Why did dangerous diseases spread so easily and quickly in the tight confines of medieval towns? Epidemics?
Because there was no sewage system, and all waste was poured straight out the window onto the streets
What were the names of associations of wealthy merchants from various cities, whose purpose was to defend their interests and organize safe trade?
Guilds
Who organized a new town on behalf of the ruler or landowner and then became its first official?
The mayor
What was the central square of the city surrounded by defensive walls and a barbican, where streets intersected, and in the middle stood the town hall and cloth hall?
The market square
What three main classes did society in a medieval city consist of?
The wealthy patricians, the craftsmen, and the poorest commoners
Why were so many medieval cities founded right on the banks of navigable rivers or by the sea?
Because waterways were the cheapest, fastest, and safest way to transport heavy merchant goods
What modern and heavy tool with wheels and an iron plowshare, capable of deep tillage, replaced the older and lighter coulter in the early Middle Ages?
Plough
What representative building, usually located in the middle of the market square, was the seat of the city authorities, i.e., the mayor and the city council?
Town hall
What were the cloth halls built in the market squares of larger cities in the Middle Ages?
Market halls, which housed stalls selling valuable cloth and other goods
Who comprised the commoners, the poorest and most disenfranchised class of the medieval city's inhabitants?
Beggars, domestic servants, and hired laborers
What simple, wooden agricultural tool, which only shallowly loosened the soil, was commonly used in the fields before the heavy plow was invented and popularized?
The plough
What was the name given to the large, annual gatherings of merchants in larger cities, during which goods from distant lands were traded and jugglers' performances were organized?
Fairs
To which social group in the city were small merchants and craftsmen with their own workshops, who constituted the largest group of citizens?
To The common people
What were the names of organizations of craftsmen (e.g., those producing valuable cloth) that protected them from external competition and strictly ensured the quality of their goods?
Guilds
Where were trade settlements most often established in the Middle Ages, where craftsmen and merchants settled, giving rise to new towns?
Near ancient strongholds, along trade routes, rivers, and ports
What two institutions did the municipal government consist of – one governed the town under the leadership of the mayor, and the other tried criminals?
The town council and the town bench
What place in a medieval city was the center of social life, where travelers and craftsmen could eat, rest, and listen to news from the world?
Inn
Who headed a medieval village as the representative of the feudal lord, supervising work and presiding over the peasant court, or village bench?
Sołtys
What new, more efficient system of land cultivation involved dividing the field into three parts: for winter grain, spring grain, and resting grain? fallow?
Three-field
