Transcript Life in the middle ages - Ponder Independent School District

Life in the middle ages
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400 to 1000 AD still commonly
referred to as the Dark Ages
Intellectual life in Europe had
ceased
Even Charlemagne was illiterate
Literacy was scorned
“Ego sum rex Romanus et super
grammatica” the king of Rome is
above grammar
Melange of warfare, corruption,
lawlessness, obsession with
strange myths and impenetrable
mindlessness
Many groups contributed to the
downfall of Rome and it was the
beginning of a very low period as
many things that had been
discovered were lost
The ethnic tide settled in on the
conquered lands and darkness
descended upon the devastated,
unstable continent
It would not lift until 40 medieval
generations had suffered, wrought
their pathetic destinies and passed
on.
The Dark Ages were Stark
Famines and plague culminating in the Black
Death and its recurring pandemics repeatedly
thinned the population
Rickets afflicted the survivors
Extraordinary climatic changes brought storms
an floods which became major disasters
because of unrepaired drainage systems
European harbors were unusable
The art of bricklaying was lost-no stone
buildings were built in Germany, England,
Holland or Scandinavia except cathedrals were
built for ten centuries
The most baffling elusive yet most
significant dimension of the
medieval mind was the lack of
ego. Even creative artisans lacked
sense of self
Even the great cathedrals required
3 or 4 centuries to complete.
Canterbury was 23 generations to
build yet we know nothing of the
builders or architects
Identity in life was irrelevantNoblemen had surnames but fewer
than 1% of the souls in
Christendom were wellborn
60 million Europeans were known
as Hans, Jacques, Sal, Will or Will’s
wife or Will’s son or Will’s daughter
if that was inadequate a nickname
would do.
The serf’s basic agricultural
tools were picks, spades,
rakes, scythes, and balanced
sickles.
There was very little iron
No wheeled plowshares with
moldboards this was problem
in northern Europe with its
heavy soils
Although horses and oxen
were available they were of
limited use
The horse collar, harness and
stirrup did not exist until
900AD (no tandem hitching)
Peasants labored harder
sweated more and collapsed
more often than their animals
People seldom strayed from their villages
The Hercynian Forest infested by boars, bears,
by the large hulking medieval wolf, by imaginary
demons and real outlaws
Crime was common and seldom arrested
Twice as many homicides as accidental deaths
only 1out of 100 murders were ever brought to
justice
Abduction for ransom was acceptable means of
livelihood for skilled landless knights
People were so closely tied to their village that
many times people from another area would not
even recognize the local dialect
Level of everyday violence was high with deaths
in alehouse brawls, stave fighting, football and
wrestling not uncommon
Jousting tournaments were vicious sham battles
with large groups of armed knights creating
mayhem and abduction. As late as 1240, 60
knights were hacked to death at a tournament
in Germany
The church in Dark Ages
*Despite this bloodthirstiness all
were devout Christians
*The Church had replaced
imperial Rome
Missionaries found teaching
pagans the lessons of Jesus
almost hopeless. Yet converting
them was easy
*As quick as the barbaric tribes
overran the empire Catholicism
overran the tribesmen even
quicker
*By 493 even Clovis was baptized
Medieval Christians did not turn
the other cheek death was the
prescribed penalty for hundreds of
offenses-particularly those against
property
*The threat of capital
punishment was even used
during conversion
*Charlemagne a just and
enlightened ruler. He was
loyal to the Church.
On one occasion he gave
Saxon rebels a choice
between baptism and
immediate execution when
they hesitated he had 4500
beheaded in one morning
Many times Christians were
involved in scenes of blood
spilling carnage
*Leadership during the Middle Ages
After the barbarian tribes overwhelmed
the Roman empire men established
privileged class status in various ways:
*Number of supporters more followers
bigger claim.
*Wealth either money or land
*Lineage was important in England,
France and Germany
*Fame gained in war helped a person
rise in power-This power died with the
person
*Eventually patrilineal descendance
increased and dynasties developed
Royalty was invested with glory, swathed
in mystique and clothed with magical
powers
To be king was to be a lord of men, host
of great feast for his vassal dukes, earls,
counts, barons and marquises
Their villages also had no names
If war took a man even a short distance from
this nameless hamlet the chances he would
return were slight he could not identify it and
finding his way back alone was virtually
impossible
Each hamlet was inbred, isolated, unaware of
the world beyond the most familiar local
landmarks a creek, a mill, or tall tree scarred
by lightening
There were no newspapers, magazines to
inform the common people of great events
The occasional pamphlets were in Latin not
the language of the commoners
Peasants-knew little of political fighting in their
church most were baptized, shriven, attended
mass, received communion, married and
receiving last rites never dreaming that they
should be informed of great events
At the time the Domesday Book
was compiled in 1087, there
were only 18 towns in England
with a population of over 2000.
Many of these towns were
originally Roman towns.
The medieval mind had no concept of time
They were rarely aware of what century they
were living in. Mainly because the differences
in centuries was minimal
Life revolved around passing of seasons and
cyclical events like religious holidays, harvest
time and local fests
Their were no watches or clocks and except
for Easter tables in the church there weren’t
even calendars
Generations succeeded one another in
meaningless timeless blur
Popes, kings, emperors died wars were fought,
spoils divided, there were natural disasters
affecting communities but the impact on the
masses was negligible
Inertia reinforced the immobility, innovation
was inconceivable to suggest it was considered
suspicious and because guilt came before
innocence death was the usual result of
suspicion
Cruck houses were not big but repairs were quite
cheap and easy to do. The roofs were thatched.
There would be little furniture within the cruck
houses and straw would be used for lining the
floor.
The houses are likely to have been very hot in
the summer and very cold in the winter. Windows
were just holes in the walls as glass was very
expensive. Doors might be covered with a curtain
rather than having a door as good wood could be
expensive
At night, any animal you owned would be brought
inside for safety. There were a number of reasons
for this.
First, wild animals roamed the countryside.
England still had wolves and bears in the forests
and these could easily have taken a pig, cow or
chickens. The loss of any animal could be a
disaster but the loss of valuable animals such as
an ox would be a calamity.
If left outside at night they could also have been
stolen or simply have wandered off. If they were
inside your house, none of these would happen
and they were safe. However, they must have
made the house even more dirty than it usually
would have been as none of these animals would
have been house-trained. They would have also
brought in fleas and flies etc. increasing the
unhygienic nature of the house.
For all peasants, life was "nasty, brutal and
short.“
The houses would have had none of the
things we accept as normal today – no
running water, no toilets, no baths and
washing basins.
Soap was unheard of and as was shampoo.
People would have been covered with dirt,
fleas and lice. Beds were simply straw
stuffed mattresses and these would have
attracted lice, fleas and all types of bugs.
Your toilet would have been a bucket which
would have been emptied into the nearest
river at the start of the day.