Why did cities seek to get rid of the seniors? Fighting cities with seniors

Beginning in the 11th century, active urbanization began to take place in Europe. However, as it was customary to ironise at the time, "there is no land without a seignior," and from the very beginning of its formation the medieval cities were in the hands of the feudal lords, and their inhabitants were compelled to tolerate their arbitrariness. This situation over time began to weigh people. Therefore, we have reached a lot of historical documents, which describe the struggle of cities with feudal lords. So, what conflicts occurred in the Middle Ages in Europe between townspeople and large landowners, and how did they end?

Economic preconditions for the emergence of cities

In the Early Middle Ages, few of the surviving ancient Roman cities were inhabited by people engaged in agriculture, so even once the landscaped areas and territories for public use were plowed up and turned into agricultural lands. 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 who have the same specialty began to settle together, because in this way higher labor productivity was ensured, and hence more profit. As a result, the first craft villages appeared, which can be considered the ancestors of modern industrial cities, and a number of them began to build houses and merchants. After all, the production of the craftsmen needed realization, and together with the appearance of free cash, their needs for things that were not produced on the spot also grew.

The history of conflicts between lords and townspeople

As already mentioned, the emergence of a large number of cities in the Middle Ages was primarily due to economic factors. In particular, this was facilitated by the development of production and trade. In general, it is customary to indicate the following variants of the emergence of cities: on the site of former Roman settlements, around castles and fortresses, around monasteries. In addition, they were often formed on the basis of craft villages, which are well-organized communities. And, regardless of origin, in all similar settlements, those who were engaged in agriculture were a minority. But any city stood on the ground, and practically the entire territory of the Western, and partly of Eastern, medieval Europe belonged to kings or feudal lords. Therefore, all the townspeople were under the rule of the feudal lord. And at first the senor himself, as a rule, tried in every possible way to encourage the influx of people, considering those who lived on his land as a source of permanent income.

Why did cities seek to get rid of the seniors?

Along with the growing prosperity of city dwellers, as a rule, the feudal lords' claims also grew. Most often this happened after the residents "took root" in a new place and acquired real estate, with which they would not want to part. First of all, this was manifested in a constant increase in taxes, which began to be collected in the literal sense from all over. In addition, the clerks of the lords often themselves "took the initiative", having the goal of their own enrichment. Also, systems of fines were used, which were punished for petty crimes, and charging fees for engaging in one or another type of activity. It often happened that the seigneur simply took away what he liked from those who were dependent on him.

Thus, the main reason why the cities sought to free themselves from the power of the lords, became an outrage against the townspeople. Moreover, this was facilitated by the consciousness that dependence on the feudal lord prevents growth of their well-being.

Fighting cities with seniors

Most of the inhabitants were originally servicemen of the lord and peasants, whose ancestors always lived in these places. Also, the feudal lords allowed the serfs who fled from their former masters to settle in their cities, as their income directly depended on the number of townspeople. At the same time, all the power was concentrated in the hands of the seniors. In addition, thanks to the former peasants in the cities, the customs peculiar to the communal system began to take shape, which in the future had a great influence on the formation of city self-government bodies.

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 power of the lord, since they were constantly the main target of the fines. So there was a communal movement aimed at the liberation of cities. At the beginning, the townspeople fought for a reduction in taxes and trade privileges, but later they began to put forward even more serious demands of a political nature. In particular, most often it was about giving the urban population the right to self-government. Thus, when the history of the Middle Ages is considered, the struggle of cities with feudal lords is not the last place in it. The peculiarity of the communal movement was its local character, since it was conducted against a specific person, but did not affect the social order.

Results of the struggle

There are cases when cities received certain privileges, buying them from the lords for money. And the amounts in this case were so large that they exceeded the income from duties and the imposition of fines for many years to come. But most often the city became free, that is, self-governing, only as a result of years of struggle, often armed, to which emperors and kings often acted as supreme judges. If, as a result of the war between the inhabitants and the seignior, the feudal victory was won, he ruthlessly dealt with the most active participants in the communal movement and tightened the requisitions.

How was the process of freeing cities from the power of the lords in different countries?

In each of the European feudal states, the communal movement had its own peculiarities. The fact is that the reasons why the cities sought to get rid of the seniors' authority, 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, then there were republic cities or authorities handed over to the clergy.

Now you know why cities sought to free themselves from the power of the lords and how the formation of local government took place in the large settlements of Medieval Europe.