Life in medieval towns Flashcards
All town-dwellers were free (didn’t have an overlord) so could choose their own employment. What were the options?
1) Tradesmen
2) Merchants
3) Servants/labourers
How would someone have become a tradesman?
You would have trained as an apprentice to a master craftsman (blacksmith, carpenter, baker, etc).
Tradesmen were often members of a guild - what was this?
By paying taxes and members’ fees, members gained the right to trade in that town.
What did merchants do?
Sold food, textiles and materials in towns across the country and even Europe. Some were very wealthy.
What did merchants have to do in order to engage in international trade?
Pay customs duties to the King on all imports and exports.
All town-dwellers usually paid what to the King?
Tallage (land tax).
How were towns and the wealth they contained protected from thieves and attack?
Stone walls surrounded the town. Watchmen patrolled it at night.
Towns contained plots of land where labourers grew food. What happened with the surplus food?
Along with other goods, it was sold in the Sunday market. Traders paid rent for stalls and the King collected taxes on sales.
Give a benefit of living and working in a town.
There was more freedom and choices of job, and more opportunity to progress in a job.
Give one disadvantage of living in a town.
Dirt and disease spread easily: latrines were emptied into streets and excrement piled up.
Give 2 featues of town life.
1) People in towns were free (didn’t have an overlord) so could choose their own employment (merchants, tradesmen or labourers). There was opportunity to progress in your job.
2) To be a merchant, you would train as an apprentice alongside a master craftsman, e.g. carpenter/blacksmith/baker/butcher.
3) Tradesmen sold food, textiles and other materials in the Sunday market, and paid rent for a stall. The King collected taxes on all sales.
4) Tradesmen often paid taxes and members’ fees to be part of a guild, an association that gave them the right to trade in their town.
5) If merchants wanted to engage in international trade, they had to pay customs duties to the King on all imports and exports.
6) In towns, latrines emptied excrement, which piled on the street. Towns were dirty and disease spread quickly.
7) Stone walls protected towns and their contents; watchmen patrolled them at night.
8) All town-dwellers had to pay tallage (land tax) to the King.
