The Primary Sector of the Economy Agriculture

Agriculture dominated economic activity since the dawn Neolithic times

The Wheel: Transportation and Storage

Temples provided safe places for storage and trade

By 3500 BCE writing was fairly advanced

Cuneiform Letter written by a merchant c BCE

Draft Horse

The Hanseatic League c. 1300

Draining swamps in East Anglia

Open Fields Common agricultural pattern for a millennium Based on cooperative and communal system of production Gradually replaced with notions of more private property, which were influenced by production for the market

Nucleated Settlement with open fields

In times of abundant grain production, some peasants raised livestock

October Planting

The November Slaughter

February: Sitting by the Fire

July Harvest

August Grain Threshing

Women’s work often centered around the household

Women used distaffs (often much larger than the ones pictured at left) to create thread from wool Bridegrooms often gave a distaff as a symbolic present to their wife around the time of marriage The distaff was a symbol for women throughout Europe

The Miller’s Wife

Work, Guilds, & Confraternities

The Baker and the Butcher

Guidhalls, such as this one often worked in close cooperation with the Church

Confraternties organized processions, such as the Feat of Corpus Christi

Some feasts, such as Mardi Gras were disruptive and disorganized

Guild Hall Coventry

Overview Guilds in ancient Rome Guilds Merchant Craft Guilds Social and Political Functions of Guilds Confraternities & Popular Piety

Guilds in Ancient Rome The late Roman republic had various associations, collegia, that resembled medieval craft guilds These institutions endured into Imperial Rome and also into Byzantium; they dies out in the west with the collapse of Rome in the fifth century The controlled commerce and played a role in the taxation of various forms of commerce

Guilds Merchant Earliest form of guild in medieval Europe Paralleled the growth of urban independence Previously merchants had continuously traveled and were often exposed to banditry and theft As cities became more established and merchants established permanent bases of operations they established mutual aid societies Some of the earliest records demonstrate that these organizations had a strong social component that included communal consumption of alcohol

Guilds Merchant By the twelfth century dozens of English towns and cities had merchant guilds who played a large role in –Regulation of local and long distance trade –The communal government of the town

Regulation of Trade The Merchant guilds placed restrictions on –Hours for buying and selling –Cost of goods –Who could sell

Craft Guilds As the economies of Europe expanded during the thirteenth century, craft guilds proliferated in urban areas Unlike merchant guilds, which were primarily concerned with the regulation of trade, craft guilds focused on –Standardization of production processes –Limitations on who could practice a craft –Establishment of wages and working conditions for apprentices and journeymen Similar to the merchant guilds, the craft guilds established hierarchies

Craft Guilds Craft guilds recognized three levels of workers –Master – usually the male head of a family shop; to become a master an individual had to submit a masterwork to he guild for inspection and approval –Journeymen – journeymen were often unmarried and worked under several masters before application to become a master –Apprentice – young boys who worked under a master, they often started wth menial chores and gradually learned the mysteries of the craft In addition women and female servants often worked in shops but were routinely denied guild membership and privileges

Social Functions In addition to their economic functions, craft guilds performed a number of social functions –Poor relief –Establishment of chantries –Banquets and feasting –Processions –Collective relief similar to rudimentary insurance for economic catastrophe but also for medical and other emergencies

Political Functions During the thirteenth century merchant guilds dominated the political life of the communes Wealthy merchants banded together to control the councils and administrative organs of communal governance By the fourteenth century leading members of the craft guilds were agitating for more participation in civic governance; however, the leaders of the craft guilds were often excluded from the marriage networks that often linked the merchants with the aristocracy; in addition they were subject to biases against those who worked with their hands

Political Functions In the decades following the Black Death when economic conditions tended to favor the artisans, craft guilds tended to increase their agitation for political representation An important example of this agitation occurred in Florence in 1378 when the weavers of Florence participated in the Revolt of the Ciompi, literally the wool carders Participants in the Ciompi uprising included artisans from a variety of occupations that were not only kept from participation the government but were also prohibited from forming guilds The Ciompi distrusted and resented the enormous influence exercised in the government by the merchant guilds and especially the wool merchants