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THEMES IN WORLD HISTORY

THEME-6

THE THREE ORDERS

PART-5

THE FOURTH ORDER-TOWNS & TOWN’S PEOPLE

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CONTENT

  1. EXPANSION OF AGRICULTURE
    1. INCREASE IN POPULATION
    2. INCREASE IN TRADE
    3. GROWING NUMBERS OF TOWNS
  2. RISE OF TOWNS
  3. CATHEDRAL TOWNS

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EXPANSION OF AGRICULTURE

  • Expansion of Agriculture led to following changes:
  • Increased availability of food
  • More protein intake
  • Better food meant a longer lifespan
  • Europeans could expect to live 10 years longer than before
  • Women and girls had shorter lifespan compared to the men because latter ate better food.

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EXPANSION OF AGRICULTURE

  • Expansion of Agriculture led to :
  • Population increase
  • Increase in trade
  • Growing numbers of Towns

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EXPANSION OF AGRICULTURE - INCREASE IN POPULATION OF EUROPE

YEAR (AD)

POPULATION (in MILLION)

1000

42

1200

62

1300

73

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EXPANSION OF AGRICULTURE –� RISE OF THE TOWNS

  • Surplus agricultural production required to be sold
  • This led to:
    1. Development of selling centers
    2. Development of the markets
    3. Buying tools and clothes
    4. Growth of the periodic fairs
    5. Gradually developed town like features such as
    6. A town square, a church roads where the merchants built shops and homes
    7. Towns also grew around large castles, bishops’ estates, or large churches.
  • People paid a tax to the Lords who owned the land on which the town stood.

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RISE OF THE TOWNS – �TOWN AIR MAKES FREE

  • Many serfs craving to be free ran away and hid in the towns.
  • If a serf could stay for one year and one day without his Lord discovering him, he would become free man.

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  • The bigger towns had populations of about 30000,they could be said to have formed a Fourth Order.

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RISE OF THE TOWNS – �ECONOMY OF THE TOWN

  • GUILD :
    • The basis of economic organization
    • Each craft of the industry was organized into a Guild
    • It ensured ;
      1. Quality of the product
      2. Price of the Product
      3. Sale of the Product
  • GUILD HALL :
    • Every town has a Guild Hall where the Heads of all the Guilds meet.
    • Every Guild Hall includes;
    • Guards to provide security
    • Musicians to entertain
    • Innkeepers to look after Travellers

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RISE OF THE TOWNS – �DUE TO TRADE AND MERCHANTS

  • By the eleventh century;
    •  New trade routes with West Asia
      • Silk Route
    • Scandinavian merchants
      • Sailing south from the north sea to exchange furs and hunting- hawks for clothes.
    • English traders came to sell tin
    • In France also, commerce and crafts began to grow.
    • Towns grew in population and trade continued to expand
    • Town merchants became rich and powerful and rivalled the power of the Nobility.

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CATHEDRAL - TOWNS

  • Large churches were called cathedrals.
  • Rich merchants gave a lot of donations to the churches.
  • These churches belonged to Monasteries.

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  • Construction of the Cathedrals:
    • Different groups of the people contributed to their construction with their own Labour, Money and Materials.
    • Cathedrals were built of stones, and took many years to complete.

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DESIGN OF THE CATHEDRAL

  • The Priest’s voice could be heard clearly within the hall.
  • The singings by Monks could be beautiful. 
  • The Cathedral includes;
    • Chiming bells to call the people for prayer.
    • Stained glass windows;
      • Paintings were done on the windows which narrated the stories of the Bible through pictures.
      • During the day the sunlight would make the pictures radiant.
      • After the sunset the light of candles would make them visible to people outside.

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