time. By introducing sheep farming to many regions, the Cistercians increased wool production. This strengthened the textile, or cloth, industry and trade. Thanks to the new farming methods, the supply of grains increased. This helped feed the growing population in Europe. Scholars estimate the population of Europe doubled between A.D. 1000 and 1300, rising from 39 million to 74 million people. This surge in population transformed the medieval world.

Crusades impact on trade

During the Crusades, trade was practically shut down as a result of torment and danger throughout Europe and its surrounding lands. Kings grew rich during the Crusades. The Vikings, Magyars, and other invaders forced many European areas to create manors, which are self-sufficient units. This brought no trade and isolated people belonged to the manors. In the early Middle Ages, trade networks had shrunk. Few people ventured far from their village. But after A.D. 1000, commerce revived. Trade began tying Europe to the wider world, bringing the cultures of Europe, Asia, and Africa into contact once again. The Crusades contributed to this revival of trade. Crusaders returned from the Holy Land with a taste fro Asian spices, perfumes, silks, and other goods.

Longbow

Europe had barely recovered from the famine when war broke out. The conflict began when Edward III of England claimed the throne of France. He was supported in this claim by the Flemish, whose textile industry depended on the wool exported from England to Flanders. The conflict between the kingdoms of England and France lasted from 1337 to 1453 and became known as the Hundred Years' War (destructive war between France and England that lasted from 1337 to 1453). Although few battles were fought during this war, rural areas in particular suffered as roaming armies destroyed crops and bought starvation to peasant communities. In the early 1300s, England and France were becoming unified states, or nations. The Hundred Years' War increased the sense of patriotism that was developing in each kingdom. So the war was a kind of new conflict—a war between nations. The English won key battles early in the war, partly because of a powerful weapon: the longbow. Arrows from the English longbow struck with great force, piercing the armor of French knights. In the battle of Crecy in 1346, the French army disintegrated under a thick rain of arrows. In the battle of Agincourt, fought in 1415, the longbow brought the English another major victory. Thousands of French soldiers were massacred, and France lost important members of its nobility.

Joan of Arc

Europe had barely recovered from the famine when war broke out. The conflict began when Edward III of England claimed the throne of France. He was supported in this claim by the Flemish, whose textile industry depended on the wool exported from England to Flanders. The conflict between the kingdoms of England and France lasted from 1337 to 1453 and became known as the Hundred Years' War (destructive war between France and England that lasted from 1337 to 1453). Although few battles were fought during this war, rural areas in particular suffered as roaming armies destroyed crops and brought starvation to peasant communities. In the early 1300s, England and France are becoming unified states, or nations. The Hundred Years' War increased the scene of patriotism that was developing in each kingdom. So the war was a kind of new conflict—a war between nations. The English king won key battles early in the war, partly because of a powerful weapon: the longbow. Arrows from the English longbow struck with great force, piercing the armor of French knights. In the battle of Crecy in 1346, the French army disintegrated under a thick rain of arrows. In the battle of Agincourt, fought in 1415, the longbow brought the English another major victory. Thousands of French soldiers were massacred, and France lost important members of its nobility. Soon, both sides were using even deadlier weapons: guns and cannons. Guns shot through armor, and cannon blasts pierced even the strongest castle walls. Clearly, the age of knights and castles was ending. By the early 1400s, it appeared that France was losing the war. The tide was turned by a young peasant woman known as Joan of Arc. Joan claimed that voices from heaven had told her to dress in knight's clothing and lead the French army to victory. Joan led French soldiers against the English and won important victories. Joan was eventually captured by the English, tried for heresy, and burned at the stake. The French, who defeated the English after Joan's death, honor her today as a national heroine and saint. Joan of Arc turned the fortunes of France during the Hundred Years' War. In 1453, England was finally defeated. However, the war had caused much suffering in France. During the early years of the war, the French suffered from the attacks of an even greater and invisible enemy—the plague.

Who fought in the 100 Years' War?

Europe had barely recovered from the famine when war broke out. The conflict began when Edward III of England claimed the throne of France. He was supported in this claim by the Flemish, whose textile industry depended on the wool exported from England to Flanders. The conflict between the kingdoms of England and France lasted from 1337 to 1453 and became known as the Hundred Years' War (destructive war between France and England that lasted from 1337 to 1453). Although few battles were fought during this war, rural areas in particular suffered as roaming armies destroyed crops and brought starvation to peasant communities. Throughout the entire war, England looked as though it was going to win. However, the tides were turned when the French gained Joan of Arc, a peasant girl who later led France to victory.

Products countries became famous for

Regions specialized crops that grew best in particular climates and soils. In Spain, olive orchards supplied olive oil. In France, grapes were processed into wines. Surplus crops could also be traded for manufactured goods from distant lands. Some places became famous for a specific manufactured product. For example, the region of Flanders in northern Europe produced fine woolen cloth. This textile made northern towns rich.

Along what paths was the Black Death spread?

In 1347, ten years after the start of the Hundred Years' War, Europe was struck by a terrible epidemic, a disease that spreads quickly through a population. The epidemic was the bubonic plague (a deadly infection spread by flees that live on rats), a deadly infection. No one knew what caused the plague. It may have been caused by infected flees that lived on rats. However, one form of the plague was transferred through the air and inhaled. The epidemic began in Central Asia. From there, it slowly spread along the trade networks (noun: a system that connects places or things) that linked China, India, and the Middle East. Before reaching Europe, the Black Death had killed millions in Asia. People infected with the plague rode merchant ships from the East to ports throughout Europe. The disease swept toward southern Europe from ports on the Black Sea, such as Caffa. First Italy, and then France, Spain, and England were struck. Travelers carried the plague up rivers and on overland trade routes, deep into the heart of Europe. In the decades that followed, the plague would often seem to ease, before returning with terrifying force.

Bubonic plague

In 1347, ten years after the start of the Hundred Years' War, Europe was struck by a terrible epidemic, a disease that spreads quickly through a population. The epidemic was the bubonic plague (a deadly infection spread by flees that live on rats), a deadly infection. Victims usually died within a few days, often in terrible agony, with their bodies covered in buboes, or swellings. At the time, people called the epidemic the Great Dying. Much later it came to be known as the Black Death (epidemic of the bubonic plague that killed as many as one third of all Europeans between 1347 and 1352). No one knew what caused the plague. It may have been carried by infected flees that lived on rats. However, one form of the plague was transferred through the air and inhaled. The epidemic began in Central Asia. From there, the Black Death slowly spread along the trade networks (noun: a system that connects places or things) that linked China, India, and the Middle East. Before reaching Europe, the Black Death had killed millions in Asia. People infected with the plague rode merchant ships from the east to ports throughout Europe. The disease swept toward southern Europe from ports on the Black Sea, such as Caffa. The bubonic plague affected all levels of society, affected the art at the time, helped peasants prosper, changed people's behaviors, caused religious persecution against Jews, creasing the "Peasants' Revolt", affected the church, and changed social order in Europe.

Why did towns have more freedom than manors?

In the very local world of manors ruled by lords, towns offered new freedoms. Towns were often beyond the control of manorial lords. In some places, wealth townsmen, not lords, controlled local governments. The commerce of the towns brought increasing wealth and prosperity to society. Many townspeople grew rich through their labor. Rural peasants, many of whom lived in poverty, could not help but notice that towns offered a better life. The towns' promise of freedom and prosperity was hard to resist. Peasants began deserting the rural manors, thus weakening the feudal system. Peasants arriving in the towns must have been awed by their first view of urban life; urbanization. Around the busy marketplaces, huge buildings were rising—houses, guildhalls, and mansions. But soaring even higher were the churches and cathedrals, whose spires drew the eye up toward heaven. The High Middle Ages was a time not only of economic growth, but of deep religious faith.

Great famine

The plague was only one of a series of disasters to strike Europe Europe in the 1300s. By 1300, Europe had enjoyed two centuries of economic growth. But now Europeans faced troubled times. A change in the weather may have played a part. From 1315 to 1317, it rained so much that crops were ruined. Cattle died of diseases brought on by the wet weather. In northern Europe many people died of starvation and the years became known as the Great Famine. A famine is a serious shortage of food. Europe had barely recovered from the famine when war broke out.

What group gained from shortage of labor after plague?

The Black Death shook the medieval world. It hastened changes that were already underway and introduced disturbing new themes to European art. Towns and the countryside lost vast numbers of people from every social rank: peasants, merchants, priests, scholars, and nobles. A terrible gloom settled over the survivors. The art at the time reveals an obsession with death and disease. With too few people to cultivate land, much farmland reverted to pasture. Because so many peasants had died, manor lords were desperate for workers. Serfs who survived demanded wages for their work and left manors to work where wages were highest. This related to supply and demand, due to the fact that as supply decreased, demand for the supply increased. Peasants went "shopping for the best deal." In response to such changes, manor lords tried to limit the serfs' movements and freeze wages at pre-plague level. As social tensions rose, peasants and townspeople across Europe revolted. In 1387, English peasants mounted the Peasants' Revolt (unsuccessful revolt by peasants against feudal lords in England in 1387), killing lords and forming manors. Although such revolts were crushed, feudalism never recovered.

Peasants

The Black Death shook the medieval world. It hastened changes that were already underway and introduced disturbing new themes to European art. Towns and the countryside lost vast numbers of people from every social rank: peasants, merchants, priests, scholars, and nobles. A terrible gloom settled over the survivors. The art of the time reveals an obsession with death and disease. With too few people to cultivate land, much farmland reverted to pasture. Because so many peasants had died, manor lords were desperate for workers. Serfs who survived demanded wages for their work and left manors to work where wages were highest (supply and demand: as value goes up, demand goes up. Peasants found the best places to work, or in other words, they (peasants) went shopping for the best deal.) In response to such changes, manor lords tried to limit the serfs' movements and freeze wages at pre-plague level. As social tensions rose, peasants and townspeople across Europe revolted. In 1386, English peasants mounted the Peasants' Revolt (unsuccessful revolt by peasants against feudal lords in England in 1387), killing lords and forming manors. Although such revolts were crushed, feudalism never recovered.

What was the main cause of the Peasants' Revolt?

The Black Death shook the medieval world. It hastened changes that were already underway and introduced disturbing new themes to European art. Towns and the countryside lost vast numbers of people from every social rank: peasants, merchants, priests, scholars, and nobles. A terrible gloom settles over the survivors. The art at the time reveals and obsession with death and disease. With too few people to cultivate land, much farmland reverted to pasture. Because so many peasants had died, manor lords were desperate for workers. Serfs who survived demanded wages for their work and left manors to work where wages were highest. Peasants found the best occupations, or in other words, peasants went shopping for the best deal. This relates to supply and demand because as the value for items rose, so did the demand. In response to such changes, manor lords tried to limit the serfs' movements and freeze wages at pre-plague level. As social tensions rose, peasants and townspeople across Europe revolted. In 1387, English peasants mounted the Peasants' Revolt (unsuccessful revolt by peasants against feudal lords in England in 1387), killing lords and forming manors. Although such revolts were crushed, feudalism never recovered.

Scapegoats

The plague slowly tore apart European society. All societies are based on human contact; but as the plague spread, fear of contact drove many into isolation. The rich fled the towns, often taking the town doctors with them. In the towns, entire families were wiped out. As many as one third of all Europeans—tens of millions of people—died between 1347 and 1352, when the first wave of the plague finally ran its course. Thousands of villages throughout Europe became ghost towns. In the midst of this mysterious horror, terrified people looked for scapegoats. Scapegoats are people who are blamed for a problem that they did not cause. Some Christians falsely accused the Jews of spreading the plague by poisoning wells. In many European towns, Jews were exiled or killed in anti-Jewish riots. In Strasbourg, the town council ordered that the city's 2,000 Jews convert to Christianity or be burned to death. The pope issued an order that Jews should not be killed or forced to convert. However, his order was widely ignored.

What were fairs and which were most famous?

Throughout Europe, towns and cities had been in decay for centuries. Although trade between towns had never completely ceased, it had declined. But now as trade began to grow and new towns were built. During the Middle Ages some towns had weekly markets where people from nearby villages could trade for food and other useful items. In time, merchants and craftworkers—such as shoemakers, tailors, and metalworkers—set up shops in the towns. In some regions, merchants hired people to manufacture products such as woolen cloth or leather goods. By the 1200s, Europe's towns has become bustling centers of trade and industry where people came to buy and sell goods. Some became famous for their great fairs. Merchants from all over Europe brought goods to sell at these fairs. Jugglers, musicians, and animal trainers came to entertain. In France during the 1100s and 1200s, fairs were held in the province of Champagne. At the Champagne fairs, cloth from northern Europe was exchanged for spices and objects from the Mediterranean.

Peasant Revolt

With too few people to cultivate land, much farmland reverted to pasture. Because so many peasants had died, manor lords were desperate for workers. Serfs who survived demanded wages for their work and left manors to work where wages were highest (supply and demand: as value goes up demand goes up. Peasants found the best places to work, or in other words, peasants went shopping for the best deal.) In response to such changes, manor lords tried to limit the serfs' movements and freeze wages at pre-plague level. As social tensions rose, peasants and townspeople across Europe revolted. In 1387, English peasants mounted the Peasants' Revolt (unsuccessful revolt by peasants against feudal lords in England in 1387), killing lords and forming manors. Although such revolts were crushed, feudalism never recovered.