Medieval cities: A world of knights or a world of merchants?

The following Learning Situation was created by Steve Quirion, Jacques Trudel, Dereck Michaud, Jean-Philippe Gemme et Marc Lafortune for the Recitus - Univers social web site. 
Original graphic and layout work by  Steve Quirion et Mathieu Rocheleau.  

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Click on the image to enlarge it
Source : Bibliothèque nationale de France

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Educational aim

Broad areas of learning:

Focuses of development:

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Pedagogical aim

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Competencies

Cross-curricular competency:

Subject-specific competencies:

Culminating task

Students will have to answer the following question:

Students will be asked to draw a map of a medieval city. To do so, they will gather information about various aspects of medieval cities throughout this learning situation.

 

Task overview

Is your place in the hierarchy determined by your purchasing power?
(30 minutes)

Social hierarchy
(45 minutes)

The bourgeoisie: A “nobility of the robe” or a “nobility of the sword”?
(150 minutes)

Fair activity
(75 minutes)

Trade between cities
(75 minutes)

Rural vs. city living in the Middle Ages
(75 minutes)

“ City air makes one free”
(75 minutes)

City map
(150 minutes)

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Context

Is your place in the hierarchy determined by your purchasing power?

Class 1: 30 minutes

Broad area of learning:
Environmental Awareness and Consumer Rights and Responsibilities

Concepts:
Globalization, needs and value

Goals:
To get students to examine the symbolic value of the objects that surround them and for them to become aware that this value can change depending on time and place.

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Hook:
Encourage students to begin reflecting on consumption.

Value:
Bring a box to class and tell the students that it contains several objects of great value. Ask them to guess what the box contains.

• Place spices, perfumes, scraps of silk and wool, etc. in the box. Mention that these objects were of great value at a certain time in history. Why were they so valuable?
• Are all objects of equal value today? How much does water cost? Does water have the same value in Québec as it does in the Sahel? Is value always associated with need?
• Where do the products bought by the students come from? For example, where do their clothes come from? Ask them the following questions: What value does your shirt have for you (fashion, style, $60)? What value does it have in Asia for the people who made it (work, wages, survival, $0.60)?

For how long has large-scale commerce been going on? Trade with Asia is not new: spices were in high demand in Europe during the Middle Ages, at a time when they were imported from Asia.

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Review

Ask the students what they know about the Middle Ages.

Brainstorm with the students and write the results on the board. Structure and organize the students’ answers in a table or mind map.


The Middle Ages should be placed on a timeline. Clarify the students’ observations. Students will tend to associate the Middle Ages with the Age of Chivalry. Is this an accurate description of this period in history?


Problem or guiding question for this learning situation: 

Were the Middle Ages characterized only by the Age of Chivalry? Was this the main legacy of this period in history?

Ask the students to write their hypotheses in their student workbooks.





Find out more!
Read about the place of "guiding questions" in your project and lesson planning here.

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Task outline

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Social hierarchy

Class 1: 45 minutes




The three orders

Review the hierarchies that have already been discussed, such as those found in Egypt and Athens, and distribute the text on the three orders to the students:


Ask the students to identify to which of the three orders various groups of people (knights, kings, peasants, artisans, monks, etc.) belong, and then to associate each group with the images found in the “Social hierarchy” text above. Can they rank the three orders in hierarchical order?

The concept of hierarchy can be further explored using the exercise below, if necessary.


Social hierarchy in the Middle Ages

The students have proposed a social hierarchy for the three orders. Validate their answers using the following text, which explains the three medieval orders.

The three orders Monks in the 11th century wrote about how their society was divided into three orders. Closest to God were those who dedicated their lives to prayer, particularly monks, who were the servants of God and invested with God-given power on earth. Those who fought came under those who prayed: they were kings, knights, feudal lords and other noblemen. Finally, tied to the earth or engaging in trade were those who worked (peasants, merchants, artisans and artists). Source: http://www.culture.gouv.fr/cluny/intro.htm (This image cannot be reproduced.)

To make sure the students have understood the various concepts discusses thus far, ask them to identify examples of hierarchy and social groups in today’s society. For example:


Can the students identify which social groups they belong to and where they fit in the social hierarchy? What about the Asian workers mentioned previously: where do they fit in this hierarchy? Do we benefit from this social hierarchy on a global level by buying products that have been made using “cheap labour”? Who are the real have-nots?

Elements to note or keep in mind for the culminating task assignment: Noblemen: group responsible for making political decisions Clergy: church

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The bourgeoisie: A “ nobility of the robe” or a “nobility of the sword”?

Classes 2 and 3: 150 minutes

Subject-specific competency: Interprets social phenomena using the historical method Concepts: Bourgeoisie, burg, trade and urbanization Goal: To get the students to examine the conditions under which cities and the bourgeoisie emerged during the Middle Ages.

Review of the three orders

Present the following image to the students:

Click on the image to enlarge it
 
Source : Bibliothèque nationale de France


Can the students identify the three orders again? Identify the activities of each group. Focus especially on the differences between the two bottom images: clothing, activities, location (one group is inside the city, the other is outside), etc.

Ask the students to examine the similarities between the bottom left image and the right-hand side of the top image. Are the people illustrated noblemen who look like merchants (bourgeoisie) or merchants who look like noblemen? Who are today’s bourgeoisie? Where did they fit in the medieval hierarchy? Where do they fit today?

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Analyzing image part 1 (modelling)

Explain how word processing software can be used to analyze images.

Working as a group, identify the interesting elements in image 1.

Image of a fair and example of an analysis

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Analyzing image part 2 (computer lab prep)

Click on the image to enlarge it

Source : Bibliothèque nationale de France

Distribute the following texts and image to prepare the students for the computer lab. Ask them to read the texts. Display onscreen image 2 to be analyzed in the computer lab.

Texts and image in Word
 or PDF format

Image of the bourgeoisie and example of an analysis

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Analyzing image part 3  (computer lab time)

In teams of two, the students will analyze the same image using word or image processing software. (Resave image to create new analyzed image canvas.) Make sure at least one student per team is good with computers and imaging or word software.

Optional activities:
Ask the students to visit the following website:



To find out more!
To find out more about analyzing photos and images, consult the ICT dossiers on the website of the Service national du RÉCIT de l’univers social.  
Some of these guides have already been adapted by LEARN for English users:

Elements to note and keep in mind for the culminating task: Burg (fortifications) Body of water facilitating trade Agricultural land around the city Windmill

 

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Fair activity

Class 4:  75 minutes

Broad area of learning: Environmental Awareness and Consumer Rights and Responsibilities Concepts: Urbanization, trade, profit, capital, negotiation and inflation Goals: During this activity, the students will engage in trade. Draw a parallel with medieval fairs either before or after the activity. The students should deal with the concepts of negotiation, capital, profit and inflation, either explicitly or implicitly. They must play the role of merchants and attempt to buy and sell products at the fair.

  Instructions for the fair activity

Click on the image to enlarge it
 
 Source : Bibliothèque nationale de France

Fair activity game Hold a fair in your classroom. The students should each have: •    10 pennies •    5 objects they no longer need In teams of no more than four, the students should build a booth to buy and sell their objects. Any objects they buy can then be resold. During this activity, address the concepts of profit, negotiation and inflation. For a 75-minute class, adjust these minimum time suggestions as required: 10 minutes to explain the activity and provide instructions 5 minutes to build the booths 30 minutes to hold the fair 10 minutes to put the classroom back in order and review the activity Tips: Advise the students to avoid buying too many objects and running out of money. Start with low prices at the beginning Don’t put all the objects out for sale right away (after a while, all the objects will have been bought and sold several times and trade will slow down; it will therefore need to be stimulated again). Establish penalties as needed (for theft, etc.). A companion document for this game in available in Word or PDF format

Review of the activity

Review the concept of value with the students. Why were some objects more in demand than others? What effect does this have on their price? Ask the students to give examples based on their own personal consumption. Introduce the concept of capital by asking the following questions: Is the value of your business determined by the amount of money you have left or does its value also include the goods you own and/or any infrastructure you have (the booth, your staff, etc.)? Who “ won” during this activity? Do the winners have more power than others?

Elements to keep in mind for the culminating task: Marketplace Artisans’ quarters

 

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  Trade between cities

Class 5: 75 minutes

Subject-specific competency: Examines social phenomena from a historical perspective Concepts: Credit, capital, institutions and large-scale commerce Goals: To get the students to understand the complex trade relations that occurred between cities during the Middle Ages and to compare this European trade network to today’s global trade network.

 

Large-scale commerce

To introduce the activity, use a current example and then apply it to the Middle Ages.


Current example

Establish the following scenario with the class: A student in the class must go to California to buy 1 million oranges. Ask the students how they would go about doing this: credit, cheque, banking transactions, means of transportation used, etc. Review the concept of capital: Credit is part of the capital of a business.

Medieval situation

How were similar transactions carried out during the Middle Ages? Introduce the concept of bills of exchange with the following activity:

Divide the students into teams of four and distribute the following roles to each team: buyer, Genoan banker, seller, banker from Marseille. Using the document “Bill of exchange,” the students must place the transactions between the four participants in chronological order.


 


Large-scale commerce game

Goal:
To illustrate the trade transactions between medieval cities, specifically with Constantinople.

1) Distribute the two trade routes such that half the class receives trade route #1 and the other half receives trade route #2.
2) Individually: Each student places the trade transactions in chronological order for his or her trade route. Once the transactions are in the right order, the student traces the journey on the map, indicating the names of the cities involved and the products exchanged.
3) In teams of 2: The students then pair up in teams such that each team is composed of one student with trade route #1 and one student with trade route #2. Each student completes his or her map with the elements found on the other student’s trade route and attempts to answer the following question:

How did the city of Bruges manage to purchase spices, silk and perfume
without ever sending any of its ships to Constantinople?

Using technology in the classroom! Students are using word or image processing software to create the map of medieval trade transactions, using the above commerce game for students and a blank map of Europe Click here for map of Europe

Review of the activity:
Discuss trade relations between countries today and how the monetary system is the basis of our economy.

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Rural vs. city living in the Middle Ages

Class 6: 75 minutes

Subject-specific competency: Constructs his/her consciousness of citizenship through the study of history Concepts: Charter, rights and institutions Goal: To make the students aware of the living conditions of peasants and artisans during the Middle Ages.

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Rural vs. urban living today

Ask the students whether they would prefer to live in the city or in the country today. The students will then complete the table in the “City or country?” document.

 

The students then share their answers with the class.


Rural vs. city living in the Middle Ages

[image]

Ask the students to read the “Life in the city… and in the country” document below and then to fill out the comparison chart, explaining why they would prefer to live either in the city or in the country.

Review the students’ reasons for their choices. Ask the students about the relative freedom in the city versus the country.

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“ City air makes one free”

Class 7: 75 minutes

Subject-specific competency: Constructs his/her consciousness of citizenship through the study of history Concepts: Charter, rights and institutions Goals: To get students to identify why the bourgeoisie freed itself of the hold of feudal lords and for them to answer the following question: Why and for whom do cities draw up charters?

Review the idea that the city is a place of freedom in the feudal world

Several cities cut ties with their feudal lords. Their freedom was formalized in a charter.

What is a charter?
Here are a few examples of charters and letters patent that can be used as a basis for discussion with the students:



Using the previous examples and the information they have gathered, the students must draw up a city charter in their workbooks. The charter must contain clauses that address at least three of the following elements: social, economic, political, cultural, technical and geographical. The students must indicate what element each clause addresses. They must also answer the following question: Why and for whom do cities draw up charters?

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City map

Classes 8 and 9: 120 minutes



Goals:    To draw a city map and review various concepts

Review of the elements to keep in mind when drawing the city map

Review the elements with the students and distribute examples of maps of medieval cities

Examples of city maps



City map

Ask the students to draw a city map that contains all the elements found in a medieval city. These elements have been identified throughout this learning situation.

Using technology

The map of the medieval city can be created using word or image processing software.

Example of a map in WORD format

or  GIF image

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Review the various elements of the learning situation with the students.

Class 9: 30 minutes

To make sure the students have not made any erroneous interpretations, review the following elements with them:


Review the questions found in this learning situation:

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This task was created by Steve Quirion, Jacques Trudel, Dereck Michaud, Jean-Philippe Gemme and Marc Lafortune.
Design and layout: Steve Quirion and Mathieu Rocheleau.  English updates and adaptations by LEARN, Jan. 2007.