I. The PEASANTS

A. The vast majority of Europeans were farmers. They made up about 90% of the population. Those farmers are known as PEASANTS.

B. Before 1345, most peasants in Europe were SERFS -- by law and custom they were bound to the land on which they worked. If a noble family sold part of their lands, they sold some the peasants with it. Peasants, however, had certain CUSTOMARY RIGHTS. They were allowed to take wood from the local forests, to celebrate certain holidays, etc. They paid a rent to the local noble but the rent was determined by custom. The noble was not supposed to be able to raise the rent. If the noble family did, it was violating the customary rights of the local peasants.

C. After 1345, more and more peasants were freed from bondage to the land, but they still paid rent in return for the right to farm the lands of someone else. That was the typical situation for most Western European peasants in 1492, when they first found out about America.

D. A few peasants, particularly in England, owned their own land. These peasants were known as YEOMEN. They were essentially small, independent, family farmers but they were frequently the most comfortable of the farmers in a village -- a kind of "middle class" in their local region. This is important for understanding the behavior of common English farmers during the period when England founded her American colonies -- if you owned your own land, you were considered to have more status and to be more free.

A. ARTISANS were the manufacturers of Europe. Although most artisans started off working for someone else (as an APPRENTICE or a JOURNEYMAN), most artisans expected to own their own shops by the age of 30 (although that became harder after 1700). Therefore, a majority of artisans were SMALL PROPERTY OWNERS called MASTER ARTISANS.

B. Artisans made their income from making and selling goods to local people. They charged what custom dictated was a proper price for their product in the local market. Each was highly skilled in making a specific kind of product, which he made from start to finish. Because they saw their work develop, almost like a child, and they saw the finished product of their labors, most artisans took great pride in their work. In addition, because they sold their goods to local people, they had to be fairly honest; otherwise they risked having no friends and no customers.

C. Some classic examples of artisans:

shoemakers woodcarvers (like Gepetto in the story of Pinocchio) blacksmiths masons (who built buildings) goldsmiths weavers (who made cloth) tailors (who made clothing from cloth) coopers (who made wooden barrels)
D. Like other social groups in Medieval Europe, artisans had certain CUSTOMARY RIGHTS just for themselves.
1. According to customary right, they were expected to do work only in their own specialty. As a result, they worked hard to produce their craft goods, but they were not very flexible about how they did it and they did not change occupations easily.

E. Artisans were NOT CAPITALIST. Instead, they believed in something called MORAL ECONOMY



(Often referred to as a COLLECTIVE ETHIC or a COMMUNITY ETHIC)



1. Definition of MORAL ECONOMY (COLLECTIVE ETHIC): an economy regulated by a sense that people must help each other, and emphasizing the responsibility of individuals to their community. Moral economy is based on a strong sense of community and is NON-individualistic. Various kinds of moral economies existed throughout the world before capitalist ideas became widespread. Moral economy usually includes two major features: the idea of MUTUAL AID and belief in such a thing as a JUST PRICE.
a. MUTUAL AID meant that people reciprocal obligations or responsibilities -- they had responsibilities to each other. Each individual was expected to pull his/her own weight, but would also help others who were in need. They expected similar treatment from others. During the Middle Ages, artisans developed GUILDS to provide mutual aid to each other. Guild's were like modern professional associations and insurance companies all in one. Each specialty would have its own Guild. Your guild was expected to certify that you were truly skilled in your profession, police your behavior, and also take care of you and your family in bad times. Most guild's would pay the funeral expenses of their members and organize the funeral (a big help to the bereaved family).

b. The "JUST PRICE" was the price which was considered fair for any particular goods -- a price that allowed the maker to live comfortably and kept the goods affordable to consumers. The just price for any given item was usually determined by tradition and enforced by local citizens or a GUILD. A craftsman who raised his price when demand for his goods increased would be punished for price gouging. This often happened in times of famine, when bakers would raise the cost of bread. Local villagers might pillage his bakery in a "bread riot" or the local authorities might arrest him for "UNFAIR COMPETITION" -- taking advantage of other people's hard times.

2. MORAL ECONOMY contrasts sharply with CAPITALISM, which was (and is) competitive, opportunistic, and individualistic. That contrast is important because later in this course I will describe how different social groups in America clashed over the two ideals.

Go To Medieval Europe, Part 5: Religion

References:

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Copyright © 1999 Toren J.F. Hudson