Laborares

The Towns

TOWN AND COUNTRY Town life was distinct from country life; the two were separate, though interdependent, worlds. There were many manifestations of rural life in the city: gardens, herds of livestock, even farms within the city walls. Yet townsmen saw themselves as distinct from country folk, and country folk viewed the cities with suspicion and envy.

A Steady Job Certain occupations were dishonorable, unehrlich, the Germans called them.

Having a job at all disqualified one from being noble, for the nobility did not labor for a living.

Some jobs were more prestigious than others; thus, some social mobility was gained by apprenticing your son into a profession more respected than your own.

You could behave well, accomplish much, gain wealth, but none of that elevated you in status. Similarly, one could misbehave without loss of estate, although criminal action could involve a loss of estate, for it could lead to being barred by your city and guild. 

Marriage was most important path of social mobility.

PATRICIANS The urban nobility of the Middle Ages were often called the "patriciate." You should not confuse this term with the same word as it applies to the Romans. Both refer to an urban noble class, but I don't want you thinking Romans here.

Initially very much separate from the merchant class, medieval patricians in the later middle ages did marry merchants and the two groups mingled somewhat. Having a title was still the pinnacle of the social ladder in a city, so merchants were highly motivated to arrange a match with someone in the nobility.

Political Power
Most of those on the city council were from the patriciate. In many cities, the council was legally restricted to the nobly-born, who also served as diplomats and ambassadors on behalf of their city. Social Power
They dictated fashion and conduct. They often formed clubs: those who belonged were in the patriciate; those who didn't, weren't. They were very much the minority: 2 or 3 percent.

CITIZENSHIP Those who were citizens formed perhaps half the population, though sometimes they were as little as 10 or 15 percent. The citizenry were the skilled tradesmen and the merchants, the economic lifeblood of the city.

They normally formed into guilds, so that guild membership and citizenship went hand in hand.

The citizens annually swore an oath of loyalty to the city.

They fulfilled civic duties: fire brigades, street patrol, manned the walls, city militia. Only citizens were privileged to pay taxes.

The citizens were the real caretakers of the city's prestige and reputation, ethics and the common weal.

OUTSIDERS Among those were usually were not citizens were the clergy. Though they were still privileged and prestigious members of the community. The nobility were sometimes allowed to be citizens, sometimes were required (in Italy) to be citizens, and sometimes were forbidden citizenship.

Others who were not allowed to be citizens were the Jews. They were tolerated usually, persecuted sometimes, but the Jewish communities often fulfilled necessary functions.

And then there were the unehrliche Leute, the people without honor. These included the hangman, gravediggers, and prostitutes. These were all recognized and legitimate professions, but they were socially repugnant and these people were never allowed to be citizens.

PERSONAL FREEDOM Personal freedom was vitally important to anyone who lived in a town and was widely regarded as an essential element of town life. A townsman had to be free from the obligations that bound a peasant, and must be free also from the arbitrary taxation to which a peasant was subject. A merchant, moveover, must be free to move from place to place, while a villein had no right to leave his lord's land.

CIVIC FREEDOM The city itself, as a corporation, had freedom too. The city flourished best when free from feudal lords, though some cities were ruled by bishops or barons. Even so, cities needed to manage their own legal affairs and their own fiscal affairs.

The political history of many cities in the 1100s and 1200s is dominated by their struggles with their feudal overlords, bishop or baron. The final product was often a charter of liberties that spelled out the exemptions and rights the city, and its citizens, would enjoy.

WINNING FREEDOM Cities often bought their freedom by paying their lord for a charter of liberties. Later, as the profits of urban centers became apparent, lords encouraged the founding of cities by granting privileges to some settlement whose growth he hoped to encourage. Character of the charters The charter usually stipulated that everyone living in the town would be free. A widespread custom was that anyone who lived in the town for a year and a day would become free. The Germans had a saying: Stadtluft macht frei: "city air makes one free".

Other elements of city charters might include: Landholding was to be by lease and rent, not by feudal tenure. Freedom from taxation was achieved by fixing limits to what the lord would levy. Freedom from tolls on bridges in the lord's lands; freedom from sales taxes levied by the lord on his other subjects; freedom from the lord's courts -- a burger could be tried only in the courts of his home town; right to their own merchant courts (these were commercial courts, but were sometimes given jurisdiction over low justice - often called pied-poudre, or "pied-powder", which meant "dusty-foot").

town government a provost or mayor council of aldermen sometimes the mayor was appointed by the lord, other times he was elected by the citizens

GUILDS A guild was a sworn association. That's about the only thing that can be said universally; everything after that has to have usually in front of it. So, consider everything that follows to have "typically" or "usually" qualifying the statements.

A guild was a professional association, a drinking club, a charitable society, and an economic agency. The word itself is German, but the Germans don't use it--only the English call a guild a guild; the Germans call it a Zunft.

Guilds were found everywhere in Europe in the Middle Ages, but they were most common in the cities from the twelfth century and later. The older guilds were generally more limited in character, being primarily religious or social in nature. In the towns of the central Middle Ages, however, they increasingly were organized around a trade and this is how they appear in their most common form.

Economic functions The main concern of a guild was the regulation of its trade or craft. No one not a member could sell at retail in the town. A foreign merchant had to sell to a guildsman, who would then re-sell to the citizens. In some cases foreigners were allowed to sell directly, but they had to pay a very heavy tax for the privilege. Foreign merchants were usually limited to one year's stay in the town or less - they could not set up shop permanently.

craft guilds operated on the same principal: no one not a member could manufacture goods or sell such goods within the town walls.

Diversification At first, there was just one guild; very soon, merchant guilds and craft guilds separated. There were usually only one or two merchant guilds, but many craft guilds. In Augsburg, for example, there were 17 guilds in 1350, 38 guilds by 1450, and over 60 guilds by 1550.

In certain crafts there might be a guild for every step in a process. In cloth making, for example, there were spinners, weavers, fullers, dyers, and wool merchants.

Craft Guilds Guild rules governed the price and the quality of the goods made, as well as the method of manufacture. The guild controlled how many men could enter the guild.

the career of an artisan An artisan began his career as an apprentice, at age 7 or so. He served with a master; his father signed a contract with the master and the apprentice lived in his home. There he did menial work. The master was obliged to teach him the trade - couldn't use him as a servant. The boy was usually apprenticed to a friend or to a reputable man. The guild set the length of the apprenticeship. When he was of age, the young man, knowing his trade, left the home of his master and went out into the world as a hired hand. He took with him a letter of recommendation from his apprentice master and sought work with other masters. His journeys from town to town is why he was called a journeyman.

As a journeyman he was expected to work for several masters in various towns. In this way he learned different techniques and further refined his skill. Eventually, he would choose a specific town to settle in. He applied to the local guild to be admitted as a master.

The Wanderjahre lasted around seven years, if a fellow were competent and of a good family. The normal expectation was that the journeyman would return to his home town, to become master there.

had to have letters of recommendation from the masters he had served the journeymen eventually formed their own societies, and had hostleries in various cities to house their members - like a union hall A master was a full citizen of a town, and some towns were very picky about their citizens. A master was expected to be a family man, so he had to find a wife. He was expected to be respectable, so he had to have an established business or the means with which to start one. These hurdles alone were enough to keep some men in perpetual journeyman status, forever working in another man's shop.

Beyond these requirements was the master piece. This was a finished product--a shoe, an armoire, a silver salt cellar--that demonstrated skill in the guild's craft. The applicant had guidelines he had to follow regarding materials and time taken. The masters of the guild then inspected the work and decided whether the guild would have a new master.

The guild hall By the late Middle Ages, most guilds had built or had leased a building of their own. These were primarily meeting halls, but they might also serve as storage places. Some were extremely grand, depending on the wealth of the guild.

MERCHANTS These, too, were organized into guilds. Even here, there was a world of difference between those who bought and sold locally, and those who dealt in regional or internation markets.

Local Merchants and Retailers druggists, fishmongers, peddlars of all types, dealers in second-hand goods. These typically bought locally or from local wholesalers and sold only to the town and environs.

The Great Merchants These specialized in long-distance trade and often engaged also in finance. Social functions of Guilds When a member died, his fellows would bury him and care for his widow and children. When he was sick, they would help; if he became destitute, they would help. Even if he were imprisoned, the guild might come to his aid.

They also participated as a guild in city festivals.

Cultural functions Contributed as a guild to the local churches; sponsored religious festivals, and performed charitable acts such as visiting the sick and prisoners. Wealthier guilds built chapels.

CULTURAL LIFE OF THE CITIES FESTIVALS AND OTHER RECREATION Every guild participated in the city parades, which occurred on several religious holidays throughout the year. Celebrated the founding day or the day of some great victory or the patron saint's day.

The charivari let off steam. Festival included other things like the horse races of Siena or the running of the bulls in Pamplona. Gambling and drinking were big. Every guild had its club night. Bathhouses were popular for socializing.

HIGH CULTURE The great cathedrals were here The Renaissance occurred exclusively in the cities The universities were here

THE GEMEINDENUTZ Solidarity among the citizenry Everything was for the common weal, at least officially

DOMESTIC POLITICS THE CITY COUNCIL Composed of the leading families Later of the leading guilds

MAYORS AND OTHER RULERS Sometimes elected Also could be a bishop A royal appointee, like in France or a podest…

THE URBAN REVOLTS OF THE 14TH CENTURY Ciompi revolt Augsburg's gem�tlich revolution

SUMMARY Towns became a major factor in European history in the later Middle Ages Had their own political forms and their own culture Were strongest in Germany and Italy, two countries with weak or non-existent kings