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Medieval english village9/25/2023 A thief found in possession of stolen goods was hanged. The penalty for the crime was much higher. ![]() If a "hue and cry" was raised to chase a criminal all citizens had to join in or risk being fined. Law and order in the town was enforced by the beadle or constables, who could call on citizens to form a night Watch. Stray pigs were such a nuisance that they were liable to be killed and the owner charged for the return of the dead animal. However, houses were small and gardens even smaller, so pigs were often let out into the streets to forage. They were cheap, and a good source of food. ![]() Pigs were another nuisance in the streets. In practice, the only real incentive to do so was an outbreak of the plague or a visit of the King. Again the onus was on the individual householder to keep the space in front of his house relatively clean. Dyers' vats were particularly noxious when they were emptied into the street. People often threw dirty water out of windows in the general direction of the drains. Many stables opened out onto the streets and muck heaps encroached on passage. Open drain channels ran along the sides or down the centre of the streets. Traffic moved slowly, not least because tolls at the town gates were often paid in kind (that is, with goods rather than money), causing delays and long lineups. Roads were narrow, and tradesmen and householders were constantly encroaching on them. In London, the original Roman roads are buried up to 20 feet beneath the street level of today. Because of this practice street levels rose and rose. There was also the possibility that a citizen would build his section higher than his neighbour. New roadways were often built directly on top of the old with little attempt to clear it away. After Edward's time, town councils began to take over more responsibility. If they could remain there for a year and a day they were considered free and could not be compelled to return to the manor.īefore Edward I all repairs to streets were the responsibility of adjacent householders. If this "master-piece" was accepted he could become a master craftsman and own his own shop.Īll townsmen were free, and this provided some incentive for serfs to run away to the towns. After several years as a journeyman, the craftsman would submit a piece of his best work to the guild for approval. The term has nothing to do with traveling it comes from the French "journee", (day), and meant that the journeyman was paid by the day for his work. The period of apprenticeship lasted for 2-7 years, after which time the apprentice became a journeyman. There he received food, lodging (often sleeping under the counter in the shop itself), clothes, and instruction in the craft. Parents paid a fee to place a boy with a master craftsman as an apprentice. There were three levels of craftsmen masters, journeymen, and apprentices. Separate from the merchant guilds were the craft guilds, which regulated the quality, working hours and conditions of its members. Each guild had a patron saint, celebrated religious festivals together, put on religious plays, and looked after the health and welfare of the members and their families. The power of the guilds was absolute in their domain, and to be expelled from a guild made it impossible to earn a living. Merchant guilds regulated prices, quality, weights and measures, and business practices. Eventually the growth of towns and guilds led to the breakdown of the manor-centred feudal society. Town charters became a major source of royal revenue. ![]() The king, for his part, encouraged the growth of towns and trade. Merchants needed stability for trade, so they supported the king and the establishment of a strong central government against the rule of individual nobles. Merchant guilds controlled town government, though they often clashed with craft guilds for power. Towns were built on trade, and the elite of towns were the merchants. Trade routes grew, though roads remained poor and dangerous, so most goods were transported by water. Town populations swelled during this period, particularly after the Black Death. The growth of trade and the merchant middle class went hand in hand with the growth in towns. A new class emerged during the Middle Ages the merchant.
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