Early Medieval Trade

Before understanding the trade and the commerce of the middle ages, let us first look into the timeline and the general overview of the social conditions of Europe in the Medieval era. 

During the middle ages, the majority of people lived in the countryside at the outset of the Middle Ages, either on feudal manors or in religious communities. By the 12th century, however, cities had sprouted up around castles and monasteries, as well as along trade routes.

These lively communities grew into commercial and industrial hubs. Thick stone walls surrounded almost every mediaeval town. Gates were used to admitting visitors inside, unpaved streets were lined with residences and businesses. 

Signs with vivid graphics were placed over the doorways of stores and enterprises because few people could read. Gathering areas were open spaces in front of public buildings, such as churches.

The majority of the streets were extremely narrow. Houses' second storeys jutted out, obstructing sunlight from reaching the street. People, horses, and carts, as well as cats, dogs, geese, and chickens, clogged the squares and streets. Residents flung their trash into neighbouring canals and ditches or just out the window because there was no rubbish pickup. As you can expect, most mediaeval towns were riddled with foul odours.

The early mediaeval trade and commerce had progressed to the point where even small settlements had access to weekly markets and, perhaps a day's travel away, larger but less frequent fairs. These fairs had the complete range of consumer goods of the day was laid out to tempt the customer and small shopkeeper. 

Markets and fairs were organised by major estate owners, town authorities, and some churches and monasteries, who aimed to collect cash from stallholder fees and promote the local economy by encouraging customers to use ancillary services.

International trade had existed since Roman times, but from the 9th century CE, advancements in transportation and finance, as well as the economic prosperity of northern Europe, produced a boom. 

The Venetians expanded their trading interests to the Byzantine Empire and the Levant because of the Crusades, and new financial mechanisms emerged that permitted even modest investors to fund the trade expeditions that crisscrossed Europe by sea and land.

The article focuses on the early medieval trade, medieval trade goods list and how the market affected the growth of towns and trade in medieval Europe. The article also deals with the comprehensive details of the market structure and social structure. The article also deals with the changes in the agro-based economy of the medieval period as one of the important effects of trade in the middle ages.

Market Structure in Early Medieval Trade 

Markets were held regularly in public squares (or sometimes triangles), wide streets, or even purpose-built halls in villages, towns, and big cities that had been granted the privilege of a license to do so by their king. Outside several castles and monasteries, markets were often held.

The medieval trade goods list included items like meat, fish and grains.

Sellers of certain commodities who paid a fee to an estate owner, the town, or the borough council for the opportunity of having a stall were generally placed adjacent to one other in locations where competition was fierce.

Men were more likely to sell meat and bread, although women stallholders were often the majority, selling eggs, dairy goods, poultry, and ale which were important items of the medieval trade goods list.

Regrators were middlemen and women who purchased items from producers and resold them to market stallholders, or producers may pay a vendor to sell their goods on their behalf. Hucksters were people who went around knocking on the doors of people's homes instead of going to markets.

Because of the high expense of transportation, trade of common, low-value commodities remained mostly local. Only luxury items were worth transporting over long distances since merchants had to pay tolls at particular places along the road and at critical points like bridges or mountain passes. 

Moving goods by boat or ship was less expensive and safer than transporting them by land, but there were also the risks of poor weather and pirates to consider. As a result, the cultivated estates that surrounded them supplied local markets, and anyone who needed non-everyday commodities like clothing, cloth, or wine had to walk half a day or more to the nearest town.

In cities, consumers had the choice of shopping in addition to markets. Goldsmiths and armorers, for example, were frequently placed near a town council's administration buildings, where they could be closely monitored by regulators. 

Towns also had banks and moneylenders, many of whom were Jews because usury was prohibited by the Church for Christians. As a result of this concentration of trades, several streets were given names that reflected the predominant trade represented in them, names that are still used today in many cases.

Growth of Towns and Trade in Medieval Europe

Since we have developed a basic understanding of the market structure of early medieval trade let us look into the growth of towns and trade in medieval Europe which is considered as the most important effect of trade in the middle ages. 

The relation between the development of towns and the development of trade is co-dependent, as the trade expanded during this period new towns and guilds aware formed surrounding the marketplace. This created a greater influx of consumers thus boosting the trade and concomitantly helping in the establishment of towns and cities.

Medieval towns were bustling commercial hubs. However, trade with the east weakened with the fall of the Roman Empire in the west, and town life declined. The majority of people in Western Europe lived in scattered villages in the countryside during the Early Middle Ages.

Towns began to grow again in the Late Middle Ages. Improvements in agriculture were one factor for their rise. Farmers were removing forests and adopting more efficient farming techniques. 

They had a plethora of harvests to sell in city marketplaces as an outcome. And, as a result of the surpluses, not everyone had to farm to survive. The restoration of trade was another factor in the expansion of towns.

Several traders who marketed their commodities in towns eventually settled there. People who worked in numerous trades felt the same way. Since local people specialized in creating specific types of items, some communities became wealthier. 

Flanders, for example, was noted for its exquisite woolen textiles. The Italian city of Venice was noted for its glass production. Other towns prospered as a result of the banking business that came up to make it easier for people to trade.

Effect of Trade in the Middle Ages 

Trade and commerce in the medieval ages have vastly influenced society as well as the economy of the Western world. The growth of towns and trade in medieval Europe is the most important outcome of the trade. To answer questions like who benefited the most from trade in medieval Europe we must first understand the effects of the early medieval trade.

The European economy expanded substantially, especially in the trading sector. Population expansion, financial advances, expanded trade routes, and new industrial processes all contributed to an overall increase in commercial activity.

The feudal system, which was common in the Middle Ages, faded away over time, and early versions of capitalism arose. Many parts of European society were affected by the changes, causing people to adjust to new types of labor and new ways of conducting business with others.

Effects on Agriculture

Medieval Europe was mainly rural, and agriculture was indeed the backbone of the economy. Towns and cities did not become significant production hubs until the late Middle Ages, but their economic importance grew rapidly after that.

Even during the Medieval Era, the majority of peasants were wage slaves, people who were legally bound to the land they worked. Enslavement was fading across Europe by the late 1400s, and peasants were freer to travel around and rent lands for themselves. 

Peasants in various parts of Europe were running out of open land about this period. The majority of the better fields had already been planted. Furthermore, high wool prices prompted nobility to enclose pastures for grazing sheep, thus depriving peasants of access to the land. 

As a result, tens of thousands of peasants went to cities in search of work, and cities and towns grew in size. Growing prosperity, more money at people's disposal, and a desire to have more items were all factors that influenced commerce.

Conclusion

In conclusion of the article, we have learnt about the early medieval trade and the medieval trade goods list. We have also learnt about the effect of trade in the middle ages. It simply shows how crucial the trade was since beginning. It helped in shaping the economy and also in building the relations between the regions. It increased the production as well as led to the development of transportation.