The Middle Ages

1
The Middle AgesMyth and Reality
2
The Middle Ages The Myth

• 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.

3
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, could also
  be harsh, uncertain, and dangerous.

4
The Lord of the Manor

• For safety and defense, people in the Middle
  Ages formed small communities around a central
  lord or master.

5
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.

6
(No Transcript)
7
Self-Sufficiency

• Each manor was largely self-sufficient, 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.

8
Isolation

• These manors were isolated, with occasional
  visits from peddlers, pilgrims on their way to
  the Crusades, or soldiers from other fiefdoms.

9
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 for the king's armies.

10
Nobles and Vassals

• Nobles divided their land among the lesser
  nobility, who became their vassals. Many of these
  vassals became so powerful that the kings had
  difficulty controlling them.
• Code of Chivalry

11
NotableMonarchs

• Charlemagne- Holy Roman Emperor
• Eleanor of Acquitaine-troubadours
• Hugh Capet

• Normans Anglo-Saxons
• Danish Vikings, Alfred the Great
• Norman Conquest, William
• Domesday Book

12

• Germany-936 Otto the Great unites Germany, Holy
  Roman Emperor

• Spain Portugal- trouble with Muslims, the Moors
• Reconquista to reclaim for Christians

13
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.

14
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.

15
(No Transcript)
16
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.

17
Hunting Fighting

• However, they also hunted for food and fought in
  battles, learning to use weapons to defend their
  homes and castles.

18
Other Occupations

• Some medieval women held other occupations. There
  were women blacksmiths, merchants, and
  apothecaries.

19
Midwives, Farmers, Artists

• Others were midwives, worked in the fields, or
  were engaged in creative endeavors such as
  writing, playing musical instruments, dancing,
  and painting.

20
Witches Nuns

• Some women were known as witches, capable of
  sorcery and healing. Others became nuns and
  devoted their lives to God and spiritual matters.

21
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.

22
Popes

• Some Popes had enough authority to summon nobles
  and kings to councils
• Leo IX (anti simony-selling offices),
  excommunicates, Patriarch excommuication splits
  church in two
• Launch Crusades
• Supremacy over Kings (Gregory Henry IV)

23
Bishops

• Bishops, who were often wealthy and came from
  noble families, ruled over groups of parishes
  called dioceses.

24
Parish Priests

• 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

25
Monasteries

• Monasteries in the Middle Ages were based on the
  rules set down by St. Benedict in the sixth
  century. The monks became known as Benedictines
  and took vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience
  to their leaders.

26
(No Transcript)
27
Monks

• Monks were required to perform manual labor and
  were forbidden to own property, leave the
  monastery, or become entangled in the concerns of
  society.
• Daily tasks were often carried out in silence.

28
Nuns

• Monks and their female counterparts, nuns, who
  lived in convents, provided for the
  less-fortunate members of the community.
  Monasteries and nunneries were safe havens for
  pilgrims and other travelers.

29
Education

• Between prayers, the monks read or copied
  religious texts and music. Monks were often well
  educated and devoted their lives to writing and
  learning.

30
Pilgrimages

• Pilgrimages were an important part of religious
  life in the Middle Ages. Many people took
  journeys to visit holy shrines such the
  Canterbury Cathedral in England and sites in
  Jerusalem and Rome.

31
The Canterbury Tales

• Chaucer's Canterbury Tales is a series of stories
  told by 30 pilgrims as they traveled to
  Canterbury.

32
Religious Crises

• Heresy beliefs that oppose the official
  teachings of the Church
• Inquisition to fight heresy, abuses
• Development of additional orders to combat-
  Francis of Assisi and Dominic of Osma-friars live
  amongst people instead of separate
• Arguments over who should be pope lead to Schism-
  2 Popes, Rome Avignon

33
Homes

• Most medieval homes were cold, damp, and dark.
  Sometimes it was warmer and lighter outside the
  home than within its walls.

34
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.

35
(No Transcript)
36
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.

37
(No Transcript)
38
The Kitchens of Peasant Homes

• In simpler homes where there were no chimneys,
  the medieval kitchen consisted of a stone hearth
  in the center of the room. This was not only
  where the cooking took place, but also the source
  of central heating.

39
The Peasant Diet

• In peasant families, the wife did the cooking and
  baking. The peasant diet consisted of breads,
  vegetables from their own gardens, dairy products
  from their own sheep, goats, and cows, and pork
  from their own livestock.

40
The Kitchens of Manor Houses

• The kitchens of manor houses and castles had big
  fireplaces where meat, even large oxen, could be
  roasted on spits. These kitchens were usually in
  separate buildings, to minimize the threat of
  fire.

41
Clothing of the Wealthy

• 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.

42
(No Transcript)
43
Womens Clothing

• Women wore flowing gowns and elaborate headwear,
  ranging from headdresses shaped like hearts or
  butterflies to tall steeple caps and Italian
  turbans.

44
(No Transcript)
45
Peasant Clothing

• Peasant men wore stockings and tunics, while
  women wore long gowns with sleeveless tunics and
  wimples to cover their hair. Sheepskin cloaks and
  woolen hats and mittens were worn in winter for
  protection from the cold and rain..

46
Health Hygiene

• As the populations of medieval towns and cities
  increased, hygienic conditions worsened, leading
  to a vast array of health problems.

47
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

48
Remedies

• Many medieval medical manuscripts contained
  recipes for remedies that called for hundreds of
  therapeutic substances.
• Believed that disease could be the result of
  sinful behavior.
• Blood letting by the surgeon.

49
Black Death

• 1347-1351 Sweep the Continent
• Mongol armies first, merchants carry
• Up to 1/3 population dies in Europe
• Effects 1. role of the Church/God
• 2.anti-Semitic backlash
• 3. lower population-ends manorial system,
  survivor want higher wages, move from land

50
Arts Entertainment

• 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.

51
Drama

• Medieval drama grew out of the liturgy, beginning
  in about the eleventh century. Some of the
  topics were from the Old Testament and others
  were stories about the birth and death of Christ.

52
Town Life

• After 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.

53
Peddlers

• 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.

54
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.

55
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.

56
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.

57
Guilds

• 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.

58
The Merchant Class

• The new merchant class included artisans, masons,
  armorers, bakers, shoemakers, ropemakers, dyers,
  and other skilled workers.

59
Masons

• 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.
  

60
Apprentices

• Masons 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.

61
The First Companies

• The population of cities swelled for the first
  time since before the Dark Ages. With the new
  merchant activity, companies were formed.
  Merchants hired bookkeepers, scribes, and clerks,
  creating new jobs.

62
The Printing Press

• Printing began in 1450 with the publication of
  the Bible by Johannes Gutenberg. This
  revolutionized the spread of learning. Other
  inventions of the time included mechanical
  clocks, tower mills, and guns.

63
Literature

• Geoffrey Chaucer The Canterbury Tales
• Dante Alighieri The Divine Comedy
• Religious texts Hildegard of Bingen poet
• Thomas Aquinas at University of Paris,
  Scholasticism- Christian teachings also knowable
  and provable through the use of logic and reason
• Epic poems The Song of Roland-chivalry
  troubadours

64
Visual Arts

• Architecture Gothis style, flying
  buttress-supports walls from outside raises
  ceilings
• Stained glass windows
• Lavish outside decorations
• Illuminated texts
• Tapestry

65
Universities

• Develop in growing cities
• Charlemagne early supporter
• Men, studying liberal arts
• Not strictly tied to a campus

66
Urban Life

• Few serfs were left in Europe by the end of the
  Middle Ages, and the growing burgher class became
  very powerful. Hard work and enterprise led to
  economic prosperity and a new social order. Urban
  life brought with it a new freedom for
  individuals. 

67
Wars

• Crusades- Pope Urban II calls for Christian
  nations to put aside their differences to reclaim
  the Holy Land from Turks
• Nine Crusades-First Crusade reclaims Jerusalem
• Third- Saladin v. Richard the Lionhearted
• Economic Effects trade, Social Effects
  knowledge, persecutions,Political Effects death
  of nobles increases power of kings

68

• Hundred Years Wars-English/French, Joan of Arc
  solidifies nationalism in France, military
  technology
• War of the Roses- battle between York and
  Lancastrian families for English crown

69
References

• Adapted from the Annenberg Media/Learner.org
  website The Middle Ageshttp//www.learner.org/e
  xhibits/middleages/