1 00:00:03,180 --> 00:00:26,280 So, by the 11th century, feudalism was well established in Europe. There were kings, who were the primus inter pares, and whose power was actually distributed among the clergymen, that is to say, the church, and the feudal lords, that is to say, the nobility. 2 00:00:26,280 --> 00:00:40,850 Finally, in the social structure, there were the peasants, who were the ones who worked the land and from whom both the church and the nobility obtained resources. 3 00:00:40,850 --> 00:00:52,850 And these were obtained in different types of taxes, such as the tithe, in the case of the church, and other taxes, in the case of the lords. 4 00:00:52,850 --> 00:01:00,850 And this extraction was possible through a process by which the feudal lord forced the peasant to pay. 5 00:01:01,850 --> 00:01:11,849 And in this way, that is why we say that the lords exercised extra-economic coercion over the peasants. 6 00:01:12,849 --> 00:01:18,849 So we say, extra-economic coercion was exercised over the peasants. 7 00:01:18,849 --> 00:01:32,849 So the peasants, in order to survive, feed their families and pay the taxes, developed new agricultural techniques such as crop rotation, which allowed the manor economy to increase. 8 00:01:32,849 --> 00:01:44,849 This is because this system made possible the harvest of more than one product at the same time, dividing the field in three different places. 9 00:01:44,849 --> 00:01:53,310 places. Therefore, with the existing surplus from the growth in the production, not only lords, 10 00:01:53,310 --> 00:02:01,709 but also the peasants, began to trade. At first, local goods were traded in markets of small 11 00:02:01,709 --> 00:02:11,250 villages. As trade grew, so did markets. Some developed into major trade fairs. Traders also 12 00:02:11,250 --> 00:02:19,009 gathered at convenient places for travelers such as river crossings and along highways before long 13 00:02:19,729 --> 00:02:26,689 towns developed in these locations too and therefore a new scenario where social relations 14 00:02:26,689 --> 00:02:37,830 took place appear the medieval cities so how was life in the medieval cities what what was 15 00:02:37,830 --> 00:02:46,710 different compared to the manor? Well, if we think about it, first of all, the most 16 00:02:46,710 --> 00:02:52,389 important difference was that those living in the cities would be under the 17 00:02:52,389 --> 00:02:58,349 category that we call freemen and the activities that they did in the city 18 00:02:58,349 --> 00:03:06,210 were not anymore related to field work but to trade and craft work. But just 19 00:03:06,210 --> 00:03:12,569 Just because someone was a freeman, that didn't mean that he could do whatever he wanted. 20 00:03:12,569 --> 00:03:18,930 So secondly, in fact what we know is that medieval cities were quite organized in order 21 00:03:18,930 --> 00:03:22,509 to regulate the different activities that took place there. 22 00:03:22,509 --> 00:03:27,590 For example, as towns grew in size, it was not enough just to make rules about buying 23 00:03:27,590 --> 00:03:33,389 and selling, people also needed rules about how goods were to be made. 24 00:03:33,389 --> 00:03:39,610 In many towns and cities, the merchants, traders and craft workers began to form associations 25 00:03:39,610 --> 00:03:47,780 called guilds. 26 00:03:47,780 --> 00:03:55,379 So, a guild included all the people who practiced a certain trade or craft. 27 00:03:55,379 --> 00:04:01,240 A person would first join the guild as an apprentice in order to learn the craft. 28 00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:06,520 After seven years, his work would be examined by a guild master to check if it was good 29 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:15,080 enough so that you could join the guild as a journeyman. Finally, if his work was good enough, 30 00:04:16,199 --> 00:04:23,560 after seven years, and if the person showed he was really, really good, then he would become 31 00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:28,040 a guild master, which meant that he was then allowed to open his own workshop. 32 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:33,399 The towns grew richer in the 12th and 13th centuries. They started to gain freedom 33 00:04:33,399 --> 00:04:38,360 from the king and his knowledge and to be ruled by the most important men in town who were those 34 00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:46,519 who composed the town council. In the town council these people made laws about every aspect of town 35 00:04:46,519 --> 00:04:53,560 life. Guildsmen were often important on town councils which meant that they could make sure 36 00:04:53,560 --> 00:05:02,279 that laws helped the craft people of the town to stay prosperous. So this shows us that as cities 37 00:05:02,279 --> 00:05:10,120 were emerging artisans and tradesmen began to emerge as both a physical and economic force. 38 00:05:10,120 --> 00:05:16,759 They formed guilds, associations and companies to conduct business and promote their own interest. 39 00:05:16,759 --> 00:05:25,720 These people were the original bourgeoisie and yes for the record it is pronounced bourgeoisie 40 00:05:25,720 --> 00:05:33,480 because it comes from a French word and they were a new social class that appeared during the Middle 41 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:41,639 Ages and this social class is going to be a key factor in the transformation of the medieval 42 00:05:41,639 --> 00:05:50,519 society and the change and transition into our modern world. Finally, medieval towns and cities 43 00:05:50,519 --> 00:05:57,879 were extremely crowded. The lack of sanitation or procedures for keeping the town clean 44 00:05:58,439 --> 00:06:05,720 bred disease and the overcrowded conditions meant that disease spread quickly. Yes, it was pretty 45 00:06:05,720 --> 00:06:13,399 nasty. One disease, the bubonic plague or black death, wiped out one third of Europe's population 46 00:06:13,399 --> 00:06:16,199 between 1347 and 1351. 47 00:06:17,079 --> 00:06:20,279 You'll learn more about the Black Death next class. 48 00:06:20,759 --> 00:06:21,680 See you soon then!