Editing Middle Ages (section)

=== Society and economic life ===
{{see|Agriculture in the Middle Ages}}

[[File:Cleric-Knight-Workman.jpg|Medieval French [[Illuminated manuscript|manuscript illustration]] of the three [[Social class|classes]] of medieval society: those who prayed (the [[clergy]]) those who fought (the [[knight]]s), and those who worked (the [[peasant]]ry).<ref name=Whitton134>Whitton "Society of Northern Europe" ''Oxford Illustrated History of Medieval Europe'' p. 134</ref> The relationship between these classes was governed by [[feudalism]] and [[manorialism]].<ref name=Gainty352>Gainty and Ward ''Sources of World Societies'' p. 352</ref> (''Li Livres dou Sante'', 13th century)|thumb|left]]

The High Middle Ages was a period of tremendous [[Medieval demography| population expansion]]. The estimated population of Europe grew from 35 to 80&nbsp;million between 1000 and 1347, although the exact causes remain unclear: improved agricultural techniques, the decline of slaveholding, a [[Medieval Warm Period|more clement climate]] and the lack of invasion have all been suggested.<ref name=Jordan5>Jordan ''Europe in the High Middle Ages'' pp. 5–12</ref><ref name=Backman156>Backman ''Worlds of Medieval Europe'' p. 156</ref> As much as 90&nbsp;per cent of the European population remained rural peasants. Many were no longer settled in isolated farms but had gathered into small communities, usually known as [[Manorialism|manors]] or villages.<ref name=Backman156 /> These peasants were often subject to noble overlords and owed them rents and other services in a system known as [[manorialism]]. There remained a few free peasants throughout this period and beyond,<ref name=Backman164>Backman ''Worlds of Medieval Europe'' pp. 164–165</ref> with more of them in the regions of Southern Europe than in the north. The practice of [[assarting]], or bringing new lands into production by offering incentives to the peasants who settled them, also contributed to population expansion.<ref name=Epstein52>Epstein ''Economic and Social History'' pp. 52–53</ref>

The [[open-field system]] of agriculture was commonly practised in most of Europe, especially in "northwestern and central Europe".<ref name=Pounds166>Pounds ''Historical Geography of Europe'' p. 166</ref> Such agricultural communities had three essential characteristics: individual peasant holdings in the form of strips of land were scattered among the different fields belonging to the manor; crops were rotated from year to year to preserve soil fertility; and common land was used for grazing livestock and other purposes. Some regions used a three-field system of crop rotation; others retained the older two-field system.<ref name=Agri>Dawtry "Agriculture" ''Middle Ages'' pp. 15–16</ref>

Other sections of society included the nobility, clergy, and townspeople. Nobles, both the titled [[nobility]] and simple [[knight]]s, exploited the manors and the peasants. However, they did not own lands outright but were granted rights to the income from a manor or other lands by an overlord through the system of [[feudalism]]. During the 11th and 12th centuries, these lands, or [[fief]]s, came to be considered hereditary. In most areas, they were no longer divisible between all the heirs, as had been the case in the early medieval period. Instead, most fiefs and lands went to the eldest son.<ref name=Barber37>Barber ''Two Cities'' pp. 37–41</ref>{{efn-ua|This inheritance pattern is known as [[primogeniture]].<ref name=Wordbook193>Cosman ''Medieval Wordbook'' p. 193</ref>}} The dominance of the nobility was built upon its control of the land, its military service as [[heavy cavalry]], control of [[castle]]s, and various immunities from taxes or other impositions.{{efn-ua|Heavy cavalry had been introduced into Europe from the Persian [[cataphract]] of the 5th and 6th centuries, but the addition of the [[stirrup]] in the 7th allowed the full force of horse and rider to be used in combat.<ref name=Davies311 />}} Castles, initially in wood but later in stone, began to be constructed in the 9th and 10th centuries in response to the disorder of the time, and protected from invaders and allowing lords defence from rivals. Control of castles allowed the nobles to defy kings or other overlords.<ref name=Davies311>Davies ''Europe'' pp. 311–315</ref> Nobles were stratified; kings and the highest-ranking nobility controlled large numbers of commoners and large tracts of land, as well as other nobles. Beneath them, lesser nobles had authority over smaller land areas and fewer people. Knights were the lowest level of nobility; they controlled but did not own land and had to serve other nobles.<ref name=Daily3>Singman ''Daily Life'' p. 3</ref>{{efn-ua|In France, Germany, and the Low Countries there was a further type of "noble", the ''[[ministerialis]]'', who were in effect, unfree knights. They descended from serfs who had served as warriors or government officials, whose increased status allowed their descendants to hold fiefs and become knights while still technically serfs.<ref name=Singman8>Singman ''Daily Life'' p. 8</ref>}}

The clergy was divided into two types: the [[secular clergy]], who lived out in the world, and the [[regular clergy]], who lived isolated under a religious rule and usually consisted of monks.<ref name=Hamilton33>Hamilton ''Religion on the Medieval West'' p. 33</ref> Throughout the period, monks remained a tiny proportion of the population, usually less than one percent.<ref name=Daily143>Singman ''Daily Life'' p. 143</ref> Most of the regular clergy were drawn from the nobility, the same social class that served as the recruiting ground for the upper levels of the secular clergy. The local [[parish]] priests were often drawn from the peasant class.<ref name=Barber33>Barber ''Two Cities'' pp. 33–34</ref> Townspeople were somewhat unusual, as they did not fit into the traditional three-fold division of society into nobles, clergy, and peasants. During the 12th and 13th centuries, the ranks of the townspeople expanded greatly as existing towns grew and new population centres were founded.<ref name=Barber48>Barber ''Two Cities'' pp. 48–49</ref> But throughout the Middle Ages, the population of the towns probably never exceeded 10 percent of the total population.<ref name=Daily171>Singman ''Daily Life'' p. 171</ref>

[[File:Petrus alphonsi dialogues.jpg|upright=0.8|thumb|13th-century illustration of a Jew (in pointed [[Jewish hat]]) and the Christian [[Petrus Alphonsi]] debating]]

Jews also [[Jews in the Middle Ages|spread across Europe]] during the period. Communities were established in [[History of the Jews in Germany|Germany]] and [[History of the Jews in England (1066–1290)|England]] in the 11th and 12th centuries, but [[History of the Jews in Spain#Toleration and Jewish immigration (1085–1212)|Spanish Jews]], long settled in Spain under the Muslims, came under Christian rule and increasing pressure to convert to Christianity.<ref name=Jews191 /> Most Jews were confined to the cities, as they were not allowed to own land or be peasants.<ref name=Epstein54>Epstein ''Economic and Social History'' p. 54</ref>{{efn-ua|A few Jewish peasants remained on the land under Byzantine rule in the East as well as some on Crete under Venetian rule, but they were the exception in Europe.<ref name=Epstein54 />}} Besides the Jews, there were other non-Christians on the edges of Europe—pagan Slavs in Eastern Europe and Muslims in Southern Europe.<ref name=Daily13>Singman ''Daily Life'' p. 13</ref>

[[Women in the Middle Ages]] were officially required to be subordinate to some male, whether their father, husband, or other kinsman. Widows were often allowed much control over their lives, but they were still restricted legally. Women's work generally consisted of household or other domestically inclined tasks. Peasant women were usually responsible for caring for the household, child care, gardening, and animal husbandry near the house. They could supplement their household income by spinning or brewing at home. At harvest time, they were also expected to help with fieldwork.<ref name=Daily14>Singman ''Daily Life'' pp. 14–15</ref> Townswomen, like peasant women, were responsible for the household and could also engage in trade. The trades that were open to women varied by country and period.<ref name=Daily177>Singman ''Daily Life'' pp. 177–178</ref> Noblewomen were responsible for running a household and could occasionally be expected to handle estates in the absence of male relatives, but they were usually restricted from participation in military or government affairs. The only role open to women in the Church was that of [[nun]]s, as they could not become priests.<ref name=Daily14 />

In [[Central Italy|central]] and [[northern Italy]] and in [[Flanders]], the rise of towns that were, to a degree, self-governing stimulated economic growth and created an environment for new types of trade associations. Commercial cities on the shores of the Baltic entered into agreements known as the [[Hanseatic League]]. The Italian [[Maritime republics]] such as [[Venice]], [[Genoa]], and [[Pisa]] expanded their trade throughout the Mediterranean.{{efn-ua|These two groups—Germans and Italians—took different approaches to their trading arrangements. Most German cities co-operated in the Hanseatic League, contrasting with the Italian city-states engaged in internecine strife.<ref name=Epstein81>Epstein ''Economic and Social History'' p. 81</ref>}} Great [[Fair|trading fairs]] were established and flourished in [[Champagne fairs|northern France]] during the period, allowing Italian and German merchants to trade with each other as well as local merchants.<ref name=Epstein82>Epstein ''Economic and Social History'' pp. 82–83</ref> In the late 13th century new land and sea routes to the Far East were pioneered, famously described in ''[[The Travels of Marco Polo]]'' written by one of the traders, [[Marco Polo]] (d. 1324).<ref name=Barber60>Barber ''Two Cities'' pp. 60–67</ref> Besides new trading opportunities, agricultural and technological improvements increased crop yields, which allowed the trade networks to expand.<ref name=Backman160>Backman ''Worlds of Medieval Europe'' p. 160</ref> Rising trade brought new methods of dealing with money, and gold coinage was again minted in Europe, first in Italy and later in France and other countries. New forms of commercial contracts emerged, sharing risk among merchants. Accounting methods improved, partly through the use of [[double-entry bookkeeping]]; [[letters of credit]] also appeared, allowing easy transmission of money.<ref name=Barber74>Barber ''Two Cities'' pp. 74–76</ref>