Trade in the Middle Ages. Medieval trade in Europe

Mankind began to exchange, buy and sell goods, barely freed from the shackles of primitiveness. Trade flourished in many countries long before the beginning of the Middle Ages. But against the background of the rapid development of cities, crafts, against the background of the enrichment of culture, science and technology with the outstanding achievements of human thought, the merchant (i.e. merchant) becomes one of the most striking and remarkable figures of the era.

In the period of the early Middle Ages, at a time when barbarian kingdoms began to appear on the ruins of the Western Roman Empire, like mushrooms after rain, the most lively trade was carried out by merchants from the Arab countries of Asia and North Africa, India and China, as well as Byzantium - states that have long been famous for populous cities and skilled artisans. In the 7th-10th centuries the ships of Arab merchants plowed the waters of the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean. Trading posts (settlements of merchants) were based along their banks. Slaves and ivory were exported from the east coast of Africa. It was possible to reach the shores of India and even China.

In the XI century. finally, a European merchant appears on the world stage. The scope for his activities was already large enough: despite the dominance of subsistence farming, everything more people needed a variety of products and goods that were delivered from afar. Trade life began to boil on the seas of Southern and Northern Europe, large rivers, on roads that were very dilapidated, but preserved from Roman times.

With the transition from the early Middle Ages (V-XI centuries) to the developed (XII-XV centuries) and late (XVI century - mid-XVII century), the appearance of the merchant changed significantly.

The merchant of the early period was a warlike man. Trade and robbery went hand in hand at that time. This is especially true of the inhabitants of Scandinavia - the Vikings, warrior-navigators, who instilled fear in the population of many European countries. If the robbery operation ended unsuccessfully, the Viking was ready to trade or exchange pre-stored goods for the things he needed. And vice versa, when a purely trading trip of a Scandinavian did not give the desired results, he could simply rob the locals.

However, the merchants, who disdained robbery, always had to be on the alert. Going on a trade journey, they exposed themselves to many dangers and hardships. A sea voyage was especially risky: there was “seasickness”, and a riot of eternally dissatisfied sailors, and sea storms that annually sent dozens of merchant ships to the bottom. The “lucky one”, whose goods were thrown ashore by the waves after the crash of the ship, was forced to give up his property to the local feudal lord, into captivity to which the surviving people could also fall. Various surprises awaited the merchant in an unfamiliar land.

The merchant, who moved by land, experienced no less difficulties. The roads were mostly in a deplorable state. Laid on clay or swampy soil, after each rain they turned into a dirty swamp with countless ruts and pits; horses sank into them up to their chests, wagons sank up to their hubs. Even in the 16th century the merchant had to constantly change the route, making his way around the fields, endlessly expanding the trampled area. Most of the rivers had to be forded, risking spoiling the goods. Real stone or wooden bridges were extremely rare even in the late Middle Ages, and road tolls and “bridge” money were paid for travel over them.

Even more burdensome requisitions were levied from the merchant at the time of feudal fragmentation when crossing the border of the next duchy or county. But even the payment of all this money did not protect the trade caravans from attacks and robberies. Robber feudal lords, speaking before the royal court, admitted that they attacked merchants, having already collected the usual tax from them. In addition, the countryside was teeming with runaway soldiers and vagabonds. Any traveler could be attacked by them, especially if he had a lot of money or goods with him. And the merchant who arrived at the destination of his journey was not expected by a cordial welcome. In many cities, local artisans themselves traded their products, and the goods of visiting merchants were bought up only in bulk, in limited quantities and at a strictly defined time. Feeling not quite comfortable in a foreign city, non-resident and foreign merchants usually stopped at special city trading farmsteads, where their goods were also stored. Truly, there were many dangers and accidents in the life of a merchant.

Despite this, the ranks of merchants multiplied. The hope for big profits, the opportunity to get rich, to see overseas countries forced them to neglect difficulties, attracted enterprising and gambling people, adventurers into trade. Who among them did not count on the fabulous income that a successful trade could bring, even if you start doing it with little cash?

Already at the beginning of the XI century. in one literary source characterizing different professions, the following words are put into the mouth of a merchant: “I am useful to the king, the nobility, the rich and all the people. I enter a ship with my goods and sail to overseas lands, selling goods and acquiring valuable things that are not here. I spend them at great risk, sometimes I suffer shipwrecks, losing all my property and barely saving my own life ... I sell more than I bought myself in order to get some profit and feed my wife and children.

However, in the views of contemporaries, the merchant did not immediately take a worthy place. He, like any city dweller, initially fell out of the traditional scheme of feudal society, which was divided into "those who pray" (clergy and monks), "those who fight" (chivalry), and "those who plow the land" (peasants ). Gradually real life took her. Developing along with the cities, at the end of the XIII century. the merchant class reached its peak. The social significance of the merchant became obvious. In the Tale of the Merchants, which appeared at that time, it was said:

So that the country can be supplied with everything it needs,

Merchants have to work hard

To bring everything that is not in it from outside.

They should not be persecuted without guilt.

As the seas roam restless,

They bring goods to the country, for which they are worthy of love.

Seized by a thirst for profit, the desire to increase their capital, merchants often became usurers, that is, they borrowed money at interest. Although the Catholic Church in the XII century. officially forbade Christians to engage in usury, this phenomenon was widespread in the Middle Ages and became the cause of public discontent with merchants. Moneylenders are favorite characters of medieval urban folklore. In one of the German urban stories (the so-called schwank), even the devil does not carry the deceased usurer to hell, but squeamishly grabs him by the legs and throws him into the abyss. In many shvankas, the greed of merchants is severely scourged and punished. In a famous story, a merchant cannot calmly endure the fact that he has to feed the servants and spend supplies on them. The “sufferer” pretends to be dead, hoping that the servants will not be able to take anything out of grief. When the calculation was not justified, the merchant "comes to life", but the servants, mistaking the resurrected for a demon, kill him.

Many large merchants became tax-farmers. They paid a certain amount of money to the state, which was always in need of funds, and for this they received (redeemed) the right to collect taxes from the population in their own pocket. Thanks to the merchant's assertiveness, he was never empty and the money spent on farming was returned a hundredfold.

Did not paint the medieval merchants and "hobbies" monetary speculation. Merchants everywhere tried to take advantage of the imperfection of the technique of minting money. Since the coins were beaten off with a hammer, the blows of which were of unequal strength, the edges of the coins turned out to be unequal. In addition, the proportion of gold in coin alloys also varied. Clever merchants sorted the coins by weight: the lightest ones were put into circulation, while the heavier ones were kept in order to grind them or treat them with aqua regia. The gold mined in this way was melted into bars and appropriated.

Merchants grew rich in honest and not very honest ways. At the zenith of the Middle Ages, they already represented a significant social force. Wealthy merchants engaged in long-distance land or sea trade formed the basis of the patriciate of the cities (see the articles "Burger" and "Workshop"). The merchant sought to invest his money in land and buildings and thereby protect himself from complete ruin in the event of failure of another trade deal.

To the chagrin of the patrician merchants, in a feudal society, wealth did not yet guarantee the prestige that noble birth gave. Striving for maximum luxury, merchants began to build stone houses and even palaces, furnish interior chambers with special chic, indulge in hunting and other knightly entertainment, competing with each other in the sophistication of costumes. In 1462, the city council of Augsburg, as a punishment for wasting city money, forbade the patrician and merchant Ulrich Dendrich to wear sable, marten, velvet, and precious stones. It was difficult to hurt his pride more.

The influence of large merchants grew. The most successful of them began to join big politics. The scale of thinking developed in the affairs of trade proved to be extremely useful in this.

In the developed Middle Ages in Europe, special trade "crossroads" were formed. In the Mediterranean there was one of them, connecting Spain, Southern France, Italy among themselves, as well as with Byzantium and the countries of the East. The merchants of Genoa and Venice played a huge role here. They said about the inhabitants of these cities: “All the people are merchants!” Luxuries, spices, alum, wine, grain were brought from the East. Cloth, other types of fabrics, gold, silver, weapons were delivered from West to East.

Another merchant region covered the Baltic and North Seas. North-West Russia, Poland, the Baltic countries, Northern Germany, Scandinavia, Flanders, Brabant, Northern Netherlands, Northern France, England were involved in trade. Here they traded fish, salt, fur, wool, flax, hemp, wax, resin, timber, and later grain. In the XIV century. merchants from more than 70 German cities formed a trade union - the Hansa, which for a long time provided them with advantages in trade, not stopping even before military operations against rivals.

The merchant unions of the cities of Western Europe were called guilds and strongly resembled craft workshops (see Art. "Workshop"). To join the guild was allowed a contribution to the general cash desk and a feast for comrades. The guilds were headed by elders, and the order in them was regulated by the charter. They arose already at the end of the 11th - beginning of the 12th centuries. in England, Germany, Flanders, France. Their members jointly protected the transported goods from robbers, together they sought to expand their rights in the cities they visited, helped each other in case of loss of goods, and could redeem a fellow prisoner. Members of the guilds in their hometown had special privileges. They had a monopoly (i.e., exclusive) right to the most profitable - the retail sale of imported goods. (Note that in Russia since the 18th century, the term "guild" began to be used to refer to estate associations of merchants, distinguishing three guilds depending on the size of their capital.)

From the 12th century the life of European merchants is inextricably linked with fairs - annual auctions, which brought together merchants different countries. In the XIII century. the most famous fairs were held in French Champagne. In the XVI century. famous Lyon fairs. Merchants were attracted to London by the fair dedicated to the feast of St. Bartholomew, and to Venice by the Ascension Fair. Here, merchants sold their goods and made purchases, learned about prices in different countries, exchanged coins of one country for money from another with money changers (future bankers), made deals and founded companies. What was not sold at the fair! Here is a list of purchases that one noble person ordered to be made at the Lyon Fair: “... spices, sweets, sugar, a barrel of malvasia, a bale of almonds, the same amount of rice and Marseille figs, a lot of salted fish for Lent - tuna, cod, dolphins and anchovies, saffron, three reams of thin white paper, 60 pounds of Parisian linen, braid, ribbon, needles, mirrors, collars for greyhounds, gloves for falconry...» Having finished all the business, the merchant could rest: jugglers and dancers, wandering musicians and actors entertained the people at the fair. There were fireworks and illuminations.

There were many educated people among the merchants. A merchant seriously counting on success had to know the letter and account, foreign languages, have an idea about the laws and customs of other countries, understand jurisprudence and maritime affairs. It is no coincidence that in the XIII-XIV centuries. Western European merchants created their own special, so-called guild schools. Being actively engaged in trade, merchants unwittingly helped the development of various sciences, especially geography. Almost all the first travelers were merchants. The Venetian Marco Polo, who traveled for many years in China and Central Asia, described his impressions in a book that was published in Europe in many languages. The Russian merchant Afanasy Nikitin, the first European to visit India, left the most interesting notes - "Journey beyond the Three Seas".

By the late Middle Ages, trade begins

Merchant ship.

closely intertwined with financial and industrial activities. Many merchants, money changers, usurers have accumulated large sums of money. Often they opened the first bank offices, took money for safekeeping, issued loans, and through their agents transferred money from one country to another to interested merchants. The first banks arose in the cities of Northern Italy - in Lombardy. (Today, the word “pawnshop”, which refers to a modern credit institution, reminds of this.) Trade and financial transactions began to be carefully drawn up, bills (written promissory notes) came into use. A wealthy merchant could not tremble on a ship or in a wagon, but avoid a tedious journey by staying in his office, from where he led his agents in several cities.

An enterprising merchant brings from afar or buys some raw materials (for example, wool) from local peasants and distributes them to artisans for processing. Having received finished products(for example, fabrics), the merchant puts it on sale. Craftsmen, receiving raw materials and wages from the merchant-entrepreneur, gradually turn into hired workers, the merchant is more and more like a bourgeois. This is how scattered manufactory is formed (because the workers are not concentrated in one room) - the first capitalist enterprise.

At the same time, merchant guilds are being replaced by trading companies - special organizations of merchants. Companies were also created in order to trade with the least risk. If a ship for the transport of goods was hired by several merchants together, then in the event of a shipwreck, the losses were laid out equally and were tolerable for each partner. Unlike guilds, companies were small in number and were created for a certain, sometimes short time.

The very first trading companies appeared in Italian cities (Genoa, Venice, Florence

etc.) back in the 12th century. and consisted of only two people. A merchant or banker (often it was one person), the owner of money capital or a ship remained in his homeland, and the merchant-navigator carried and sold goods in a foreign land. 3/4 of the profit received went to the owner of the capital, and the merchant-navigator, who sometimes risked his life, could count on only 1/4 of it. If the capital was contributed by both partners, then the profits were divided in proportion to the contributions. Later, the number of companions increased. Often they were representatives of related families. Thanks to their large monetary funds, companies were included in banking operations, in industrial production.

Meaning trading companies rose sharply after the great geographical discoveries which led to an unprecedented expansion of world trade. Huge territories of the countries of Asia, America, Africa were involved in its orbit.

In the XVI century. the most famous trading companies operated in England, where the emergence of capitalist production proceeded at the fastest pace. The rapidly developing English manufactories produced goods suitable for export. The government gave the richest merchants the monopoly right to trade with any region. The names of the most famous companies speak about the main directions of trade: Eastern, Moscow, Moroccan, Levantine, Guinean. There was no question of any competition. Prices rose by leaps and bounds, and merchants received huge profits. This allowed companies to make large payments to the treasury and even lend to crowned heads.

In 1600, the East India Company was founded, which received the right to trade with India and neighboring countries. The merchants had at their disposal the fastest English ships. They exported English-made products, especially woolen fabrics, and imported, in addition to luxury goods, raw materials - raw cotton, sugar, saltpeter, dyes, etc.

By developing new markets, trading companies often set the stage for colonial conquests. It is no coincidence that the British turned their trading settlements in India into fortresses. Trading companies began to leave the scene already at the beginning of the New Age, giving way to new forms of commerce more appropriate to the capitalist era.

The commercial activities of the trading companies of Western Europe in the late Middle Ages marked the pinnacle of entrepreneurial activity of the medieval merchant.

Tenacity of mind, endurance and vitality, perseverance in overcoming difficulties, courage and determination, enterprise, and the desire for enrichment became pronounced traits of the character of a European merchant. Being closely associated with the feudal system, the merchant acted at the end of the Middle Ages as a herald of a new socio-economic order - capitalism.

Trade in the Middle Ages was a very difficult and dangerous business. Large quantities of goods could only be transported or on broken, bumpy dirt roads. For passage through the possessions of each feudal lord, the merchant had to pay a fee. The use of bridges and crossings was also paid. For example, in order to transport goods along the entire course of the French Loire River, it was necessary to pay a duty 74 times. And when the merchant brought the goods to the place of sale, it often turned out that he paid more duties than the cost of the goods themselves. In addition, feudal lords often robbed merchants on the road. And if the cart broke down and the goods fell to the ground, they became the property of the lord of this land. From here came the saying: "What fell from the cart is gone."

There were two main sea trade routes in medieval Europe. One led across the Mediterranean to the East. This route brought many goods to Europe from Asia and Africa - silks, carpets, weapons. Oriental spices, especially pepper, were extremely valued in Europe. It served not only as a seasoning for food, but also as a cure for stomach diseases. At first, Byzantine merchants played the main role in trade with the East. Then it was taken over by the merchants of two Italian port cities - Venice and Genoa.

The second sea trade route passed through the North and Baltic Seas and connected England, France, Northern Germany, Flanders, the Scandinavian countries, Poland, the Baltic States, Russia. A prominent place here belonged to the Russian cities - Novgorod and Pskov. Fabrics and other handicrafts were transported along this route to Russia, Sweden and Poland, and from here bread, ship timber, flax, wax and leather went to the west.

In addition, there were two main river routes. One of them led from the Adriatic Sea along the Po River through the Alpine mountain passes to the Rhine River and into the North Sea. By this road southern and eastern goods got to Northern Europe. The other along the Neman River or along the Neva, Volkhov and Lovat rivers led from the Baltic (Varangian) Sea through the Dnieper to the Black (Russian) Sea and Byzantium. In Russia, this road was called the path "from the Varangians to the Greeks."

Fairs and banks

Merchants from all over Europe gathered several times a year in certain cities for fairs. The lord of the area where the fairs were held made an oath that he would ensure the safety of the merchants and the safety of their goods. For this, the merchants paid him duties. Fairs in the French county of Champagne were especially famous. Here you could buy Indian pepper and Scandinavian herring, English wool and Russian linen, champagne and Arab blades.

These same money changers were given money for safekeeping. This is how bankers appeared (from the Italian word “bank” - the bench on which they sat during fairs). Bankers - the owners of banks, that is, money vaults, quickly turned into very rich people, before whom even kings and princes fawned.

Commodity-money economy

The development of handicrafts, trade, and banks undermined the dominance of subsistence farming. If earlier the peasants produced food only for their own consumption and for the payment of dues, now they also produced them for sale in the city. The feudal lords also began to send products from their estates to the city for sale. And artisans generally produced their products only for sale. Products intended for sale are called goods.

And artisans, and peasants, and feudal lords received money for the sold goods. Subsistence economy began to give way to commodity-money.

With the development of a commodity-money economy, great changes took place in the life of feudal Europe. Trade relations were established between different regions. For example, Southern France now produced olive oil not only for itself, but also for sale in the north of the country. The north of France supplied the southern regions with its cloth, and iron was brought from East France to other regions. South, North and East of France could no longer exist without each other and sought to unite in a single state.

Trade relations between individual countries have also intensified. Residents of different countries got to know each other better, exchanged handicrafts, passed on their knowledge to each other. This means that with the development of the commodity-money economy, the development of culture also moved forward.

But the life of the peasants became even more difficult. The feudal lords needed everything more money in order to buy various items in the city, expensive weapons, fine cloth, wine, spices. They sought to receive this money from the peasants and began to demand payment of dues in cash. Almost all the money that the peasant received from the sale of products in the city, he had to give to the feudal lord. Other feudal lords themselves sought to get more money from the sale own products in the city market. To do this, they increased the quitrent with food or forced the peasants to work more on corvee. Feudal oppression became unbearable. The peasants increasingly rebelled against the feudal lords.

The development of a commodity-money economy led to an intensification of the class struggle between peasants and feudal lords.

History lesson in 6th grade

Goals: to acquaint with the difficulties and dangers of the activities of merchants in the Middle Ages; talk about the main trade routes in Europe and relations with the East; explain the cause-and-effect relationships between the growth in the number of cities and the expansion of trade; give an idea of ​​the population of medieval cities and appearance townspeople.

Planned results:

subject: learn to establish causal relationships between the growth in the number of cities and the expansion of trade; apply the conceptual apparatus of historical knowledge and methods of historical analysis to reveal the essence and significance of events and phenomena; read a historical map, analyze and summarize map data;

meta-subject UUD: independently organize educational interaction in a group; determine one's own attitude to phenomena modern life; express your point of view; listen and hear each other; express their thoughts with sufficient completeness and accuracy in accordance with the tasks and conditions of communication; independently discover and formulate a learning problem; choose the means to achieve the goal from the proposed ones, as well as look for them on your own; give definitions of concepts; analyze, compare, classify and generalize facts and phenomena; carry out the analysis of objects with the allocation of essential and non-essential features; prepare thematic messages and projects using additional sources information;

personal UUD: to form personal motivation to study new material; be aware of the importance of studying history for oneself and for society; express their attitude to the role of history in the life of society; comprehend the social and moral experience of previous generations.

Equipment: schemes "Composition of the urban population", "Development of trade in Europe"; textbook illustrations; multimedia presentation.

Lesson type: discovery of new knowledge.

During the classes

I. Organizational moment

II. Motivational-target stage

Medieval merchants, like artisans, peasants and feudal lords, created their own associations. Why, for what purpose they did this, we will discuss in the lesson.

III. Knowledge update

— Why did urban artisans produce products?

How did they acquire food and raw materials?

— Why could peasants buy handicraft products?

Where did they buy them?

(Students do their homework.)

- So, trade relations were bound to revive, and cities - to strengthen their role in the life of medieval society.

Guess what will be discussed in our lesson.

(Students formulate the objectives of the lesson.)

Topic announcement, learning outcomes and course of the lesson (presentation)

Lesson topic: “Trade in the Middle Ages. Citizens and their way of life.

(Introduction to the lesson plan.)

Lesson plan

1. Trade in the Middle Ages.
2. Fairs and banks.
3. Composition of the urban population.
4. How did the townspeople live?
5. View from the city.

Formulation of problematic questions of the lesson. Why did medieval merchants, as well as townspeople and peasants, create their own associations? What hindered the development of trade in the Middle Ages, and what contributed to it?

IV. Work on the topic of the lesson

1. Trade in the Middle Ages

Task for the first group: working with the text of paragraph 1 of § 14, find evidence that trading activity in the Middle Ages was difficult and dangerous.

Task for the second group: working with the text of paragraph 2 of § 14, find evidence that trading activities in the Middle Ages were profitable.

Presentation of the work of the first group

The group made keywords which prove that trade was a difficult and dangerous business.

Keywords:

• huge impenetrable forests where "noble robbers" hunted;
• the roads are narrow and unpaved;
• impassable dirt;
• “What fell from the cart is gone”;
• tolls for passage through the possessions of feudal lords; “bridges in dry places;
• dust fee;
• false beacons.

Presentation of the work of the second group

The group drew up a logic diagram.

Department of craft Agriculture

Development of profitable trade:

- between the city and the countryside;

between cities and countries

The emergence of a trade union (guild)

Two trading centers in Europe

— Southern: Trade with the countries of the East in the Mediterranean. Exchanging luxury items for precious metals. Venue: Venice, Genoa

— Northern: Trade with countries located off the coast of the North and Baltic Seas. Exchange of goods needed in the economy. Centers: Bruges, London, Hansa cities

Fairs - centers international trade

2. Fairs and banks

Fairs arose in Europe - centers of international trade in the Middle Ages. In Champagne fairs were held six times a year for 48 days each.

Problem question. Why was the fair in Champagne so popular in Europe? Use the historical map to answer.

Indeed, the location of Champagne in the center of land and river routes, between France, Germany and the Netherlands, contributed to the flourishing. Here the northern and southern centers European trade.

The task: study and comment on the diagram (see p. 94).

(Checking the execution of the task.)

— A medieval chivalric romance describes a fair in Champagne:

In Lagny, in Provins an equal
The fair did not succeed,
Where there was brown and gray fur,
Both silk and wool fabrics.
The rich came early
Having completed the eight-day journey,
Who is close - just to brag about?

Champagne:

• According to Rhone and Sonya Italian merchants delivered oriental goods
• According to the Scheldt and Maas from flanders delivered high quality cloth
• German merchants, using the river routes of the Elbe, Danube and Rhine, brought furs, metal products
• Along the Loire and the Seine French merchants brought cloth and wine
• arrived English goods: wool, tin, lead

— What qualities did merchants in the Middle Ages have to have in order to succeed in their business?

- Do you think they are needed today by people involved in business?

(Student answers.)

In medieval Europe, the first bankers from money changers and usurers also appeared. Bankers carried out more complex monetary transactions, in particular the transfer of money from one country to another, with the help of their agents. Their wealth exceeded the treasures of the largest feudal lords and even kings, to whom they lent large sums of money at high interest rates (up to 60% or more). So the bankers compensated for the risk of non-return of money from the "powerful ones." Sometimes kings, in urgent need of money, took away all the property from usurers and bankers.

The question is a riddle. Some families of bankers have amassed great wealth. They provided most of the money in the form of loans to European monarchs. So, the Bardi and Peruzzi banks in the Italian city of Florence in the 15th century. lent the kings and princes 2 million 700 thousand florins and, not receiving the borrowed amounts back, went bankrupt.

- Why did the bankers give large loans to the rulers, despite the threat of non-repayment of the debt?

(Student answers.)

3. Composition of the urban population

— What segments of the population lived in the medieval city?

The task: study and comment on the diagram (see p. 95).

(Checking the execution of the task.)

4. How the townspeople lived

Usually the population of a medieval city did not exceed 5-6 thousand people, and often it was even less - 1-2 thousand.

The composition of the urban population:

• Guild masters and small traders - owners of workshops and shops
• Merchants, owners of urban lands, ships (patricians) - held control of the city in their hands
• Urban poor - "eternal" apprentices, beggars, laborers

The task: Let's get to know the conditions of life in the medieval city by taking a virtual tour of the city of Cologne. Share your impressions at the end of the tour.

slide 1. In the autumn and winter months, the city plunged into darkness early. in Cologne in the 14th century. only three lanterns shone: one at the Duma, another on the Field of Mars, the third at the monastery. Homeowners were required to hang lanterns outside their homes only in special cases: in case of fire, on the days of the arrival of high-ranking guests, or in case of violations of public safety. In Frankfurt, in some places, at the crossroads of streets, iron boxes were installed, in which sulfur and fir branches were burned from time to time. The city dweller, forced to leave the house in the evening, did not rely on street lighting. He armed himself with a long stick and a smoky lantern, which had to be protected from the wind with a cloak.

Slide 2. The street bore the name of a saint or received the name of the craft that its inhabitants were engaged in. Gardeners, Dyers, Tanners, Saddlers - these are the names of the streets, which do not require explanation. Sometimes the streets owed their name to those foreigners, guests who often visited the city: the English street in Lübeck, the Lombard street in Basel, the Russian street in Wroclaw.

Slide 3. There were no house numbers. Usually the house was decorated with the emblem of the owner. We already know that the shoemaker announced his profession with a brightly painted wooden boot of impressive size. The baker decorated his dwelling with a huge gilded pretzel. And if it was impossible to find the proper emblem of the craft, then a wooden shield of one color or another was simply nailed to the house. The address sounded peculiar: "St. Jacob's Street, house of the blue boot, on the right ..."

slide 4. The houses were wooden, they were covered with clay on the outside and covered with boards or straw, less often with more expensive tiles. Only individual buildings belonging to the city patricians, nobles and wealthy merchants were made of stone. Under such conditions, when wooden buildings closely adjoined each other and easily flammable roofs touched, fires were a formidable, devastating disaster, with which all the townspeople fought with common forces.

Slide 5. The medieval city lacked the clear-cut layout characteristic of Roman cities: it did not have wide squares with public buildings, nor wide paved streets with porticos on both sides.

slide 6. In a medieval city, houses crowded along narrow and crooked streets, which seemed even narrower from the bay windows hanging at random. The residential buildings located on both sides almost touched with overhanging roofs and shaded almost the entire street, leaving only a narrow gap in the sky. Residents of opposite houses, having opened the windows of the upper floors, could shake hands. One of the streets of ancient Brussels still bears the name "Street of one person": two people could not disperse there. Pedestrians, animals, carts - the main element of traffic. Herds were often driven through the streets of the medieval city.

Slide 7. Garbage and sewage were dumped into rivers and nearby ditches. At the end of the XV century. the inhabitants of one German city persuaded the emperor not to come to them, but he did not heed the advice and almost drowned in the mud along with the horse.

slide 8. At first, the only public buildings in the city were churches. The city's cathedral became the center of the city. Discussions began at its entrance, on holidays unfolded theatrical performances. With the strengthening of urban independence, new public buildings began to be erected: town halls, covered markets, hospitals, educational establishments, merchant warehouses and workshop premises.

(Checking the execution of the task.)

5. View from the city

— The city became the brightest and most dynamic phenomenon of the Middle Ages.

The task: divide the text of paragraph 6 of § 15 into paragraphs: think over how many separate semantic parts can be distinguished in the text, how they should be called. Write the plan in a notebook.

(Checking the execution of the task.)

V. Summing up the lesson

- I propose to play a game, for which we will divide into two teams.

First team represents a merchant from Genoa who went by ship to the port of Beirut in Syria. Follow his path on the map.

What goods will he buy there?

How will he pay for them?

What dangers await him along the way?

Second team represents a merchant from Genoa who, after returning home, then went to Hamburg.

What goods will he carry there?

What goods can he buy in Hamburg?

- What difficulties will he have to overcome when traveling by sea and by land?

(Checking the execution of the task.)

The task: find errors in the text and correct them.

Wilhelm, an apprentice in one of the bakery workshops, hurried along a wide, straight street like an arrow to a workshop meeting. The foremen of the workshop gathered to discuss urgent matters.
Suddenly, someone called Wilhelm. Looking out of the window of the gunsmith's workshop was his friend Hans, who had recently moved to the city. Just think, three months ago he was a dependent peasant, and now free man. In vain did the baron, his master, demand that the members of the city council return the fugitive peasant. Those, referring to the rights granted to the city, and for the period that Hans lived within the city limits, denied him this.
And here is the market square, the city guards lead two burghers who did not get along with each other to the town hall. In the heat of a quarrel, one of the unlucky townspeople pushed another, and he fell right on the tray with dishes, killing all the goods. The dishware merchant, lamenting and counting his losses, trails behind. Suddenly, he notices Wilhelm and, looking at him frowningly, hurries to leave. Wilhelm recognizes him, he used to be a member of their workshop, but he could not avoid the competition of more successful brothers: they lured away all customers and buyers from him, and ruined members of the workshop were immediately excluded from it - this was the charter.

(Checking the assignment and summarizing the lesson.)

VI. Reflection

- What did you learn in the lesson?

What skills and abilities did you develop?

What new terms have you learned?

What did you like and dislike about the lesson?

- What conclusions did you draw?

Homework (differentiated)

1. For strong students - § 14, 15, pair up with a classmate a dialogue between a native city dweller and a peasant who wants to move to the city, about the advantages and difficulties of living in the city.
2. For average students - § 14, 15, conduct a study: clarify the meaning of the words "bankrupt" and "bankruptcy" in the explanatory dictionary and suggest how they were formed.
3. For weak students - § 14, 15, questions and tasks for the paragraph.

By the 11th century, the areas occupied by forests had shrunk in Western and Central Europe. In the dense forest thickets, the peasants cut down trees and uprooted stumps, clearing land for crops. The area of ​​arable land has expanded significantly. The two-field was replaced by the three-field. Improved, albeit slowly, agricultural technology. The peasants had more tools made of iron. There are more orchards, orchards and vineyards. Agricultural products became more diverse, crops grew. Many mills have appeared that provide faster grinding of grain.

A lot of metal was required to make iron tools. In Europe, the extraction of iron ore has increased; improved smelting and processing of metals. Blacksmithing and weaponry developed. The population of Europe was no longer content with linen clothing. The manufacture of fabrics from wool spread. With the establishment of the feudal system, great changes took place in the economy: both agriculture and cattle breeding, and handicrafts developed.

In the early Middle Ages, the peasants themselves made the things they needed. But, for example, the manufacture of a wheeled plow or the manufacture of cloth required complex devices, special knowledge and skills in labor. Among the peasants stood out "craftsmen" - experts in a particular craft. Their families have long accumulated work experience. In order to be successful in their business, artisans had to devote less time to agriculture. The craft was to become their main occupation. The development of the economy led to a gradual separation of handicrafts from agriculture. The craft turned into a special occupation of a large group of people - artisans.

Things made by artisans were stronger and more beautiful than those made by peasants. More and more people needed the products of experienced craftsmen. But when collecting dues, a significant part of the products of the “craftsmen” was taken free of charge by the feudal lord. Therefore, artisans ran away from the estates and moved from place to place in search of customers and buyers. Over time, wandering artisans settled down. Their settlements arose at crossroads, at river crossings and near convenient sea harbors. Merchants often came here, and then merchants settled. Peasants came from the nearest villages to sell agricultural products and buy the necessary things. In these places, artisans could sell their products and buy raw materials. As a result of the separation of craft from agriculture, cities arose and grew in Europe. A division of labor developed between the city and the countryside: in contrast to the village, whose inhabitants were engaged in agriculture, the city was the center of crafts and trade.

Artisans produced more and more goods - things for sale. They needed raw materials for the manufacture of their products, bread and other food products. With the improvement of agriculture, the peasants had a surplus, which they carried to sell to the city market. The city was the center of trade with the surrounding area.

The subsistence economy in Europe was preserved, but the commodity economy also gradually developed. A commodity economy is an economy in which the products of labor are produced for sale on the market and are exchanged through money.

Trade in times of feudal fragmentation was profitable, but difficult and dangerous business. On land, merchants were robbed by "noble" robbers - knights, at sea pirates lay in wait for them. For passage through the feudal lord's possessions, for the use of bridges and crossings, one had to pay duties many times. To increase their income, the feudal lords built bridges in dry places, demanded payment for the dust raised by wagons.

To protect themselves from robbers, merchants united in unions - guilds. They hired guards and traveled in large groups.

The revival of trade required the improvement of roads. In some countries, most notably in France, the kings ordered that the main roads be paved. Wooden and stone bridges were built across the rivers. Ships have been greatly improved.