How did this trade undermine the feudal order?

Town Life in the Middle Ages

This site examines everyday life in the Middle Ages.

http://www.learner.org/exhibits/middleages/

Examine the “Town Life” and click on the “Read More” link that expands the discussion into town governance. How did expanding trade affect town life in the later Middle Ages? How did this trade undermine the feudal order? How did it stimulate the growth of local governments and guilds? What invention spurred civic life? At the end of the Middle Ages, what had begun to disappear in Western Europe?