Note: the documents for this day's reading are all to be found on-line (ie., not in Geary).  For documents A-E, click here; for document F, click here.

A. King Louis VII Sells Financial Privileges to the Burghers of Tours, 1143 (click here)
1. Does this text mention a commune? How much independence do the townsmen (burghers) of Tours seem to possess?
2. What precisely is the King selling to the townsmen? Why is this significant?

B. Philip Augustus Concedes a Fair to the Burghers of Poitiers, 1214 (click here)
1. We still do not have a commune here, but we do see the king selling the burghers (as a corporate body) important privileges.
2. What is a fair? Why might the burghers of Poitiers desire one? Why might the king allow it?
3. What does the king get out of this grant?
4. What does this text suggest about the collective identity of the townsmen of Poitiers?

C. The Beauvais Dossier: Communal Charter Granted to Beauvais, 1182 (click here)
1. What is a commune? How is it formed? Who runs it? What role does the king have, if any? [remember: a commune has nothing to do with modern ‘communism', although they share a common concept]
2. Why might the king grant such a right (ie., the right to form a commune)?
3. How does the commune police itself?
4. What is the relationship between the commune and the city's traditional lord (the Bishop of Beauvais)? Do you think the Bishop was happy with the granting of the charter? Why or why not?
5. What sorts of things (behavior, actions, etc.) is the commune concerned about?
6. What is a peer? What powers do the mayor and peers have? Are they limited in any ways?

D. Philip Augustus Suppresses the Commune of Etampes, 1199 (click here)
In this document, the king essentially revoked a communal charter of the sort we read about in Beauvais. Why? Read between the lines and try to discern what the commune had done to anger the king. What will be the fate of Etampes in the future?

E. The Chartres Riot, 1210 (click here)
These documents describe a fairly typical example of the kind of urban unrest that led to the formation of communes during the 12th and 13th centuries.  The first document reflects the outrage of the churchmen of Chartres; the next two show us the king attempting to end the dispute.
1. Why did the townsmen assault the home of the Dean of the Cathedral Chapter (the Chapter is the group of canons, or clergymen, who run the cathedral; the Dean is one of their leaders)?
2. What was the role of the local nobility in this riot?
3. On what or on whom do the canons blame the entire riot?
4. What happened to the rioters? That is, what response did the Chapter take to punish them?
5. How did the king respond to the riot? Which side does he favor? Does he seem to waffle? If so, why?

F. Regulations of the Garment Cutters' Gild of Stendhal, 1231 (click here)
The first gilds were "gilds merchant", or bodies of merchants (not craftspeople) who banded together for protection and common interest. But the various crafts followed soon thereafter (late 12th century) in organizing themselves into formal bodies, known as craft gilds.
1. What seems to be the purpose for the Garment Cutter's Gild? What does it exist to do?
2. What benefits do members gain from the gild?
3. Does the gild have any role in the wider community of the town?
4. Compare the idea of a ‘commune' to that of a ‘gild' - are they similar? In what way? How do they differ?
5. What might the social (ie., not economic) effects or impact of the gild have been?

Homework Assignment (due in class Tuesday, March 28)
 Write 1 page response to one of the following. Use examples from the texts.
 1. What was a commune? Why did communes traditionally have problems fitting into the world of feudal lordship?
 2. What was a commune? Why did kings like Philip Augustus support some communes? Why might they oppose others?
 3. What was the purpose of forming a gild?
 

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