The Tradition of Self-Government in the Gothic City

In the Middle Ages, women had relative rights in this system and we have documents to tell us that. For instance, women worked in the fields among the men. And a woman had the right to speak for herself in a court of a manner. Now, how do we go from this feudal system to what you are so inefficient in producing food? You've got to somehow go from a subsistence economy to a surplus economy.