Hereditary king and ruling class, 2% of people, controlled half or more total wealth and income {medieval society}|.
economy
Economies depended on ruler desires, in a command economy. Power and government helped gain wealth. People bought and sold government and religious offices. Kings were private owners of whole state {proprietary theory of state}.
politics
Rules of succession to kingship were clear, but frequent internal struggles happened.
church
Catholic Church owned 30% of European land. Clergy was a separate class, usually literate and well off.
cities
Cities were mostly political, religious, or commercial centers, not industrial centers. 1% to 10% of people lived in cities. In cities, trade and industry were 5% of ruler incomes.
Merchants mixed with ruling class and supplied them luxury goods. Merchants became wealthy. Families owned businesses. Artisans, 3% to 5% of people, had shops of 4 to 10 people that lived and worked there. Guilds began, but merchants, not artisans, controlled them.
Cities contained many servants. Thieves, beggars, prostitutes, injured, and unemployed were also in cities.
life
Sanitation was poor. Life expectancy was 20 to 25 years. Prevalent attitudes among people were fatalism and belief in magic.
primogeniture
Family wealth passed to first-born son at father's death. Primogeniture was necessary to keep family wealth and land large and powerful.
peasants
Peasants and people in cities were often too poor to marry. More than half of peasant production went to rulers, mainly through taxes, but also from rents, interest, tithes, and profits. Peasants typically had house, cooking utensils, no beds, stools, table, and chest. Peasants ate bread, cheese, and soup. Peasants had high birth rate, causing surplus labor. Plague, crop failure, war, and famine happened often and reduced number of peasants. Peasants received cruel treatment from rulers. Ruling family owned land and ruled peasants.
change: exploration
Exploration brought gold to Europe and caused inflation. Inflation favored merchant class and reduced hereditary-holding value. Inflation also caused agricultural revolution, as technology and money changed farming. In England, enclosure acts between 1750 and 1800 encouraged large farms.
change: Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation emphasized individualism, work, frugalness, honesty, and rationalism, as opposed to magic or traditionalism. It legitimized profit. City, merchant, artisan, and economy growth influenced Reformation.
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Date Modified: 2022.0224