economic and social developments

Question 1

What were the key features of the 12th century economy

Answer 1

• Overwhemingly agricultural society (90% farmers) with wealth tied to land
• Increasing contact with continent, export of wool and metals resulting in the import of finished and luxury goods
  
  • Acquisition of Gascony stimulated trade in the south-west of England and Flanders were dependent on English Wool

Question 2

What was a villein

Answer 2

term to denote the largest proportion of peasant, they were legally tied to the Lord of the Manor and had obligation to provide goods

Question 3

What was merchet

Answer 3

a sum paid by the villein upon the marriage of a daughter

Question 4

What was heriot

Answer 4

a tax payable upon the death of a villein from remaining possessions

Question 5

What were bordards and cottars

Answer 5

below the rank of villein in the village hierarchy, they often held just enough land to support a family and would have to often supplement their income through working the Lords land

Question 6

What were slaves

Answer 6

bottom of heirachy and had no land of their own allocated but were obliged to work the Lords land

Question 7

What were freemen

Answer 7

not as bound, they paid rent to the Lord of the Manor and had fewer obligations e.g. could get married without permission and could not be moved estate against their will

Question 8

How did the Cistercian order innovate the rural economy

Answer 8

developed huge estates in areas such as the West Riding of Yorkshire and the Lake District for the wool industry

Question 9

How much tin was produced by the 1190’s compared to tthe early 1160s

Answer 9

Devon and Cornwall were producing 6 times as much tin per year by the 1190s as they had in the early 1160s

Question 10

What did the increasing number of markets,fairs and towns encourage

Answer 10

encouraging manufacture and the sale of surplus agricultural yields- many landowners were keen to raise income from their own domains from sales of grain or fleeces rather than claim rental incomes.

Question 11

How did recoinages in 1158 and 1180 affect the economy

Answer 11

• Regular recoinages in 1158 and 1180 ensured the maintenance in the value of cash
  
  • General increase in the avaliability of cash which supported commerce as cash balancres rather than welath tied up in Land, made transactions easier

Question 12

How were Jews useful to the economy

Answer 12

• They were dealers in plate and bullion especially able to convert the foreign coinage into English money from the export of wool
• strong business partnership across England and the continent
  
  • Able to lend money

Question 13

Who was Aaron of Lincoln

Answer 13

the most successful moneylender, upon his death in 1186 he was owed £18,466- requiring a separate exchequer just for him

Question 14

What agarian development increased the ambition of manufacturers and merchants

Answer 14

the use of horse over oxen to carry loads speeded up transport

Question 15

What were markets

Answer 15

• Took place on specific days
  
  • key function was the trade in corn and other local produce

Question 16

How many international fairs were there by the start of the 13th Century

Answer 16

By start of 13th Century there 6 international fairs

Question 17

What are some examples of local produce that developed a national reputation

Answer 17

• Cod of Grimsby
• scarlet of Lincoln
  
  • Marble of Corfe and Iron of Gloucester

Question 18

As a result of England’s successful wool trade, how much sheep did it have by the 13th century

Answer 18

had 10 million sheep in the 13th century

Question 19

How many new boroughs were created as a result of the establishment of regular market places between 1154-1250

Answer 19

encouraged the development of boroughs with 88 new boroughs

Question 20

What were ‘chartered boroughs’ and how many did Henry II grant in his reign

Answer 20

created by king so towns had a greater control over their own affairs; granted nearly 50 municipal charters in his reign

Question 21

What did Charters do

Answer 21

• freed it from feudal control along with exemption from some tolls and requirement to attend any court but the borough court
• could establish its own tax farm and pay directly to the exchequer

Question 22

What made London on a different economic scale

Answer 22

• Access to sea and a river navigable another 80 miles inland
  
  • surrounded by low hills with ease of access to the continent it was easily defensible and accessible

Question 23

By the 12th Century, London was established as the seat of ___________, ___ and the ______

Answer 23

By the 12th Century, London was established as the seat of government, law and the exchequer

Question 24

What did London’s population grow from 25,000 in 1086 to by 1200

Answer 24

Londons population had grown from 25,000 in 1086 to about 40,000 in 1200

Question 25

What was a hinterland and how big was London’s

Answer 25

The conurbation of market towns near London

It was about 40 miles large

Question 26

What determined wealth in England

Answer 26

Land determined the wealth and status of a peasants

Question 27

What was a vigrate

Answer 27

a substantial peasant holdings

Question 28

Who did the common law exclude

Answer 28

The common law excluded villeins (who were mostly peasants), it only protected freehold and the law of the freemen

Question 29

How were the unfree treated

Answer 29

unfree could be treated like cattle:

• tied to the land,
• sold with the land
  
  • if they escaped; placed in chains

Question 30

How did Archbishop Lanfranc prevent the growth of slaves

Answer 30

Irish pirates raided the coast of North deacon and carried off anyone they could find to sell into slavery, this was condemned by contemporaries and finally stopped by Archbishop Lanfranc

Question 31

How did slaves disappear from society and what were they known as now

Answer 31

slave population in England had been declining before 1066 after which slaves gained their freedom by the process of ‘manumission’

• By 1120 slaves had disappeared from legal language but known rather as ox-man or a household servant
  
  • the lord could still sell the unfree

Question 32

What was a women’s role in English medieval society

Answer 32

• Women’s role was domestic; having children, running the house and cooking
  
  • Giving birth

Question 33

What was a women’s position in law

Answer 33

• In law, women were absent, they were the property of either her husband or father
  
  • A women was only allowed to bring 2 criminal charges on her own behalf; murder of husband and rape

Question 34

How did education grow under Henry II

Answer 34

• By 1189 there were many more schools; so called ‘song’ schools often provided a basic level of literacy whereas ‘grammar’ schools granted students a more thorough grounding in subjects essential to enter a career in the Church
  
  • In 1167 Henry II had banned English students from attending the University of Paris and this had spurred the growth of the University of Oxford