Medieval cities kept old traditions, opinions, and ideas from their birth but times were changing, population was increasing and expansion of trade was taking place. Yet people of authority did not see the value of this change and were stubborn to fix the ways they went about things to fit this new era. Authorities defended their old traditions not so much for their own best interests but rather they did not want the way things were run to be changed in fear that society as a whole would be destructed. Nevertheless the old ideas and ways did not suit the middle class people. These unsuitable conditions soon became unavoidable and the middle class people stood up and voiced their opinions.To start off there was an big difference of life style of the population either you were in the so called upper class of vassals (landowners) or of the middle class of surfs (merchants or artisans) whom served for the vassals. These landowners made their own laws, tolls and what not for the land that they owned. The surfs were owned by the vassals and stayed with the owner or went to another owner when the land was sold. The land owners depended upon their surfs for trading of goods and services where as the surfs depended upon protection from the vassals. However, surfs were merchants and artisans who needed to travel and trade their services to other surfs, the tolls and laws created by each vassal restricted the merchants and artisans greatly. Now the middle class was not trying to overthrow their rulers, they accepted the way of these old cities. They did not aim to get rid of it entirely they and they accepted the privileges and authority of princes, clergy and nobility. All the middle class wanted was acknowledgement from the government strictly limited to their own needs, asking for a place compatible with the lives they led.The old cities consisted of many small cities of merchants surrounding a central city. Merchants had to pay gr...
