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THE COMMON PEOPLE
The daily life of peasants was shaped by the changing seasons. In times of peace, their labour fed the entirety of medieval society; in times of war, they made up the ranks of armies heading into battle.
Artisans and merchants formed guilds, carrying out key economic activities that underpinned the fabric of collective life.
Artisans specialised in producing goods or providing services such as carpentry, weaving, blacksmithing, or masonry.
Merchants gained increasing importance, particularly from the late 11th century onwards, as they were tasked with managing the financial resources generated by emerging trade within the framework of urban development.
THE CLERGY
In a society where Catholicism served as the primary cultural reference, the clergy was pivotal in shaping moral awareness, playing a significant role in structuring collective life, particularly in education and the arts.
This was the age of cathedrals.
THE NOBILITY
The nobility held ownership of the land. Under the command of the King, whose authority was considered divinely ordained, the social hierarchy was crowned by a select few families. These families ruled over their own estates, ensuring the agricultural production of their lands. They also engaged in hunting, tournaments, and horsemanship as a way in which to prepare for war.
MEDIEVAL EUROPE
The feudal system that prevailed in medieval Europe was built on a highly hierarchical social structure. The nobility held political power through land ownership and military command; the clergy exerted spiritual authority, reflected in grand cathedrals and countless convents; and the common people comprised peasants, artisans, and merchants.
THE CRISIS
From the early 14th century, Europe experienced a profound crisis that heralded significant economic and social challenges.
Overexploited lands failed to meet the needs of a growing population or the demands of expanding cities.
Famines, epidemics, and the decline of rural life caused high mortality among the population, while tensions between the emerging European states led to constant warfare throughout the continent.
The 15th century saw a gradual easing of this crisis thanks to demographic recovery, agricultural advancements, artistic and scientific developments, increasing trade between countries and regions, urban growth, and market development.
THE BLACK DEATH
Beyond famines and wars, the greatest calamity to afflict medieval European populations was the Black Death – a devastating epidemic that swept across 14th-century Europe, spread by the Indian black rat brought from the steppes of Central Asia.
Arriving at Italian ports, it spread across the European continent almost instantly, reaching Portugal in 1348, where it decimated about one-third of the population within a short timeframe.
A TIME OF REVOLT
By around 1350, frequent military conflicts, the plague, low rural wages, rising prices, and famine caused by successive poor harvests had triggered revolts across Europe. Notable uprisings took place in Flanders, southern England, Paris, and central Italy. These movements, however, were generally short-lived.
THE WESTERN SCHISM
This period is also marked by a religious rupture within the Catholic Church, which lasted from 1378 to 1417 and is known as the Great Western Schism.
Gregory XI, the sixth in a line of French-born popes who had opted to reside in Avignon, took the initiative to return to Rome in 1377.
Upon his death in 1378, Urban VI, an Italian pope, was elected. However, he did not gain the favour of the other cardinals, who elected a second pope, Clement VII, who re-established the Church’s seat in Avignon. This conflict, which was rooted in political causes, led to two papacies being established—one in Rome and the other in Avignon—which then escalated to a Europe-wide scale. The Schism would only come to an end in November 1417, when the Council of Constance unanimously elected Martin V, who permanently established himself in Rome. During this period, Castile supported the Pope in Avignon, while Portugal, after wavering between the two allegiances, ultimately sided with the Pope in Rome, famously from 1383 onwards.
