Friday, October 21, 2011
Wylie period 5 team 3
Before the Medieval Times small communities were formed; in these communities there was often a lord that would provide safeguard to the peasants working on his land. As the feudal system developed and the Catholic Church began to grow all the more dominant and influential, a more orderly structure to the European continent was developed. While in the Anglo-Saxon era there was one prevalent religion there were two common religions, and consequently organization was nonexistent due to the multiple factions that existed. Given the expansion of Mediterranean trading routes in Europe, and the rapid increase in the population, the Middle Ages shifted from a primarily farming society to one of exports and trade. Thus peddlers, the earliest merchants, who went village to village selling their goods to people, were also able to expand their own farm lands. As they became more familiar with the ways of trading, they were able to gather vast sums of earnings. As seen in "Village Feast" by Gillis Mostaert, the painting depicts the tradesmen joyfully selling their goods to the locals. This painting provides a light, delightful atmosphere showing the people at that era were enjoying their prosperity. But societal contests began to arise with those in power, such as lords or bishops, and those with their newly founded success in guilds. It should have come as no surprise that these new artisans and merchants who were coming into “new money” experienced the potent resentment towards their lord or bishop because they were still being held accountable to a superior authority.
By Paulina Alvarez, Emily Teraoka, Angela Oh, Karen Cao
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The fundamental problem of having small, separate communities is that they were constantly warring. The pre-feudal system was not one of peace, nor was it necessarily any less corrupt as the feudal system was. Often, peasants were forced to fight vicious battles against other communities so their pugnacious lord could become wealthier. Ultimately, this community system proved inefficient, so change was quickly ushered in. The result: The feudal system.
ReplyDeleteThe feudal system was later revealed to be just as inefficient as its predecessor. The Catholic Church began to grow even stronger in power, and in many cases, those who disagreed with their beliefs found themselves in a less-than-desired spot. The peasants, now called “serfs,” still found themselves working in backbreaking conditions under knights and lords. Power and name shifted, but in the end, those who were not considered to be royalty still suffered.
When the Black Death ended, it successfully exterminated 1/3 of Europe’s population. People were hit at all levels: peasants died, royalty died, powerful church members died. Subsequently, those who were skilled became in high demand. The Black Death brought down competition by simply, and savagely, killing off a large majority of competitors. Because tradesmen were constantly sought after, they found that they had gained a newfound power when it came to social standing. For the first time, they began climbing up the social ladder.
In our opinion, the merchant class inarguably deserved this promotion. They could have worked as hard as they could for an endless number of years; however, their rise in power would never have occurred without the wide onslaught of Plague that medieval Europe faced.