From the 11th century, already in the so-called period of LowAgeAverage (one of the subdivisions of the Middle Ages), there was a certain technological advance in the scope of work in the manors, that is, in the work carried out on land belonging to the feudal lord. The implementation of the plow (a more sophisticated type of plow than the common plow) and the improvement of the hydraulic mill expanded the agricultural production capacity at the time. In addition, peasants began to take greater care with crop rotation (agricultural technique used to not impoverish the soil), thus contributing to better soil treatment and, consequently, greater productivity, which enabled growth populational.
Parallel to these transformations in the countryside, many merchants and artisans who inhabited the boroughs (Fortresses that had been built centuries before with a strategic military function) began to gain autonomy due to the intense commercial movement they provided. The flow of goods between the “bourgeois” (inhabitants of the boroughs) and the peasants ended up triggering what is now called RebirthcommercialandurbangivesAgeAverage.
In the fiefs of that time, the relations of dependence between lord and vassal began to change as well. Some obligations were abolished and, from the 12th century onwards, the peasants began to demand payment in cash for work and also demanded part of the agricultural surplus (what was produced beyond what was necessary for the consumption). In addition, many peasants abandoned rural work and headed to the villages, where they developed craft or manufacturing skills.
The towns, little by little, were transformed into great demographic centers (that is, places of great concentration of people), which required transformations in housing structures to meet such demand. The intense flow of people also increased the demand for products such as household utensils, clothing items and equipment for work and for war. All of this drove the development of manufacturing. Manufacturing work consisted of transforming raw materials into goods. For example, a blacksmith who lived in a medieval town was in charge of transforming the iron in goods for military use, such as swords and spears.
The boost in manufacturing led to the emergence of corporationsincraft. These corporations had two main objectives: 1) the organization of work in the villages and distribution of products and 2) the transmission of the technique applied to each trade. Each master of the corporation was responsible for transmitting to his apprentices the trade in which he had specialized.
The commercial and urban development in the Low Middle Ages made possible a great enrichment of the bourgeoisie as well, a fact that provoked two characteristic conflicts: 1) the confrontation with the feudal lords, who maintained an economic model completely incompatible with that of the bourgeois, and 2) the issue of usury (profit on the time of borrowing a certain amount of cash).
By Me. Cláudio Fernandes