THE BLACK DEATH AND ITS IMPACT

The Black Death, which spread to Western Europe due to improved trade routes, also aided the invention of the printing
press in three ways, two of which combined with the invention of rag paper to provide Europe with ample paper. To begin
with, those who survived the Black Death inherited the property of those who did not, making even peasants significantly
wealthier. Because the textile industry was the most developed in Western Europe at the time, it should come as no
surprise that people spent the majority of their money on new clothes.

THE BIRTH OF BANKING

The church and Italian merchants devised a solution that evolved into modern banking. Prior to the invention of banking,
the church and Italian merchants faced the same problem of carrying cash over long distances. The church collects taxes
throughout western Europe that must be sent to the pope in Italy, whereas northern Italian merchants trade throughout
western Europe and must send money from Italy to do business. And it was here that the church and Italian merchants saw
a common denominator that led to a brilliant idea.

THE RISE OF THE ITALIAN CITY-STATES

Prior to the rise of the Italian city-states, there were old, deeply rooted Roman Empire cities that had remained a
community that became one of the Italian city-states, and there were also byzantines that guarded some Italian towns,
such as Venice, as well as the central position for trade with rich Byzantine and Muslim civilization. Many Italian cities
survived in the early Middle Ages, which aided the rise of Italian city-states. This could be used to fortify judicial power
in order to raise taxes. After all of that, and many other changes that shaped the city-states, Italy had more peace and order
by 1000, overseen by a strong German emperor, as the French nobles were driven out and Muslim raids ceased. With the
rise of the middle class, which classifies with bishops and eventually replaces them as the dominant power in northern
Italian cities. As a result, the towns grew in size and began to trade with Western Europe.

THE CHANGING STATUS OF WOMEN IN THE LATE MIDDLE AGES

In late medieval Europe, women have three (3) social statuses: peasants, middle class, and nobles. Although peasants were
a lower class, peasant women laid the strongest foundations for later social advancement. This was due to the fact that
they shared farm work and thus had a closer relationship with their husbands than their counterparts in town. The status of
Middle-class females was slightly higher than that of peasants, they experienced little to no gain, and possibly even a
decline, as towns revived during the high and late Middle Ages. They were given this status because, ever since families
moved to towns, the men typically did all of the work because they didn't know any other labor work, and as a result, their
loss of economic status corresponds to their loss of social status. The Noble Ladies are the highest-status women that
experience a very different type of status change. They were higher in the warrior class than the lower-class men, but they
were still subordinate to their husbands, who did almost all of the fighting.