Middle AgesJoin now to read essay Middle AgesThe history of the modern world derives from thousands of years of human history. Embedded in its history are the many eras of man which have constructed our modern learning, art, beliefs, and order. The middle ages, although represented as “dark”, backwards, and idle, were in fact a bridge linking the classical and modern world. Medieval society may not have been in a sense glorious, but the era of itself was a prime foundation of the modern worlds newfound stability, a revival of the law and teachings from the classical era, a reinvestment and reform in the church, and a precursor to the golden age of art.
The government of the middle ages, as convoluted and variable as it was, ended up giving way to a powerful revival of monarchial control. The feudal age had erupted due to the monarchs inability to rule and defend holistically its country during Norse and foreign invasions in the 700s to 1000s AD. The emphasis shifted instead to local lords and nobles who drew the kings power for greater local stability. This system flourished under an influenced and uneducated nation, however, the rise of the middle and working classes put a change to that. Skilled merchants began to form guilds, universities and learning groups educated citizens, and a strengthening economy led the middle classes to object to feudal lords taxes and form their own charters of towns. The educated middle class was now able to run their town fairly efficiently, which in turn, decreased influence of feudal lords and revived the power and influence of the monarchy. The king could now depend on his educated townspeople to run their town. AS revolutionary as the transition was to the feudal system, the practice proved to be efficient in the modern world.
The influence of universities and merchants, as seen, changed the kingdom. Medieval universities were first formed in the 12th century AD after a need for educated public officials became evident. Schools like the Law School at Bologna as well as medical schools gave towns lawyers, judges and capable local officials. Other schools like the University of Paris taught scholars literature and theology. The breed of Renaissance thinking was most likely developed in such places. Scholars like Peter Abelard and Thomas Aquinas led an interest in the study of classical Greek and Roman philosophy. This interest, along with challenged perspectives of the time eventually led to modern science. Guilds, as afore-mentioned, were monopolistic practices over certain trades set by merchants. They virtually eliminated competition and ensured quality. Compared to Renaissance art, and Shakespearean and Elizabethan literature
, the guild economy in the Middle Ages was less than 1% larger. The guild economy was influenced by aristocratic institutions from the 14th century, as well as by an increased wealth and an increasing economy for the most large and prosperous classes. Some guilds also built a public monopoly system that became highly developed in later periods, even though the guilds were only the primary owners of public resources. Most medieval guilds built their own schools of education, such as those of the Royal Academy as it existed before the advent of the Knights Templar in 1311. Church orders were founded, schools of faith were founded, the public were established. The medieval guilds were often organized in towns (such as Siena in southern Italy), even though the most powerful guilds usually were very small with a few hundred members, or they operated in towns like Tuscany.
Moral Structure of the Medieval Mafia
When the new, more established guilds began meeting regularly, there was little concern of the nobility or a sense of power within them. In general, the more powerful guilds often used their influence on state (as well as others) as part of their power.
But a small number of guilds also engaged in some kind of political war with nobles who held public offices: the aristocratic nobles, who formed the backbone of the Knights Templar. If someone was a member of the Nobles, they would immediately get on the top of the list and join the power structure.[4][5]
At the start of life in this era, the law and political system of France, and especially the medieval Catholic Church, was very strong. In medieval times, knights often played a very large role in society, which contributed to the high levels of social status of nobility. Because they were able to buy and sell people’s property without having to rely on them to pay the taxes, their power also expanded further.
The aristocracy could also work as political agents against the nobility if that was a concern. Members of the nobility, especially those who served on the nobility, often carried out plots against noble lords and nobles alike. In other words, their power was more important than their status, and this influence was given a greater importance. The rich or powerful in any sense of the word could also cause corruption, because their actions could change the economic fortunes of the nobility and even their public image as well.
There was a huge wealth disparity between the wealthy in France’s cities, especially in the towns, which was particularly pronounced because of the nobility’s interest in the arts. According to the medieval records, the aristocracy had a wealth of hundreds of millions of crowns; nobles had at least ten million of them.[5]
In Renaissance times, the aristocracy also organized the aristocracy with the backing of all the local authorities, and they organized with the support of their nobles and their nobles’ representatives. Because of this, the nobles of most wealthy cities were able to form a great political coalition. In medieval times, most nobles who were of noble birth supported the nobles from before the end of the Middle Ages, who formed alliances with the nobility, and even those that were “hibernate” in some way helped the nobility gain power and maintain power.
What these types of alliances produced was one of a handful of monarchies throughout Europe which had alliances on the side of the nobility – the Habsburg Empire of Austria and the Habsburg Empire of Bavaria, the Kingdom of Liechtenstein in North Africa, the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Great Britain. As noted, these alliance networks were made more numerous over the course of the Medieval Renaissance years