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Medium aevum -- Medieval or The Middle Ages.
We think of knights in shining armor, lavish banquets,
wandering minstrels, kings, queens, bishops, monks,
pilgrims, and glorious pageantry.
In film and in literature, medieval life seems heroic,
entertaining, and romantic. In reality, life in the Middle
Ages, a period that extended from approximately the fifth
century to the fifteenth century in Western Europe, was
sometimes all these things, as well as harsh, uncertain,
and often dangerous.
For safety and for defense, people in the
Middle Ages formed small communities around a
central lord or master. Most people lived on a
manor, which consisted of the castle, the church,
the village, and the surrounding farm land. These
manors were isolated, with occasional visits from
peddlers, pilgrims on their way to the Crusades, or
soldiers from other fiefdoms.
In this "feudal" system, the king awarded
land grants or "fiefs" to his most important nobles,
his barons, and his bishops, in return for their
contribution of soldiers for the king's armies. At the
lowest echelon of society were the peasants, also
called "serfs" or "villeins." In exchange for living
and working on his land, known as the "demesne,"
the lord offered his peasants protection.
Peasant Life
Peasants worked the
land and produced the goods
that the lord and his manor
needed. This exchange was
not without hardship for the
serfs. They were heavily taxed
and were required to
relinquish much of what they
harvested.
The peasants did not
even "belong to" themselves,
according to medieval law.
The lords, in close association
with the church, assumed the
roles of judges in carrying out
the laws of the manor.
The Catholic Church was the only church in Europe during the
Middle Ages, and it had its own laws and large coffers. Church leaders
such as bishops and archbishops sat on the king's council and played
leading roles in government. Bishops, who were often wealthy and
came from noble families, ruled over groups of parishes called
"diocese." Parish priests, on the other hand, came from humbler
backgrounds and often had little education. The village priest tended
to the sick and indigent and, if he was able, taught Latin and the Bible
to the youth of the village.
Collapsed Cathedral: Which famous cathedral collapsed? As
the population of Europe expanded in the twelfth century, the
churches that had been built in the Roman style with round-arched
roofs became too small. Some of the grand cathedrals, strained to
their structural limits by their creators' drive to build higher and larger,
collapsed within a century or less of their construction.
The Church
Four of the grandest medieval cathedrals are shown - one of
which was not structurally sound and collapsed. After looking at the
photos try to select which cathedral fell and see if you can determine,
from the picture, why it might have happened.
The Chartres - begun in 1194
A.D.
Beauvais - begun 1225 A.D.
Notre Dame - begun in 1163 A.D.
Canterbury - begun in 1067 A.D.
Most medieval homes were cold, damp, and dark.
Sometimes it was warmer and lighter outside the home
than within its walls. 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.
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.
What did they
Wear?
Most people in the Middle Ages wore woolen clothing, with
undergarments made of linen. Brighter colors, better materials, and a longer
jacket length were usually Medieval Hats: Cap, coif, turban... What hat would
you have worn in medieval times? signs of greater wealth. The clothing of the
aristocracy and wealthy merchants tended to be elaborate and changed
according to the dictates of fashion. Towards the end of the Middle Ages, men
of the wealthy classes sported hose and a jacket, often with pleating or
skirting, or a tunic with a surcoat. Women wore flowing gowns and elaborate
headwear, ranging from headdresses shaped like hearts or butterflies to tall
steeple caps and Italian turbans.
Most of the holy orders wore long woolen habits in emulation of
Roman clothing. One could tell the order by the color of the habit: the
Benedictines wore black; the Cistercians, undyed wool or white. St. Benedict
stated that a monk's clothes should be plain but comfortable and they were
allowed to wear linen coifs to keep their heads warm. The Poor Clare Sisters,
an order of Franciscan nuns, had to petition the Pope in order to be permitted
to wear woolen socks.
1.
linen head warmer
2.
straw or felt hat
3.
visored "bassinet"
4.
wimple
5.
"butt
As the populations of medieval towns and cities increased,
hygienic conditions worsened, leading to a vast array of health
problems. 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.
There were many myths and superstitions about health and
hygiene as there still are today. People believed, for example, that
disease was spread by bad odors. It was also assumed that diseases of
the body resulted from sins of the soul. Many people sought relief
from their ills through meditation, prayer, pilgrimages, and other
nonmedical methods.
Health
The body was viewed as a part of the universe, a concept
derived from the Greeks and Romans. Four humors, or
body fluids, were directly related to the four elements:
fire=yellow bile or choler;
water=phlegm;
earth=black bile;
air=blood.
These four humors had to be balanced. Too much of one
was thought to cause a change in personality--for
example, too much black bile could create melancholy.
Try your hand at Medieval medicine
Here's your chance to try to diagnose and
cure patients as if you were a doctor in the
Middle Ages. There are three patients for you to
cure. Read about their symptoms and then
decide what treatment to prescribe.
• Patient
• Your patient has black and blue blotches all over
her body. You are fairly certain it is the plague.
What treatment do you prescribe?
CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING
1. Apply sterile egg whites.
2. Swaddle the patient and shave the sign of the
cross into her head.
3. Give the patient a treacle.
What is the answer man?
1. Sorry, doc. Your patient still has black and blue blotches,
but now he has egg white all over him, as well.
2. Sorry, doc. The blotches don't go away and the patient is
distressed by her bindings, but she does appreciate the
new haircut.
3. Correct Most medieval medicines were "simples" made of
herbal ingredients which were taken raw or in teas. One
medicine that apothecaries (forerunners of chemists and
pharmacists) dispensed wast called "treacle" (theriac),
considered a cure-all. It was said to prevent internal
swellings, cure fevers, unblock internal stoppages,
alleviate heart problems, blemishes, epilepsy, palsy,
induce sleep, improve digestion, strengthen limbs, heal
wounds, remedy snake bites, cure a prolapsed uterus, and
cure the plague.
Art and music were critical aspects of
medieval religious life and, towards the end of
the Middle Ages, secular life as well. Singing
without instrumental accompaniment was an
essential part of church services. Monks and
priests chanted the divine offices and the mass
daily.
Entertainment
Some
churches
had instruments such as
organs and bells. The
organistrum
or
symphony (later known
as a hurdy gurdy) was
also found in churches.
Two
people
were
required to play this
stringed
instrument-one to turn the crank
and the other to play the
keys.
Entertainment
Medieval drama grew
out of the liturgy, beginning in
about the eleventh century.
Some of the Story Weaver:
Contribute your story about a
medieval tapestry. topics were
from the Old Testament (Noah
and the flood, Jonah and the
whale, Daniel in the lion's den)
and others were stories about
the birth and death of Christ.
These dramas were performed
with costumes and musical
instruments and at first took
place directly outside the
church. Later they were staged
in marketplaces, where they
were produced by local guilds.
Pictured is one in a set of four tapestries housed at the Metropolitan
Museum of Art in New York city (Click on the image to see a larger picture of
the tapestry - 114K). This series is based on hunting park themes, such as
hunting for wild boar, hawks, and birds. They all take place at a deer park,
although, somewhat ironically, no tapestry survives from this set that depicts
the actual hunt for deer. There is conjecture that there may have been
additional tapestries in the series, but only these four remain.
What do you think is going on in this tapestry
Jousting?
Following 1000, peace and order grew. As a result,
peasants began to expand their farms and villages further into
the countryside. The earliest merchants were peddlers who
went from village to village selling their goods. As the demand
for goods increased--particularly for the gems, silks, and other
luxuries from Genoa and Venice, the ports of Italy that traded
with the East--the peddlers became more familiar with
complex issues of trade, commerce, accounting, and
contracts.
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.
Forming 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. Guilds
were established to gain higher wages for their
members and protect them from competitors.
As the guilds grew rich and powerful, they built
guildhalls and began taking an active role in civic
affairs, setting up courts to settle disputes and
punish wrongdoers.
The new merchant class included
artisans,
masons,
armorers,
bakers,
shoemakers, rope makers, dyers, and other
skilled workers. Of all the craftsmen, the
masons were the highest paid and most
respected. They were, after all, responsible for
building the cathedrals, hospitals, universities,
castles, and guildhalls. They learned their craft
as apprentices to a master mason, living at
lodges for up to seven years. The master mason
was essentially an architect, a general
contractor, and a teacher.
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. 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.