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The Middle Ages:
Myth and Reality
The Middle Ages: The Myth
We think of knights in
shining armor, lavish
banquets, wandering
minstrels, kings &
queens, monks, and
glorious pageantry.
 In film and in literature,
medieval life seems
heroic, entertaining, and
romantic.

The Middle Ages: The Reality

In reality, life in the
Middle Ages, a period
that extended from
approximately the 5th
century to the 15th
century in Western
Europe, was
generally harsh,
uncertain, and
dangerous.
So, What is the Middle Ages?

The Middle Ages or Medieval
Period is the middle period of
the three divisions of Western
history:
 1. Antiquity
 2. Medieval period
 3. Modern period


The beginning of the Middle
Ages are marked by the fall of
the Western Roman Empire.
Because of the decline in
academy, culture and
economy many refer to this
period as “The Dark Ages”
So how can we make sense of
the Middle Ages?
The Middle Ages is
characterized by
unique political,
social and
economic systems
 These systems are:

 Feudal System-Pol &
Social
 Manorialism-Econ
The Feudal System

Under the feudal
system, the king
awarded land grants
or fiefs to his most
important nobles,
barons, and bishops,
in return for their
contribution of
soldiers.
Nobles and Vassals
Nobles then divided
their land among the
lesser nobility, who
became their vassals.
 Question: To whom
would the nobles
divide their lands with
and why?

The Peasants
At the lowest level of
society were the
peasants, also called
serfs or villeins.
 The lord offered his
peasants protection in
exchange for living and
working on his land.

A Year in the Life of a Medieval Peasant
Key Terms
Feudal system: a political system in Medieval
Europe in which land was granted to citizens
in exchange for service or labor
 Fief: a land grant
 Vassal: recipient of land grant in exchange for
service
 Lord: one who grants land i.e. landlord or
overlord

The Manor

Most people lived
on a manor, which
consisted of the
castle (or manor
house), the
church, the village,
and the
surrounding farm
land.
Self-Sufficiency


Each manor was largely selfsufficient, growing or producing
all of the basic items needed
for food, clothing, and shelter.
To meet these needs, the
manor had buildings devoted to
special purposes, such as:
 The mill for grinding grain
 The bake house for making bread
 The blacksmith shop for creating
metal goods.
Isolation

These manors were
isolated, with
occasional visits
from peddlers,
pilgrims on their
way to the
Crusades, or
soldiers from other
fiefdoms.
Hard Work & High Taxes
Peasants worked hard
to cultivate the land and
produce the goods that
the lord and his manor
needed.
 They were heavily taxed
and were required to
relinquish much of what
they harvested.

MEDIEVAL LIFE
Cooperation and Mutual
Obligations
KING
MANORIALISM:
ECONOMIC SYSTEM
FEUDALISM:
POLITICAL & SOCIAL
SYSTEM
 Decentralized, local
government
 Dependent upon the
relationship between
members of the nobility
 Lord and his vassals
administered justice
and were the highest
authority in their land
Fief and Peasants
 Agriculture the basis for
wealth
 Lands divided up into
self-sufficient manors
 Peasants (serfs) worked
the land and paid rent In
exchange for protection
 Barter the usual form of
exchange
Military Aid
Loyalty
LORDS (VASSALS TO KING)
Food
Protection
Shelter
Military Service
Homage
KNIGHTS (VASSALS TO LORDS)
Food
Protection
Farm the
Land
PEASANTS (SERFS)
Shelter
Pay
Rent
The Catholic Church
The Catholic Church was
the only church in Europe
during the Middle Ages,
and it had its own laws
and large income.
 Church leaders such as
bishops and archbishops
sat on the king's council
and played leading roles
in government.

The Magna Carta

In 1215, the English
barons formed an
alliance that forced
King John to sign the
Magna Carta. It
limited the king's
powers of taxation
and required trials by
jury. It was the first
time that an English
monarch was subject
to the law.
Bishops
Bishops, who were
often wealthy and
came from noble
families, ruled over
groups of parishes
called dioceses.
 Many were part of the
feudal system and in
exchange for a fief
and peasants they
provided duty and
military aid to a lord.

Question:

The Magna Carta restricted the power of
the king but who/what restricted the
power of the church and members of
clergy/nobility?
Women: Household Chores
Whether they were
nobles or peasants,
women held a
difficult position in
society.
 They were largely
confined to
household tasks
such as cooking,
baking bread,
sewing, weaving,
and spinning.

Hunting & Fighting

However, they also
hunted for food and
fought in battles,
learning to use
weapons to defend
their homes and
castles.
Homes

Most medieval
homes were cold,
damp, and dark.
Sometimes it was
warmer and lighter
outside the home
than within its walls.
Windows

For security purposes,
windows, when they were
present, were very small
openings with wooden
shutters that were closed
at night or in bad weather.
The small size of the
windows allowed those
inside to see out, but kept
outsiders from looking in.
Peasants Homes

Many peasant
families ate, slept,
and spent time
together in very
small quarters,
rarely more than one
or two rooms. The
houses had
thatched roofs and
were easily
destroyed.
Medieval Village
Homes of the Wealthy

The homes of the rich
were more elaborate
than the peasants'
homes. Their floors were
paved, as opposed to
being strewn with rushes
and herbs, and
sometimes decorated
with tiles. Tapestries
were hung on the walls,
providing not only
decoration but also an
extra layer of warmth.
Health & Hygiene

As the populations of
medieval towns and
cities increased,
hygienic conditions
worsened, leading to
a vast array of health
problems.
Medicine
Medical knowledge was
limited and, despite the
efforts of medical
practitioners and public
and religious institutions to
institute regulations,
medieval Europe did not
have an adequate health
care system.
 Antibiotics weren't invented
until the 1800s and it was
almost impossible to cure
diseases without them.

Businessmen
They became savvy
businessmen and learned to
deal with Italian moneylenders
and bankers.
 The English, Belgians,
Germans, and Dutch took their
coal, timber, wood, iron,
copper, and lead to the south
and came back with luxury
items such as wine and olive
oil.

Tradesmen

With the advent of
trade and
commerce, feudal
life declined. As
the tradesmen
became wealthier,
they resented
having to give
their profits to their
lords.
Boroughs
Arrangements were
made for the
townspeople to pay a
fixed annual sum to the
lord or king and gain
independence for their
town as a "borough"
with the power to
govern itself.
 The marketplace
became the focus of
many towns.

Town Governments

As the townspeople
became "free" citizens,
powerful families,
particularly in Italy,
struggled to gain
control of the
communes or
boroughs. Town
councils were formed.
References

Adapted from the Annenberg Media/Learner.org website “The Middle
Ages”
http://www.learner.org/exhibits/middleages/