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The history of the world economy - Polyak GB

10. The economy of medieval France

10.1. The emergence and development of feudal relations in the Frankish society

Education Frankish kingdom

A classic example of early feudal society conquered by Germanic tribes in Western Roman Empire was a union of the Franks, in which the decomposition of primitive communal system was accelerated as a result of the influence of the Roman order.

A special role is played in the history of salic (seaside) Franks. Led by their leader Clovis as a result of the victorious wars in Gaul, sometimes in confrontation with the decaying Roman Empire, sometimes in alliance with it, they created a vast kingdom stretching from the middle of the flow of the Rhine to the Pyrenees. In 486 the Franks captured Saussonskuyu region, and later the territory between the Seine and the Loire. V in the end. Franks drove the Alamanni Germanic tribe beyond the Rhine, and in the beginning of VI. They protested against the Visigoths, who owned all of southern Gaul. In the decisive battle of Poitiers in 507, the Franks won a complete victory over the Visigoths, the rule which has since been limited only outside Spain. When the sons of Clovis in the Frankish kingdom was annexed and Burgundy.

Initially, the Franks, like other Germanic peoples, had several rulers, the most famous of them was examples, on whose behalf was the name of the Merovingian royal family and a grandson who was Clovis. His victories and strengthening the Frankish state was required mainly to his king. Therefore, when the monarchy of Clovis increases, it becomes the richest man in the State, as new conquests come in his personal possession. The rapid advance of the Franks also facilitated by the fact that they settled in the occupied territories of compact masses, not dissolved among the local population, as the Visigoths, keeping in touch with their former homeland, from which they drew strength for new conquests. Occupied territories of the former imperial fiscus enough for distribution among the Frankish nobility, which allowed not to conflict with the local Gallo-Roman population. Frankish know was small and actively supported the conquest of the Merovingian, as they promised her enrichment. It was during the military campaigns of V-VI centuries. know exists in the ruling elite of the Frankish society.

Victory francs due not only to the objective conditions of their socio-economic development, but also the choice of policy instruments to achieve these goals. So, King Clovis, was baptized in 496, adopting Christianity, along with three thousand of their warriors. Baptism was a skillful political move of Clovis, and was adopted by the western rite (Roman) church. Germanic tribes (the Ostrogoths and Visigoths and Vandals and Burgundians) were from the perspective of the Roman Church as heretics, as denying some of its tenets. All clergy of the Western Christian church, which dwelt on the Loire, and the Gallo-Roman aristocracy, among whom Catholicism took root long ago, was on his side. Many cities and strongholds immediately opened the gates of the Franks.

Aggressive campaigns to accelerate the establishment of the state francs. Deep are the reasons for the formation of the Frankish state rooted in the expansion of the Frankish community of free and stratification of society.

State francs in its form was the early feudal monarchy that emerged during the transition from the community to the feudal society, bypassing the stage of slavery. It is a society characterized by multistructural (a combination of tribal, communal, feudal and slave-owning relations), the incompleteness of the process of creating the main classes of feudal society. Because of this early feudal state francs, bore the imprint of the old community organizations, institutions of tribal democracy.

Salic law on social order francs

The most important information about the social order francs during this period derive from the old record of court practices francs, called Salic law. This is most clearly the social-class differences in society francs, as evidenced by the Salic law, manifested in the position of slaves. Unlike freemen slave was considered a thing, and it was equal to the theft stealing an animal. Marriage slave with a free led to the loss of the last freedom.

Salic law indicates the presence of the Franks in society and other social groups: servitors know free Franks, semi-free litas. The differences were not only economic in nature between them as social, legal, and were mainly related to the origin and legal status of a person or social group to which the person belonged. So, in case of accidental death of the free franc was paid a ransom (blood money) in the amount of 200 solidi, and a representative of the nobility, who was in the service of the king, dresses triple blood money equal to 600 Solid and for LTL - 0.5 blood money, ie, 100.. solidi.

Right francs suggests begun stratification of society, highlighting as subjects of law city servants, serving the manor farm. However, the Salic law indicates that in this period there are still quite a strong community-based orders and communal ownership of fields, meadows and forests. The concept of private ownership of land in the Salic law is absent. It only fixes the birth of Rage, providing for right to put inherited through the male line.

Salic law was divided into titles (chapters). Based on the title, setting the punishment for stealing a cattle and fishing gear, boats, hunting dogs, hives apiary and fruit trees from the garden, we can conclude that the Franks economy had a variety of industries: and Livestock, and beekeeping and gardening, and viticulture. At the same time a major role in the economic life of the Franks, according to Salic law, agriculture played. In addition to crops, sown flax and Franks were engaged in gardening, planting beans, peas, lentils and turnips. By this time they were well acquainted with the plow and harrow. Ploughing was carried out on bulls. Go to dvuhpolyu, and then to the three-testified on adequate agro technical progress in agriculture.