Theme 4 The Three Orders

Following the decline and fall of the Roman Empire in the west, significant socio-economic and political transformations occurred in western Europe between the ninth and sixteenth centuries. Various Germanic groups from eastern and central Europe migrated and settled in regions that were once part of the Roman provinces, such as Italy, Spain, and France.

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In the absence of a strong, centralizing political authority like the Roman Empire, military conflict became common. The need to protect one's land and secure resources for defense was paramount. As a result, social organization became heavily centered on the **control and ownership of land**. The features of this developing social structure were influenced by a blend of surviving traditions from the Roman Empire and the customs of the incoming Germanic peoples.

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**Christianity**, which had become the official religion of the Roman Empire from the fourth century, endured the collapse of Roman political power in the west. It gradually spread further into central and northern Europe. The Church, as an institution, accumulated significant landholdings and increasingly wielded substantial political power across Europe.

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This chapter focuses on the concept of the **‘three orders’**, a model used by contemporaries and later historians to describe the main social categories in medieval western Europe: the Christian priests (those who prayed), the landowning nobles (those who fought), and the peasants (those who worked). The evolving relationships and dynamics between these three groups played a crucial role in shaping European history for several centuries.

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Modern European historians have been able to conduct detailed studies of medieval regions and even individual villages due to the availability of abundant historical sources from this period. These sources include various documents, detailed records of landownership, prices, legal cases, and Church records (like births, marriages, and deaths), which offer insights into family structures and population changes. Inscriptions in churches and oral traditions (songs, stories) also provide information about social life, trade associations, festivals, and community activities. Historians utilize these diverse materials to understand both long-term trends (like population growth) and short-term events (like peasant revolts) in economic and social life.

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French historian **Marc Bloch** (1886–1944) was a prominent scholar of feudalism. He was part of a group that argued for a broader understanding of history beyond just political events and the lives of rulers. Bloch emphasized the importance of geography in shaping human history and the need to analyze the collective behavior and attitudes of different social groups. His influential work, *Feudal Society*, provides a detailed account of social relations, hierarchies, land management, and popular culture in Europe (especially France) between 900 and 1300 CE.

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Answer:

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An Introduction To Feudalism

The term **feudalism** is used by historians to characterize the complex economic, legal, political, and social relationships that were prominent in Europe during the medieval period. The word is derived from the German term ‘feud’, meaning ‘a piece of land’. While the term specifically relates to the society that developed in medieval France, it was later applied to similar systems in England and southern Italy.

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In an **economic sense**, feudalism was based on an agricultural production system defined by the relationship between **lords** (landowners) and **peasants** (cultivators). Peasants cultivated not only their own small plots of land but also worked on the extensive lands directly owned by the lord (the manor). In exchange for the right to cultivate land and live on the lord's estate, peasants provided various **labour services** to the lord. In return, the lords were expected to provide **military protection** to the peasants. Beyond economic ties, lords held significant legal and judicial authority over the peasants living on their land.

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Thus, feudalism encompassed social and political dimensions alongside the economic ones. While its origins can be traced to practices in the late Roman Empire and during the reign of the Frankish king Charlemagne (8th-9th centuries), feudalism became an established and widespread way of life in large parts of Europe later, notably emerging more fully by the **eleventh century**.

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Glossary Terms related to Feudalism:

Term	Definition
The term ‘medieval era’	Refers to the period in European history between the fifth and the fifteenth centuries.
The term ‘feud’	Derived from the German word, means ‘a piece of land’.
Seigneur	A lord in feudal society.
Vassal	A person who receives land from a lord in exchange for loyalty and military service.
Serf	A peasant who is bound to the land and must work for the lord (unfree peasant).
Manor	The lord’s estate in feudal society.

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France And England

**Gaul**, originally a province of the Roman Empire, possessed diverse geography including coastlines, mountains, rivers, forests, and fertile plains suitable for agriculture. The **Franks**, a Germanic tribe, migrated and settled in Gaul, eventually giving their name to the region, which became known as **‘France’**. From the sixth century CE, France was ruled as a kingdom by Frankish (later French) kings.

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The Frankish kings developed strong ties with the **Catholic Church**. This relationship was further solidified in 800 CE when the Pope crowned King **Charlemagne** as the ‘Holy Roman Emperor’. This act symbolized a close alliance between the Church and the Frankish monarchy, with the Church seeking the king's military support and the king gaining legitimacy and prestige.

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Across a narrow body of water, the English Channel, lay the island of England-Scotland. In the eleventh century (1066 CE), **William, the Duke of Normandy** (a province in northern France), crossed the channel with an army and successfully conquered England, defeating the Saxon king. This event, known as the Norman Conquest, established Norman rule in England and created close political and cultural links between England and France, although it also led to frequent conflicts between the two kingdoms over territory and trade disputes in the following centuries.

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Key early historical events in France leading up to Charlemagne:

• 481: Clovis becomes king of the Franks.
• 486: Clovis begins the conquest of northern Gaul.
• 496: Clovis and the Franks convert to Christianity, forging an early link between the Frankish monarchy and the Church.
• 714: Charles Martel becomes Mayor of the Palace (a powerful administrative position).
• 751: Charles Martel's son, Pepin, deposes the last Merovingian king and establishes the Carolingian dynasty. His wars of conquest double the size of the kingdom.
• 768: Pepin is succeeded by his son, Charlemagne (Charles the Great).
• 800: Pope Leo III crowns Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor.
• From 840 onwards: Raids by Vikings from Norway impact coastal and riverine areas of France.

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The Three Orders

Within medieval European society, particularly as described by Church officials, people were perceived as belonging to one of three social categories or **‘orders’**, based on their function or work. This concept reflected a hierarchical view of society where different groups had distinct roles and relationships. As stated by a bishop, society was divided into those who prayed, those who fought, and those who worked.

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The three orders were broadly defined as:

1. The **Clergy** (those who prayed – priests, monks, nuns)
2. The **Nobility** (those who fought – lords, knights)
3. The **Peasantry** (those who worked – free peasants, serfs)

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This division was seen as necessary and divinely ordained to maintain social order, as expressed by figures like Abbess Hildegard of Bingen, who argued that distinctions among humans were essential to prevent chaos, mirroring distinctions made by God.

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The Second Order: The Nobility

The **nobility** held a central and powerful position in feudal society, often placed by priests in the second order (below the clergy). Their power and influence stemmed primarily from their **control over land**. This control was established and maintained through a system of hierarchical relationships known as **vassalage**.

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Vassalage involved reciprocal promises between individuals of different status. Kings were at the top of the feudal pyramid (though their power varied). Big landowners, the nobles, became **vassals** of the king, swearing loyalty and providing military service in exchange for land and protection. Peasants, in turn, were often vassals of the nobles who owned the land they cultivated.

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A nobleman accepting the king as his **seigneur** (senior or lord) made a mutual promise: the lord (derived from a word meaning 'one who provided bread', reflecting the lord's role in providing land/sustenance) would protect his vassal, who would be loyal and provide service, primarily military service. This relationship was formalized through elaborate **rituals** conducted in a church, involving solemn vows taken on the Bible. As part of the ceremony, the vassal would receive a symbol of the land being granted to him, such as a written charter, a staff, or even a clod of earth.

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The noble class enjoyed significant privileges:

• They had absolute and often hereditary control over their landed property (fiefs or manors).
• They could raise their own troops (feudal levies) from among their peasants and vassals.
• They held their own **courts of justice** on their estates, exercising judicial authority over their tenants.
• Some powerful lords even had the right to **coin their own money**, reflecting their considerable economic and political autonomy.

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The noble was the lord over all people living on his land. His estate, called a **manor**, included his own residence (manor-house), private fields and pastures, and the homes and fields of his tenant-peasants. The lord's private lands were cultivated by the peasants, who were also obligated to serve as foot-soldiers in battle when required, in addition to working on their own farms.

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The Manorial Estate

The **manorial estate** was the landed property controlled by a lord. It was the economic and social center of feudal life. Besides the lord's manor-house, the estate typically included villages where peasants lived. Some powerful lords controlled vast estates encompassing hundreds of villages, while smaller manors might have a dozen families. The manorial estate aimed for a high degree of **self-sufficiency**, producing most of the necessities for daily life.

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Within the manorial estate:

• Grain was cultivated in the fields.
• Skilled craftsmen like blacksmiths and carpenters often lived and worked on the estate, maintaining tools and weapons and repairing buildings.
• Stonemasons were involved in constructing and maintaining the lord's buildings and potentially other structures like churches or castles.
• Women spun thread and wove fabric, and children worked in facilities like wine-presses.
• The estate had extensive woodlands and forests, used by the lord for hunting (a privileged noble activity).
• Pasturelands supported the lord's cattle and horses.
• Many manorial estates had their own **church** and a **castle** for defense and later, also as a noble residence.

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Despite aiming for self-sufficiency, manors were not entirely isolated. Certain essential goods that could not be produced locally had to be obtained from outside, such as salt, millstones (used in grinding grain), and metalware. Lords desiring luxurious goods not available locally relied on trade to acquire items like rich furnishings, musical instruments, and ornaments.

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The Knights

From the ninth century onwards, Europe experienced frequent local warfare. The traditional armies, often composed of peasant-soldiers, were insufficient for these conflicts. There was a growing need for trained, mounted warriors (**cavalry**). This led to the rise in importance of a new specialized group: the **knights**. Knights were warriors who served the nobility and kings.

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Knights were integrated into the feudal system through vassalage. Just as nobles were vassals of the king, knights became vassals of lords. A lord granted a knight a piece of land, called a **‘fief’**, and promised to protect the knight's land and provide support. In return, the knight pledged loyalty and military service to his lord, promising to fight for him in battle.

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The fief granted to a knight could be inherited. Fiefs varied in size, ranging from 1,000 to 2,000 acres or more, and typically included a house for the knight and his family, potentially a church, establishments for his dependents, and essential facilities like a watermill and a wine-press. Like the manorial estate, the land within the fief was cultivated by peasants.

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To maintain their combat readiness, knights dedicated time daily to practice skills like fencing and tactics using dummies. A knight might hold fiefs from and owe loyalty to more than one lord, but their primary loyalty was to their immediate lord. Knights paid their lords a regular fee (sometimes in cash, but often in goods or services) in addition to their military obligations.

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From the twelfth century in France, travelling performers called **minstrels** became popular. They moved between manors, entertaining nobles with songs that recounted stories, often blending historical events with invented tales of brave kings and knights. In an age where literacy was limited and written books (manuscripts) were scarce, these bards played an important role in transmitting culture and history. Many manor-houses had a balcony (minstrels' gallery) above the main hall where minstrels performed while the people of the manor dined. Medieval poems like 'Doon de Mayence' celebrated the fierce loyalty expected of a knight towards his lord, emphasizing willingness to share any fate.

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The First Order: The Clergy

The **clergy**, those who dedicated their lives to religious service, constituted the first order in the medieval hierarchical view of society. This included priests, bishops, monks, and nuns. The **Catholic Church** was a profoundly powerful institution in medieval Europe. It possessed its own set of laws (canon law), owned vast amounts of land which were often granted by rulers and nobles, and had the authority to levy its own taxes, notably the **tithe**.

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The head of the Western Catholic Church was the **Pope**, residing in Rome. Below the Pope were the bishops and other clerics who guided the Christian population. Most villages had a local church and a priest, serving as the center of religious life where people gathered for services and prayers. Becoming a priest was not open to everyone; serfs (unfree peasants), physically challenged individuals, and women were typically excluded. Men who became priests were required to remain unmarried.

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Bishops held a high status within the clergy, often described as religious nobility. Like secular lords, bishops controlled extensive landed estates and lived in grand residences, deriving significant wealth and influence from their landholdings. The Church was entitled to receive a tithe, a tax equivalent to **one-tenth of the peasants' produce** each year. Additional wealth came from endowments and gifts made by wealthy individuals for their spiritual welfare and that of deceased relatives.

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Interestingly, some religious ceremonies and customs within the Church mirrored formal practices of the feudal lay elite. The act of kneeling in prayer, with hands clasped and head bowed, was a direct imitation of the posture a knight adopted when swearing loyalty oaths to his lord. Similarly, using the term **'lord' for God** reflected the influence of feudal terminology on religious language. These shared customs and symbols illustrate the close interaction and mutual influence between the religious and secular aspects of feudal society.

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Monks

Apart from the priests and bishops who served within communities, another significant group within the Church were **monks** and **nuns**. These were deeply religious individuals who chose to live a life of isolation and devotion, often separating themselves from lay society. They lived in religious communities called **monasteries** (for men, governed by an abbot) or **abbeys** (for women, governed by an abbess), frequently located in remote areas distant from human habitation.

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The monastic life was characterized by strict discipline and adherence to specific rules. Monks and nuns took solemn **vows** to remain within their community for life, dedicating themselves to prayer, study, and manual labor, such as farming. Unlike secular priests, the monastic life was open to both men and women, although most abbeys were single-sex communities. Like priests, monks and nuns were required to remain unmarried.

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Monasteries and abbeys, which initially might have been small communities, grew over time into large establishments housing hundreds of individuals. They acquired extensive buildings and considerable **landed estates**. Many monasteries became centers of learning, with attached schools or colleges, and also provided social services like hospitals. Monastic communities contributed significantly to the development of arts, including manuscript illumination, architecture, and music. For example, Abbess Hildegard of Bingen was a noted musician who promoted community singing in worship.

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Early monastic rules, such as those established by St Benedict in Italy in 529 CE, provided detailed guidelines for monastic life, emphasizing obedience, humility, the renunciation of private property, and a balance between manual labor and sacred reading (Box on Benedictine rules).

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From the thirteenth century, some groups of monks, known as **friars**, adopted a different approach. Unlike traditional monks who remained within their monastery walls, friars chose to travel and preach among the people, relying on charity for sustenance. However, by the fourteenth century, the purpose and value of monasticism faced increasing scrutiny and criticism, with some viewing the lives of monks as too luxurious compared to the struggles of ordinary people.

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The Church And Society

While Christianity became the dominant religion in Europe, many people retained elements of older beliefs, including folk traditions and a belief in magic. The Church strategically incorporated or adapted existing pagan festivals to integrate them into the Christian calendar. **Christmas**, celebrating Christ's birth on December 25th, replaced an earlier winter festival tied to the solar calendar. **Easter**, commemorating Christ's crucifixion and resurrection, replaced a spring festival tied to the lunar calendar, explaining why its date varies each year.

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Christianity also influenced social organization at the local level. Villages became organized into **parishes**, each under the spiritual supervision of a priest. Peasants traditionally toured their village lands during spring festivals; this custom continued under Christianity, with the village area now defined as the parish. **'Holy days'** or holidays in the Christian calendar were welcomed by overworked peasants as they provided respite from labor. Although intended for prayer, these days often included feasting and communal activities. **Pilgrimage**, journeys to shrines of martyrs or important churches, was a significant aspect of Christian devotion, with many people undertaking long journeys to visit sacred sites (Box on Chaucer's Canterbury Tales illustrates the popularity of pilgrimages).

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The Third Order: Peasants, Free And Unfree

The vast majority of the population in medieval feudal society belonged to the **peasantry**, the third order. Their labor sustained the clergy and the nobility. Peasants were broadly divided into two categories: **free peasants** and **serfs** (unfree peasants).

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Free Peasants:

• Held their farms as tenants of the lord, having some degree of personal freedom compared to serfs.
• Men were often required to provide **military service**, sometimes for a specific duration (e.g., at least forty days per year).
• Peasant families were obligated to spend certain days each week, often three or more, working on the lord's directly owned land (the manor). The output from this labor, known as **labour-rent**, went entirely to the lord.
• They could also be required to perform additional unpaid labor services, such as maintaining ditches, collecting firewood, building fences, and repairing roads and buildings on the estate.
• Women and children also contributed labor, including spinning thread, weaving cloth, making candles, and pressing grapes for the lord's use.
• Free peasants, unlike the clergy and nobility, were subject to a direct tax called **'taille'**, which kings could sometimes impose.

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Serfs (Unfree Peasants):

• Cultivated plots of land, but these plots were legally part of the lord's estate and were not owned by the serf.
• A significant portion of the produce from the serf's plot had to be given to the lord.
• Like free peasants, they were also obligated to work on the land belonging exclusively to the lord (demesne land), providing labor services.
• Serfs **received no wages** for their labor services.
• Crucially, serfs were **bound to the land**; they could not leave the lord's estate without his explicit permission.
• Lords held significant control and enjoyed monopolies over serfs. Serfs were generally obligated to use only the lord's mill to grind grain, his oven to bake bread, and his wine-presses, often having to pay fees for using these facilities.
• The lord also exercised authority over the serf's personal life, including the right to decide whom a serf could marry, or requiring payment of a fee to approve a marriage choice.

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England

Feudalism in **England** became established from the eleventh century CE, following the Norman Conquest in 1066. The country had earlier been settled by Germanic tribes, the Angles and Saxons, in the sixth century, giving rise to the name 'Angle-land' (England).

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In 1066, **William, Duke of Normandy**, invaded and conquered England, defeating the Saxon king at the Battle of Hastings. This event profoundly reshaped England's political and social structure. William I had the land surveyed and mapped (recorded in the Domesday Book) and distributed large sections of it to approximately 180 Norman nobles who had accompanied him. These nobles became the king's chief tenants-in-chief, owing him loyalty and military service. They were required to provide a specific number of knights to the king's army. In turn, these lords granted portions of their lands (fiefs) to knights who would serve them, establishing a hierarchical chain of vassalage similar to France.

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Unlike France, private warfare between lords was largely forbidden in England, strengthening the king's central authority. The Anglo-Saxon peasant population generally became tenants (free or unfree) under the various layers of Norman landholders. Disputes over territory and trade often led to conflicts between the rulers of England and France in the following centuries.

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Factors Affecting Social And Economic Relations

While the three orders structure presented a view of a stable, unchanging society, the feudal system in Europe was in fact constantly being transformed by various processes. Some of these changes were slow and subtle, while others were more rapid and dramatic. These factors influenced and were influenced by the social and economic relationships between lords, knights, and peasants.

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The Environment

From the fifth to the tenth centuries, Europe's landscape was dominated by extensive forests, limiting the land available for agriculture. Forests also provided refuge for peasants escaping oppressive lords. During this period, Europe experienced a **cold climatic spell**, characterized by severe and prolonged winters and shorter growing seasons, leading to reduced agricultural yields and making life difficult for the peasantry.

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From the **eleventh century**, Europe entered a more **warm climatic phase**. Average temperatures increased, significantly impacting agriculture. The longer growing season and less frost-hardened soil allowed for easier ploughing and increased crop yields. This period saw a notable receding of the forest line in many areas, making it possible to expand the area under cultivation by clearing woodlands and draining marshes.

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Land Use

Early medieval agricultural technology was relatively primitive. Peasants primarily used the **wooden plough**, often drawn by oxen, which could only scratch the soil surface. This made agriculture highly **labour intensive**, requiring extensive manual effort. Crop rotation methods were also inefficient, often following a two-field system where one field was planted with winter crops while the other was left fallow, leading to soil depletion and frequent famines.

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Despite these challenges and hardships, lords sought to maximize their income from the land. This led them to pressure peasants to cultivate more land, including marginal areas, and to perform more labor services than legally required. Peasants, facing oppression and demanding greater returns for their labor, often resorted to **passive resistance**, such as spending more time on their own fields or avoiding extra unpaid services. Conflicts also arose over the use of common pasture and forest lands, which peasants viewed as communal resources but lords increasingly treated as private property.

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New Agricultural Technology

From the **eleventh century** onwards, there was a period of significant **technological innovation** in agriculture in Europe, often referred to as an agricultural revolution. These changes led to increased productivity and transformed social and economic relations:

• **Improved Ploughs:** Heavy, iron-tipped ploughs with mould-boards replaced wooden ploughs. These new ploughs could dig deeper and turn the topsoil effectively, improving soil aeration and nutrient utilization.
• **Better Harnessing:** The introduction of the **shoulder-harness** for animals (instead of the less efficient neck-harness) allowed oxen and horses to exert greater pulling power, enabling the use of heavier ploughs and increasing efficiency. Iron horseshoes also improved horses' durability.
• **Increased Use of Power:** More **water-powered** and **wind-powered mills** were built for grinding grain (milling corn) and pressing grapes, reducing reliance on manual labor for these tasks.
• **Three-Field System:** A revolutionary change in land use was the shift from the two-field to the **three-field system**. Instead of dividing arable land into two fields (one cultivated, one fallow), the land was divided into three fields. Crops were rotated so that one field was planted with winter crops (wheat, rye), a second with spring crops (peas, beans, lentils for food; oats, barley for animals), and the third left fallow. Each year, the crops were rotated among the three fields. This meant that peasants could use two fields out of three each year, increasing the total cultivated area annually compared to the two-field system, and also improved soil fertility by rotating crops and using nitrogen-fixing legumes (peas, beans).

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These advancements led to a notable increase in food production per unit of land. The greater availability of food, particularly vegetable proteins from peas and beans, improved the diet and health of the average European. For cultivators, the increased productivity meant they could produce more food from smaller landholdings (the average peasant farm shrank from 100 acres to 20-30 acres). This required less labor on their own plots, freeing up time for other activities.

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However, some of the new technologies, like watermills and windmills, were expensive and required investment beyond the means of individual peasants. Lords often took the initiative in funding and setting up these facilities. Nevertheless, peasants actively adopted other innovations, such as extending cultivated land, switching to the three-field system, and establishing small forges and smithies in villages for cheaply making and repairing iron tools and horseshoes.

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From the eleventh century, the economic basis of feudalism began to change. Personal ties of dependence and loyalty (vassalage) started to weaken as **economic transactions became increasingly based on money**. Lords found it more convenient to receive rent in cash rather than labor services, and peasants increasingly sold their surplus crops for money to traders, who transported goods to towns for sale. The growing use of money led to the emergence of prices and the influence of market fluctuations; agricultural prices increased sharply in times of poor harvests.

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A Fourth Order? New Towns And Townspeople

The expansion in agriculture and the increased food production from the eleventh century fueled growth in several related areas: **population, trade, and towns**. Europe's population grew significantly, nearly doubling between 1000 and 1300. Better nutrition from increased food availability contributed to a longer average lifespan.

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Following the fall of the Roman Empire, many towns had been deserted. But from the eleventh century, as agricultural surplus could support larger non-agricultural populations, towns began to revive and grow again. Peasants with surplus produce needed places to sell their goods and buy necessary tools and items. This led to the rise of **periodic fairs** and small **marketing centers** which gradually developed into permanent towns. Towns often grew around existing centers of power or influence, such as large castles, major churches, or bishops' estates.

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Towns offered distinct advantages for peasants. They provided opportunities for **paid work** in various crafts and trades, offering an alternative to agricultural labor. Crucially, towns offered a degree of **freedom** from the direct control and obligations owed to a lord. A popular saying captured this: **"Town air makes free."** Many serfs seeking freedom would run away and seek refuge in towns. If a serf could live in a town for a year and a day without being discovered and claimed by his lord, he would gain his freedom.

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The population of towns was diverse. Many were former free peasants or escaped serfs who provided unskilled labor. Shopkeepers and merchants were integral to the urban economy. As towns grew, there was a rising demand for individuals with specialized skills, such as bankers and lawyers. The larger towns could grow significantly, some reaching populations of around 30,000. These townspeople, distinct from the traditional three orders (clergy, nobility, peasantry), could be considered to form a nascent **'fourth' order** in medieval society.

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The economic organization within towns was often centered on the **guild system**. Crafts and industries were organized into guilds, which were associations of artisans or merchants involved in the same trade. Guilds regulated the quality of products, set prices, controlled training (apprenticeship), and managed the sale of goods. The **'guild-hall'** was a central building in towns, used for ceremonial functions and where guild leaders met. Town life involved other urban roles, such as guards patrolling walls, musicians for civic events, and innkeepers for travelers.

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From the eleventh century, new trade routes with West Asia emerged, facilitated by events like the Crusades (see Theme 5). Within Europe, trade also expanded, with merchants from Scandinavia trading furs and hawks for cloth, and English traders selling tin. In France, commerce and crafts grew significantly from the twelfth century. Craftsmen, who had previously traveled between manors, increasingly settled in towns, finding it easier to produce and trade goods there. As towns and trade flourished, town merchants accumulated wealth and power, eventually rivaling the influence of the traditional nobility.

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Cathedral-Towns

Wealthy merchants and townspeople often demonstrated their piety and status by making donations to the Church, supporting the construction of impressive religious buildings. From the **twelfth century**, a wave of large-scale church building, known as the era of **Gothic cathedrals**, began in France. These magnificent churches, often belonging to monasteries, were massive undertakings that took many years to complete.

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The construction of cathedrals involved contributions from various groups – people donated labor, materials, or money. As construction progressed, the areas around the cathedrals became more populated, attracting workers and tradespeople. Once completed, cathedrals often became major centers of **pilgrimage**, drawing visitors from afar. Small towns frequently grew and developed around these impressive cathedrals.

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Cathedrals were designed with specific architectural features to enhance the religious experience. Their vast halls were intended to accommodate large congregations and ensure the priest's voice could be heard clearly. Acoustics were considered for the beautiful singing by monks or choirs. Large bells called people to prayer and could be heard over great distances. A prominent feature was the use of elaborate **stained-glass windows** (Figure 6.19 illustrates a stained-glass window).

During the day, sunlight passing through the stained glass created radiant colors inside the cathedral. After sunset, candlelight from within made the windows visible from the outside. The stained glass windows were not just decorative; they served an important educational purpose. By depicting stories and figures from the Bible visually, they allowed illiterate people to understand and learn religious narratives ("read" the Bible in pictures), as described by figures like Abbot Suger of St Denis, who also noted the high value and care taken to protect these works of art.

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The Crisis Of The Fourteenth Century

By the early **fourteenth century**, the period of economic expansion and prosperity in Europe began to face significant challenges, leading to a widespread crisis. Several interconnected factors contributed to this downturn:

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• **Climate Change:** The favorable warm climate phase of the previous centuries began to reverse. Northern Europe experienced a shift towards **bitterly cold summers** by the end of the thirteenth century. This shortened the growing season for crops by as much as a month, making it difficult to cultivate land at higher elevations. Increased storms and coastal flooding destroyed farms and reduced agricultural output, leading to decreased tax revenues for governments.
• **Agricultural Limits:** The intensive cultivation and clearance of forests and pastures for agriculture during the period of population growth (driven by the earlier warm phase) had, in some areas, led to the exhaustion of the soil's fertility despite the use of the three-field system, as conservation practices were often inadequate. The reduction in pastureland also limited the number of cattle that could be raised.
• **Population Outstripping Resources:** Continued population growth eventually surpassed the capacity of the existing agricultural system to consistently provide sufficient food, making societies more vulnerable to fluctuations in yield.
• **Famine and Disease:** The immediate result of these factors was famine. Severe famines struck Europe between **1315 and 1317**, followed by massive livestock deaths in the 1320s. Compounding the crisis was the outbreak of the deadly **bubonic plague**, the **‘Black Death’**, which arrived in Europe between **1347 and 1350**, carried by rats on trade ships. The Black Death caused catastrophic mortality, estimated to have killed **20 to 40 percent** of Europe's population. Cities, as centers of trade and population density, were hit hardest. Monasteries and convents, as enclosed communities, also suffered exceptionally high mortality rates. Subsequent smaller plague episodes in the 1360s and 1370s further reduced the population. Europe's population plummeted from 73 million in 1300 to 45 million in 1400.
• **Economic Disruption:** Trade was also affected by a severe **shortage of silver** from mines in Austria and Serbia, forcing governments to debase the currency by reducing its silver content and mixing it with cheaper metals.

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This combination of climatic change, agricultural limitations, resource scarcity, famine, and the devastating plague led to immense **social and economic dislocation**. The massive depopulation created a severe **labor shortage**. This caused significant imbalances between agriculture and manufacturing, as there were not enough people for both sectors. Prices of agricultural goods dropped due to fewer consumers, while wage rates for laborers, particularly agricultural laborers, rose sharply (by up to 250% in England after the Black Death) because the demand for labor exceeded the available supply. The surviving workforce was in a position to demand significantly higher wages and better conditions.

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Social Unrest

The economic crisis and labor shortage significantly impacted the income of the lords. Their income declined as agricultural prices fell and labor costs (wages) rose. In response, some lords attempted to reverse the trend towards money-based rents and revive the older system of demanding labor services from peasants. This attempt to re-impose feudal obligations was met with strong opposition and led to widespread **peasant revolts** across Europe in the fourteenth century, notably in Flanders (1323), France (1358), and England (1381). (Account by Giovanni Boccaccio describes the horror of the plague).

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These revolts, although brutally suppressed by the authorities, were significant. They occurred with particular intensity in regions that had experienced greater prosperity during the economic expansion, indicating that peasants were fighting to protect the gains they had made and resist a return to older, more restrictive feudal relations. Despite the severe repression, the scale and intensity of peasant opposition ensured that the lords could not fully re-impose the old feudal system. The **money economy** and the changes it brought about were too deeply entrenched to be reversed. Consequently, while the revolts were crushed, the peasants succeeded in preventing the complete reinstatement of the feudal privileges and obligations of earlier centuries.

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Key developments between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries:

• 1066: Norman Conquest of England.
• 1100s onwards: Construction of cathedrals begins in France.
• 1315–1317: Great Famine in Europe.
• 1338–1461: Hundred Years' War between England and France.
• 1347–1350: The Black Death epidemic.
• 1381: Peasant revolts in England.

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Political Changes

Alongside the social and economic transformations, significant changes occurred in the political structures of Europe. In the **fifteenth and sixteenth centuries**, European kings undertook deliberate efforts to strengthen their military power and financial resources, leading to the emergence of powerful, more centralized states. Historians often refer to the rulers of this era as **‘the new monarchs’**. Key figures included Louis XI in France, Maximilian in Austria, Henry VII in England, and Isabelle and Ferdinand in Spain.

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The New Monarchy

The **new monarchs** were characterized by a trend towards **absolutist rule**, aiming to consolidate power in the hands of the king. They began the process of organizing **standing armies** (permanent professional forces loyal to the king), establishing a **permanent bureaucracy** (royal officials to administer the realm), and implementing **national taxation** systems to secure regular revenue independent of feudal lords. In Spain and Portugal, new monarchies also played a key role in initiating overseas expansion (Age of Discovery).

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The rise of these monarchies was fundamentally linked to the social changes of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and the crisis of the fourteenth century. The weakening of the feudal system, particularly the dissolution of the strict lord-vassal ties as money became more prevalent, provided kings with opportunities to increase their direct control over their subjects, both powerful nobles and lesser individuals. Rulers moved away from relying on feudal levies (troops provided by nobles) for their armies. Instead, they raised and paid for professionally trained infantries equipped with firearms and siege artillery, directly under royal command. The firepower and organization of these royal armies often proved superior to the forces that nobles could raise, leading to the crumbling of aristocratic military resistance.

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By increasing taxation, monarchs secured the necessary revenue to fund larger, more modern armies, enabling them to defend and expand their territories and suppress internal opposition from the aristocracy. However, the process of centralizing royal authority did not occur without resistance from the nobility. Opposition often revolved around the issue of taxation and the perceived usurpation of powers traditionally held by nobles and local assemblies. Despite this resistance, including rebellions in England and struggles in France (e.g., Louis XI against powerful dukes), the monarchies gradually consolidated power.

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The nobility underwent a tactical adaptation to ensure their survival and continued influence. From being opponents, they transitioned into loyal supporters of the new regimes. Some historians view this era of royal absolutism as a modified form of feudalism, where the same class of people who had been the rulers under the feudal system (the lords/nobility) continued to dominate the political landscape by occupying permanent positions in the royal administration and military.

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However, the new monarchical regimes differed from the old feudal structure in significant ways. The king was no longer merely at the top of a feudal pyramid based on personal loyalty and dependence. He became the center of a more elaborate **courtier society** and a network of **patron-client relationships**. Even seemingly powerful monarchs required the cooperation of those who held local authority or influence. **Patronage**, often secured through the distribution of money, offices, or favors, became the primary means of ensuring this cooperation. Money, thus, became an important means by which individuals from non-aristocratic backgrounds, like merchants and bankers (who lent money to kings to pay their armies), could gain access to the court and exert influence within the state system, creating space for non-feudal elements.

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These changes in power structures significantly shaped the later histories of France and England, leading them down different political paths. In France, the power of the monarchy grew to the extent that the kings rarely convened the traditional consultative assembly, the **Estates-General** (representing the three orders), after 1614, fearing it would challenge their authority. The Estates-General was not summoned again until 1789, on the eve of the French Revolution, highlighting the extent of royal absolutism. France eventually became a republic.

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In England, the development was different. An earlier tradition of a Great Council (consulted by Anglo-Saxon kings for taxation) evolved into **Parliament**, consisting of the House of Lords (nobility and clergy) and the House of Commons (representing towns and rural areas). While English monarchs, like Charles I, attempted to rule without Parliament, conflicts over taxation and power led to civil war and eventually resulted in the establishment of a constitutional monarchy where the king's power was limited by Parliament, which had to be convened regularly. This divergence in political development after the seventeenth century contributed to France becoming a republic and England maintaining a monarchy, albeit a constitutional one.

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Answer:

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The timeline provided summarizes key dates and events:

TIMELINE: Mesopotamia and Roman Empire

• c. 7000-6000 BCE: Beginning of agriculture in the northern Mesopotamian plains.
• c. 5000 BCE: Earliest temples in southern Mesopotamia built.
• c. 3200 BCE: First writing in Mesopotamia.
• c. 3000 BCE: Uruk develops into a huge city, increasing use of bronze tools.
• c. 2700-2500 BCE: Early kings, including, possibly, the legendary ruler Gilgamesh.
• c. 2600 BCE: Development of the cuneiform script.
• c. 2400 BCE: Replacement of Sumerian by Akkadian.
• 2370 BCE: Sargon, king of Akkad.
• c. 2000 BCE: Spread of cuneiform writing to Syria, Turkey and Egypt; Mari and Babylon emerge as important urban centres.
• c. 1800 BCE: Mathematical texts composed; Sumerian no longer spoken.
• c. 1100 BCE: Establishment of the Assyrian kingdom.
• c. 1000 BCE: Use of iron.
• 720-610 BCE: Assyrian empire.
• 668-627 BCE: Rule of Assurbanipal.
• 509 BCE - 27 BCE: Roman Republic period.
• 331 BCE: Alexander conquers Babylon.
• 27 BCE: ‘Principate’ founded by Octavian (Augustus), first Roman emperor.
• c. 1st century CE: Akkadian and cuneiform remain in use.
• c. 24-79 CE: Life of the Elder Pliny; dies in the volcanic eruption of Vesuvius (burying Pompeii).
• 66-70 CE: The great Jewish revolt and capture of Jerusalem by Roman forces.
• 79 CE: Colosseum built in Rome.
• c. 115 CE: Greatest extent of the Roman Empire, following Trajan’s conquests in the East (territory later abandoned).
• 212 CE: All free inhabitants of the Roman empire granted citizenship.
• 224 CE: New dynasty founded in Iran, the Sasanians.
• 230s CE onwards: Third-Century Crisis of the Roman Empire begins.
• 241-272 CE: Reign of Shapur I in Iran.
• 250s CE: Persians invade Roman territories west of the Euphrates.
• 253-268 CE: Reign of Gallienus; reorganisation of the Roman army, exclusion of senators from military command.
• 258 CE: Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, executed (part of persecution of Christians).
• 273 CE: Caravan city of Palmyra destroyed by Romans.
• 284-305 CE: Reign of Diocletian; reorganisation of the Roman empire into 100 provinces.
• 284-305 CE (the ‘Tetrarchy’): Diocletian main ruler.
• c. 310 CE: Constantine issues new gold coinage (the ‘solidus’).
• 312 CE: Constantine converts to Christianity.
• 312-337 CE: Reign of Constantine.
• 324 CE: Constantine becomes sole ruler of Roman empire; founds city of Constantinople.
• 309-379 CE: Reign of Shapur II in Iran.
• 354-430 CE: Life of Augustine, bishop of Hippo.
• 378 CE: Goths defeat Roman armies at Adrianople.
• 391 CE: Destruction of the Serapeum (temple of Serapis) at Alexandria (part of Christianization process).
• 398 CE: Law referring to branding runaway workers.
• 408-450 CE: Reign of Theodosius II (compiler of the famous ‘Theodosian Code’).
• 410 CE: Sack of Rome by the Visigoths.
• 425 CE onwards: Shift in olive oil production dominance from North Africa to the East.
• 428 CE: Vandals capture Roman Africa.
• 434-453 CE: Empire of Attila the Hun.
• 490-518 CE: Reign of Anastasius, who built the eastern frontier city of Dara.
• 493 CE: Ostrogoths establish kingdom in Italy.
• 527-565 CE: Reign of Justinian.
• 531-579 CE: Reign of Khusro I in Iran.
• 533 CE: Justinian’s forces recapture Africa from the Vandals.
• 541-570 CE: Outbreaks of bubonic plague affect the Mediterranean.
• 568 CE: Lombards invade Italy.
• c. 570 CE: Birth of Muhammad.
• 610-641 CE: Reign of Heraclius.
• 614-619 CE: Persian ruler Khusro II invades and occupies eastern Roman territories.
• 620s CE: Byzantium recovers eastern provinces.
• 622 CE: Muhammad and companions leave Mecca for Medina (Hejira).
• 633-642 CE: First and crucial phase of the Arab conquests; Muslim armies take Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Iraq and parts of Iran.
• 661-750 CE: Umayyad dynasty in Syria.
• 698 CE: Arabs capture Carthage.
• 711 CE: Arab invasion of Spain.

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