Transcript TIMES OF CHANGE: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE RENAISSANCE

TIMES OF CHANGE:
MEDIEVAL SOCITEY
In what way can societies
changing social structures affect
a societies world view?
•The structure of and changes
to medieval society
•The role of religion in
medieval society
•The dawn of the new age
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MEDIEVAL SOCIETY
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SVHuTfiDTs&
During the middle ages, much of Europe was
organized in a system called feudalism
In this system used during the Middle
Ages the lord owned the land and all others
served him
Based on land, loyalty and duty people were
born into a level of feudal society and
expected to stay in that level their entire lives
Nobles swore an oath of allegiance to the
king and promised to fight for him in exchange
for rights to pieces of land known as fiefs or
manors
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Bishops of the Church had tremendous
power and controlled large tracts of land
MEDIEVAL SOCIETY
During the Middle Ages peasants lived in rural villages
on a manor owned by the noble
• There were two categories of peasants
• Freeman – rented land from the lord or worked for pay
• Serfs – not allowed to leave the manor without the
lords permission
• Peasants usually only had one set of clothing, two at
most. Also, a peasant usually owed their lord 20% of
their earnings. They also owed the priest or bishop 10%
of their earnings. Of course, knights could, and would
usually demand tributes for keeping them alive.
• Overall, the peasant usually retained only 10-20% of
their total work and earnings.
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MEDIEVAL SOCIETY
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lts_1HSOQhY&
In exchange for use of the land the peasant had to
• turn over a portion of what they produced
• clear forests
• build roads
• Any other work assigned by the lord
As a result they were the very definition of subsistence
farmers
MEDIEVAL SOCIETY
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Most medieval towns were farms service centres
Developed close to a castle, palace or large monastery
Most towns were surrounded by stone walls for
protection
They were crowded, dirty and rat infested places
However town people could marry who they pleased and
earn a living they chose
According to law, runaway serfs could gain their freedom
by staying in town for a year and a day without being
discovered
Skilled craftsmen were organized into cooperative
organizations called guilds
MEDIEVAL SOCIETY
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Guilds were powerful and controlled
• The price of goods
• Set standards for quality
• Decided on membership
• Decided on trainees known as apprentices
Children as young as nine or ten would begin to apprentice
They would eventually take a test to become a journeyman
and if successful would be admitted into the guild
Eventually after more practice and study they would hope
to achieve the level of master, at this point they would
open their own business and take on apprentices of their
own
TYPES OF SKILLED CRAFTSMEN IN MEDIEVAL
SOCIETY
CHALLENGES TO THE FEUDAL SYSTEM
THE BLACK DEATH
• After fist coming to Europe in the mid 1300s, outbreaks of
the plague continued for several hundred years
• This caused severe labour shortages and many feudal
estates went bankrupt
• Desperate nobles began to rent out their land or sell it to the
serfs
THE BLACK DEATH
The Black Death was one of the most
devastating pandemics in human history, peaking
in Europe between 1348 and 1350.
• It arrived in Europe as a result of trade with
seaports in the Far East
• The plague was spread by fleas on rats who lived in
urban slums and on board ships
• About one-third to one-half of the population of
Europe died about 25 million people
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8Gk1a-RMAM&
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyE8z_Ztifc&feature=related
THE BLACK DEATH
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Blackdeath2.gif
BLACK DEATH
AND THE RURAL ECONOMY
BEFORE THE BLACK DEATH
AFTER THE BLACK DEATH
•Two hundred serfs live and work
on the manor. Freemen are
sometimes hired but wages are
low
•Sixty serfs died in the plague or
left to work for higher wages
elsewhere. Freemen demand
higher wages
Expenses
•To hire 80 additional workers
per day for 300 days/year at 1
penny/ day
•80 x 300 x 1 + 24,000 pennies
Expenses
•To hire 80 additional workers
per day for 300 days/year at 3
penny/ day
•80 x 300 x 3 + 72,000 pennies
•Total expenses one year 24,000 •Total expenses one year 72,000
pennies
pennies
CHALLENGES TO THE FEUDAL SYSTEM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CNdsYyqDUs&feature=related&
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iuKR1dv9U0&
THE PEASANTS REVOLTS
• Beginning in 1337, war broke out between England and
France
• It lasted more than a century and became know as the 100
Years War
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Peasants in both countries revolted because of high rents
and taxes starting in 1381
The revolts in both countries were put down with violence
Peasants banded together to kill nobles and burn down
manor houses
CHAGING DISTRIBUTION OF
WEALTH IN MEDIEVAL SOCIETY
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With the rise of towns, the wealth structure of medieval
society began to change
Skilled craftsmen and merchants could acquire wealth and
moved up to create a new middle class
People became more focused on their material possessions
and displaying their wealth through the clothing they wore,
the furniture in their homes and the meals they served
This desire for luxury goods was one of the factors that led to
expansion outside of Europe
CHANGING DISTRIBUTION OF
WEALTH IN MEDIEVAL SOCIETY
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In order to maintain order many countries introduced
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Laws that controlled consumption or how people spent their
money. These laws often restricted what different classes of
people could wear
sumptuary laws
ARISTOCRAY
MIDDLE CLASS
LOWER CLASS
High church
officials
Merchants and
business people
Peasants
Rulers or lords of
large manors
Craftspeople
Rural labourers
Old noble families
Shopkeepers
Urban labourers
Wealthy merchants Bankers
Priests and lower
church officials
Servants
The unemployed
RELIGION IN MEDIEVAL SOCIETY
Today when a plague breaks out we turn to science,
but in the Middle Ages they thought the plague had
been sent as a punishment by God
• The worldview of most people was shaped by the
Catholic Church
• Solutions for the difficulties of famine, war and
sickness were sought through faith
• In medieval each group in the church hierarchy had
the expectation to be obedient to the group above it
and provide certain services to the group below
• One of these obligation was tithe a portion or crops
or earning given to the church
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THE HIERARCHY OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
What are the
similarities
between the
structure of
the church
and the
structure of
the feudal
system?
Pope
Archbishops
Bishops
Priests
Parishioners
RELIGION IN MEDIEVAL SOCIETY
The Middle Ages saw a boom in church building
• Historians estimate between the years 900 and
1000, more than 1500 churches were constructed
in France alone
• Bishops and citizens took great pride in their local
cathedral and there was a competition to see which
city could produce the tallest most beautiful building
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RELIGION IN MEDIEVAL SOCIETY
The deeply religious often decided to join a religious
order and devote their entire life to God
• Men become monks and entered monasteries,
women became nuns and entered convents
• There existence consisted or studying religious texts,
praying and working
• In addition they would prepare food for the order,
teach children, care for the sick and poor
• Many members of religious orders died caring for
victims of the Black Death
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RELIGION IN MEDIEVAL SOCIETY
Education during the Middle Ages was a privilege
• Monks and nuns were fortunate to be among the well
educated and as a result monasteries became great
learning centres
• One of the key jobs of religious scholars were
translating manuscripts from the ancient Greek and
Latin
• Universities eventually grew up around religious
schools
• Subjects included grammar, geometry, astronomy
and music
• Training was available in religion, law and medicine
• By the end of the 1400s there were 80 universities in
Western Europe
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RELIGION IN MEDIEVAL SOCIETY
Following the Black Death people began to take a
more critical attitude words the Church
• The Church owned 1/3 of the land and rent from
this property was significant
• In addition tithes were also collected by the church
• Many Church leaders led extravagant lifestyles
which caused resentment from the lower classes
who questioning the commitment they actually had
to spirituality
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