📹 Not So Dark
The full text of this essay is at the end of this post
Abstract: The subject of this essay is the Middle Ages, where I present it - echoing the work of Ian Mortimer - as a period of significant social and economic progress rather than that of mere stagnation, or worse, retrogression. I highlight transformative changes in such things as the evolution of rights and shifts in land ownership.
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Preamble – Guns, Cannons, and the Parliament – Medieval Mobility Unleashed.
When you think of the Middle Ages, what are the first things that come to mind? My wager: barbaric, primitive, stagnant, and the like.
The Middle Ages are frequently depicted as a time marked by utter darkness, characterized by widespread ignorance, superstition, and violence, with little to no innovation or progress. Likewise, individuals from this era are often depicted as uncivilized, barbaric, and bereft of intellectual and cultural accomplishments.
This notion of history was dealt a strong blow by Ian Mortimer in his book: Medieval Horizons, Why the Middle Ages Matter.
Importantly, by challenging the lens with which we use to see the world, a largely technological one. The focus on technological advancements and inventions as the primary catalysts for social transformation often causes us to neglect other significant changes that occured during the Middle Ages, including things like urbanization and the evolution of women's and workers' rights. In order words, technological innovation is a wrong tool to assess changes in the Middle Ages.
In this essay, I will cover some of the poignant points Ian raised to challenge this notion, using his metaphorical horizon framework, which allows us to appreciate the profound changes in this era.
Two important caveats before we proceed, there is focus on medieval England in the materials presented, and the date range of the period presented is from the eleventh century to the sixteenth century.
Chapter 1: Guns, Cannons, and the Parliament.
In the early Middle Ages, (and it goes without saying that) violence was pervasive, with warfare, raids, and feuds being common occurrences.
In the eleventh century, a chronicler vividly depicted the horrors of the First Crusade in Jerusalem. Crusaders engaged in a ruthless massacre, slaughtering Saracens and gentiles indiscriminately. They brutally murdered women and children, leaving piles of severed heads, hands, and feet in the streets. This grim account underscores the prevalence of extreme violence during this period.
But things were not stagnant in this respect in the Middle Ages. A series of developments led to the altered attitudes towards violence and war in this period.
For one we have the influence of the Church, several regulations of Warfare, evolution of Papal authority, economic factors, and an emergence of humanist thoughts.
Let’s start with the Church.
The Church took a stand to alter the prevailing attitudes toward violence and feudal warfare through the introduction of initiatives such as the Peace of God and the Truce of God. These efforts were aimed at reducing violence by offering protection to non-combatants and setting aside specific times for peace, including religious holidays and certain weekdays.
Also, the increasing influence of the papacy in this period (which allow them to push such initiatives such as the Peace of God, as stated earlier) meant that secular rulers needed papal approval for wars, which led to more careful consideration and justification of military actions.
While we are had these changes to reduce warfare, it was this periods that also saw the so called “Holy Wars”. And such contradictions can be explained by the Papacy’s role in the medieval society. On the one hand, we have spiritual leadership, on the other – political ambitions.
But I digress.
We also saw economic considerations significantly impacting attitudes toward warfare during the Middle Ages, shaping the strategic decisions of the era in profound ways.
The rise of monetary economics alongside the growing complexity of military engagements introduced financial limitations that constrained the capacities of monarchs to initiate and sustain prolonged warfare. The maintenance of armies and the execution of extended military campaigns demanded substantial economic resources, often more than what was readily available. This economic strain forced leaders to rethink the feasibility and implications of war.
In regions like England, the advent of parliamentary authority marked a pivotal shift in the governance of military affairs. Parliaments held some power to sanction or deny royal proposals concerning taxation and military ventures. Consequently, monarchs were compelled to seek parliamentary backing prior to launching expensive wars. This shift democratized the decision-making process regarding war as the financial oversight by parliaments effectively gave the populace a voice in matters of war and peace.
Moreover, the later Middle Ages witnessed an expansion in trade and commerce, with a burgeoning emphasis on economic prosperity and stability. The merchant class, whose interests lay in the uninterrupted flow of trade and the assurance of political stability, naturally favored conditions of peace. Warfare, with its capacity to disrupt trade routes and endanger profits, became increasingly undesirable to those vested in the economic sector.
Historical instances underscore these dynamics. In England, the acknowledgment by King Edward I in 1297 that the prerogative to declare war rested with Parliament, and King Edward III's admission in 1339 that any truce with France needed parliamentary ratification, exemplify the growing legislative control over war.
Furthermore, technological advancements significantly altered the conduct and perception of warfare during the later Middle Ages. The construction of castles, along with the development of cannons and longbows, marked a departure from the era of individual combat, steering warfare towards a more impersonal and strategic domain.
This evolution diminished the chivalric ethos, which had celebrated individual valor and knightly virtues, and placed a renewed emphasis on military strategy. Battles became less about personal honor and more about the tactical use of technology and fortifications.
Parallel to these technological shifts, the rise of humanist ideas began to challenge the prevailing attitudes towards violence and warfare. The humanist emphasis on the dignity and worth of the individual contributed to a gradual shift away from the celebration of martial prowess towards a preference for diplomatic and peaceful resolutions to disputes.
Indeed, one could argue that the seed of Modern attitude towards war was laid into the ground by medieval thinkers like Desiderius Erasmus and Thomas More.
Here is Thomas More, in his 1516 book, Utopia, talking about an imaginary New World, saying that they
“…detest war as a very brutal thing and which, to the reproach of human nature, is more practised by men than by any sort of beasts. They, in opposition to the sentiments of almost all other nations, think that there is nothing more inglorious than that glory that is gained by war. And therefore, though they accustom themselves daily to military exercises and the discipline of war … yet they do not rashly engage in war unless it be either to defend themselves or their friends from any unjust aggressors … or [to] assist an oppressed nation in shaking off the yoke of tyranny.”
Chapter 2: Medieval Mobility Unleashed
The Middle Ages is brutal in so many ways, which is evident in the wild inequality of the system.
In the 11th century, the landscape of landownership was markedly different from what it would become by the 16th century, for example. Initially, a mere fraction of the population, less than 2%, held land, indicating a concentration of land in the hands of a small elite. This contrasted sharply with the 16th century, where landownership had become more widespread, with an estimated 25% of the population holding some form of land.
Again, This is anything but stagnant.
This evolution from concentrated to more dispersed landownership unfolded against the backdrop of the feudal system. Initially, the king was the primary landowner, distributing land to lords and nobles in return for military service and loyalty. These lords, in turn, divided their lands among knights and vassals, establishing a rigid hierarchical structure that defined the era.
Concurrently, the manorial system prevailed, with the vast majority of the population working as serfs on these estates, devoid of any legal rights to the land they toiled upon.
(As a side note: I think I should make a distinction between the feudal system and the manorial system. The feudal system can be seen as the overarching political and military framework of medieval society, while the manorial system operated within this framework as the economic and social organization of rural life. Together, they formed the backbone of medieval European society, influencing every aspect of life from governance to daily work. )
Now back to our story.
The 11th century was also characterized by limited land mobility. Land was not only scarce but also tightly bound to traditional structures, making it difficult for ordinary people to acquire. This scarcity and lack of mobility severely constrained social and economic advancement for the majority.
However, by the 16th century, significant shifts had taken place. The decline of feudalism and the emergence of freehold landownership democratized land access, allowing a broader segment of society to own and manage land.
Which begs the question: what was responsible for the shifts that resulted in such changes.
The Black Death.
A catastrophic bubonic plague pandemic, swept through Europe between 1346 and 1353, standing as one of the deadliest pandemics in human history. This pandemic led to the demise of approximately 25 million individuals, nearly one-third of Europe's population at the time.
The silver lining?
The Black Death profoundly reshaped the medieval economy and societal structures, primarily through its dramatic reduction of the population. The massive loss of life led to a significant labor shortage, which, in turn, enhanced the negotiating power of peasants. As a result, wages rose, and working conditions improved, marking a notable shift in the labor market dynamics.
This scarcity of labor also eroded the foundations of the feudal system, which had heavily relied on serfdom. Lords found themselves increasingly dependent on paid labor, accelerating the transition towards free labor and contributing to the decline of serfdom.
In the same vein, this period also saw the acceleration of urbanization, as people migrated from rural areas into cities. The consolidation of farmland and resources in urban areas, coupled with increased agricultural productivity, further fueled the growth and development of cities.
Furthermore, the pandemic opened up avenues for social mobility not previously available. With vast swathes of the population gone, those from lower social echelons stepped into roles and occupations left vacant, leading to the formation of new social classes. This era saw the rise of wealthy merchants and skilled artisans, contributing to a more diverse and stratified society.
To really come to grabs of what happened then, Edward III the King of England from 1327 to 1377, was so much perturbed by the social changes that he enacts sumptuary laws, restricting the attire and dietary choices of the different social classes. Just imagine that.
Additionally, he passed the 1351 Statute of Labourers, aiming to curb peasants from departing their manors in search of better pay. Despite these efforts, the momentum for change was unstoppable.
So much for no progress.
Things were simply not stagnant in this era.
For one, as explained in the first chapter of this essay, the concept of war as an activity that could be regulated and subject to legal limitations emerged during the Middle Ages.
And indeed, there were progress on many fronts, a peasant teleported from the 11th century to the 16th century will simply be shocked by the massive reduction in inequality.
And talking about progress, in a world where we expect an iPhone from our predecessors, we quickly forget that the seeds for such technological marvels were sown centuries ago, during the Middle Ages. Innovations such as Arabic numerals, optical lenses, mechanical clocks, and the foundational practices of scientific inquiry laid the groundwork for the advanced engineering and computing sciences that drive today's digital revolution.
We ought to often recall what Isaac Newton wrote in his 1675 letter to Robert Hooke, “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”
Reference
Ian Mortimer. Medieval Horizons, Why The Middle Ages Matter. https://www.ianmortimer.com/books/horizons/