Date: _____________
Trade & Town Quiz pp. 149-155
Name: ___________________
WRITE IN COMPLETE SENTENCES!!! (3 marks each) You do NOT have to copy the questions down.
1. What factors led to the growth of trade? (How and why did trade begin in Western Europe?)
- The Crusaders brought back many new products from the Muslim world like silk, spices, fruits, sugar,
tapestries -> created desire for these foreign goods
- Some rich indivs. decided to go into trading bus.
- Soon, ships went on trading expeditions to search for more goods
- Ordinary people realize could make similar things in exchange for $, escape from serfdom
2. How did the growth of trade lead to the need for towns?
- local markets or fairs or markets were seasonal (no buying or selling in winter) and temporary (e.g. travelling
fairs)
- have to travel far to get to fairs & travel can be dangerous
- therefore, need stability of town to set up permanent shops and wall surrounding town
3. Name three trades or crafts that were controlled by guilds.
- Bakers, tailors, sword and armour makers, tanners, tavernkeepers, seamstresses, ironworkers
4. What are three goals of the guilds of the Middle Ages?
- Set stds. for qual. of products
- Controlled prices
- Kept out unskilled people (so get rid of competition)
- Looked after their members if death or accident
5. What is an ordinance?
- A set of rules written by towns to help run affairs
- Do not deal w/ criminal offences, but deal w/ minor offences like keeping chickens in town or emptying
chamber pot out window
6. Describe what you would see when you entered a medieval town.
- Crowded, smelly, small
- Go through gate built in wall surrounding town
- Limited space (houses for poor and middle-class crowded together)
- Houses several stories w/ upper floors overhanging over street
- Streets were narrow & winding, open sewers (not straight or planned)
- No plumbing so chamber pots emptied onto street
- Garbage dumped out
7. Why did the medieval towns have walls?
- To protect a/g raids from rival cities or feudal lords
8. How was living in a town more exciting than living in a village?
- More entertainment like pageants and plays, sports (bear baiting)
9. What kinds of freedoms did the townspeople enjoy?
- Freedom to do as pleased, marry whom they pleased, make money as they could, no control from feudal
lords, or manor courts
10. What were the merchant guilds and why were they so powerful, especially the Hanseatic League?
- Organizations of traders (people who ought & sold goods on a large scale, financed ships and overland
caravans to trade in foreign places), had their navy & army, could threaten king w/ no goods
Paragraph Question: Choose one to answer in complete sentences and proper paragraph form (at least 6 sentences
long). (10 marks each) Do not forget to give your paragraph an appropriate title.
1. Explain how medieval guilds worked, why they were needed, and what they did for their members.
- Cooperative organizations
- Set stds. for qual. of products
- Controlled prices
- Controlled merchant and local trades w/i and b/w towns
- Kept out unskilled people (so get rid of competition)
- Looked after their members if death or accident
- Tradespeople can work if belong to a guild and must belong to the guild in which they were trained (today’s
e.g. teacher unions)
- Mostly men
- Women not allowed except for guilds rel. to brewing and textile industries
- Protect rights of members
2. In a chart, compare the life of serf and the life of a guild member working in a town. In a paragraph, explain
what the benefits and drawbacks are of each person’s way of life.
Serf:
- considered property of estate and therefore, not allowed to travel outside of manor
- provided labour for manor, lowest std. of living
- donate 2-3 days of plowing, planting, weeding and harvesting to lord’s demesne
- had right to farm a small strip of land (veg. & herbs), own a few animals, also had to give % to lord
- lived in one-room hut, few furniture
- whole family worked hard, incl. children
- worked from sunrise to sunset
Guild Member:
-
not controlled by feudal lord
more free to do what they want – can marry who they want, make $ in way they want/choose
specialize in the trade they’re good in and mostly want to do
money very important – the more money you have, the more independent and powerful you are (some
bourgeois (merchants) even richere than feudal lords, some women got good education
if get hurt or sick, guild will take care of him and/or family
-> protection by guild
Lived in crowded, smelly conditions and small houses
Lots of entertainment (pageants, plays, blood sports)
3. Describe the journey one would take to becoming a master of a craft.
Apprenticeship:
- Long & difficult
- Learned craft in stages, starting w/ most simple jobs
- Received training, room and board and little $
- Live and work under a master, starting at 8
- Get beaten if make mistakes
- At end take test
Journeyman
-
Admitted to guild
Paid by day (par journee)
Studied and practiced for many more years
At end, create “masterpiece” judged by panel of masters
Master (or expert)
-
If masterpiece is acceptable
4. Define the term “middle class”. How did this class fit into medieval society? Why did the middle class grow in
size and importance during the Middle Ages? In what way would the growing middle class change feudal
society?
- Middle class = class in b/w nobles & serfs/freeholders; burgesses in England, burgers in Germany, bourgeois
in France
- Ordinary people realize could make things in exchange for $, escape from serfdom so starting learning and
perfecting skills to make similar goods that were coming from other places.
- Only existed in towns b/c made up of merchants & skilled tradespeople; didn’t exist before towns
- Money, not social position, was most important (in feudalism, wealth & power = amt. of land owned)
- Now as long as you can make $, you can become independent and powerful, some merchants richer than
feudal landowners
- Nobles wanted the goods, the finer things that were only avail. in towns
- Nobles and/or manor courts couldn’t control townspeople; towns were charters (given the right to exist by
monarch or local lord)
- Charters = privileges, town can govern itself but mainly gov’t. controlled by rich citizens & guilds
- Guilds very powerful, esp. merchant guilds – some even have own army and navy
- E.g. Hanseatic League can force king to do what it wanted by threatening to cut off trade w/ a country
- Started the end of feudalism