By the 11th century, the cities began to grow again. The reason for this was the surplus agricultural production. As the farmers began to produce enough grain to sustain the people in the cities, the cities began to grow. The farmers who had surpluses needed centers where they could sell their surplus, and where they could buy their work tools and clothes. This caused the growth of small markets and centers for selling things. Slowly they began to show the features of cities. There was a. square area, a church inside, roads along which there were shops and homes of merchants and an office where the administrators of the area met. Some cities grew around forts, estates of bishops . and big churches.
The majority of the city people were independent farmers or escaped serfs. These serfs did most of the unskilled jobs. There were different kinds of shops, big and small, and traders in the city. Gradually the cities needed specialized people like bankers and solicitors. In big cities, the population could be as many as 30,000. These cities were called the 4th order.
