Urban Life, Politics, and Conflicts in the Late Middle Ages

The Urban Society

Bourgeoisie: a new social group emerged in these cities. They were not tied to a lord or participated in the feudal relations. They were merchants and bankers, and quickly became the richest citizens.

• There was also a poorer population: servants, laborers, beggars, or fugitive serfs who did the hard work.
• Many towns had a Jewish population who lived in Jewish quarters or ghettos.
• There were also Moorish quarters, where the Muslims lived.

The Economy of a Medieval City

Trade: the most important function of a city. Usually, the cities celebrated fairs, where people from other cities came to sell their products.

• Currency: in the Early Middle Ages, the Roman currency was replaced by bartering. But now, we can see gold coins again working as a means of change.
• Banking: to facilitate trade, moneychangers emerged. They also participated in moneylending, starting banking. Bankers started lending money for an interest rate. In this period also appeared bills of exchange, to pay a loan in a specific period of time.

The Western Schism

Many people believed that the wars and problems of the 14th century were caused by the sins of the Church. This led to numerous movements of reform that were considered heresy and persecuted.

• Furthermore, the Papacy was in crisis. In 1307 the seat of the Papacy moved from Rome to Avignon (France).
• In 1377 the Pope and some cardinals returned to Rome. But other cardinals in Avignon decided to vote for another Pope. To complicate this more, a third Pope was elected in Pisa. This is what we call the Western Schism when Christendom had three Popes.
• Finally, in the Council of Constance of 1417, this situation was fixed, and only one Pope was elected. But the Papacy was weakened.

Social Unrest

Economic crisis, famines, insecurity, and violence in Europe led to several revolts.

• The most famous revolt in this period is the Peasants' Revolt of 1381 in England, that event captured the Tower of London. It was finally defeated.
• In Spain, we experienced very strong anti-Jewish riots in 1391.
• All the riots and revolts were violently repressed by the monarchs and their allies to maintain the existing social order.

Crafts

Handicrafts, objects produced by hand, developed in Europe in this period.

• Craftsmen working in the same profession joined together, forming guilds. Guilds were associations that had the monopoly of a certain product and established how to sell it and its price.
• There were three types of craftsmen: the apprentices, who were learning and working only for food and accommodation; the journeymen, who knew the trade and earned a wage; and a master, who owned a shop (after passing an exam consisting of producing a masterpiece).
• The craftsmen of a product usually cluster in a certain area of the city. A lot of streets in our cities today are reminders of this.

Politics During the Middle Ages

• In the Late Middle Ages, the power of the kings grew stronger again due to multiple circumstances: the rich and powerful bourgeoisie from the cities supported the King; the kings started collecting taxes again; and their domains increased in size due to war and marriage.
• As kingdoms grew, their government became more complex. This is the beginning of the first Parliaments.
• Parliaments were advisory institutions where the most powerful attended. They were made by three estates: the clergy, the nobility, and the cities, with one vote each. Their functions were: to swear loyalty to the King, approve new taxes to finance the monarchy, and support the King.

Conflicts Between the Pope and the Emperor

During the High Middle Ages, there was a conflict between Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV (who considered himself the successor of the Roman emperors) and Pope Gregory VII, which was called the Investiture Controversy.

• In principle, it was a conflict over the appointment of bishops, but what was really in dispute was who was more powerful.
• The consequences were: Italy became divided into cities such as Venice or Florence, which governed as republics; Germany formed a federation of trading cities called the Hansa; and the powers of the Emperor and the Pope were weakened.
• Finally, this conflict was settled at the Concordat of Worms, with the Pope retaining the right to appoint bishops, but in the emperor's presence.