191 1-] IX THE TWELFTH CENTURY. 503 



wealth is shown by the fact that the Jews of England contributed 

 60,000 pounds towards the crusade of Henry II., and all others only 

 70,000. There is no estimate of the number who contributed this 

 60,000 pounds, but there had been a great increase since the begin- 

 ning of the reign of Henry II. At that time all Jews who died in 

 England had to be buried in the cemetery near London. At the end 

 of Henry II. 's reign almost every great town had a Jewish cemetery 

 in the suburbs. 



The peasants both in town and country gained in prosperity 

 during the twelfth century. The agricultural laborers profited by 

 the opening of more markets for their products. They were some- 

 times able to hire the demesne land and even to rent the mill or the 

 whole manor, because the lord of the manor was in need of ready 

 money. In France many I'illciicHZ'Cs were established which ottered 

 special privileges in order to attract tenants. Suger's example in 

 emancipating his serfs was followed more and more frecjuently by 

 the kings and by the lords. In England many individuals escaped 

 to the towns, and if they were able to remain there unmolested for a 

 year and a day, they were free from all possibility of pursuit. 



The merchants in the towns profited most. The Lombard cities 

 of Italy gained great wealth by the carrying both of crusaders and 

 of wares. The trade extended widely in western Europe. Fairs 

 were established where the commodities of the whole known world 

 were ofifered for sale by the merchants from the various countries, 

 who travelled about from place to place. The increase in the dues 

 which the lords received from these fairs bears witness to their 

 prosperity and to the enlarged trade, of which they were the scene. 



Gross states that the gild merchant first appeared in England 

 about 1 100, and that the craft society first appeared on the continent, 

 as in England, early in the twelfth century. If we connect these 

 statements with Ashley's dictum. " Trade, as an independent occu- 

 pation, grew up first in the service of luxury." the importance of the 

 change in the standard of living will be apparent. The establish- 

 ment of uniform weights and measures, and the universality of 

 certain standards of money, such as the Cologne mark, the A'enetian 

 ducat, or the bezant also indicate the rapid advance in commerce. 



