The city of the XXI century - what is it like? It is a corporation endowed with the status of a legal personality, with rights and freedoms, it is a political entity, usually governed by a mayor or city governor and an elected council, it is an economic unit that provides itself with everything it needs and controls trade, it is an institution for ensuring social welfare. Of course, all this was not formed from scratch. And just the medieval city became the foundation for the emergence of democratic foundations of life and it was he who was an indicator of the level of development achieved by society during that period.
Theories of the origin of cities
In the period from the 1st century. BC. to IV-V centuries. AD, that is, before the fall of the Western Roman Empire, it consisted of thousands of cities. Why is there a need for their "reformation"? As Berman emphasized, the cities that existed in Europe before the 11th century lacked two main features western city modern times: there was no middle class and no municipal organization. Indeed, the cities of the Roman Empire were a kind of administrative posts central government, and, for example, cities Ancient Greece on the contrary, they were self-sufficient independent republics. In relation to the new European cities, neither one nor the other can be said, they were a new phenomenon of the time. Of course, not all cities quickly fell into decay after the fall of the Empire. In southern Italy, where Byzantine influence was strong, cities such as Syracuse, Naples, Palermo survived; seaports outside Southern Italy - Venice, the cities of the Mediterranean coast of the future Spain and France, as well as the large cities of London, Cologne, Milan, Rome.
So, at the end of the 11th and 12th centuries, thousands of new cities appeared in different parts Europe - in Northern Italy, France, Normandy, England, German principalities, Castile and other territories. Of course, before that time there were various cities, but among them there was nothing exactly like the new ones, which differed not only in their large size and a large number of inhabitants, but also in their clearly expressed social and economic character and relatively clearly expressed political and legal character. ...
Various factors contributed to the rise of new cities: economic, social, political, religious, legal. Let's consider them in more detail.
Economic forces. English researcher Harold J. Berman notes that the emergence of a European city of modern times in Europe in the XI-XII centuries. associated primarily with the revival of trade. He emphasized the fact that in the XI century. the market, usually located on the outskirts of the castle, or episcopal palace, began to swallow up the main territory, which became the nucleus of the new city. In addition, it must be taken into account that another necessary prerequisite for the supply of cities with raw materials and food was the growth of the well-being of the rural population, and, consequently, the growth of the class of craftsmen and artisans. The importance of economic factors was also emphasized by Jacques Le Goff: "One function prevailed, revitalizing old cities and creating new ones - the economic function ... The city became a hotbed of what was so hated by the feudal lords: shameful economic activity."
Social factors. This period of time was accompanied by active social movements both horizontally and vertically. Let us turn again to Berman's words: "new opportunities were constantly created ... to climb from one class to another ... apprentices became craftsmen, successful artisans became entrepreneurs, new people made fortunes in trade and providing loans." You can also note the fact that from the XI-XII centuries. in the cities of Northern Europe, slavery was almost absent.
Political factors. A distinctive feature was that in new cities, the townspeople usually received the right and duty to carry weapons and were subject to conscription to protect the city, that is, these cities in the military plan were much more effective than castles. In addition to military support, city dwellers paid tolls, market taxes and rents to rulers, and supplied manufactured goods. Which soon led to the need for minting coins, both in the interests of the ruling parties, and in the interests of the new industrial estates. It should be noted that these political incentives for the founding of cities existed before, but by the 11th-12th centuries the political conditions for their implementation became more favorable.
In order to most fully and accurately identify the reasons for the emergence of new cities, in order to explain the process of their development, it is necessary to take into account religious and legal factors. The new cities were religious associations in the sense that each of them held on to religious observances, oaths, and values. But the “new city” should not be confused with a church association. Quite the opposite, they can be considered the first secular cities to be completely separated from the church. In addition, the new European cities were based on a common legal consciousness, on certain legal principles.
In practice, the founding of the city mainly took place by granting it a charter, that is, as a result of a legal act, the legal content of which still included religious motives (vows to abide by city laws). Of course, it is impossible to imagine the occurrence European cities without the system of city law, city legal consciousness, which provided the basis, the foundation for corporate unity and organic development.
Consider the main theories of the emergence of medieval cities.
In the XIX and in the first half of the XX century. most researchers focused on the institutional and legal solutions to the problem, i.e. studied city law, various city institutions. These theories are called institutional and legal.
Romanistic theory. The creators of this theory were the French scientists Guizot and Thierry. They believed that the medieval city was not a product or phenomenon of feudalization processes and considered it as the successor of the ancient city, the city of the Roman Empire. Hence the name of the theory - romanized.
German and English scientists on the material of North-Western and Central Europe, i.e. Europe not romanized, the genesis of the medieval city was sought in the processes of feudal society itself, and above all in the institutional and legal fields.
Patrimony theory of the origin of the medieval city. She connects the genesis of the city with the fiefdom. Its bright representative in the German historical science was K. Lamprecht. He explained the emergence of cities as the result of the growth of production and the division of labor in the patrimonial economy, on the basis of which surpluses were created, which made possible the exchange that gave rise to cities.
Mark theory was also created by the German scientist G.L. Maurer, according to which the genesis of the city was associated with the concept of "free rural community - a mark" inherent in German feudalism, and the medieval city itself was only a further development of the village organization.
Burgov theory (from the word burg - fortress). Its creators (Keithgen, Matland) explained the emergence of a feudal city around the fortress, in which life was governed by the Burghian law.
The creators of the market theory (Schroeder, Zom) took the city out of trading places or townships, in areas of lively trade - fairs, at the intersection of trade routes, on the river, along the sea coast.
The creators of these theories and concepts took some separate moment or aspect in the history of the city and tried to explain through it such a complex, contradictory phenomenon as a medieval city. All these theories, of course, suffered from one-sidedness, which was felt by the researchers themselves. Therefore, already in the XIX and especially in the first half of the XX century. scientists who studied the history of the western medieval city, combined, synthesized different concepts of its origin. For example, the German historian Ritschel tried to combine the bourgeois and market theories. But even in the process of combining these concepts and theories, it was still not possible to eliminate the one-sidedness in explaining the genesis of the medieval city.
English researcher Harold Berman talks about an attempt to introduce an economic factor into the concept of the city's emergence - interregional and intercontinental trade. At the same time, it points to the huge role of the medieval merchants. This theory is called the trading concept, or trading theory. But this theory was not accepted by many researchers of the city and historians of the Middle Ages.
Modern urban theories, which will be discussed below, suffer from the same shortcomings that were inherent in the theories of the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries. - none of them can explain the genesis of the city in its entirety. One of these theories is the currently widespread archaeological theory. Researchers developing this theory (F. Hansgoff, Planitz, E. Annen, F. Vercauteren) are engaged in the archeology of medieval cities. Archeology makes it possible to get an idea of the economy of the city, its character, the degree of development of handicrafts, internal and foreign trade... Thus, G. Planitz traces the process of the emergence of the city of Germany from Roman times to the formation of a guild structure here. E. Annen made a major contribution to the development of medieval urbanism. She studied a wide range of issues: the social structure of the city, its law, topography, economic life, the relationship between cities and the state, townspeople and the seigneur. The European city, in her opinion, is a constantly changing phenomenon, a dynamic element in the rather static society of the Middle Ages. But this research method is also one-sided.
Thus, in the study of the genesis of the medieval city, foreign historiography strengthens the importance of economic factors. With all the numerous theories of the origin of the city, none of them, taken separately, is able to explain this phenomenon completely. Apparently, one should take into account the entire set of social, economic, political, religious, socio-cultural factors in the emergence of a medieval city. As numerous theories of the genesis of the city were, the specific historical paths its occurrence.
Of course, all these cities that appeared on the map of Europe arose and developed in different time and under the influence of various factors. But it is still possible to single out general models, taking into account which the following groups can be distinguished:
Episcopal cities: Cambrai, Beauvais, Lan, Lorrie, Montauban (Picardy / France /) gained freedom as a result of the struggle against the power of the emperor and his bishops, which led to the founding of an urban community, a “commune”. For example, the city of Beauvais in the XII century received a charter that provided great powers of self-government and broad privileges of citizens (bourgeois) after four decades of acute conflict between the bourgeois and the bishops.
Norman cities: Verneuil and others (Normandy) in terms of freedoms, laws, government was very similar to the cities of France. The classic example is the city of Verneuil, which received a charter from 1100-1135. Duke Henry I of Normandy and King of England.
Anglo-Saxon cities: London, Ipswich (England) received their status in the last third of the 11th century, after the Norman conquest. Almost immediately after this, William gave London a charter (Charter of Henry I of 1129), which served as an example, a model for cities such as Norwich, Lincoln, Northampton, etc. English cities did not achieve such independence from the king and princes as other areas of Europe.
Italian cities: Milan, Pisa, Bologna (Italy) were originally formed as independent, self-governing communities, communes, communities, corporations. The 10th century is characterized by the rapid growth of Italian cities, but the same words cannot be said about their own organic development. Their new history began in 1057 with the struggle of the popular movement, led by supporters of the papal reform, against the aristocracy in the person of the higher clergy, headed by the imperial bishop, and ended with the expulsion of the latter. The cities received charters, and a system of city self-government began to take shape.
Flemish cities: Saint-Omer, Bruges, Ghent (Flanders) were the advanced industrial regions of Europe (textile industry), most of them achieved communal status peacefully, having received a charter as an encouragement from the count. The model for later charters was the Charter of Saint Omer, bestowed by William in 1127.
"Burg" cities: Cologne, Freiburg, Lubeck, Magdeburg (Germany). Let's consider them in more detail. In the 10th and early 11th centuries, Cologne made its transition from a “Roman” city to a city in a new European sense. First, a suburb was annexed to its territory, then markets, duties, and a mint were established there. In addition, after the uprising of 1106, Cologne received an independent city government, a system of city rights was established, that is, political and government power was severely limited, nevertheless, the Archbishop of Cologne remained an important figure in the life of the city. Municipal government of Cologne in the XII century. was completely patrician. In practice, the power of the aristocracy and personally of the archbishop himself was subordinated to the power of the assessors' guilds, burgomasters and parish magistrates.
The history of the formation of other German cities is unusual. For example, in 1120, the city of Freiburg was founded by Duke Konrad Zeringen on a vacant lot adjacent to one of his castles. Initially, its population consisted of merchants, then artisans, aristocracy, bishops and other classes appeared. In 1143, Count Adolphus of Holstein invited the inhabitants of Westphalia, Flanders and Frisia to settle in the Baltic, where the city of Lubeck was founded. Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, capturing Lubeck in 1181, bestowed a charter on him. And by the middle of the XIV century. Lubeck became the richest city in the north.
A special place in the history of the formation of medieval European cities belongs to the city of Magdeburg. By the beginning of the 1100s. Magdeburg created its own administrative and legal institutions and developed its own civic consciousness. Seven years later, the first written legislation of Magdeburg was published and, improved and partly corrected, spread to more than eight dozen new cities. This group of cities in Germany will be the basis for the characterization of medieval city law.
General history [Civilization. Modern concepts. Facts, events] Dmitrieva Olga Vladimirovna
The emergence and development of cities in medieval Europe
A qualitatively new stage in the development of feudal Europe - the period of the developed Middle Ages - is primarily associated with the emergence of cities, which had a tremendous transformative impact on all aspects of the economic, political and cultural life of society.
In the early Middle Ages, ancient cities fell into decay, life continued to glow in them, but they did not play the role of former commercial and industrial centers, remaining as administrative centers or simply fortified places - burgs. The preservation of the role of Roman cities can be said mainly for Southern Europe, while in the north there were few of them even in the period of late antiquity (they were mainly fortified Roman camps). In the early Middle Ages, the population was mainly concentrated in rural areas, the economy was of an agrarian, moreover, natural character. The farm was designed for the consumption of everything produced within the fiefdom and was not connected with the market. Trade ties were predominantly interregional and international and were generated by the natural specialization of various natural and geographical regions: there was an exchange of metals, minerals, salt, wines, luxury goods imported from the East.
However, already in the XI century. the revitalization of old urban centers and the emergence of new ones became a noticeable phenomenon. It was based on deep economic processes, first of all - development Agriculture... In the X-XI centuries. agriculture has reached high level within the framework of the feudal fiefdom: the double-field spread, the production of grain and industrial crops increased, horticulture, viticulture, horticulture, and animal husbandry developed. As a result, both in the domain and in the peasant economy there was a surplus of agricultural products that could be exchanged for handicraft products - prerequisites were created for the separation of handicrafts from agriculture.
The skills of rural artisans - blacksmiths, potters, carpenters, weavers, shoemakers, coopers - also improved, their specialization progressed, as a result of which they were less and less engaged in agriculture, working to order for neighbors, exchanging their products, and finally trying to sell them in wider countries. scales. Such opportunities were provided at fairs that emerged as a result of interregional trade, in markets that arose in places of congestion - at the walls of fortified burgs, royal and episcopal residences, monasteries, at crossings and bridges, etc. Rural artisans began to move to such places. The outflow of the population from the countryside was also facilitated by the growth of feudal exploitation.
Secular and spiritual lords were interested in the emergence of urban settlements on their lands, since prosperous craft centers gave the feudal lords significant profits. They encouraged dependent peasants to flee from their feudal lords to the cities, guaranteeing their freedom. Later, this right was assigned to the city corporations themselves; in the Middle Ages, the principle “the city air makes free” was formed.
The specific historical circumstances of the emergence of certain cities could be different: in the former Roman provinces, medieval settlements were revived on the foundations of ancient cities or not far from them (most of the Italian and southern French cities, London, York, Gloucester - in England; Augsburg, Strasbourg - in Germany and northern France). Lyon, Reims, Tours, Munster gravitated towards the episcopal residences. Bonn, Basel, Amiens, Ghent appeared at the markets in front of the castles; at the fairs - Lille, Messina, Douai; next to the seaports - Venice, Genoa, Palermo, Bristol, Portsmouth, etc. Often toponymy indicates the origin of the city: if its name contains such elements as "ingen", "dorf", "hausen" - the city grew out of rural settlement; "Bridge", "trousers", "pont", "furt" - at the bridge, crossing or ford; "Vik", "vich" - near the sea bay or bay.
The most urbanized areas during the Middle Ages were Italy, where half of the total population lived in cities, and Flanders, where two-thirds of the population were city dwellers. The population of medieval cities usually did not exceed 2-5 thousand people. In the XIV century. in England only two cities numbered more than 10 thousand - London and York. Nevertheless, large cities with 15-30 thousand people were not uncommon (Rome, Naples, Verona, Bologna, Paris, Regensburg, etc.).
Indispensable elements, thanks to which locality could be considered a city, there were fortified walls, a citadel, a cathedral, a market square. Fortified palaces-fortresses of feudal lords, monasteries could be located in cities. In the XIII-XIV centuries. self-government buildings appeared - town halls, symbols of city freedom.
The layout of medieval cities, in contrast to the ancient ones, was chaotic, there was no single urban planning concept. The cities grew in concentric circles from the center - the fortress or the market square. Their streets were narrow (sufficient for a rider with a spear at the ready to pass through them), were not illuminated, had no pavements for a long time, sewage and drainage systems were open, sewage flowed along the streets. The houses were crowded and rose 2-3 floors; since the land in the city was expensive, the foundations were narrow, and the upper floors grew, overhanging the lower ones. For a long time, the cities retained their "agrarian appearance": the houses were adjoined by orchards and vegetable gardens, cattle were kept in the yards, which the city shepherd gathered into a common herd and grazed. Fields and meadows were located within the city limits, and outside its walls the townspeople had land plots and vineyards.
The urban population consisted mainly of artisans, traders and people employed in the service sector - loaders, water carriers, coal miners, butchers, bakers. His special group consisted of feudal lords and their entourage, representatives of the administration of spiritual and secular authorities. The urban elite was represented by the patriciate - a wealthy merchant conducting international trade, noble families, landowners and developers, later the most prosperous guild masters also entered it. The main criteria for belonging to a patrician were wealth and participation in the management of the city.
The city was organic and part of feudal economy. Arising on the land of the feudal lord, he depended on the lord and was obliged to payments, in-kind supplies and labor, like a peasant community. Highly skilled artisans gave the lord a part of their products, the rest worked in corvee, cleaned the stables, and bore the dues duty. The cities sought to free themselves from this dependence and achieve freedom and trade and economic privileges. In the XI-XIII centuries. in Europe, a "communal movement" unfolded - the struggle of the townspeople against the lords, which took a very sharp forms... The royal power, which sought to weaken the positions of large tycoons, was often an ally of the cities; the kings gave the cities charters that fixed their liberties - tax immunities, the right to mint coins, trade privileges, etc. The result of the communal movement was the almost universal liberation of cities from lords (who, nevertheless, could remain there as residents). The highest degree freedom was possessed by city-states (Venice, Genoa, Florence, Dubrovnik, etc.), which were not subject to any sovereign, independently determined their foreign policy who entered wars and political unions that had their own governing bodies, finances, law and court. Many cities received the status of communes: while retaining collective citizenship to the supreme sovereign of the land - king or emperor, they had a mayor, a judicial system, a militia, and a treasury. A number of cities have achieved only a few of these rights. But the main achievement of the communal movement was the personal freedom of the townspeople.
After his victory, the patriciate came to power in the cities - a wealthy elite who controlled the mayor's office, court and other elected bodies. The omnipotence of the patrician led to the fact that the mass of the urban population rose up in opposition to him, a series of uprisings in the XIV century. ended with the fact that the patriciate had to admit to power the top of the city guild organizations.
In most Western European cities, artisans and traders were united into professional corporations - workshops and guilds, which was dictated by the general state of the economy and insufficient market capacity, so it was necessary to limit the amount of production in order to avoid overproduction, lower prices and ruin of craftsmen. The workshop also resisted competition from rural artisans and foreigners. In its quest to provide all craftsmen equal conditions existence, he acted as an analogue of the peasant community. Workshop statutes regulated all stages of production and sale of products, regulated the time of work, the number of apprentices, apprentices, machine tools in the workshop, the composition of raw materials and the quality of finished products.
Full-fledged members of the workshop were foremen - independent small producers who owned their own workshop and tools. The specificity of handicraft production was that the master made the product from start to finish, there was no division of labor inside the workshop, it followed the line of deepening specialization and the emergence of new and new workshops, separated from the main ones (for example, gunsmiths emerged from the workshop of blacksmiths, tinsmiths, ironmongers, swords, helmets, etc.).
Mastering the craft required a long apprenticeship (7-10 years), during which the students lived with the master, without receiving payment and performing homework... After completing the course, they became apprentices who worked for wages. To become a craftsman, an apprentice had to save money for materials and make a "masterpiece" - a skillful product that was presented to the workshop. If he passed the exam, the journeyman paid for the general feast and became a full member of the workshop.
Handicraft corporations and merchants' unions - guilds - played a big role in the life of the city: they organized detachments of the city militia, built the buildings of their associations - guild halls, where their general stocks and cash were kept, erected churches dedicated to the saints - patrons of the workshop, organized processions on their holidays and theatrical performances. They helped to rally the townspeople in the struggle for communal liberties.
Nevertheless, property and social inequality emerged both within the shops and between them. In the XIV-XV centuries. there is a "closure of workshops": in an effort to protect themselves from competition, foremen restrict the access of apprentices to the workshop, turning them into "eternal apprentices", in fact, hired workers. Trying to fight for high wages and fair conditions of admission to the corporation, the apprentices organized companion alliances, prohibited by the craftsmen, and resorted to strikes. On the other hand, social tension was growing in relations between the “senior” and “junior” workshops - those who carried out preparatory operations in a number of crafts (for example, combers, fellers, wool beaters), and those who completed the process of making the product (weavers). Confrontation between "fat" and "skinny" people in the XIV-XV centuries. led to another exacerbation of the intracity struggle. The role of the city as a new phenomenon in the life of Western Europe in the classical Middle Ages was extremely high. It arose as a product of the feudal economy and was its integral part - with the dominant small manual production, corporate organizations, like the peasant community, subordinate to feudal lords up to a certain time. At the same time, he was a very dynamic element of the feudal system, the bearer of new relations. The city concentrated production and exchange, it contributed to the development of domestic and foreign trade, the formation of market relations. It had a tremendous impact on the economy of the rural area: thanks to the presence of cities, both large feudal estates and peasant farms were drawn into commodity exchange with them, this largely determined the transition to in-kind and money rent.
In political terms, the city escaped from the power of the lords, and its own political culture began to form in it - the tradition of election and competition. The position of European cities played an important role in the process of state centralization and strengthening of royal power. The growth of cities led to the formation of a completely new class of feudal society - burghers, which was reflected in the ratio political forces in society during the formation new form state power- monarchies with estate representation. In the urban environment, new system ethical values, psychology and culture.
From the book Kitchen of the Century the author Pokhlebkin William VasilievichThe emergence of culinary skills and its development in Europe, in Russia and America by the beginning of the 20th century The art of cooking, in contrast to its simple preparation for an edible state, is one of the most important signs of civilization. It occurs at a certain turn
From the book Reconstruction true history the author From the book History of the Middle Ages. Volume 1 [In two volumes. Edited by S. D. Skazkin] the author Skazkin Sergey DanilovichThe emergence and growth of cities The most important result of the rise of agriculture in Germany, as in other countries of Western Europe, was the separation of handicrafts from agriculture and the development of a medieval city. The earliest cities arise in the Rhine basin (Cologne,
From the book Reconstruction of True History the author Nosovsky Gleb Vladimirovich9. Bacchus cult in medieval Western Europe "Antique" pagan, Dionysian Bacchic cult, was widespread in Western Europe not in "deep antiquity", but in the XIII-XVI centuries. This was one of the forms of royal Christianity. Official prostitution was
From the book From Empires to Imperialism [The State and the Emergence of Bourgeois Civilization] the author Kagarlitsky Boris YulievichII. Crisis and revolution in medieval Europe Unfinished Gothic cathedrals clearly demonstrate to us both the scale of the crisis and the unpreparedness of society for it. In Northern Europe and France, we find, as, for example, in Strasbourg or Antwerp, which of the two
From the book History of Russia author Ivanushkina VV2. The emergence of the first Russian cities By the 9th-10th centuries. East Slavic tribes occupied the western part of the Great Russian Plain, bounded by the Black Sea coast in the south, the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga (Lake Nevo) in the north. Here, from north to south (along the Volkhov line -
From the book History of France. Volume I Origin of the Franks author Stefan LebeckClothar II. Dagobert and the emergence of medieval France It was in France (especially in Saint-Denis), and by no means in Germany, that the cycle of legends associated with Dagobert developed. The monks of this abbey spared no effort to glorify the deeds of their benefactor. They were
From the book Ancient Russia. IV-XII centuries the author The team of authorsThe emergence of cities and principalities In Scandinavian sources 10-11 centuries. Russia was called "gardariki", which meant "country of cities". This name is most often found in the Scandinavian sagas in the era of Yaroslav the Wise, who was married to the Swedish princess Ingigerde
the author Gudavičius Edwardasv. The emergence of cities The Lithuanian social model, characteristic of the odal European periphery, actually repeated the path traveled by this periphery. Even at a time of political isolation, Lithuanian society was dependent on both the military and
From the book History of Lithuania from Ancient Times to 1569 the author Gudavičius Edwardasb. The emergence of the guild structure of cities The development of urban and local crafts, which was characterized by the allocation of artisans who worked exclusively for the market, when their students and apprentices traveled to the cities of neighboring countries and widely
From the book The Strength of the Weak - Women in Russian History (XI-XIX centuries) the author Kaydash-Lakshina Svetlana Nikolaevna From the book General History of State and Law. Volume 1 the author Omelchenko Oleg Anatolievich§ 34. Roman law in medieval Europe The system of law that developed in ancient, classical Rome did not end its historical existence with the fall of the Roman Empire. New states in Europe were created on the historical basis of Roman political and
From the book Who are the Popes the author Sheinman Mikhail MarkovichPapacy in Medieval Europe The Catholic Church in the Middle Ages was a powerful economic and political organization. Its strength was based on large landholdings. Here is what Friedrich Engels wrote about how the popes received these lands: “Kings competed among themselves in
From the book ISSUE 3 HISTORY OF A CIVILIZED SOCIETY (XXX century BC - XX century AD) the author Semenov Yuri Ivanovich4.10. Western Europe: the emergence of cities A radical movement forward took place only in the Western European zone of the central historical space - the only one where feudalism arose. Almost simultaneously with " feudal revolution", starting from the X-XI centuries. (in Italy
the authorChapter I THE EVOLUTION OF THE STATE IN MEDIEVAL EUROPE TO THE END OF THE XV CENTURY In public life medieval Europe As in all economic and social development, both common features for the continent and significant regional features have emerged. The first were related
From the book History of Europe. Volume 2. Medieval Europe. the author Chubaryan Alexander OganovichChapter II CLASS AND SOCIAL STRUGGLE IN MEDIEVAL EUROPE The material of the regional chapters of this volume shows that the revolutionary opposition to feudalism runs through the entire Middle Ages. It appears, according to the conditions of time, either in the form of mysticism, or in the form
The countries in which medieval cities began to form earlier were Italy and France, the reason for this was that it was here that feudal relations began to emerge for the first time. It was this that served to separate agriculture from handicrafts, which contributed to an increase in productivity, and therefore an increase in trade.
Prerequisites for the emergence of medieval cities
Trade ties were the advantage that contributed not only to the emergence, but also to the prosperity of medieval cities. Therefore, the cities with access to the sea - Venice, Naples, Marseille, Montpalier very soon became the leading centers of trade in medieval Europe.
The largest craft center was Prague. It was here that the workshops of the most skilled jewelers and blacksmiths were concentrated. Therefore, it is natural that the population of the cities was represented mainly by artisans and peasants who managed to pay off the feudal obligation.
In the cities in which there was no opportunity to engage in navigation, artisans themselves acted as traders. Over time, a new class of society appeared, merchants who were not direct producers of goods, but only intermediaries in trade. This was the reason for the emergence of the first markets in cities.
Appearance of cities
Medieval cities were fundamentally different from the cities of the New and even more recent times. The traditions of antiquity are still preserved in the construction of cities. They were surrounded by stone or wooden walls and deep ditches, which were supposed to protect the population from possible invasion of enemies.
The inhabitants of the city united in people's militia and took turns carrying out the guard service. Medieval cities were not large sizes as a rule, they accommodated themselves from five to twenty thousand inhabitants. Since the population of the cities was mostly represented by people from rural areas, residents were not particularly worried about the cleanliness in the city and threw garbage directly into the streets.
As a result, a terrifying unsanitary condition reigned in the cities, it gave rise to masses of infectious diseases. The houses of the residents were wooden, they were located on narrow and crooked streets and often came into contact with each other. The city center was represented by a market square. Cathedrals were built not far from it.
The rise of medieval cities
The flourishing of medieval cities is primarily associated with the beginning of the introduction of various innovations into production that increased labor productivity. Craftsmen began to unite in workshops. For the first time, private forms of ownership appear in light industry. Market relations go beyond the boundaries of the city and state.
Increased cash flow contributes to the transformation of the city: cathedrals are created that amaze with their architecture, significantly improved appearance streets and residential areas. Significant changes also affected cultural life in the Middle Ages: the first theaters, exhibitions were opened, various festivals and competitions were organized.
Successes in agriculture Successes in craft Population growth. Increase in arable land due to drainage of swamps, deforestation Increase in iron ore mining and improvement of metal processing The appearance of a large number of iron tools The use of devices by artisans due to the need to make complex products Widespread use of heavy wheeled plows. Increased yield. The emergence of professional artisans The emergence of mills, which ensured rapid grinding The increase in livestock due to an increase in the amount of feed The use of horses not only in military affairs, but also in agriculture after the appearance of clamps
19th century heyday European Middle Ages... In Europe, which had almost forgotten about city life over the previous centuries, they began to build cities again. Their emergence and growth is one of the most remarkable phenomena of this period. A few examples of where and how medieval cities were most often founded.
This city on the River Rhine by the XI century. already had a thousand-year history. First, the Roman military camp. Later Big City on the borders of the empire with Germany. In the early Middle Ages, its population declined and many buildings collapsed. But the fortification wall, erected by the Romans, reliably protected the city, which became the seat of an influential bishop. It was here, at the foot of the fortress wall, that a small market appeared quite early, and then a settlement around it.
In the X century. new fortifications fenced both the ancient city and the new suburb. Trade ties grew stronger, crafts developed. The city continued to grow rapidly. Twice more builders erected fortress walls to ensure the safety of residents. This is the story of the emergence of one of the most famous cities in medieval Germany, Cologne.
And near Paris, the city grew up at the walls of a large monastery. People are used to looking for protection from danger here. It was believed that a crime or any evil offense committed on the territory of the monastery is directed not only against man, but also against God and is punished in heaven. So everyone thought: monks, peasants, merchants, knights, itinerant pilgrims. But how many could find shelter behind the salvage fortifications?
In European languages, many city names have common parts - burg - fortress, hafen - harbor, chester - military camp, fort - ford, bridge - bridge. Assignment: find on the map of the textbook on page 106 one example of such cities, explain how they came to be.
The Medieval City Soon the majority of the population in the cities began to be made up of merchants and artisans. The main activities were: food production, textiles and wood and metal processing. This is how a new stratum of society appeared - townspeople or burghers.
Theories of the origin of medieval cities
Trying to answer the question about the causes and circumstances of the emergence of medieval cities, scientists of the XIX and XX centuries. put forward various theories. A significant part of them are characterized by an institutional and legal approach to the problem. The greatest attention was paid to the origin and development of specific urban institutions, city law, and not to the socio-economic foundations of the process. With this approach, it is impossible to explain the root causes of the origin of cities.
Historians of the XIX century. was primarily concerned with the question of what form of settlement originated in the medieval city and how institutions of this previous form were transformed into cities. "Romanistic" theory (F. Savigny., O. Thierry, F. Guizot, F. Renoir), which was built mainly on the material of the Romanized regions of Europe, considered medieval cities and their institutions to be a direct continuation of the late antique cities. Historians, who relied mainly on the material of Northern, Western, Central Europe (primarily German and English), saw the origins of medieval cities in the phenomena of a new, feudal society, primarily legal and institutional. According to the "patrimonial" theory (K. Eighhorn, K. Nitsch), the city and its institutions developed from the feudal patrimony, its administration and law. The "mark" theory (G. Maurer, O. Gierke, G. von Belov) put the city institutions and law out of action of the free rural community-mark. The "burgovaya" theory (F. Keitgen, F. Matland) saw the grain of the city in the burg-fortress and in the burg law. The "market" theory (R. Zom, Schroeder, Schulte) derived the city law from the market law in effect in the places where trade was conducted.
All these theories were distinguished by one-sidedness, each putting forward any single path or factor in the emergence of the city and considering it mainly from a formal standpoint. Moreover, they did not explain why most of the patrimonial centers, communities, castles and even market places did not turn into cities.
German historian Ritschel at the end of the 19th century. tried to combine "burgovaya" and "market" theories, seeing in the early cities settlements of merchants around the fortified point - burg. The Belgian historian A. Pirenne, unlike most of his predecessors, assigned a decisive role in the emergence of cities to the economic factor - intercontinental and interregional transit trade and its carrier - merchants. According to this "trade" theory, cities in Western Europe originally arose around merchant trading posts. Pirenne also ignores the role of the separation of crafts from agriculture in the emergence of cities, and does not explain the origins, patterns and specifics of the city precisely as a feudal structure. Pirenne's thesis of a purely commercial origin of the city was not accepted by many medievalists.
Much has been done in modern foreign historiography to study geological data, topography, and plans of medieval cities (F.L. Gansgof, V. Ebel, E. Annen). These materials explain a lot in the prehistory and initial history of cities, almost not covered by written monuments. The question of the role of political, administrative, military, and cult factors in the formation of medieval cities is being seriously studied. All these factors and materials require, of course, taking into account the socio - economic aspects of the emergence of the city and its character as a feudal culture.
Many modern foreign historians, seeking to understand the general laws of the genesis of medieval cities, share and develop the concept of the emergence of a feudal city precisely as a consequence of the social division of labor, the development of commodity relations, and the social and political evolution of society.
In domestic medieval studies, serious research has been carried out on the history of cities in almost all countries of Western Europe. But long time it focused mainly on the socio-economic role of cities, with less emphasis on their other functions. Recently, the whole variety has been considered. social characteristics medieval town. The city is defined as "Not only the most dynamic structure of medieval civilization, but also as an organic component of the entire feudal system" 1
The rise of European medieval citiesSpecific historical ways of the emergence of cities are very diverse. The peasants and artisans who left the villages settled in different places depending on the availability of favorable conditions for engaging in "urban affairs", ie. market related matters. Sometimes, especially in Italy and southern France, these were administrative, military and ecclesiastical centers, often located on the territory of old Roman cities, which were reborn to a new life - already as cities of the feudal type. The fortifications of these points provided the residents with the necessary security.
The concentration of the population in such centers, including feudal lords with their servants and retinue, clergy, representatives of the royal and local administration, created favorable conditions for the sale of their products by artisans. But more often, especially in the Northwest and Central Europe, artisans and merchants settled near large estates, estates, castles and monasteries, whose inhabitants purchased their goods. They settled at the intersection of important roads, at river crossings and bridges, on the shores of bays, bays, etc. convenient for anchorage of ships, where traditional marketplaces have long operated. Such "market places", with a significant increase in their population, the presence of favorable conditions for handicraft production and market activity, also turned into cities.
The growth of cities in certain regions of Western Europe took place at different rates. First of all, in the VIII - IX centuries. feudal cities, primarily as centers of crafts and trade, formed in Italy (Venice, Genoa, Pisa, Bari, Naples, Amalfi); in the X century. - in the south of France (Marseille, Arles, Narbonne, Montpellier, Toulouse, etc.). In these and other areas, with the rich ancient traditions faster than in others, crafts specialized, there was a formation feudal state with its reliance on cities.
The early emergence and growth of Italian and southern French cities was also facilitated by the trade ties of these regions with the more developed Byzantium and the countries of the East at that time. Of course, the preservation of the remains of numerous ancient cities and fortresses there, where it was easier to find shelter, protection, traditional markets, rudiments of artisan organizations and Roman municipal law, also played a role.
In the X - XI centuries. feudal cities began to appear in northern France, in the Netherlands, in England and Germany - along the Rhine and the upper Danube, the Flanders cities of Bruges, Ypres, Ghent, Lille, Douai, Arras and others were famous for thin cloth, which supplied many European countries. There were not so many Roman settlements in these areas, most of the cities arose anew.
Later, in the XII-XII centuries, feudal cities grew up on the northern outskirts and in the inner regions of Zarein Germany, in the Scandinavian countries, in Ireland, Hungary, the Danube principalities, i.e. where the development of feudal relations was slower. Here, all cities grew, as a rule, from market towns, as well as regional (former tribal) centers.
The distribution of cities across Europe was uneven. There were especially many of them in Northern and Central Italy, In Flanders and Brabant, along the Rhine.
"With all the difference in place, time, specific conditions for the emergence of a city, it has always been the result of a common social division of labor for the whole of Europe. In the socio-economic sphere, it was expressed in the separation of handicrafts from agriculture, the development of commodity production and exchange between different spheres farms and different territories; in the political sphere - in the development of state structures ".
City ruled by a lordWhatever the origin of the city, it was a feudal city. It was headed by a feudal lord, on whose land he was located, so the city had to obey the lord. Most of the townspeople were originally non-free ministerials (serving people of the seigneur), peasants who had long lived in this place, sometimes fled from their former masters, or released by them on a quitrent. Moreover, they often found themselves in personal dependence on the lord of the city. All city power was concentrated in the hands of the lord, the city became, as it were, his collective vassal. The feudal lord was interested in the emergence of a city on his land, since urban crafts and trade gave him considerable income.
Former peasants brought with them to the cities the customs of the communal system, which had a noticeable impact on the organization of city government. Over time, it increasingly took on forms that corresponded to the characteristics and needs of urban life.
In the early era, the urban population was still very poorly organized. The city still had a semi-agricultural character. Its inhabitants bore duties of an agrarian nature in favor of the lord. The city did not have much urban governance. He is under the authority of a lord or lord clerk, who judged the urban population, exacted various fines and extortions from him. At the same time, the city often did not represent a unity even in the sense of senior government. As a feudal property, the lord could bequeath the city by inheritance as well as the village. He could divide it between his heirs, he could sell or mortgage it in whole or in part.1
Here is an excerpt from a document from the end of the XII century. The document dates back to the time when the city of Strasbourg was under the rule of the spiritual lord - the bishop:
"1. On the model of other cities, Strasbourg was founded, with such a privilege that every person, both a stranger and a local native, always and from everyone used the world in it.
5. All the officials of the city go under the authority of the bishop, so that they are appointed either by himself or by those whom he will appoint; the elders define the younger ones as if they were subordinate to them.
6. And the bishop should not give public office except to persons from the world of the local church.
7. The four officials who govern the city are invested by the bishop with his power, namely: the schultgeis, the burgrave, the mytnik and the chief of the coin.
93. Individual townspeople are also obliged to serve a five-day corvee every year, with the exception of coiners ... tanners ... saddlers, four glovers, four bakers and eight shoemakers, all blacksmiths and carpenters, butchers and wine barrels ...
102. Among the tanners, twelve people are obliged, at the expense of the bishop, to prepare hides and skins, as much as the bishop needs ...
103. The duty of the blacksmiths is as follows: when the bishop goes on the imperial campaign, each blacksmith will give four horseshoes with his nails; of these, the burggrave will give the bishop horseshoes for 24 horses, the rest he will keep for himself ...
105. In addition, blacksmiths are obliged to do everything that the bishop needs in his palace, namely, with regard to doors, windows and various things that are made of iron: at the same time, they are given material and food is given to them for all the time ...
108. Among the shoemakers, eight people are obliged to give the bishop, when he is sent to the court on a campaign of the sovereigns, covers for candlesticks, basins and vessels ...
115. Millers and fishermen are obliged to carry the bishop by water, wherever he wishes ...
116. Fishermen are required to fish for ... the bishop ... annually for three days and three nights with all their tackle ...
118. Carpenters are obliged to go to work with the bishop every Monday at his expense ... "
As we can see from this document, the security and peace of the townspeople was ensured by his lord, who "invested with his power" the officials of the city (that is, instructed them to lead the city government). The townspeople, for their part, were obliged to bear corvee in favor of the lord and provide him with all kinds of services. These duties were not much different from the duties of the peasants. It is clear that as the city grows stronger, he begins to be more and more burdened by dependence on the lord and seeks to free himself from it.
The organization of the city arose in the process of the struggle with the lord, a struggle that made it necessary to unite the various elements that were part of the urban population. At the same time, the class struggle in the countryside intensified and intensified. On this basis, from the XI century. the desire of the feudal lords to strengthen their class domination by strengthening the feudal organization of the state is noted. "The process of political fragmentation gave way to a tendency towards the unification of small feudal units and the cohesion of the feudal world."
The struggle of cities with feudal lords begins with the very first steps of urban development. In this struggle, an urban structure takes shape; those scattered elements that made up the city at the beginning of its existence are organized and rallied. The outcome of this struggle depends on political structure that the city receives.
The development of commodity-money relations in the cities exacerbates the struggle between the city and the feudal lord, who sought to expropriate the growing urban accumulation by increasing feudal rent. The lord's demands in relation to the city grew more and more. The senior resorted to methods of direct violence against the townspeople, seeking to increase the size of his income from the city. On this basis, clashes arose between the city and the lord, which forced the townspeople to create a certain organization to win their independence, an organization that was at the same time the basis for city self-government.
Thus, the formation of cities was the result of the social division of labor and social evolution of the early Middle Ages. The emergence of cities was accompanied by the separation of handicrafts from agriculture, the development of commodity production and exchange, the development of the attributes of statehood.
The medieval city arose on the land of the lord and was in his power. The seniors' desire to extract as much income as possible from the city inevitably led to the communal movement.