MEDIEVO (Ciudades, Mercaderes y Artesanos) - Documental
La Edad Media o Medievo es el período histórico de la civilización occidental comprendido entre el siglo V y el XV. Su inicio se sitúa en el año 476, el año de la caída del Imperio romano de Occidente, y su final en 1492, año en el que Colón llegó a América.
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00:00In the first centuries of the Middle Ages, the well-trained and paved roads, inherited from the Roman Empire, deteriorate and end up being almost impractical.
00:24The new roads that are built, often paved with gravel, form tortuous routes that adapt to the orography of the landscape, drawing curves and avoiding natural obstacles.
00:36Humble people move on foot, while merchants and bourgeois travel in carriages, mainly driven by oxen, mules and donkeys, which, with their cansino trot, allow them to travel and transport goods without too much shaking.
00:55Pilgrims, military and merchants, coincide in the same itineraries, different services that cross the road.
01:08When we talk about medieval roads, we should not think of roads as we know them, but rather of paths.
01:24Among these roads are even the most famous, such as the Francigena or Romea, which linked England and Paris with Rome, or the Germany road, which connected Venice with Germany, or the itineraries that led to Santiago de Compostela.
01:43They were practically roads for the arrieros, which sometimes branched off, depending on the obstacles with which they stumbled on the ground.
01:56After the hard blow caused by the fall of the Roman Empire, it was necessary to wait until the 9th and 10th centuries to talk about new times.
02:06Slowly, an economic recovery process takes place, which lasts for more than four centuries.
02:13Population and agricultural production grow, rents increase, consumption, artisanal production and trade volume, and cities begin to be massified.
02:26From the 9th or 10th centuries on, the population begins to increase.
02:34But why does this happen?
02:37First of all, because the negative conditions that prevented the growth of the population and even caused its decrease were softened.
02:46And what were those negative conditions?
02:50Epidemics.
02:52Italy, the Mediterranean world, all of Europe, suffered devastating plague epidemics in the 6th century, which lasted throughout the 7th century and even much of the 8th.
03:03Then they disappeared.
03:07Urban cores are the basis of the new economic system, in which merchants and bankers are the real emerging figures, which restore importance to trade and stimulate the circulation of the currency.
03:22Thus, money is the new point of reference in the economic and social sphere.
03:28A transformation that takes place within a broader process, in which the city becomes the new center of cultural elaboration, with the creation of secular schools and universities, places of political experimentation.
03:41To all this is added the municipal life, the seniority, and the new forms of popular association and participation.
03:48The new values imposed by money, such as wealth and possessions, lead to wars between nobles, between cities, for the control of increasingly large territories.
04:19The city becomes the new center of economic development.
04:23The city becomes the new center of economic development.
04:27The city becomes the new center of economic development.
04:31The city becomes the new center of economic development.
04:35The city becomes the new center of economic development.
04:39The city becomes the new center of economic development.
04:43The city becomes the new center of economic development.
04:47The city becomes the new center of economic development.
04:51The city becomes the new center of economic development.
04:55The city becomes the new center of economic development.
04:59The city becomes the new center of economic development.
05:03The city becomes the new center of economic development.
05:07The city becomes the new center of economic development.
05:11The city becomes the new center of economic development.
05:20At this time, the streets recover new life, after long centuries of insecurity and inactivity, due to the scarcity of trade and stagnation of the economy.
05:30Deserted during the day and shrouded in darkness at night, they had become a comfortable refuge for thieves and crooks.
05:41The distance traveled during a day of travel is very small, 30 kilometers at most.
05:46The distance traveled during a day of travel is very small, 30 kilometers at most.
05:52At night you do not travel, the danger of running into bandits and crooks is too high.
05:58It is preferable to take refuge during the night hours in a inn or looking for hospitality in a village.
06:05It is preferable to take refuge during the night hours in a inn or looking for hospitality in a village.
06:36The city becomes the new center of economic development.
06:40The city becomes the new center of economic development.
06:44The city becomes the new center of economic development.
06:48The city becomes the new center of economic development.
06:52The city becomes the new center of economic development.
06:56The city becomes the new center of economic development.
07:00The walls are the symbol of the city.
07:03This is not a simple group of human beings, but it implies the idea of a common belonging,
07:08a feeling of superiority over those who live off the walls.
07:12The walls are living elements of the city.
07:15When they are born, they are tall and thin, separated from the buildings and the walls.
07:20When they are born, they are tall and thin, separated from the buildings and the walls.
07:25When they are born, they are tall and thin, separated from the buildings and the walls.
07:31Often they are held by counterforts and pulled by towers.
07:35Later they expand and engulf new towns.
07:38They grow in height and strengthen their thickness to better resist enemy attacks.
07:43How do these cities look like?
07:46First of all, they are surrounded by walls.
07:52There is no city that does not have its own wall.
07:56And the expansion of the population leads to the construction of successive walled enclosures,
08:02which in flat areas are concentric.
08:06In coastal squares like Genoa, they integrate into the city.
08:10Or in places like Siena, they arise from the slopes of the hills.
08:15In flat cities, they are usually circular enclosures that are still preserved in the current urban landscape.
08:27The walled enclosure opens to the outside only through the doors,
08:31which open at dawn and close at dusk, as is usually done at home today.
08:37They are works of high engineering in every way, capable of discouraging any enemy attack.
08:43They also allow citizens to charge a toll to enter the city,
08:47and register anyone or merchandise that enters the urban space.
09:14Thanks.
09:15What do you have in that bag?
09:17I don't know. I don't have anything with me.
09:19Show us what you have.
09:21I didn't do anything.
09:23Show us.
09:25I won't stop you.
09:27I know the way.
09:29Take him away.
09:44Apart from this defense system, the city is characterized by the presence of the cathedral.
09:52The cathedral is the most important sacred place, and next to it is the Episcopal Palace.
10:00There are also areas added to the different markets, because there are several markets.
10:06The market of cereals, the market of herbs.
10:10In many cities in northern Italy, we find squares dedicated to the trade of herbs.
10:20The urban layout of cities is not limited to preconceived schemes.
10:25It is renewed by adapting to the changes of the inhabitants,
10:28creating new spaces for work, social relations, private life, institutional, cultural and spiritual.
10:36The demand for new spaces leads to the need to better take advantage of the already existing ones,
10:42forces to expand the walls of the city or to restructure specific areas.
10:47The only rules of medieval urban planning are spontaneity, need and irregularity.
11:07We promised to meet in the square after the mass.
11:10He is so cute.
11:12It was wonderful.
11:26The simplest floor is the one in which two main streets cross at the central point of the city,
11:32leading to four doors that open to the main directions.
11:38Curious are the cities that look out to the sea and have a port.
11:42There the streets lead directly into the water,
11:45to make the most of the relationship between housing and port activity.
11:50The new figure of the merchant,
11:52driving force and result of the transformations in the economic and social sphere of the Middle Ages,
11:57is also linked to the progressive centralism that the cities assume from the year 1000.
12:06It is not that in the High Middle Ages, before the 10th century,
12:09there was no such thing as a city,
12:11it is not that in the Middle Ages,
12:14there was no such thing as a city,
12:17it is not that in the Middle Ages,
12:21that is, before the 10th century,
12:23the figure of the merchant had disappeared.
12:26We have very exact sources
12:29that reveal the presence of merchants, for example, in Milan in the 9th century.
12:34But after the 10th century,
12:36the truth is that its role becomes fundamental.
12:39And it is fundamental because due to the growth of the rural and urban population,
12:45the increase in agricultural production
12:48and the demand for new consumer products,
12:51a powerful exchange mechanism is fostered,
12:54of which the merchants are protagonists.
13:00The merchant is a character of little recognition and with a low social prestige,
13:05although he performs an indispensable activity for everyone,
13:08where the dangers are at the order of the day.
13:12Due to the continuous trips by land and sea,
13:14in contact with foreign peoples,
13:16he is permanently exposed to looting.
13:19Likewise, the constant reinvestment of resources requires great sagacity,
13:23although there is always the risk of making ruinous transactions.
13:32First of all, if you trade in the market,
13:35you must first make legal contracts.
13:39In this way you will get a good reputation,
13:42and they will not say that you suddenly get rich,
13:45nor will you have to worry that the fame of a usurer
13:48chases you and your children.
13:57Very soon the merchants assume an important economic role within the city.
14:03Over time, they will also acquire a first-rate political prominence.
14:10The wide range of action of the merchant
14:12can even lead him to negotiate with Muslim merchants,
14:15who in the medieval Christian world
14:17are considered the unfaithful enemies par excellence.
14:20It is an open hostility posture that the Church manifests officially,
14:24interpreting the search for economic benefit
14:27as something inevitably sinful.
14:30However, the Church itself needs the services of the merchants,
14:34especially the Venetians,
14:36who hold the monopoly of incense,
14:38necessary for the sacred ceremonies.
14:49In the world of merchants, at all levels,
14:52the very ambition drives men to get out of the same situation
14:56that, on the other hand, has facilitated their ascent.
14:59The richest sneak between the high aristocracy,
15:03and the others, depending on their possibilities,
15:06buy little by little a nobility of lower category.
15:11In most cases,
15:13real estate ownership or the acquisition of an office,
15:16often both things,
15:18allow the ascent from one position to another.
15:23Obviously, the weight of the merchants
15:26is tremendous in the cities of the north center.
15:29Something less in the cities of southern Italy,
15:33where the mercantile development
15:35is stopped by the centralist monarchy of Naples.
15:39But the role of the merchants is very important
15:42also in some cities of the center and north of Europe,
15:46especially in the big cities.
15:49The merchant is a breaking figure in medieval society,
15:53because it introduces a new rhythm,
15:55different from that of the Church.
15:57It is a measure of exact and ponderable time,
16:00very far from the sacred rhythm of the ecclesiastical calendar,
16:04which serves to organize work
16:06and professional relations in a very good way.
16:09The merchant is a very important figure
16:11in the medieval society,
16:13because it introduces a new rhythm,
16:15different from that of the Church.
16:17It serves to organize work
16:19and professional relations in a very good way.
16:22It is a change that has concrete applications
16:25even in technological innovation,
16:27such as the mechanical clocks,
16:29which from the end of the 13th century
16:31appear in the bell towers of the cathedrals
16:34and the towers of political power.
16:39The life of the medieval man
16:41begins to revolve mainly around himself,
16:44hoping for constant references to the divine and its precepts.
16:51Aspirations, desires and personal ambitions
16:54begin to acquire greater importance.
16:57The horizon of the human being returns to the earth,
17:00and within it the idea is opened
17:02that he can satisfy his needs
17:04of fulfillment in this world.
17:06The person becomes more aware of his autonomy,
17:09of his properties,
17:11and of the possibility of building his own destiny.
17:28In the medieval society,
17:30where personal relationships and recommendations
17:33are the main credential to have some possibility,
17:36you have to be careful not to invade certain interests
17:39and to know how to adapt to the context in which you live.
17:43Especially from the 14th century,
17:45these delicate relations
17:47crystallize in concrete forms of expression.
17:50They are the so-called coffers.
17:55With the rents of said coffers,
17:58the hospital is equipped with beds,
18:00sheets, blankets,
18:02and everything necessary to attend
18:04the poor and pilgrims.
18:10The coffers, which group people of different ages,
18:13united by a common trade,
18:15have the function of mutual assistance,
18:17of defense of interests,
18:19and of hiring in public businesses.
18:22Their network of contacts
18:24allows them to have privileges
18:26in all emergency situations
18:28in which their members may be found,
18:30from problems with justice
18:32to the need to have a place in the hospital.
18:36To be admitted to a coffer,
18:38you have to go through a ritual initiation.
18:41Often, the individual must swear on the Gospel,
18:44which will put the interest of the group to himself,
18:47or that he will refrain from creating controversies
18:49or adopting positions that could generate confusion and anarchy.
18:54Whoever wants to join,
18:56must respect the rules.
18:58In return, he will obtain unconditional support
19:01and will be able to develop a true learning
19:03of community life.
19:06Despite its function of social protection,
19:08in a society that is strongly unbalanced,
19:11it is precisely within the coffers
19:13where violent outbursts arise,
19:15which add to the city in a bloodbath,
19:18in the midst of the economic crisis
19:20that strikes the municipalities in the 13th and 14th centuries.
19:34Move it! Come on!
19:39This is not for you.
19:41Move it!
19:42Move it!
19:43Move it!
19:44Move it!
19:45Move it!
19:46Move it!
19:47Move it!
19:48Move it!
19:49Move it!
19:50Move it!
19:51Move it!
19:52Move it!
19:53Move it!
19:54Move it!
19:55Move it!
19:56Move it!
19:57Move it!
19:58Move it!
19:59Move it!
20:00Move it!
20:01Move it!
20:03Move it!
20:04Move it!
20:05Come on!
20:16Come on, come on!
20:18From the 11th century onwards, the progressive renaissance of cities and trade implied a
20:45renewed use and greater circulation of the currency.
20:49This is the result of various demands.
20:52On the one hand, the need of the local merchant to have an instrument for the exchange of
20:56goods and products.
20:58And on the other hand, the increasing expansion of trade routes, which requires a currency
21:03recognized at an international level.
21:06In this banking activity, Italians soon become protagonists at an international level.
21:17They become protagonists because Italy is at the center of a series of trade routes
21:22between the Mediterranean East and the peninsula, the German world, the British world and the
21:28Iberian Peninsula.
21:30Because in Italy there is a city like Rome, which agglutinates the resources of all Christianity.
21:39The minting becomes an important practice for public authorities with the choice of
21:44the type of metal to use, gold, silver and low metals.
21:49And with the possibility of establishing authentic monetary policies, with repercussions not
21:54only in the economic sphere, but in politics itself.
22:00Italy soon equips itself to nest totally innovative monetary systems.
22:29As a reference, we take the gold coin minted in 1253, first in Genoa and immediately
22:35later in Florence.
22:41But the supremacy of Florence is overwhelmingly imposed and favors the return of the gold
22:46coin to the West after several centuries.
22:49Because previously, the only gold coins that circulated through the Mediterranean and
22:54the West, although sporadically, were the Byzantine, that is, the Besante, and the Arab,
23:00the Dirham.
23:02With Florin, the gold coin minting is reinstated in the West.
23:12Between the 13th and 14th centuries, the strip of citizen population that is enriched
23:16thanks to trade is consolidated as a powerful class.
23:20It is a new power, public, loved by the people and a supporter of the interests of the people.
23:26It is based on corporate structures and on the recent entrepreneurial mentality promoted
23:31by the increase in trade.
23:41The enriched merchant is inclined to adopt the external symbols typical of the traditional
23:45noble classes.
23:47This implies being up to the ritual commitments of the aristocracy, the hunt, the parties
23:53or the mansions.
23:55But also to arrange advantageous marriages in an attempt to acquire noble titles,
24:00changing wealth for prestige.
24:18The city, reborn and vitalist of the 20th century,
24:22has become the center of attention of the Arab world.
24:26It has become the center of attention of the Arab world.
24:30It has become the center of attention of the Arab world.
24:34It has become the center of attention of the Arab world.
24:38It has become the center of attention of the Arab world.
24:42It has become the center of attention of the Arab world.
24:46The city, reborn and vitalist of the 12th century, is lively and chaotic.
24:50A real cradle of a society increasingly complex and in rapid development.
24:55In its streets you can contemplate all the human fauna of medieval society,
25:00with the multiple typological differences that make it,
25:03in such a small space, that it looks devoted to a forced massification.
25:08The street is, so to speak, the place where the medieval man makes his life.
25:13The human being of our days, accustomed to the comforts of our lifestyle,
25:19has lost the notion of living outdoors, so typical of the Middle Ages.
25:25The street was everything.
25:28The houses, the streets, the streets were everything.
25:34The streets were everything.
25:37The main houses formed a continuous framework,
25:41where architectural solutions were proliferated, based on porticoes,
25:45which we find in many Italian cities, such as Bologna, Turin and Padua.
25:55The increase of the population leads to a restructuring of the road system,
26:00without a real planning, where everything is organized in an improvised way.
26:05The new buildings invade street plots,
26:08all the possible space is taken advantage of,
26:11even the one that is above the heads of the people,
26:14with balustrades, balconies and porticoes, which stand out from the constructions
26:18and which often obstruct the passage of the means of transport.
26:24The streets are not only the place where the houses appear,
26:28but also the productive activities themselves.
26:31Normally, the houses have a lawn on the ground floor,
26:35where the public works, with the house of the craftsman on the upper floor.
26:43The streets of the medieval city differ a lot from each other,
26:47depending on whether it is a large or small nucleus,
26:50on flat or sloping terrain, of ancient origin or of new construction.
26:56Apart from the main streets,
26:58a dense network of secondary alleys is created,
27:01often dark and without exit, more like burrows,
27:05with protruding buildings that make them darker
27:08and protect them from the inclemencies of time.
27:11When I started, I proposed to write the truth about the things I saw and heard.
27:17And so that foreigners can better understand the things that happen,
27:21I will describe the shape of the noble city,
27:23erected under the sign of Mars,
27:25with a wide, rich and imperial river of fresh waters
27:29that divides the city almost in half.
27:32From a temperate environment to shelter from evil winds,
27:36shallow terrain, full of good fruits,
27:39with armed citizens, hikers and hikers,
27:42and rich in forbidden profits, well-endowed and feared,
27:46more than loved, by the neighboring lands due to its grandeur.
27:51The city is very populated and is prolific for its good atmosphere.
27:56The citizens are of good customs and the women are beautiful and graceful.
28:01The houses are very beautiful, full of artistic elements.
28:06For this reason, many people come to see it from distant countries,
28:10not so much out of necessity, but out of the kindness of the trades and arts,
28:15and for the beauty and ornament of the city.
28:45RENAISSANCE
28:50The renaissance phase of the cities during the Middle Ages coincides in many cases with the start of the municipal activity.
29:19The municipalities are the result of a demand for autonomy.
29:23They represent the attempt of self-government of the cities,
29:26and their disengagement from both the tutelage of the bishops,
29:29and the far-fetched power of feudal lords and kings.
29:32The changing cities establish concrete forms of representation within the urban bourgeoisie,
29:39capable of defining their own policy,
29:42of developing their power of decision to express the needs of their inhabitants until their last consequences.
29:49Some become self-proclaimed free municipalities.
29:53One of the most important phenomena that promotes this growth,
29:57arises from the birth of systems of associationism,
30:01what we call corporations or brotherhoods,
30:04fraternities, to be more precise.
30:07Because in fact, the members were called brothers,
30:11or if we use the typical expression of the German and English world, guild or guild.
30:16Often, their importance goes beyond the disciplinary perspective of the productive apparatus,
30:21of the competitiveness or the guarantee of the quality of the product.
30:24For example, the bread had to be made according to certain criteria, without impurities.
30:30But they also exerted a strong influence on municipal management.
30:34So much so that they are often the priors of the arts, as they are called in Florence,
30:39those who take the reins of the government.
30:41It is a phenomenon rather Italian, but it also occurs at the European level,
30:45especially well into the thirteenth century.
30:48The powerful classes of the city do not limit themselves to reaffirming their autonomy and public domain between walls,
30:54but proceed to a progressive expansion throughout the surrounding territory,
30:59creating a series of territorial states that identify with their capital city,
31:04governed by the citizen authorities.
31:29The count and the barons can only be fined for their equals and proportionally to the crime committed.
31:53All merchants can, if they have not received prior public denial,
31:57leave and enter freely and with total security of all lands,
32:03spend the night and travel for them.
32:07The water is an important element in the urban structure.
32:27It provides defense systems and transport routes at the same time.
32:31The bridges tend links between the different neighborhoods and sectors of the city.
32:36Initially they are formed by boats anchored to the riverbed,
32:40but soon they become solid structures of stone and wood.
32:44The medieval street is noisy.
32:47In the corners are often formed groups of men who chat cheerfully.
32:51The street vendors announce loudly the goodness of their merchandise.
32:55Near the banks and in the street shops, continuous transactions are carried out.
33:00Small and uncomfortable houses encourage people, and especially children,
33:05to spend the day in the street, contributing to create more bustle and confusion.
33:14Starting from the coast, I arrived in a city, the largest in the world.
33:19It has a circumference of at least 100 miles.
33:23It has no doors and on the outside is protected by water.
33:31I asked diligently for news from it to those who lived there.
33:36In it there is a large collection of bread, pork, wine and rice,
33:42and all other customs can be found in large quantities.
33:48This city is the richest and most fertile,
33:52and in my opinion it surpasses all others in terms of well-being and abundance.
33:58And this is where milk and honey come from.
34:11At nightfall, the streets dedicated to work give their prominence to the alleys dedicated to leisure,
34:17a well-deserved reward after a long day of fatigue.
34:21There are many taverns.
34:23There are large spaces equipped with fireplaces and many tables,
34:26where you can eat, drink wine and play dice.
34:30They are chaotic places frequented by the lowest social classes,
34:34where often animated talks are alternated with violent disputes.
34:49Leisure also involves sex in exchange for money.
34:52In brothels, men can give free rein to their sexual needs,
34:56without disturbing the respectable ladies.
34:59The Church and society consider prostitution an infamous practice and contrary to the precepts of God.
35:07Betrayed wives plot revenge and accuse some of the women of witchcraft.
35:13These are burned in the public square among the desperate cries of unfaithful husbands.
35:23We will have to wait until the 14th century for prostitution to be accepted
35:27and managed directly by the municipal authorities,
35:30as it will be considered a public utility service.
35:38Social marginalization hits a good part of the population.
35:42The bad reputation or stigma of infamy is mainly seen in some professions,
35:47The actors, musicians, jugglers and trumpeters are considered characters
35:52chained to the devil, of dissipated life and dubious moral principles.
36:00Social isolation also affects all trades related to blood,
36:04corpses, carcass and filth, from executioner to hitman,
36:08from prostitute to hitman, from prostitute to hitman,
36:12from prostitute to hitman,
36:15from executioner to hitman, from executioner to hitman.
36:20The contempt for the crippled, whose deformities are related to the devil,
36:25we find it in the strict separation between the citizen space
36:29and the places intended for the reception of the sick,
36:32the leprosy clinics, the hospitals and the hospitals.
36:36Everything indicates that in the Middle Ages, the relationship between society and the marginalized
36:41was articulated in a different way,
36:44halfway between hatred and mercy, rejection and help.
36:59The true center of power and medieval urban space is the square,
37:04an open place for meetings and public representation.
37:09Destination assigned to the various public activities
37:12houses the most emblematic punitive executions.
37:15Thieves are beaten, transferred in chains,
37:18their cheek is marked with a hot iron and their ear is cut.
37:22The sodomites are burned in the bonfire,
37:25the blasphemers dragged by the tongue with a whip.
37:29A warning for the rest of the population,
37:31but also a macabre pastime in a society where violence is at the order of the day.
37:38In the middle of the square, there is a church.
37:41The church is dedicated to St. John the Baptist.
37:44The church is dedicated to St. John the Baptist.
37:47The church is dedicated to St. John the Baptist.
37:50The church is dedicated to St. John the Baptist.
37:53The church is dedicated to St. John the Baptist.
37:56The church is dedicated to St. John the Baptist.
37:59The church is dedicated to St. John the Baptist.
38:02The church is dedicated to St. John the Baptist.
38:05...
38:27Along the streets, between alleys, around narrow passages,
38:31circulate the news that urban heralds
38:34read aloud after making the horn sound.
38:37Public authorities notify the judicial sentences,
38:40the punishments, and the day and time of the public executions,
38:43which are used as dissuasive measures for the attending public.
39:05Last night, a rustic villain, a beastly man,
39:10introduced himself to him in secret.
39:22He has stolen jewels of miraculous value.
39:28He wants to lose our dignity.
39:31He is the devil!
39:33He is the devil!
39:50The devil, who makes every evil reign,
39:53who is a professional robber.
39:57He has stolen jewels of miraculous value.
40:00He has wrapped them in a rag,
40:02taken from his own clothes.
40:05He is the devil!
40:07He is the devil!
40:25He has wrapped jewels of miraculous value.
40:28He is the devil!
40:30He is the devil!
40:32The light, the light of our Lord Jesus Christ,
40:36shines even in darkness.
40:55The people participate in the streets
40:57and promulgate insults and attacks against the convict,
41:00who is dragged in front of his family and friends,
41:03loaded with chains.
41:07A very widespread violence that is breathed throughout the city.
41:18The cities are dirty and disorganized environments,
41:21devoid of sewage or running water in the homes.
41:25Public toilet services are hidden in some alley,
41:29between the narrow walls of two buildings.
41:32They are nothing more than a hole covered by a wooden lid.
41:36The streets are full of poor people,
41:38dressed in rags that are dedicated to mendicity.
41:42Many exaggerate their condition by means of tricks,
41:45to move even more the transgressors and receive more alms.
41:54Among the components of the urban population,
41:57this range of population composed of poor and marginalized,
42:00played a fundamental role,
42:03especially from the quantitative point of view.
42:09Also from other points of view, but above all quantitative.
42:17It is estimated that in some cities,
42:19this range included at least a third of the population.
42:24It is common for the beggars to move from one city to another,
42:28traveling long distances,
42:30hoping to find better conditions.
42:35But that the others have faith in the divine providence,
42:39that he remembers them and addresses them,
42:43and that they go to church, that he welcomes and defends them.
42:48But maybe you also say what is usually said on these occasions.
42:52We have no right to give gifts to those whom God has cursed so much
42:57that he has wanted them to live in misery.
43:00However, it is not true that the poor are cursed.
43:04On the contrary, it is said,
43:06blessed are the poor, because of them is the kingdom of heaven.
43:12Society considers the beggars
43:14necessary for the salvation of the souls of the rich,
43:17so that they can do good through charity.
43:20However, it is not surprising that the urban authorities
43:23decree massive expulsions.
43:25If the mentality of the medieval man
43:27attributes positive values to sedentarism,
43:29to the fact of being radical,
43:31to be an active part of the community,
43:33the marginalized awakens jealousy and must be kept at a distance.
43:37In many cases, the marginalized were people
43:40who were not able to work because they were disabled.
43:44Disabilities were very common in the Middle Ages.
43:49Many children were born deformed or blind.
43:53That is, they were people who were not able to work,
43:56they lived off charity.
43:58Then there were the elderly,
44:00who were not able to work,
44:02they lived off charity.
44:04Then there were the elderly,
44:06who no longer knew what to live off,
44:08or women alone.
44:10That is, there was a social sector close to the marginalized
44:13who was not able to earn a living.
44:18Mercy is used not to judge people for their merits,
44:23and to assist the needs of others,
44:26to help the poor,
44:28not to overshadow mere justice.
44:32It is written,
44:34Blessed is he who cares for the poor and the needy,
44:38who has compassion for them,
44:40who shares his own nature,
44:43who understands that the rich and the poor
44:46are creatures of the Lord,
44:49who knows how to sanctify the fruits collected,
44:52and who keeps a part for the poor.
44:57In short, if you have to do good,
45:00don't leave it for tomorrow, saying,
45:03I'll give tomorrow.
45:05You could lose the opportunity to give.
45:23Houses are built on top of each other.
45:26Frequently they reach five or six floors,
45:29subdivided into several apartments,
45:31where more than one family lives.
45:33Normally there are two rooms
45:35that are used to eat and sleep,
45:37separated by curtains or wooden beams,
45:39in an attempt to obtain some intimacy,
45:41in a situation of forced promiscuity.
45:44On the ground floor, facing the street,
45:47the artisan shops become
45:49a kind of extension of their own home.
45:52Artisans specialized in the different trades,
45:55often without leaving their guild,
45:57gather in certain neighborhoods,
45:59where they end up taking entire streets,
46:01which receive the name of the trade
46:03that is practiced in them.
46:06They are distributed by specific places in the city,
46:09with their workshops and trades.
46:11It is no coincidence that many Italian and European cities
46:14have the street of the weavers,
46:16or the street of the blacksmiths.
46:18In fact, in some other case, like in Siena,
46:20are the municipal statutes themselves,
46:22those that have the constitution
46:24of a street of the orpheus,
46:26where only those who exercise this activity are concentrated.
46:31In the field of the grading system of work,
46:34you have to learn for several years,
46:37before the hand becomes quite skilled.
46:42With the aim that the colored, drawn and painted ceramics
46:46are always up to the fame conquered.
46:52The trade is exercised by the master,
46:55assisted by one or more apprentices,
46:57sent by the families to learn an activity
47:00that at least can guarantee their subsistence.
47:04The learning period is very long,
47:06and at the beginning humble, domestic works are carried out,
47:09sometimes even as a servant of the artisan's wife.
47:13The artisanal production is limited,
47:15but of great quality, similar to the works of art.
47:18The corresponding committees control the quality of the elaboration
47:21and do not tolerate falsifications.
47:25In the field of the grading system of work,
47:28you have to learn for several years,
47:30before the hand becomes quite skilled.
47:34With the aim that the colored, drawn and painted ceramics
47:37are always up to the fame conquered.
47:41The trade is exercised by the masters,
47:44assisted by one or more apprentices,
47:47sent by the families to learn an activity
47:50that at least can guarantee their subsistence.
47:54The technique must not be lacking in the workshop of the artisan,
47:58and it must not produce falsifications,
48:01nor apply excessive prices.
48:11The vessels must always be of superior quality
48:14and at market price.
48:17It is a shame to be suspended from employment,
48:20so is the master,
48:23and he must teach these virtues to the apprentice
48:26and be patient with him,
48:29because art is a hard trade
48:32that cannot be acquired by loafers or opportunists.
48:51In the Middle Ages,
48:54many reflect on what the city represents.
48:57Some describe it as a chaotic place,
49:00depraved, full of people, violent,
49:03where cultures are confused with each other.
49:06Others praise its beauty, its dynamism,
49:09its wealth, and consider it a kind of vanguard of civil life.
49:12The city seems to oscillate
49:15between the image of Babylon and Jerusalem,
49:19disparate images that reflect the complexity
49:22and contradictions of the medieval urban environment.
49:25A form and a space that the Middle Ages
49:28recovers and rescues after centuries of decline,
49:31and that represents one of the most characteristic elements
49:34of the then incipient Europe,
49:37in addition to being one of the great contributions
49:40that medieval civilization has made to modern society.
49:48Transcription by ESO. Translation by —