Medieval cities in Europe

In the 10th–11th centuries production grew in Europe. The three-field system replaced the two-field one: the land was split in three, one part sown with winter grain, one with spring grain and one left fallow, which increased the harvest. The heavy wheeled plough and the horse collar made farming easier. Surplus produce was exchanged for craft goods, and craftsmen, fleeing feudal oppression, moved to places convenient for making and selling goods. Thus crafts separated from farming and cities grew: first in Italy and southern France (Venice, Genoa, Florence, Marseille), later in the north. Cities arose in safe places convenient for trade — by castles, monasteries, rivers and bridges. Townspeople won freedom from their lords by payment or by uprising. A city was ringed by a defensive wall and moat, with a market square, a church and a town hall at the centre; streets were narrow and, as houses were of wood, fires and disease were frequent. A town usually held 3–5 thousand people; the biggest cities, such as Paris, Milan, Venice and Florence, held 100 thousand or more. Craftsmen joined guilds: the guild statute set the quality and price of goods, and journeymen and apprentices worked under the master. In the 14th–15th centuries guilds became closed, and journeymen who could not become masters formed their own brotherhoods.