Starting from the 11th century, active urbanization processes began to take place in Europe. However, as it was then ironic, "there is no land without a lord," and from the very moment of their formation, medieval cities fell under the power of feudal lords, and their inhabitants were forced to put up with their arbitrariness. This situation over time began to burden the population. Therefore, we have reached a lot of historical documents that describe the struggle of cities with feudal lords. So, what conflicts occurred in the Middle Ages in Europe between city dwellers and large landowners, and how did they end?
Economic prerequisites for the emergence of cities
In the era of the Early Middle Ages, few of the surviving ancient Roman cities were inhabited by people engaged in agriculture, so even the once landscaped areas and territories for public use were plowed up and turned into agricultural land. However, since the end of the 11th century, the development of technology has led to the formation of crafts as a new industry, separate from agriculture. At the same time, people with the same specialty began to settle together, as this ensured higher labor productivity, and hence greater profit. As a result, the first craftsmanships emerged, which can be considered the ancestors of modern industrial cities, and nearby began to build their houses and merchants. After all, the products of artisans needed to be sold, and with the advent of free cash, their needs for things that were not produced locally grew.
Background of conflicts between seniors and city dwellers
As already mentioned, the emergence of a large number of cities in the Middle Ages was due primarily to economic factors. In particular, the development of production and trade contributed to this. In general, it is customary to indicate the following options for the emergence of cities: on the site of former ancient Roman settlements, around castles and fortresses, around monasteries. In addition, they were often formed on the basis of craft settlements, which are well-organized communities. Moreover, regardless of origin, in all such settlements, those who were engaged in agriculture were a minority. But any city stood on the ground, and almost the entire territory of Western, and partially Eastern European Europe belonged to kings or feudal lords. Therefore, all the townspeople were under the rule of the feudal lord. Moreover, at first, the seigneur himself, as a rule, tried in every possible way to encourage the influx of the population, considering those who lived on his land as a source of constant income.
Why did the cities seek to free themselves from the rule of the lords?
Along with the growth of the well-being of the inhabitants of cities, as a rule, the claims of the feudal lords also grew. Most often this happened after residents "took root" in a new place and acquired real estate with which they would not want to leave. First of all, this was manifested in a constant increase in taxes, which began to be charged literally from everything. In addition, the clerks of the seniors often themselves "took the initiative", with the goal of their own enrichment. Also practiced the system of fines, which punished for minor offenses, and levying fees for engaging in a particular type of activity. It often happened that the lord simply took away from those who were dependent on him what he liked.
Thus, the main reason why cities sought to free themselves from the power of lords, was arbitrariness in relation to the townspeople. In addition, this was facilitated by the realization that dependence on the feudal lord impeded the growth of their well-being.
The struggle of cities with seniors
Most of the inhabitants were originally serving people of the seigneur and peasants, whose ancestors always lived in these places. Also, the feudal lords favorably allowed to settle in their cities slaves who fled from the previous masters, as their income directly depended on the number of citizens. At the same time, all power was concentrated in the hands of the seniors. In addition, thanks to former peasants in the cities, customs began to take shape, characteristic of the communal system, which in the future had a great influence on the formation of municipal authorities.
The desire of the feudal lord to extract as much income as possible led to the fact that artisans and merchants sought to free themselves from the seigneur's power, since it was they who constantly became the main target of requisitions. Thus arose a communal movement aimed at the liberation of cities. At first, the townspeople fought for a reduction in fees and trade privileges, but a little later they began to put forward more serious political demands. In particular, most often it was about providing the city population with the right to self-government. Thus, when the history of the Middle Ages is considered, the struggle of cities with feudal lords occupies not the last place in it. A feature of the communal movement was its local character, since it was conducted against a specific person, but did not affect the social structure.
Fight results
There are cases when cities received certain privileges, buying them from the lords for money. Moreover, the amounts in this case were so large that they exceeded the income from duties and fines for many years to come. But most often the city became free, that is, self-governing, only as a result of many years of struggle, often armed, in which emperors and kings often intervened, acting as supreme judges. If, as a result of the war between the inhabitants and the lord, the feudal lord won the victory, then he mercilessly cracked down on the most active participants in the communal movement and tightened requisitions.
How was the process of liberating cities from the rule of seniors in different countries?
In each of the European feudal states, the communal movement had its own characteristics. The fact is that the reasons why cities sought to free themselves from the power of seniors, coinciding in general, also had certain nuances.
So, in the south of France, the process of transition to self-government went smoothly and without bloodshed. As for Italy, there were city republics or power was transferred to the clergy.
Now you know why the cities sought to free themselves from the lordship of the seniors and how the formation of local governments in large settlements of medieval Europe took place.