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Abbey Fields to City Guilds: Paris, 800–1300

Use a passage and population data to explain how manors, guilds and fairs worked around Paris.

Answer Key

An abbey's manors

Read the passage. Then answer the questions.

From Abbey Estate to Market City

1In the early 800s, Irminon, the abbot of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, a large monastery just outside Paris, ordered a survey of the abbey's lands. Scribes went from village to village and wrote down each peasant household and what it owed. The abbey's lands were run as manors. Each family held a small farm, called a manse. In return, the family owed the abbey days of plowing and harvesting in the abbey's own fields, loads of wine or wood carted to the abbey, a few chickens and eggs, and sometimes a little silver. Some families were free tenants and others were serfs, but all of them owed duties. Much of what the estates needed, from grain and wine to cloth, was produced on the estates themselves.

2Over the next centuries, the countryside changed. After about 1000, farmers cleared forests and drained wet ground for new fields, and heavy plows and better farming methods helped them grow more grain. Europe's population grew. Many lords began to ask for rents in coins instead of days of work, so peasants carried their extra grain, wine and eggs to markets to earn the coins. Markets near bridges, castles and abbeys drew buyers and sellers each week.

3Paris became one of the largest cities in Europe. Around 1268, Étienne Boileau, the royal official in charge of the city, had the rules of about 100 Paris crafts written down in a work later called the Book of Crafts. Each craft was organized as a guild. The rules said how many years an apprentice had to train, which materials could be used and when shops had to close. Some guilds let a master take only one or two apprentices at a time. Each guild chose sworn masters who inspected shops and could fine members who broke the rules.

4Every June, crowds traveled to the Lendit Fair on the plain of Saint-Denis, a few miles north of Paris. Merchants came with cloth, horses, sheep and many other goods. The head of the University of Paris rode out with students to buy the parchment the schools would need for the coming year. Traders paid tolls for a place at the fair, which brought income to the abbey of Saint-Denis.

1.
Based on paragraph 1, how did the abbey get most of the work done in its own fields?
  • A. The monks did the plowing and harvesting themselves.
  • B. Families who held manses owed days of work.
  • C. It paid farm workers a daily wage in coins.
  • D. Guild masters in Paris sent apprentices to plow.
2.
In the early 800s, a family on one of the abbey's estates needs a new wool tunic. Based on paragraph 1, how would they most likely get it?
  • A. Buy it from a guild shop in Paris
  • B. Ask the abbot to order it from a city
  • C. Trade parchment for it at a June fair
  • D. Spin and weave the cloth on the estate
3.
Sort each detail: does it describe the abbey's estates in the early 800s, or the Paris area in the 1200s?
A household owes chickens and eggs to the abbeySworn masters inspect shops and fine rule breakersScribes list what each peasant family owesStudents ride out to buy parchment at a fairA royal official has the crafts' rules written downFamilies cart loads of wine to the monastery
Abbey estates, early 800sParis area, 1200s
A household owes chickens and eggs to the abbey
Scribes list what each peasant family owes
Families cart loads of wine to the monastery
Sworn masters inspect shops and fine rule breakers
Students ride out to buy parchment at a fair
A royal official has the crafts' rules written down

Read the data

Use the graph and paragraph 2 to answer the questions.

The graph shows one common set of historians' estimates for the population of Europe, rounded to the nearest 5 million. No one counted everyone at the time, so other historians give different numbers, but most agree on the overall trend.Estimated Population of Europe010203040506070801000110012001300YearMillions of people
4.
Use the graph.

Between 1000 and 1300, Europe's estimated population grew by about 35 million people.

5.
Which explanation best links the graph to the growth of markets in paragraph 2?
  • A. Fewer people lived on manors, so markets had fewer buyers.
  • B. The population stayed level, but guilds moved people to towns.
  • C. More people and more grain meant more buyers and sellers.
  • D. More people let each manor make everything, so markets shrank.
6.
Which conclusion about the graph is the most careful?
  • A. Europe's population exactly doubled from 1000 to 1300.
  • B. The graph proves that heavy plows were the single cause of growth.
  • C. Europe's population probably grew a lot, though the numbers are uncertain.
  • D. Europe had more people in 1000 than in 1300, according to the graph.
7.
Circle the sentence from paragraph 2 that best explains why peasants began taking their goods to market.

After about 1000, farmers cleared forests and drained wet ground for new fields, and heavy plows and better farming methods helped them grow more grain.Europe's population grew.Many lords began to ask for rents in coins instead of days of work, so peasants carried their extra grain, wine and eggs to markets to earn the coins.Markets near bridges, castles and abbeys drew buyers and sellers each week.

Guilds and the fair

Use paragraphs 3 and 4 to answer the questions.

8.
A Paris knife maker secretly uses cheap iron that his guild's rules do not allow. If he is caught, what would most likely happen?
  • A. Buyers at the Lendit Fair would set his punishment.
  • B. The guild's sworn masters could fine him.
  • C. The abbey of Saint-Denis would take over his shop.
  • D. He would be sent to plow the abbey's fields.
9.
Why might a guild let each master take only one or two apprentices at a time?
  • A. To limit how many new craftsmen would compete with members
  • B. To let as many children as possible learn the craft quickly
  • C. To give apprentices more free days to work on the manors
  • D. To help the abbey of Saint-Denis collect more tolls
10.
Why would the head of the university buy a whole year's parchment at the Lendit Fair?
  • A. Many sellers brought large supplies to one place.
  • B. Peasants owed the university parchment as a duty.
  • C. The fair lasted for months, so he could come when he liked.
  • D. The fair was held in the university's own courtyard.
11.
Draw a line from each term to its meaning in the passage.
  1. ManseD
  2. GuildA
  3. Sworn masterB
  4. TollC
  1. A. A group that set rules for one craft in a city
  2. B. A guild member chosen to inspect shops
  3. C. A fee a trader paid for a place to sell
  4. D. A small farm a family held in return for duties
12.
Claim: Between the 800s and the 1200s, people around Paris came to depend more on buying and selling and less on making everything at home. Do you agree? Use evidence from at least two paragraphs and the graph, and explain your reasoning.

I agree. In the early 800s, the abbey's estates produced much of what they needed, from grain and wine to cloth, and peasants paid the abbey with work, wine, chickens and eggs rather than money. By the 1200s, many lords wanted rents in coins, so peasants had to sell their extra grain and eggs at weekly markets. The graph shows Europe's population grew from about 40 million to about 75 million between 1000 and 1300, so there were more buyers and sellers. Paris had about 100 crafts with guild rules, which means many people earned a living by making goods to sell, and the Lendit Fair drew merchants with cloth, horses and parchment. People still farmed, but trade had become a much bigger part of life.