Middle Ages Economy Essay - 1392 Words

Middle Age Economy The economy mostly seen in the early middle ages was feudalism, Europe’s form of government in the Middle Ages, was developed in the fifth century to meet the changing needs of the time. It was based heavily on the honor system. The king had overall power, then the lord, then the vassals, or landowners, and finally down to the peasants, known then as the villeins. The fiefs, or estates, could be rented out to one vassal who would then rent portions of the fief to three more, and so on. Each person would give their peer a fee (called the guild) and goods in return for protection. As an old medieval saying states, quot;No land without the lord, no lord without the land.quot; The†¦show more content†¦Money changers were soon holding and transferring large sums of money and extending loans to merchants. As the demand increased, so did the number of services. Common financial activities came to include granting loans, investing, as well as most of the deposit, credit and transfer functions of a modern bank. A major obstacle to the growth of banks in the Middle Ages was the Churchs prohibition of usury, the charging of interest on loans. As economic activity expanded, however, the papacy became one of the first to insist that interest should be paid on investments made at a risk. Because they were forbidden to hold land or engage in more quot;acceptablequot; sources of economic enterprise, money changers in the Middle Ages were typically Jews. After the shift in Church policy regarding usury, it became more acceptable to be a financier and attempts were made to expel Jews from their commercial role. The international luxury trade was centered in Rome during the Middle Ages. By the end of the thirteenth century, Florentines, as papal treasurers and tax collectors, spurred Florence to become the banking centre of Europe. Large numbers of families invested capital in commercial and industrial developments. In the 1290s, the Bardi and Peruzzi families had establishedShow MoreRelatedThe Decline Of The Middle Ages1506 Words   |  7 Pages The Middle Ages is a medieval time period in Western Europe that lasted from 500 to 1500 C.E. The Middle Ages began as a result from the collapse of the Roman Empire which began in 31 BCE, and fell in 476 C.E. In around 300 C.E. the emperor of the Rome divided the land for easier control. This began the decline of Rome. The Western half of Rome fell to Barbarian invaders, while the eastern half lived on as the Byzantine Empire. The Early Middle Ages began shortly after the western half fell. AfterRead MoreThe Impact Of Feudalism In The Middle Ages In Europe714 Words   |  3 Pageswork and figure out life for your family on a day-to-day basis. This is how life was like for peasants and serfs in the Middle Ages in Europe. 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