The Renaissance was a time of great intellectual and economic change, but it was not a complete “rebirth.” Its roots were in the medieval world. By 1300, there were about 15 cities in Europe with a population of more than 50,000.Ī new era arose in these cities: the Renaissance. As the commercial economy developed, port cities in particular thrived. Meanwhile, the Crusades had expanded trade routes to the East and given Europeans a taste for imported goods such as wine, olive oil, and luxurious textiles. As a result, many people migrated to towns and cities. At the same time, the expanding food supply led to population growth. Agricultural innovations such as the heavy plow and three-field crop rotation made farming more efficient and productive. In exchange for their labor, they were allowed to live on the land and promised protection in case of enemy invasion.ĭuring the 11th century, feudal life began to change. They planted and harvested crops, and they were required to give most of the produce to the landowner. Landless peasants known as serfs did most of the work on the fiefs. Enlightenment authors generally mocked and ridiculed anything from the 'Dark Ages' including feudalism, projecting its negative characteristics on the current French monarchy as a means of political gain. Feudalism as practiced in the Kingdoms of England during the medieval period was a state of human society that organized political and military leadership and force around a stratified formal structure based on land tenure. In medieval Europe, rural life was governed by a system scholars call “feudalism.” In a feudal society, the king granted large tracts of land called fiefs to noblemen and bishops. This was the Age of Enlightenment, when writers valued reason and the Middle Ages were viewed as the 'Dark Ages'.
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