TTO2 The Church in Late Middle Ages

• Geschiedenis
• Middelbare school
• mavo, havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 1

Chapter 5.3: The Church in the Late Middle Ages

Question 1:
Who is the Pope?

What is a sin? How could you get rid of your sin(s)?

Question 2:
What was the feudal system?

Power in Late Middle Ages

People in the Middle Ages believed that all power was granted to kings and lords by God. 
Kings received secular (wereldlijke) power
Popes received spiritual (religieuze_) power

Hereditary

The power to control a certain region was granted by a lord. 
The vassal would often keep it in the family and would grant it to his oldest son when he died. This is called hereditary (= erfelijk)
--> This wasn't exactly what the lord wanted of course...

Why do you think?

Bishops

Were often chosen by kings to become their vassals. And also appointed to become bishop.
Questions: 
1) Why did kings/lords do this? 
2) How do we call the area that was governed by a bisshop?

If you think about cities in the Middle Ages, what did they look like?

Try to think of a reason why it was possible to move back to the cities at the start of the Late Middle Ages (1000 AD)

Why could more food lead to the growth of cities / urbanisation?

Heavy iron plow

Craftsmen and guilds

• In the cities, people started to trade all kinds of products. 
• Other people started to learn a craft. They specialised in different areas. For instance, blacksmithing, leatherworking, shoemaking, baker, carpenter.
• To make things easier for new craftsmen, they often gathered in guilds. Guilds were associations of people who had the same job. 

5.2: City Rights

Most cities were under the rule of a lord, who, in return, was under the rule of the king. 
Burghers wanted more influence--> Received city rights from local lord in return for money.

How could providing burghers with city rights be beneficial to the nobility?

Why were city rights beneficial to the burghers?

Examples of city rights

• Right to organise markets
• Right to build city walls
• Right to collect money from merchants
• Right to punish criminals
• Right to produce their own currency/coins
• Right to store goods and sell them without permission of the lord.

City Rights

Burghers (free people) wanted something in return for paying high taxes. 
--> Lords and burghers came to an agreement 
--> Cities received city rights 

Low countries lords still hold control by:

• Appointing a bailiff (representative of the lord) 
  --> He kept everything in check and was announced leader of the schepenen. 
• Appointing aldermen
  --> Group of people that controlled the city. 
  --> Tasks like solving crimes / judging criminals / collecting taxes etc.