What is a merchant class in the Middle Ages?
Elizabeth has been involved with tutoring since high school and has a B.A. in Classics. The merchant class during the Renaissance was a powerful class of people who earned money from trade rather than owning and working their land.
What was a merchant in the Middle Ages?
Types. Although the term “merchant” simply refers to one who resells goods to make a profit, there were two main types of merchants during medieval times. Those who bought goods locally or from local wholesalers and sold to those in their area were local merchants, or retailers.
What social class were merchants?
The traders and merchants, who distributed and exchanged goods produced by others, were below the noble-priest class in the social pyramid. A sizable group of artisans and craftsmen, producing specialized goods, belonged to the lower economic classes.
What was the role of merchants?
The merchant is an agent dedicated to the procurement, movement, and exchange of goods. The more vital resource movement is in meeting provisioning needs, the more important the role of merchant traders becomes within society.
What were merchants jobs in the Middle Ages?
Consequently, medieval merchants began to trade in exotic and luxury goods such as spices, wine, food, furs, silk, glass, and jewelry.
What is the merchant class?
The merchant class during the Renaissance was a powerful class of people who earned money from trade rather than owning and working their land.
What is an example of a merchant?
Merchant is defined as a person or company engaged in the business of selling or trading goods. A wholesaler is an example of a merchant. A retail store owner is an example of a merchant.
Who made up the middle class in Middle Ages?
The middle class included everyone who was a merchant, a doctor, a university graduate, or in the middle management of the Church. These were the people who really saved Europe from the Middle Ages, and their size and importance grew as the period went on.
Where did merchants live in the Middle Ages?
Merchants lived in towns and cities and their housing depended on their socioeconomic status.
How were merchants treated in medieval Europe?
The merchant, as a class, was discriminated against for not contributing to these essential duties, but rather for aiming to get rich himself. His pursuit of gain was considered against the laws of God, because he was not a producer of real goods, but rather a resaler, or a usurer.
How did merchants live in Middle Ages?
Most medieval homes were damp, cold, and dark. Poorer merchants lived in their shops or stores. More prosperous merchants built nice houses made of brick. They would have glass windows, fireplaces, etc.
Where do merchants work?
Historically, the merchant class was responsible for the creation of a middle class between peasants and the nobility. In modern times, merchants are most often the proprietors of establishments ranging in size from small shops to multinational chain stores, including commerce websites.
What kind of house did merchants live in?
Built in about 1290 by John Fortin, a prosperous merchant, the house survived many centuries of domestic and commercial use largely intact.
| Medieval Merchant’s House | |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | SU 41917 11180 |
| Area | Hampshire |
| Built | 1290 |
| Owner | English Heritage |