Daily Life in the High Middle Ages
The Peasant (“Those Who Work”)
1. In the beginning of the episode, Terry Jones describes what people assume a peasant’s life must
have been like. List some of the descriptions about a stereotypical peasant’s life.
2. Why is it hard for historians to know much about peasants’ lives?
3. Jones argues that during the revolt the peasants were “informed, tactical, and… political” –
how does he support this assertion?
4. Jones visits a town that still uses the “medieval system” of government – what are the features
of a medieval peasant government?
5. What do the farms look like? (This is called the open-field system)
6. What was an unintended consequence of leaving peasants in charge of everyday legal matters?
7. What is the “feudal burden”?
8. Why did medieval cooks boil all of their food? Why did they drink so much beer?
9. Describe the quality of healthcare among peasants.
10. What purpose did education serve for peasants?
The Monk (“Those Who Pray”)
1. What’s the problem with the stereotype of monks who were far removed and isolated from the
rest of the world?
2. Benedictine monks weren’t allowed to talk much, and especially not at mealtimes. How did
generations of monks get around that rule?
3. “The main work of the monks is _____________________ and _______________.”
4. Why did rich people and warriors start paying monks? How did the practice transform the idea
of poor, reclusive monks?
5. Jones describes the paradox at the heart of medieval monasticism: “As monks led purer,
simpler, more austere lives, their prayers…
…and hence…”
6. Many monks in the High Middle Ages participated in a monastic revival – that is, a
transformation of monastic life. One reforming group was called the Cistercians (led by
Bernard of Clairvaux). How did they reform monastic life? Be specific.
7. What happened as the Cistercians got wealthier?
8. What are relics? Why were they so important to monasteries?
9. In 1309, the Pope moved from Rome to a palace in Avignon, France (we’ll talk about why
later). What does the architecture of the papal pace in Avignon tell us about popular opinion of
the Catholic Church?
The Knight (“Those Who Fight”)
1. What’s the stereotype of medieval knights that Terry Jones describes in the beginning?
2. How did medieval society control the violent tendencies of knights?
3. How did knights define chivalry?
4. What was a knight’s goal in tournaments?
5. According to knights, what was “chivalrous” behavior towards women?
6. According to religious officials (and the code written in 1276), were a chivalric knight’s duties?
7. What was the purpose of heraldry?
8. How did chivalrous knights (like Edward the Black Prince) treat each other? How did they treat
the peasantry?
9. How did new technology change the way battles were fought? Be specific about the tech and
the effect.