Culture of the High Middle Ages

Chartres Cathedral Symbolizes the Age of Faith

The builders rarely saw the completed Cathedral

River Valleys in Western Europe were good for farming

• Dramatic changes occurred in the way peasants worked the land

• Soil was rich & deep but required a heavier plow

• Peasants were better fed since better harvests produced more food

Innovations increased food production

• Heavier plow needed for the rich deep soil of the Western River Valley area

Heavy plow being used withan oxen

Innovations increased food production

• Horse collar• Twice as much land could be plowed in a day

using a horse rather than oxen

The horse played a vital role

Innovations increased food production

• Three Field System• More land is available for

planting increasing the production of food

• Peasants have a healthier diet and a longer life span

• One field will lay fallow or not planted

• Fallow field allows the ground to retain and renew its nutrients

Environment Changed

• In England, France and Germany forests were cleared to provide more land for farming

• Peasants built huge seawalls to drain more land for farming

• Building of towns

Results of the increase in food production in Western Europe

• A surplus of food to trade• An increase in the population• The rise of towns • Decline in feudalism

Medieval Walled Towns

The town was called a burgh.The town dwellers were know as burghers

Bourgeoisie – French for Middle Class

Jews and the Middle Ages

• Jews were not allowed to own land• They were usually segregated in the city but were

required to help defend the walls in their area during an attack

Symbol designatingthe women is Jewish

The Church prohibits usury – the charging of interest

• The Church insisted that merchants and craftsmen charge a just price – a reasonable profit

• The church believed a large profit was sinful

• Literate Jews became moneylenders or early bankers

• They were active in long-distance trade

• Many myths developed about Jews causing them to be attacked & abused

Persecution of the Jews

Jews were survivors and their dietary laws often kept them from getting ill.Unfortunately, they often became the scapegoat and were accused of starting plagues and causing other disasters which led to their persecution.

The Town Cathedral

• The Cathedral was the most important building in a Medieval town.

• Pilgrims visited the Cathedral to honor relics

• Relics – items believed to belong to Jesus or the saints

Reliquary of St. Stephen

Reliquaries house the relics

Reliquary of St. Catherine

Medieval Fairs - Chartres• Peasants came to sell their goods to the towns people

during the local fairs.• The great fairs provided customers with goods such

as cloth, fur, iron, dyes, honey, oil, butter, fruit, wine, etc. Some goods were from far away places.

• No longer was everything produced on the manor• Fairs also provide entertainment.

Guilds

• An association of people who worked in the same occupation.

• Merchants formed the first guilds

• Merchant guilds controlled all the trade in a town

Medieval Guild Halls

• Guild members erected guild halls where they met to make rules and arrange the details of their businesses

• Members of the merchant guild controlled all the trade in their town.

• Example: Only a member of the local merchants guild could sell Flemish wool in their town

Merchant Guilds, such as the Hanseatic League also controlled

towns & trade routes

Craft Guilds

• Skilled artisans also banned together to create craft guilds

• Both husbands and wives worked in the family business

• Craft guilds also trained new workers

Since most people couldnot read, craftsmen usedsigns to advertise theirspecialty

Baker Barber

Cobbler - Shoemaker Tailor

How the Guild functions• Each guild had their own standards of

quality dealing with the size, weight, and price of an item

• Guild members who sold substandard goods could be punished by the guild

• Each guild had a monopoly or exclusive control of their product

Bakers Baptism for selling underweight bread

Neck violin for feuding women

The Church insists on Just Price

• Guilds fixed the price on everything they sold

• There was no competition between guild members

• The “just price” of an item was based on the cost of labor and materials plus a reasonable profit

• The Church viewed making a large profit as a sin.

Guild benefits for the Master Craftsman

• Dues functioned as an insurance policy

• Funeral expenses were paid

• Support of the family continued

• Social organization• Political leaders of the

town

Training new workers

• Apprentice – person learning a craft, who also lives with the master craftsman.

• Parents usually paid a fee to the master to train their child

• An apprenticeship lasted for 3 to 12 years, without pay except for room and board

• Apprentices were not rapidly promoted

Journeyman

• After the period of apprenticeship you became a journeyman

• A journeyman is paid a daily wage• A journeyman can become a master if

his “masterpiece” meets guild standards

• If accepted, he can train apprentices, hire journeyman, and open a shop

• As time went on, it became increasingly difficult to become a master.

Growth of Towns

• A serf was considered free if they lived in a town for a year and a day

• “Town air makes you free”• Feudal lords ruthlessly taxed

towns on their lands• Nobles charged fees for

everything – fairs, using bridges, holding courts of law

Towns gain independence

• Burghers worked together to free themselves from the lord or bishop on whose land the town stood

• Sometimes the fought for their independence

• They also bought their independence since burghers had cash

• They received a charter with the lord’s seal which listed the towns special privileges and tax exemptions

Medieval Walled Towns

By 1200, towns were growing in population and gaining liberties. Towns were independent of the feudal system.

Medieval University• The new educational

institution that developed during this period

• Most students came from the Middle Class

• Classes were held in rented rooms

• Books were handwritten and expensive

• Women could not attend the University

Notice how small the students are portrayed

Medieval students after a drinking binge

Universities

Language of the educated and the commoners

• Latin continued to be the language of the educated

• Latin was also used in law and by the church

• Vernacular is the term used to describe the common language of the people

Scholars rediscover Greek writings

• Revival of learning made Europeans more interested in the works of ancient scholars

• Growth of trade brought Europeans into contact with Muslims and Byzantines who still had access to the ancient authors

Aristotle

The problem with the ancient writings

• Greeks were pagans• Their knowledge was

based on human reason rather than the Bible

• Could Aristotle’s logical approach to truth be used and still keep faith with the Bible?

• Scholar, Thomas Aquinas found there was no conflict between faith and reason

Thomas Aquinas, author ofSumma Theologiae (21 volumes)

He was a Dominican monkwho taught at the University of Paris

Chansons de geste (songs of deeds)show how ideals of noble society were

changing• Heroic poems sung to a lute

in the vernacular or common spoken language

• Song of Roland in France• King Arthur and the Knights

of the Round Table• Tristan and Isolde• Beowulf

Beowulf

Chivalry – the Knights code of behavior

• Cheval & Chevalier – horse & horse riding lord

• Knight must fight bravely in defense of:– His earthly lord– His heavenly lord– His chosen lady

• He should aid the poor and defend the weak

Steps to Knighthood• Page – age 7 to 14

– Sent to another castle– Waited on hosts while

learning manners and playing at being a Knight

• Squire – 14 – 24 or so– A Knights assistant– Cared for horse & armor

• Knighting– A solemn ceremony

French page14th century

A knight and his squire

A night of solemn vigil before becoming a knight

Tournamentsmock battles for glory

14th Century armor

The idea of romantic love arose

• Under the code of chivalry, a knights duty to his lady became as important as his duty to his lord

• Poet singers, called troubadours sang praises of noble ladies and the knights who loved them

• These wandering minstrels even carried their songs to court

Eleanor of Aquitaine 1122-1204

The most celebrated women of the age• Troubadours flocked to her court

in the French duchy of Aquitaine• While Queen of France she went

on a Crusade with her husband Louis VII

• She becomes queen of England when she later marries Henry Plantagenet who become Henry II king of England

• She was the mother of two English kings, Richard I the lion-hearted and John I

Women’s roles change during the High Middle Ages

• In the Early Middle Ages many Queens participated in ruling their kingdoms

• In the Late Middle Ages Queens did not play a large role in ruling kingdoms

• During the High Middle Ages the role of women was limited to the home and convent

• The idea of romantic love placed women on a pedestal

Tapestry – The Quest for the Holy Grail

Marriage in the High Middle Ages

• Girls from noble families usually married around age 16 to men in their 30’s – 50’s

• Young men could not marry until had property of their own

• Girls had little choice of a husband

• Women had their greatest power and independence while their husbands were away fighting.

15th century clothing of the nobility