Western CivilizationsUnit 6

Agricultural and Economic Revolution

The revival of learning

Culture of the high middle ages

C. 1000-1300 AD

Changes in Agriculture

Population explosion (38-74 mil. in 300 years) The settlement of the 9th century invaders led to

peace and stability Climate improved More land farmed = more food Changes in technology (next slide)

Inventions and the Agricultural Revolution (after 1000)

Water and wind mills Heavier plows made of iron (Carruca) Collar harness (horses instead of oxen) The horseshoe The three field system The result

Better crops, more food, better diet Between 1000 and 1300 the population of Western

Europe doubled

The Growth of Trade Population explosion = an increase in demand

The first city states (Venice, Genoa, Pisa) established trade with the East (Asia-Byz-Eur)

Learning of Arabs and Greeks now appears in the West Science / Math

New business practices made trade easier “The Commercial Revolution” Coins (money economy) Banking (letters of credit) Partnerships (joint stock Co’s)

The Revival of Towns Old Roman cities come back to life

Craftsmen now produce goods for trade and create the new middle class or Bourgeoisie

Guilds: Apprentice, Journeyman, Master Organizations of crafts workers (unions)

Government: right to rule themselves from Charters obtained from the Lord

Town Life (dirty, smelly, dangerous) Labor lords eventually become land lords

Serfs become rent paying peasants

Scholasticism: Scholarship Guided by Faith

Bible regarded as the basis of all knowledge First Universities emerge (Bologna, Paris,

Oxford) 1200’s new “Philosopher” Christians

believed that reason could be used to explain Christian teachings Both came from god, should go hand in hand St. Thomas Aquinas: Summa Theologica

Used Aristotle to explain Christian teaching

Literature and Language The growth of the vernacular: Everyday

speech in a particular region Geoffrey Chaucer: The Canterburry Tales (late

1300’s) Written in the language of the people about people

What is the change?

Romanesque v. Gothic Architecture

Romanesque Architecture: 11th and 12th Centuries Fortress like appearance, rounded arch, heavy

ceilings to support massive thick walls, small windows very little light or color

Gothic Architecture (Began in the late 1100’s) Between 1180 and 1270 80 Gothic Cathedrals were

built in France Pointed arches (flying buttresses) high ceilings, thin

walls, stained glass windows, light, color