Synthesis Question
Medieval Period
The major change in world economics during the medieval period was the advent of the tradesmen. Tradesmen soon became a class of their own, falling just under royalty in terms of wealth. Their quick rise to prominence was brought about by several aspects of the medieval era. First of all, technology had advanced in terms of devices such as the loom and process of making and molding metal. Secondly, Tradesmen were specialists; they trained in one field such as masonry for years, often starting as an apprentice, and working their way up to the rank of journeymen and finally becoming masters. This extensive experience in one field made them possibly very valuable if their area of specialty was in demand. Finally, the tradesmen organized themselves into guilds based on their area of work. Guilds were fairly common in medieval society and mainly served as a place to train in your craft, and receive job experience working alongside tradesmen of like interest. These guilds almost served as early unions, as they bound workers together based on their profession and they often tried to keep prices at a flat and fair rate for the workers. The Tradesmen’s quick rise to wealth and prominence sometimes caused clash with royalty because of the fear that they were bringing about economic change too quickly. One great example demonstrating the importance of the tradesmen (albeit in a rather roundabout way) is the cathedral at Amiens in France. This massive cathedral with intricate frescos and massive spires was only made possible by the use of highly specialized workers who were able to design and carry out highly intricate tasks, the classic definition of the tradesmen. Tradesmen came to help define the society and art of the medieval period by forever changing what it was to be a “worker” instead of royalty.
By: August Mawn, Tom Allen, Zachary Gershman, Daniel Pon
Asher.p2.t1.Medieval Period
ReplyDeleteComment by Calvin Chan, Brianna Loo, Christina Yang, and Jane Lu (Period 2, Team 1)
The approach your guys took to answer the synthesis question was quite unique, but the answer might have been even stronger had you guys been able to elaborate more on how your points were indeed the reasons for the burgeoning of the tradesmen class. Nevertheless, our group feels that we get the points that you guys want to convey in the answer. We also talked about how the “extensive experience in one field made them possibly [invaluable] if their area of specialty was in demand” and pointed out how guilds helped the tradesmen class rise and grow so wealthy. However, we also decided that the fact that there was more order in the Medieval Period also helped the tradesmen class grow. For example, the fact that there was only one church—the Catholic Church—furthered unified the continent of Europe during this time period. This also directly contrasts the Anglo-Saxon era where there was a sort of religious crisis as, although the Anglo-Saxons stated they believed in Christianity, many still held onto their Pagan beliefs. This order allowed peddlers, the earliest merchants (a type of tradesmen), to go from village to village selling their goods. You guys did not mention this in your response, but during the Medieval Period, peddlers also helped play an important role in the rise of the tradesmen. The choice of art was also quite unique and interesting; however, it might have been better improved if you guys could have explicitly and clearly connected how the “use of highly specialized workers” to the burgeoning. Nevertheless, this is a great entry; keep up the good work!