Chapter 300 - 228: Scent of Roses
When they filed a complaint with the municipal authorities with the help of their village Priests, they were told that villagers were not protected by city law, so their cases would not be heard. After several fruitless appeals, they were beaten and driven out for disturbing the peace.
The situation in Lucca is the most severe. Lucca’s Municipal Officials have recently been trying to restrict their entry into the city. They’ve even driven out villagers who had already settled there as apprentices, publicly declaring that those "country bumpkins" should get back to their villages.
The village elders accuse the city-dwellers of treating them not as countrymen, but as slaves. They say the citizens smile more at Saracens than they do at their own Christian brothers from the countryside.
A few village Priests said that God would never condone one group of people building a wall to shut out another. Walls are meant for protection, not exclusion.
They want to ask me if the citizens are still considered Tuscan subjects.
If they are, the villagers demand I correct this overreach, for they are dividing Tuscany.
They said they have never heard of a time when landless people could dictate terms to those who own land and have always toiled upon it according to God’s will. To have these people act superior to them is utterly absurd.
"’We all know the Nobility fights for all, the Priests pray for all, and the peasants till the soil for all. But what of this new ’citizen’? What does he contribute? The spread of speculation and deceit?’" (The word "citizen" formally appeared in the early eleventh century.)
"Interesting. This Priest seems to be rather eloquent. Those last few lines were quite smooth, I’d say they’re competently written," Eric commented with a straight face. "Is there a corresponding petition from the citizens?"
Matilda rummaged through the documents for a moment, found one, and began to read. "The citizens also presented their demands and justifications. They say they pay an annual fee for the city’s independent privileges and will not share their city with country bumpkins who haven’t contributed a single pence.
They claim it would be disastrous if I were to yield to the villagers’ unreasonable demands.
It would cause the city’s shops to close down, one after another, as hordes of country bumpkins would pour into the shops daily to take whatever they want without paying. Every citizen knows those poor country folk are shameless; they only care about what they can get for free.
After all, why shouldn’t they, if the Marchioness herself believes a person can legally enjoy things for which they have neither paid nor labored."
"So what do you plan to do?" Eric asked.
"I never take sides. I must remain neutral to maintain the most advantageous position. I will make both sides concede something.
Since the citizens dislike the villagers coming into the city and are trying to drive down the price of produce, I will act as the middleman. I will arrange for my people to go to the villages at regular intervals and purchase their surplus produce at market price. That way, they won’t have to endure the citizens’ scorn, and they can also save on transport costs.
Then, I’ll sell it to the citizens under my name. I will make the citizens pay a higher price, and in return, I will not side completely with the villagers. If this goes well, I will establish it as a new tax.
Even if the citizens later refuse to pay this amount, my intervention will have already forced them to raise their purchasing prices. I won’t even need to resort to other measures.
Either way, I will easily win the support and praise of the villages."
Matilda tilted her chin up and looked at Eric as if she had won a great victory. "And you?"
"What?"
"Do you have a different opinion, Marquis?" Matilda addressed Eric with this title for the first time.
"Your plan is excellent."
"If you don’t feel like answering, you should have just called it ’perfect’."
Eric laughed. "Alright, if you insist. But I don’t think you’ll be satisfied with my answer."
"Let’s hear it."
"I would invite the villagers to Normandy, to Gloucester. There’s still plenty of uncultivated land there—forests, wastelands, swamps, and heaths. They could establish their own new cities there," Eric said.
(This refers to the land reclamation movement that began in the mid-eleventh century. At the time, Europe still had vast tracts of unsettled wasteland, forests, and swamps. From the mid-eleventh century, lords began to encourage land reclamation by offering various incentives. Commoners and serfs started migrating, clearing large areas of farmland and establishing numerous new cities. This movement helped to unify European trade networks. At the same time, trade began to dismantle serfdom and the feudal manor system, with monetary rent gradually replacing rent-in-kind. In Germany, this movement also involved the conquest of the Slavs.)
"They would become citizens, and then..."
Before Matilda could finish, Eric’s voice cut in.
"And then they would do the same, shutting out the next group of villagers. A place’s wealth is always built upon the exploitation of another. There are no exceptions. It’s true for Milan, Pisa, Canossa, and Florence. That is how a city is formed: a group of citizens treats a group of villagers like slaves, buying their goods for cheap and selling things to them at high prices. That is how wealth is created.