Western Civilization Notes – David Underhill

Mar 01 (301-308)

      The Expansion of Europe: Economy, Society, and Politics in the High Middle Ages, 1000-1300 (301)

  • In this period of time the balance of power shifted profoundly from Islam and Byzantium to Western Europe
  • Economy grew rapidly and per capina income increased
  • Populations grew and luxuries became affordable for some
  • Western Europe dominated long trade routes and the Mediterranean Sea
  • Living standards began to fall by 1300 and the plague set society back in the 13th century, but the dominance gained by Western Europe in these years shaped the power of the modern era

 

The First Agricultural Revolution (302)

  • Productivity greatly increased by improved climate and new investment in tools, livestock, and mills
  • Allowed Europe’s population to triple and to begin massive investments in ships, books, armies, and the arts

 

Technological Advances (302)

  • Iron-tipped plow dragged by oxen tilled much deeper than the scratch plow
    • Excellent drainage and airing and saved labor to allow more frequent plowing and better weed control
    • New collars improved oxen efficiency
      • Also allowed for horses to be used
      • Horses more prone to disease and less powerful and not edible so still less used
      • Horse use picks up after the iron horseshoe in 900 (greatly improved efficiency) and tandem harnessing (1050; allows horses to pull one behind another)
  • Iron tools became more common and were much more effective than wood tools
    • Allowed women to work in the fields too
  • Wheelbarrow and harrow (mixes tilled earth and seed behind a plow) are invented
  • Water Mills – process food; much more efficient … Windmills also became common after 1170 in flat lands
    • Only source of mechanical power until the 19th century steam engine
  • Most of these inventions had been around for some time (Carolingian era) but took until now to be widely implemented
  • Driving Force of the economy: 1) rapidly increasing population and 2) increasing efficient market for goods

 

Manorialism, Serfdom, and Agricultural Productivity (305)

  • Peasants consolidated and farmed one large land
    • Allowed for a single plow and fewer oxen
    • Increased productivity and ability to experiment as a result
    • Allowed for churches, etc to be built
  • Lords facilitated consolidation in the form of Manors and benefited most from it
    • Took large portions of crops for their own use
    • Many peasants made serfs; couldn’t leave the land or Lord without permission and often worked without pay
      • Worked without pay often
      • Had to pay fines for marrying, etc
      • Subject to Lord’s manorial court

 

      New Crop Rotation Systems (306)

  • Crops had been planted in half of a field at a time so the other half could recover
  • A system where the fields were divided into thirds was devised … big advantages:
    • Allowed multiple crops which provided insurance against natural disasters
    • Increased cultivation from 50 to 67%
    • Spread labor more evenly over the year which allowed for more attention to be paid to weeds, etc
    • The resting third could be planted with legumes or fodder to restore the soil better
  • Slowly adopted on manors as unpaid workers cared little for productivity
  • Most commonly adopted on medium sized lands worked by free peasants

 

      Serfdom and the Limits of Manorialism (307)

  • Classic manorialism practiced largely in England and a little in France and Germany
  • Lords began to have serfs pay rent in cash instead of as a percentage of the crops
    • Removed the risk of having to try to sell the crops
    • Sometimes inflation caused their money’s real value to drop greatly

 

      Transformations of the First Agricultural Revolution (307)

  • Allowed manors and even large areas to begin to specialize only in what their land best produced
  • Other crops needed to live could be traded for
  • Agriculture benefited from resulting efficiencies of scale