Download Medieval Times-1 - Kenwood Academy High School

Life in
Medieval
Times
What do you know about
Medieval times/Middle Ages?
Movies
Restaurant
Stories
Robin hood, King Arthur,
Excalibur
The beginning…
• Period begins in 1066
– Battle of Hastings --marks
the Norman invasion of
England
• Normans came from France
and conquered England,
changing England forever
– Brought centralized rule,
establishing feudalism
– changed English language
by introducing new words
influenced by French
Feudalism
KING
• Feudalism -- the country was
LOYALTY AND
not governed by the king but
LAND
SERVICE
by individual lords
VASSAL/LORDS
– ruled their own estates
LOYALTY AND
LAND AND
– dispensed their own
MILITARY SERVICE
PROTECTION
justice
(KNIGHTS)
– made their own money
– and demanded military
LABOR
PROTECTION
service from
SERFS/PEASANTS, FREEMEN
knights/vassals.
Feudal Ties and Obligations
•
•
•
Feudal Ties.
• a relationship of obligation and mutual
service between vassals/knight and lords.
• A vassal held his land as a grant from a lord.
A Vassal's Obligations.
• required to attend the lord at his court
• help administer justice
• must fight in battle when called
• must feed and house the lord and his
company when they traveled across his land.
A Lord's Obligations.
• obliged to protect the vassal
• give military aid
• guard vassal’s children
How People Lived – Manor
life
Consisted of a manor house, one
or more villages, and up to
several thousand acres of
land divided into meadow,
pasture, forest, and cultivated
fields.
The fields were further divided
into strips; 1/3 for the lord of
the manor, less for the church,
and the remainder for the
peasants and serfs.
At least half the work week was
spent on the land belonging to
the lord and the church.
The rest of the time the villagers
were free to work their own
land.
Peasants
•
Serfs
•
The Serf's Life.
– a serf was bound to a lord for life.
– could not own property
• needed the lord's permission to
marry
– could not leave the land without the lord's
permission unless he chose to run away.
• If he ran to a town and managed to
stay there for a year and a day, he
was a free man.
– However, the serf did have rights.
• He could not be displaced if the
manor changed hands.
• He could not be required to fight
• was entitled to the protection of the
lord
The Peasant's Life.
– Villages consisted of from 1060 families living in rough huts
on dirt floors, with no chimneys
or windows.
– Often, one end of the hut was
given over to storing livestock.
Furnishings were sparse
– The peasant diet was mainly
porridge, cheese, black bread,
and a few home-grown
vegetables.
– had a hard life
– they did not work on Sundays
or on the saints' days
– they could go to nearby fairs
and markets
Clothing
•
•
•
•
Clothing varied according to the social standing
Peasants’ clothing was very simple
Clothing of nobility was more ornate and fitted.
Knights wore sleeveless "surcoats" covered with
a coat of arms.
•
Men
– tighter fitting tunics
– men also wore undershirts and briefs
covered by a sleeveless jacket and an
additional tunic.
– Stockings completed the ensemble.
Women
– Wore "kirtles", which were tunics worn to
their ankles.
• often worn over a shirt.
– the more affluent women wore more
luxurious clothing
– Women, especially those who were
married, wore tight-fitting caps and nets
over their hair, hair was wound in a "bun"
on their heads.
– Other women wore veils over their hair,
which was left either hanging loosely, or
braided tightly.
•
Foods and diets depended on the class of the
individual.
• Lords ate
– Meat
– Milled flour and meal made from grain (nice
bread)
– Dairy (cheese, butter)
• Peasants ate
– Simpler foods
– Bread made from barley and rye (rough
crunchy bread)
– Ales made from barley
– Pottage
– Got proteins from peas and beans
– Raw vegetables were considered unhealthy
and rarely eaten
• Medieval diets
– lacked vitamins A, C and D
– were not high in calories
Food
Medieval Church
•
•
•
The church was the main focus of community life.
Priest was appointed by the lord
– kept up the church
– provided hospitality to travelers.
– The priest officiated at church services, weddings, baptisms, funerals, and
visited the ill.
– Earned income for parish lands, fees for services, and tithe money.
Friars
– first appeared in the 13th century.
– They were clergy not attached to any particular parish, and indeed had no
visible means of support.
– They rejected the monastic ideal of seclusion
7 Deadly
• went to live among townspeople
Sins
• survived by begging.
Monks
– These were highly educated and lived in monasteries.
– They Took vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.
– Their life was one of work and prayer.
The Crusades
Military campaigns
fought mainly against
Muslims (1095-1291)
The goal was to
recapture Jerusalem
and the Holy Land
from the Muslims
--”Holy War”
War
•
The Hundred Years' War
– a conflict between France and England, lasting
116 years from 1337 to 1453.
– It was fought primarily over claims by the
English kings to the French throne
– Joan of Arc --A French peasant girl. She led the French army to
several important victories, claiming divine guidance. She was
captured by the English, tried by an ecclesiastical court and burned at
the stake when she was nineteen years old. Twenty-four years later,
the church reviewed the decision of the court, found her innocent, and
declared her a martyr
•
The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487)
– series of civil wars fought over the throne of
England between the House of Lancaster
(Red) and the House of York (White).
Science
Major Accomplishments:
Scientific method
Algebra, Calculus, Trigonometry
Modern Surgery
Alchemy (turning common metals
into gold or silver)
Chemistry
Navigation – compass
Bombs
Physiognomy – peoples faces can
indicate trustworthiness, social
dominance, and aggression
Theory of Humors – Balance of 4
basic fluids in the human body
indicate health and personality
Look for these aspects of medieval culture in
THE CANTERBURY TALES by Geoffrey Chaucer