II. Changes in II. Changes in Medieval SocietyMedieval Society

II. Changes in II. Changes in Medieval SocietyMedieval Society

A. Growing Food Supply

• Europe’s rise to power would have been impossible without an increased food supply

•Horses – Replaced oxen during the Middle Ages – Able to do 3 times the work

                                                                                                            

B. Guilds• Guilds – Organization of individuals

who work in the same business or occupation

• Banded together to control the number of goods produced and the price of goods

• Artisan – Skilled craftsmen who produced goods by hand

C. Magna Carta

• For many years English kings ruled without limits

• 1215 – King John was forced to sign the most praised document in English history

• Magna Carta – Limits the power of the king and guarantees basic freedoms

D. Basic Freedoms Guaranteed

•1) No taxation without representation

•2) Trial by jury of peer•3) Equal protection under the law

E. Dante and Chaucer • Two greatest writers of the Middle

Ages• Dante – Greatest work is The

Divine Comedy• Describes the passage through

heaven, purgatory, and hell• Criticizes inequality in society

Descriptions of Hell

• Geoffrey Chaucer – Author of The Canterbury Tales

• Most famous book of the Middle Ages

• Pokes fun at the church and shows that it is greedy and corrupt

Travelers to Canterbury