Chapter 14
Section 2
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Three field system
Guild
Commercial Revolution
Burgher
Vernacular
Thomas Aquinas
Scholastics
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800-1200 climate
warmed
Depended on oxen for
plows
Horses could do 3
times the work
900 farmers used a
harness around the
chest
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800 AD three fields
instead of two
Two planted one
fallowed
Grow up to 2/3’s land
each year
Food production
increased
Children could better
resist disease
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2nd change in
economy
Guild- an
organization of
individuals in the
same business or
occupation working
to improve economic
and social conditions
of its members
Merchant guilds 1st
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Artisans,
wheelwrights, tailors,
winemakers began
craft guilds
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Control number of
goods
Keep prices up
Husbands and wives
worked together
More women in cloth
guild
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Set quality and
standard of work
Set wages and
working conditions
Bakers required to sell
loaves of certain size
and quality
Supervised training of
new workers
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1000’s merchants and
artisans made goods for
local and long distance
trade
Powerful force in
medieval society
More and better
products
Wealth helped establish
influence over
government and towns
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Was the expansion of
trade and business
Fairs and Trade
Needed cash and
credit to exchange
goods
 Bills of exchange
established exchange
rates
 Letters of credit
eliminated carrying
cash
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Cloth, bacon leather,
dyes, rope commonly
traded
Not everything was
made on the manor
Good from foreign
lands
Trade routes opened
because of the Crusades
Sell at a profit
merchants reinvested
the profits
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Traders needed large
amounts of cash or
credit
Bills established
exchange rates
Letters of credit made
trade easier
Trading firms and
associations offered
these services
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Merchants looked for
new markets
Merchants purchased
items from distant
lands
Church not allowed to
charge interest (usury)
Banking important
business in Italy
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1000-1150 population 30
to 40 million
Towns grew and
flourished
Compare to
Constantinople,
European towns were
unsophisticated
Paris 60,000 people in
1200
Towns 1200 to 2500
people
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Changes had major
affect on European lives
Two important changes
Involved what people
did for a living and
where they lived
 Towns attracted new
workers
 Grew into cities
 Life changed from the
manor
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Towns sprung up all
over
Living in town had its
drawbacks
Narrow streets
 Filled with animals
 Household and
human waste in the
street
 Little bathing
 Danger of fire
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Many serfs ran away
If a serf lived for a
year and a day in
town they were free
Had better lives in
town
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Did not fit into social
order
Feudal lords ran early
towns
Burghers-merchant
class town dwellers
demanded privileges
Freedom from tolls
 Right to govern town
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Muslim connection
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Christian scholars
visited Muslim
libraries
Few Scholars knew
Greek
Jewish scholars
translated Arabic and
Greek into Latin
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Science, philosophy,
mathematics, law
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Meant a group of
scholars meeting
People not buildings
made up the
university
Paris and Bologna
were first
Oxford and Salerno
Most students were
sons of burghers
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Church or
government job
Bachelor's degree in
Theology take 5 – 7
years
Master of Theology 12
years
Vernacular- everyday
language
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Most writing had
been in Latin
Some are read today
Dante’s Inferno
 Canterbury Tales
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Since most people
could not read Latin,
printed in the
vernacular
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Christian scholars
excited about Greek
philosophy
Thomas Aquinasargued most religious
truths could be
proved my logic
Scholastics- scholars
who met at the
university called this
or schoolmen
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Used knowledge of
Aristotle to debate
issues
Teachings on law and
government had an
effect on those
institutions today