Towns in the High Middle Ages

Europe was fundamentally an agricultural society in the High Middle Ages (1000-1350).Powerful local lords controlled the countryside,and social and economic relationships were based on the realities of rural life;however,towns did exist during this period. One may call them towns because even though they varied enormously in numbers of inhabitants,and some were smaller than large villages in this respect,they shared certain characteristics that set them off from rural settlements.

Relatively speaking,there was a greater density of population in towns than villages,although the line separating the two is necessarily arbitrary.Relatively,too,there was a more highly developed specialization and greater diversity of labor,especially- though not exclusively-of craft labor,in urban settlements.To be called a town,a settlement with a relatively high density of population and specialization of labor also requires an economy based on money as opposed to barter (the simple exchange of goods)and one in which a sizeable proportion of income,again speaking relatively, comes from trade.The presence of a regulated periodic market (meeting every week,for example)did not define a town,for many a village had one,too.But a town without a periodic market is unthinkable for the Middle Ages,which is not the case for a village. Finally,towns were distinguished,if not fully distinct,from large villages by a concentration of diverse monumental buildings-large churches,bell towers,warehouses,permanent market halls, hospitals,town halls,and so on-although not every town had the full array of such buildings even by the end of the Middle Ages.

Some scholars would supplement the foregoing list of characteristics,for towns often had mints for making money,special legal status and modes of landholding for the inhabitants,as well as autonomous criminal and civil court systems.Because what distinguished towns from villages was not so much size as the density of economic and social activities,one writer has argued that an important criterion for a town is the existence of traffic jams-the hustle and bustle of oxcarts;long lines of wagons bringing fruits and vegetables,raw materials,and finished goods to markets;and the parade of men and women coming to shop,visit,or attend meetings.

Towns in Europe around the year 1000 were few in number and very small in size,yet by the early fourteenth century,the number and size of urban settlements had increased enormously.Central Europe, which had only the thinnest sprinkling of settlements that might be deemed urban in the year 1000,witnessed the creation of 1,500 new towns from the eleventh century up until 1250 and 1,500 more in the 50 years or so after that.The Rhine river valley,which had no more than eight towns well into the twelfth century,boasted more than 50 in the thirteenth.In southern Europe there was more continuity from earlier settlement patterns:growth came less from the creation of new towns than from the flow of immigrants to old settlements.

Most of the early eleventh-century towns were weak in relation to the lords that ruled the countryside.In the majority of cases in the north,the lords controlled or owned the towns even though they usually did not live in them.Within the towns,the agents of the lords’ authority contended with bishops and other church officials for domination.The urban commercial element was ordinarily the weakest of the three contenders for power,but the relative weight of each party would change dramatically in favor of the merchants over the course of the High Middle Ages.In southern Europe (Italy),where traditions of urban oligarchic domination (control by a small group) had not been completely erased,merchants and senior craftsmen had a stronger say in town government.But here,too,there was a three-way struggle for power among the commercial oligarchy,the church,and the lay lords,who more often than in northern Europe actually had their principal residences in the towns.The outcome of these struggles would vary from region to region over time. Throughout Italy,but particularly in the northern region,these struggles would dominate the political culture of the entire period from 1000to1350.

The phrase“this respect”in the passage refers to

Aenormous variations

Bbeing smaller

Cnumbers of inhabitants

Dshared characteristics

The word“exclusively”in the passage is closest in meaning to

Aprimarily

Bnecessarily

Csolely

Dsurprisingly

In paragraph 2,the author compares town and villages of the High Middle Ages in order to

Acriticize the traditional way of defining towns

Bcontrast the economy of towns and villages in the period with that of towns and villages as they developed in later periods

Cargue that many of the settlements called towns should more correctly be called villages

Dclarify what distinguished towns of the period from villages

The word“supplement'”in the passage is closest in meaning to

Aadd to

Breplace

Cdisagree with

Dsupport

Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage?Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information.

AA town,identifiable by its heavy traffic,could be distinguished from a village more by the density of its economic and social activities than by its size.

BEconomic and social activities such as shopping,visiting,and attending meetings were important reasons for the rise of traffic jams in towns.

CBecause towns were bigger than villages,one important criterion of a town’s growth was its ability to provide goods and services to large numbers of people.

DLarge numbers of oxcarts and wagons were needed to bring fruits,vegetables,and finished goods to town to supply the many people who came to shop,visit,or attend meetings.

It can be inferred from paragraph 4 that urban growth in southern Europe was marked by

Amore people in a greater number of towns

Bmore people in the same number of towns

Cdevelopment of new settlement patterns

Dmovement of people into newly created towns

Paragraph 4 supports which of the following statements about the pattern of urban growth in southern Europe during the High Middle Ages(1000-1350)?

ASouthern European immigrant populations shifted from new urban settlements back to older settlements.

BAlthough there was an increase in the total urban population in southern Europe,fewer new towns were created there than in Central Europe.

CMost of the new towns that appeared in southern Europe during the High Middle Ages were created late in that period.

DContinued migration of southerners into northern urban settlements resulted in fewer new towns being created in southern Europe.

According to paragraph 5,the power struggles in the north and the south of Europe during the High Middle Ages were similar in which of the following respects?

AThe amount of influence the merchants initially had on town government

BThe extent to which the struggle dominated the political culture

CThe place of residence of the ruling lords

DThe social groups competing with each other for power

Look at the four squaresthat indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage

Wealthy town merchants and others involved with commerce were also struggling for authority within the towns.

Where would the sentence best fit？Click on a square sentence to the passage.

Although Europe in the High Middle Ages was primarily an agricultural society, towns did exist, and they underwent significant development during the period.

ATypical towns differed from typical villages in having a higher population density,a greater variety and specialization of occupations,and an economy based on money rather than barter.

BSome scholars have argued that the most important defining characteristic of a town was the possession of a special legal status as well as independent criminal and civil court systems.

CIn the early part of the period,most lay lords resided in the towns they owned and controlled;but by the end of the period,most had shifted their base of power to the countryside.

DTowns varied enormously in the number of their inhabitants and were often smaller than large villages,but both towns and villages were based on the economic realities of rural life.

EDuring the period,towns in Central Europe increased tremendously in both number and size,while in the south most growth came from the expansion of older settlements.

FPower struggles developed between lay lords,church officials,and urban commercial elements,with the commercial class generally increasing its power.

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