Economic+and+Cultural+Revival

Economic and Cultural Revival
 

**__Economic Expansion.__**
 There were many agricultural advances such as the invension of a heavier plow. This plow increased food production. Another advance was the expansion of trade caused by the revival of towns. The base of this advance was between western Europe with the Meditteranean, eastern Europe and Scandinavia. Trade fairs were fairs that united hundred of traders, each year, in convenient to land and water routes. The most famous fairs was at Champagne in France.During this time banks didnt evolve much because the church viewed lending with intent to charge interest as evil. People used the barter system based on trading goods without using money. During this time th first deposit bank was founded in 1407 in genoa, italy the banco di san giorgio (bank of st. george). There were pictures that had the italian bankers from Tratise on the Seven Vices. As the money economy grew, it put the feudal classes in an economic squeeze. The higer classes became dependant on the money of the banks to pay their espensses. The serfs became able to but their freedom, the feudal system declined.

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**__The growth of towns.__**
 In the AD 1000 and 1100s many towns in western Europe greww tremendously. New roads were created and water ways were improved although warfare had decline the situation was still dangerous. To protect themselves, towns had walls around them. Inside as the population grew fastly, the space didnt. Everything was close together. Towns had a lack of sanitation; a constant stench covered the city. Conditions such as this caused deadly epidemiscs such as malaria, influenza, typhoid but the worst of all, was the bubonic plague, which killed one third of the population of Europe. Durind medieval times artesans and merchants organized business asociations called guilds. The primary function of these was to mantain a local monopoly, Craft guilds were controled by masters who owned their own shops and employed less skilled artisans. For an aprentice to become a master he had to present a master piece to the guild. If it was approved he will own his own shop. Besides from business activities the guilds provided meedical help and unemployment relief. The middle class rised from a group of merchants, bankers and artisans who no longer relied on land to make a living. They were called burgesses. this middle class turned cities into organized municipalities, as the money economy spread kings began to depend on the middle class so they became the kings trusted advisers. Conflict gradually developed between the feudal class and the middle calss. To stop this, feudal lords installed strict feudal laws. Italian towns formed groups called communes. Using this political power, the power of the feudal lords ended. Kings granted this people charters, documents that gave them the right to controll their own affairs.

**__Education__**  In the middle ages most of the European population was analphabet and education was manipulated by the church. In the monasteries where they taught, students were graduated to do monastery work or to work as monastery officials. Students also learned grammar, different types of math, astronomy and music. As an effect of the growth of towns, legal institutions grew as well as the need of lawyers. In the 1150 AD, students and teachers began to gather in other places that were not churches nor monasteries, and organized places called universities. __Universities-__ At the beginning, classes were given in rented rooms. Because there weren’t much books, the teacher read the pages, discussed it, and the students had to take notes on slates. This universities had rules and schedule. __New Learning-__ Medieval learners studied Aristotle’s work, Roman laws, and Muslim writings. This students made up a new system of thought called scholasticism. This was a nonsecular doctrine that unified the church with the new discoveries.

Literature and arts increased principally by the spread of universities. Now the song were written. ===__Epics and Romances -__ The first Anglo -Saxon epic that was written down was called Beowulf. In the other side there is the French epics called chansons de geste, in english, songs of high deeds. Romances were also very famous in those time. These usually were between ladies and knights. In the South of France, there were poet musicians who traveled and made up songs that told stories of love and romances. This persons were called troubadours. Women also were involved in the developing of arts and there were some who wrote very beautifully, not only stories. but also songs and poems. __Vernacular Literature -__ Most of medieval writings were wrote in vernacular which means that this stories were told in an everyday language. This helped the society to have more understanding when reading different things. __Medieval Arts-__ The architecture of churches in the early medieval times,were called Romanesque style, which mixed Roman and Byzantine structures, which included ans principal features, thick walls, big arches, small windows and high columns. Later the French, invented a new style called gothic which included thin walls stained glass, high ceilings. Painters, in the other hand made smaller paintings that had bright colors. ===  Bibliography: World History: the Human Experience, Economic and Cultural Revival, p. 322-328
 * __Medieval Literature and Art__**