4.1: Cities and trade return

• History
• Middelbare school
• havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 1

AGE 4: The Time of cities and states

4.1 Cities and trade return

What you can explain /  do after this lesson

• why food production increased in the Late Middle Ages
• why trade improved in the Late Middle Ages
• why urbanisation took place in the Late Middle Ages
• why craftspeople were organised in guilds
• why the Hanseatic League was successful
• causes and effects of the Black Death

Word Duty

Three-field system: two out of every three pieces of land was used to grow crops

Urbanisation: when people from the countryside move into cities

Guild: cooperation between traders or people of the same craft

Hanseatic league: a powerful network of trading cities in Northern Europe

Black Death: a sickness, also called ‘the plague’ that swept through Europe and killed millions of people

KEY WORDS

Today, half the people in the world live in cities. In Europe this number is even higher: about 70%.

This was very different at the beginning of the Early Middle Ages. Many Roman cities had been destroyed. Europe had turned into an agricultural society. 

After the year 1000 this changed. During the Late Middle Ages, Europe recovered. International trade returned and people began to live in cities again.

How and why did this happen? 

4.1.1

Busy life in the town hall surroundings of a fictional city, as depicted on the school plaat "A city in the middle ages" by J.H. Isings, 1962

The Late Middle Ages: 

the recovery of Europe

Increased food production

People cannot live in cities if there is not enough food. After the year 1000, food production really increased. Land was used more effectively after the three-field system was introduced. To keep the land fertile, two out of every three pieces of land were used to grow crops. One piece of land lay fallow. This means that nothing was grown on it. It was left to recover naturally. The three-field system changed the world of farming: Farmers were able to produce more and a greater variety of food.

Furthermore, the invention of the heavy plough in combination with the use of horses made it possible to tear up fertile soil. Horses were much stronger than the oxen that had been used before. It allowed farmers to plough deeper and faster. Landlords and monasteries cut down forests and turned rough terrain and swamps into new land that could be used for farming as well.

4.1.2

The three-field system.

4.1.3

Horses are used for ploughing. Image from the early 14th century.

Urbanisation

Farms started to produce more food than they needed: the surplus food was sold or exchanged at markets. Many towns grew up around marketplaces. Because of growth in trade, small towns were transformed into cities and existing cities became even larger.

Farming improvements meant that more work could be done by fewer people. People from the countryside moved to towns and cities. When people from the countryside move into cities, this is called urbanisation. The complete process is shown in source 4.1.4. Between 1000 and 1200, Western Europe gradually developed from a mostly agrarian society into an agrarian society with an urban character. The food surplus caused people in the countryside to live healthier and longer. The population could grow.

4.1.4

urbanisation

By 1200, large Northern European towns such as London and Ghent had more than 30,000 or 40,000 residents. At the same time, cities such as Venice had twice that number of residents.

4.1.5

The Italian city of Genoa. 15th century drawing.

In Latin, the word for ‘city’ was urbs. This is where the word ‘urbanisation’ comes from. The word ‘city’ originated from Latin as well. In Latin civitatem or civitas was used for ‘community of citizens’.

Specialisation: Crafts and guilds

In towns, people started to trade products or specialised in a craft: they became blacksmiths, shoemakers, bakers or carpenters. Before, the local carpenter had his own land and cattle. Now, he would specialise in a craft. Craftsmen usually joined people that practised other crafts at places where they could find most work.

From the twelfth century onwards, traders and craftsmen in Northern European cities often joined together in guilds. Guilds had already existed earlier in cities in Southern Europe.

Guilds controlled who could become members and practice a craft in a town. They organised the training of new craftsmen and regulated working hours, prices and the quality of products. Members of a guild also helped each other if someone died or became ill.

4.1.6

A craftsman. What does he do? This image was made in 1524.

Bruges: a case study

By the fourteenth century, Bruges had become the most important city in North-western Europe. From the ninth century, traders had settled there to supply the people in and around the city. Bruges was part of the County of Flanders. The local counts invested a lot of money in the city’s defenses. They made sure Bruges was safe from Viking attacks (read source 4.1.7).

Because of this, even more craftsmen and traders were attracted to the city. The city became increasingly important to the local counts. They used it to defend against counts from Holland who wanted to expand their territory. Many craftsmen in Bruges specialised in the production of cloths. They produced so much cloths that wool had to be bought from England.

4.1.7

From a chronicle about the abbey in Bruges, written by J. Lelong in the 13th century.

4.1.9

Cloth is dyed to give it some colour. Image from a Flemish manuscript, made in 1482.

4.1.8

Medieval buildings, like this hospital, can still be seen in Bruges today.

The importance of cities

Due to the growth of trade, cities became richer. This meant that the landlords were able to collect more taxes from the cities. The landlord collected these taxes for his king. They were used for special events, upholding laws and to pay for the defence of the country. 

Of course, cities did not like paying high taxes. They discussed this with their landlords or bishops. In return for their financial support, they wanted a number of privileges. These were special rights, such as the permission to organise markets, store goods, build or expand city walls or receive exemption from military service. It was even better if they received a city charter. This was a special contract with city rights. City rights gave cities some degree of self-government. They were allowed to uphold and create their own laws.

4.1......

By the Town charter of (December 29) 1284 Flensburg received the Town privilege.

4.1.9

Cloth is dyed to give it some colour. Image from a Flemish manuscript, made in 1482.

4.1.8

Medieval buildings, like this hospital, can still be seen in Bruges today.

The importance of cities

In exchange for city rights, cities had to promise to support their landlords both financially and militarily. Cities were often able to pay their own armies. For both kings and their vassals, cities became a new power block. If kings and landlords were in a conflict, both parties desired the support of the cities. Cities were able to choose the side that offered them most privileges. Because of this, some cities became very powerful. Sometimes they got even more powerful than their landlords.

4.1.7

From a chronicle about the abbey in Bruges, written by J. Lelong in the 13th century.

4.1.9

Cloth is dyed to give it some colour. Image from a Flemish manuscript, made in 1482.

4.1.8

Medieval buildings, like this hospital, can still be seen in Bruges today.

City People

Living in a city was very different from living on the countryside. People who lived in cities were free. They were called burghers. Many serfs tried to escape from their manors to live in the cities. If serfs stayed in a city for more than a year, they could become burghers as well.

In the cities, there were huge differences between rich and poor people. The burghers can be divided in three groups. Merchants and masters of a guild were among the richest people. They were often part of the city council and controlled the cities. Important positions were kept in the family. Next there was the middle class, made up out of craftsmen and shopkeepers. Finally there were the common workers and beggars.

4.1.7

From a chronicle about the abbey in Bruges, written by J. Lelong in the 13th century.

4.1.9

Cloth is dyed to give it some colour. Image from a Flemish manuscript, made in 1482.

4.1.8

Medieval buildings, like this hospital, can still be seen in Bruges today.

The Hanseatic League

To improve trade over long distances, cities and merchants started to work together. In the thirteenth century, a number of German and Baltic cities joined together to cooperate in the Hanseatic League. Other cities in the Low Countries and England soon followed. The league became a powerful network of trading cities. Many Dutch cities joined the Hanseatic League. Examples include: Groningen, Nijmegen, Venlo, Arnhem, Kampen, Zwolle and Harderwijk. Most of them had easy access to the Zuiderzee. During the fourteenth and fifteenth century, Bruges grew to become the most important trading city in North-west Europe. The league placed one of its headquarters in the city. It became the meeting place for merchants from all over Europe.

4.1.10

Main trading routes of the Hanseatic League.

4.1.11

A merchant ship is about to leave the city of Riga on its way to Bruges.

20th century illustration.

Black Death

In the fourteenth century, millions of people died an early death. These people died from the Black Death. This sickness, also called ‘the plague’, swept across Europe between 1346 and 1353. It spread mainly in cities where people lacked hygiene and lived close to one another. Rich people and Jews took more care of keeping themselves clean. Therefore they often survived plague outbreaks. At the time, people called the sickness the ‘Black Death’. One of its symptoms was that it caused swellings on your body. After some time, these swellings turned black and looked like bruises.

The Black Death killed between 75 and 200 million people in Europe. In some cities, such as Paris, more than half of the population died.

It is hard to find out the exact number of deaths, because victims were not always given a proper burial. So many people died that they were often buried in one big grave. When a place was hit by the plague, between one third and a half of the people died.

At the time, no one knew what caused the disease and how it was spread. Some believed that it was a punishment from God. Others blamed the Jews for putting poison in drinking water. We now know that the disease was caused by bacteria. It was spread by fleas on rats.

4.1.12

A priest prays while corpses from plague victims are carried outside the city for burial.

Painting by Josse Lieferinxe, 1499

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