The Middle Ages
(Medieval Period)
Middle Ages Time Line
• The period of time between fall of the Roman
empire & English Renaissance (1066-1485).
• Starts w/ the Battle of Hastings and the
Norman Conquest - when William the
Conqueror took all lands from Anglo-Saxons &
gave them to French nobles (“Normans”).
Feudalism
• Based on exchange of land for military service.
• William the Conqueror used it to reward his
supporters for their help in the defeat of
Anglo-Saxons.
• It demanded that everyone owed allegiance to
the King.
Feudalism Pyramid
1. Pope
2. King (owned the land)
3. Nobles (swore to serve & protect the king)
4. Vassals(less powerful military men ( knights))
5. Serfs (peasants) who worked land and could not
leave without permission
God’s Role in Feudalism
• All land belonged to God
• Kings ruled b/c God wanted them to; managed the land &
used it as they wished.
• King answered to the Pope.
• The Pope, God's messenger, had right to intervene & put
restrictions on an unjust King.
A. pronounce judgment against a king
B. forfeit his kingdom
C. put another king in his place or excommunicate him
• The Pope declared the Norman Invasion as a Holy Crusade
& declared supported William the Conqueror.
Pros and Cons
• PROS: Possible for people to move higher up
ranks.
• Example:
1. A Knight courageous in battle or successful
@ jousting could become wealthy.
2. His wealth could pay for a castle.
3. His importance would increase and he
could then join the nobility.
• CONS: Peasants were stuck.
Life in the Middle Ages
• The differences daily life were vast and ruled
by wealth, power & status, & feudal system.
Nobleman’s Life
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Morning (Sunrise): attend mass; say prayers
Breakfast
Business matters in relation to his land. (Reports would be heard regarding estate
crops, harvests and supplies. Finances - rents, taxes, customs and dues. The lord
would also be expected to exercise his judicial powers over his vassals and
peasants. Complaints and disputes regarding tenants would be settled, permission
to marry etc.)
Political discussions and decisions
Later in period, time was spent on the arts - poetry, music etc.
Weapon practice
Mid morning : prayers and meal
Afternoon: hunting, hawking or inspecting the estate
Evening: prayer, supper in the Hall of the Castle
After supper: entertainment - music, dancing, jugglers, acrobats, jesters, etc.
Bedtime for all: dictated by time the noble of the house went to bed; prayers
Noble Woman’s Life
• Morning (dawn ): Mass and prayers; assisted with her dress for the
day by ladies in waiting
• Breakfast
• Discussions on tournaments, betrothals, marriages, poetry and
courtly love
• Oversee the education of upper class girls
• Had to be able to take their husbands places at all times
• Mid morning: prayers and a meal
• Afternoon: housewifely duties (supervision of meals & ensuring
stores were sufficient)
• Leisure time was spent on embroidery and dance practice
• Evening : prayer, then supper in the Hall of the Castle
• Entertainment : music, dancing, jugglers, acrobats, jesters, etc
• Bedtime: prayers
Knight’s Life
The daily life of a knight followed a similar schedule to that of his
lord, but centered around castles, fighting for his lord & the king
during times of war, honing his weapons skills, and staying in shape.
• Began the same as their Lord with breakfast and prayer
• Engage in weapons practice
• Discussions on warfare strategy and increasing his knowledge of
siege warfare and weapons
• Mid morning prayers and a meal
• Knights were expected to live by the rules of Chivalry and courtly
love. Time might be spent on dance practice
• Afternoon: increasing their skills in horsemanship; accompany their
lord in hunting, hawking or inspecting the estate
• Evening: prayer and then supper; entertainment; bed
Peasant (Serf) Life
The daily life of a peasant in the Middle ages was hard. Serfs had to labor on the lord's land
for two or three days each week.
• Started in the summer as early as 3am: breakfast
• Work in the fields or on the land started by dawn:
– Reaping - To cut crops for harvest with a scythe, sickle, or reaper.
– Sowing - the process of planting seeds
– Ploughing - To break and turn over earth with a plough to form a furrow
– Binding and Thatching
– Haymaking - cutting grass and curing it for hay.
– Threshing - To beat the stems and husks of plants to separate the grains or seeds from
the straw.
– Hedging - creating boundaries
• Outside work finished at dusk (working hours were therefore longer during the summer
months)
• Women generally ate when her husband and children had finished and had little leisure
time. Their jobs were to cook, work in the field, collect berries, look after kids and animals,
make clothes, and understand medicine
Religion in Middle Ages
*(Remember, the Anglo-Saxons were converted to Christianity
by this time, so Christianity was already in place)*
• Rise of Christianity in the Anglo-Saxon period became the
Catholic religion in Middle Ages
• How Catholic Church got its power:
– Had its own laws, lands & taxes
- Accepted gifts from people who wanted special favors or a
guaranteed place in Heaven
– This is why Catholic Church was able to influence the kings &
rulers of Europe.
– Opposition to Catholic Church = excommunication (Person could
not attend church or receive the sacraments and would go
straight to hell.)
Pyramid and Religion
• Feudal Pyramid also applied to order of the
church.
1. Pope
2. Bishop
3. Arch Bishop
4. Arch Deacon
5. Abbot
6. Prior
7. Dean
8. Monks
*Even members of the church knew their place*
Medieval Torture
• Time period: violent and blood thirsty.
• Torture chambers in many castles.
• Law did not include any fixed rules for the
treatment of prisoners, since torture was seen
as a totally legitimate way to get confessions,
names of accomplices, or other info about the
crime.
• Different types of torture were used depending
on the victim's crime & social status.
Some Types of Torture
• The Rack: person is stretched till arms/legs
were dislocated or ripped off
• The Scavenger’s Daughter: one single iron bar
that connected iron shackles closing round the
victim's hands, feet and neck; positioned the
head to the knees of the victim in a sitting
position; compressed body to force blood
from nose & ears.
• The Brank (only for women): a locking iron
muzzle, metal mask or cage which encased the
head; an iron curb went into the mouth & rested
on the top of the tongue to prevent her from
speaking.
• Sometimes the curb was studded w/ spikes
• Some had a built- in bell which drew attention to
her; she’d be humiliated by jeering & comments
from other people.
• Used for gossips
• The Ducking Stool (only for women): a chair
which hung from the end of a free-moving arm.
• The woman was strapped into the chair which
was situated by the side of a river.
• The device would then be swung over the river &
the woman would be ducked into freezing cold
water (length of immersion into the water was
decided by the operator and the crime of which
the woman was accused).
• Could last a few seconds or be continuously
repeated over the course of a day.
• The Brodequins (for really bad crimes): victim placed
in a sitting posture on a massive bench, with strong
narrow boards fixed inside and outside of each leg,
which were tightly bound together with strong rope.
• 8 wedges were driven in between the center boards
with a mallet; frequently the bones of the legs literally
burst.
• The Brodequins (for ordinary crimes): stockings of
paper placed on criminal’s feet
• On being held near the fire, it caused horrible agony to
the wearer.
• Thumbscrews (ordinary crimes): a simple
device designed to crush whatever was
inserted.
• Typically thumbs, but even fingers or toes,
were placed in the vice and slowly crushed.
• The thumbscrews were useful to interrogators
as they were a portable means of torture.
And THE MOST FEARED:
• Hanged, drawn, and quartered (reserved for the worst of the
worst, usually for treason): Described by chronicler William
Harrison:
"The greatest and most grievous punishment used in England for
such as offend against the State is drawing from the prison to the
place of execution upon an hurdle or sled, where they are hanged
till they be half dead, and then taken down, and quartered alive;
after that, their members and bowels are cut from their bodies,
and thrown into a fire, provided near hand and within their own
sight, even for the same purpose."
• The Quarters of the body were then hung in locations in the City
of London as a deterrent to all English citizens.
The Crusades
• A series of 9 Holy Wars starting in 1096-1272
• Started by Christian states of Europe against
the Saracens (Moslems)
• First four : “Principal Crusades;” last 5:
“Minor Crusades.”
Start and Purpose
• Start: In 1065 Jerusalem was taken by the
Turks; 3000 Christians were massacred
• Massacre caused a chain of events which led
to the crusades.
• Objectives: release Holy Land, seize Spain,
Slavs and Pagans from eastern Europe, & take
islands of Mediterranean.
The First Crusaders
• Tens of thousands of ordinary, middle class,
& upper class people (men, women &
children) motivated by preachings to follow
the call to the crusades & travel to Jerusalem.
• Knights & armies did not go with them
• Estimated forces: 4,500 cavalry & 30,000 foot
soldiers.
In return for crusading:
• The Church, in order get crusaders, promised
both religious & other benefits to those who
took part:
1. forgiveness of all past sins
2. immediate entrance to Heaven
3. No interest on debts
4. Anyone who messed with a man’s wife,
kids, or property was excommunicated.
Religious Knights
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Started with crusades
These were both monks and knights
Took vows of chastity, poverty, & obedience
Swore to protect pilgrims & fight bad guys.
The Knights Templar
• To be a part of Knights Templar, a man had to:
1. take an oath of poverty
2. donate his wealth & lands to Knights
Templar
order.
3. Swear to protect the people from infidels
• Donations of money & land also given to the order by
nobles & Kings, making them extremely wealthy
• Today, movies like “The Davinci Code” claim the order
had found the Holy Grail & their job was to protect it
Other Religious Knights Included:
• The Teutonic Knights: a military-religious
order that restricted membership to
Germans.
• The Knights Hospitaller: Knights of the Order
of Saint John the Hospitaller (also called
Knights of Rhodes, Knights of Malta).
• Grew out of brotherhood who took care of
sick pilgrims hospital in Jerusalem after the
First Crusade.
Results of the Crusade
• The Christian stance on military service changed
radically
• The consecration of relics increased
• The power of the Pope increased even more
• Increased demand for trade goods - cloth,
spices, jewels and more from the Muslims
• Increased interest in exploration.
• Trade in ideas: philosophy, science,
mathematics, education, & medicine.