Life in the Middle Ages jigsaw
SS.4&5G.18 Introduction to medieval history
The knight
The king
The serf
Monks/nuns
Life in the Middle Ages jigsaw
SS.4&5G.18 Introduction to medieval history
Questions on life in the middle ages
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Who was in charge of a manor?
Who was in charge of protecting the manor?
Who did most of the hard work during the middle ages?
Where did monks and nuns live?
What did monks and nuns do with their lives?
Who was educated in the middle ages?
Why didn’t the serfs rise up and take over the kings’ lands?
What person would you have liked to be if you lived during the Middle ages?
Why?
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Life in the Middle Ages jigsaw
SS.4&5G.18 Introduction to medieval history
Monks and Nuns of the Middle Ages
A monk is a man who is a member of a brotherhood. He devotes his life to a
discipline prescribed by his order. Monks and nuns live in a monastery. A
monastery is a kind of half church half hospital. They take care of people
there and they pray and meditate. It can also be like a school for kids. They
would teach them how to read and write.
Monks and nuns spent most of their time praying meditating, and doing
tasks like preparing medicine, or sewing ,teaching, writing, and reading.
Monks and nuns were very busy but also organized.
. When people became Monks, they made three vows. The first vow was
called the vow of poverty. The vow of poverty meant you had to give up all
personal possessions. The second vow was a vow to stay single. This vow
was called chastity. The third vow was a vow to promise to obey the church
and the monastery. This was called the vow of obedience.
Most people had to go to church like they had to go to school. People even
had to pay taxes to churches. Taxes still must be paid to churches in
Germany.
Monks and nuns could be recognized by their habits. Habits were special
clothes, like uniforms. They often wore plain clothing, and a cross upon a
chain around their necks. Many monasteries, though, became centers of
learning, and gave shelter to travelers, poor and sick.
Some parents promised their children to monasteries. They did this because
they knew that their children would never be homeless, nor without food.
Monks and nuns performed may roles in the middle ages. They provided
shelter, they taught others to read and write, prepared medicine, sewed
clothes for others, and helped others in times of need. They spent most of
their time praying and meditating. Originally, they craved the love of God
and took vows of poverty, obedience, and chastity. However, as orders
Life in the Middle Ages jigsaw
SS.4&5G.18 Introduction to medieval history
became more wealthy and powerful, some people went into orders - for
money and power. Most monasteries remained important centers of caring
and learning
Kings during the middle ages
Some of the Kings were great and some brought shame to their countries.
When they used their money wisely and helped the peasants then they were
grateful. The King allowed peasants to live on his land but did charge them
taxes. Sometimes the taxes would be giving part of the crop to the King or
working for the King. This was more of a barter type system to pay for the
taxes. The King was the most powerful ruler in that area. He controlled the
laws and the people who lived around him. If they broke his rules they were
often put to death or sent to the dungeons, which often resulted in death.
A good King would give presents to his people for all the work they did for
him, but a mean and horrible King would be "black hearted" and not spread
the great joy of the celebration. For example he might increase the taxes and
bring despair to his people and his country. This would eventually lead to
the unrest of his people.
The King was the maker of the laws that everyone had to obey because of
his power. The King was thought to be a ruler of everyone and everything so
he was also the grand ruler of the land that he owned. The peasants didn't
have the weapons or the organization needed to take over the kingdom. They
were also scared because the King was so powerful and if they made the
King mad at them he would limit their food and shelter.
In the Medieval times the King owned most of the land around his castle.
The King would also give some land away, usually to wealthy people like
barons and knights. They did that because they wanted knights close by that
could protect them. If he was a good King, he was always willing to provide
land to these people but then he knew they would owe him. The King also
provided land to many servants that would also work for him. This also
demonstrated how rich and powerful he was. This would show other
attackers that he had many people who worked for him and that would deter
them from trying to overpower his kingdom. The King usually built his
castle close to a forest. If a peasant or anybody else would hunt without the
Life in the Middle Ages jigsaw
SS.4&5G.18 Introduction to medieval history
King's permission this would probably result in a death sentence for that
person or they would be sent to the dungeon. The church also received part
of the King's land. The king felt this would help to pave his way to heaven.
The land that a king owned signified how powerful he really was.
A Peasant's Life
You are a serf, better called a slave. Your master is the lord or king of the
manor which you live on. He is also supposed to be your protector as well as
your governor and judge. You work his field and give him taxes of money
and crops. You are bound to him and cannot even marry without permission.
You get up at dawn and work until bedtime at dusk.
Your lord lives in a stone castle; live in a small, dirt-floored hut. Some are
made of wood, many of straw or grass. Rats and mice thrive in the thatch
roofs. You probably sleep on a pallet of straw on the ground.
You probably believe that the nobles are in fact superior to you and that God
has put you in your class. You have no chance of moving up in society: you
were born of ignoble blood and there you will stay. There are 100 of you for
every one of the nobles. When famine comes, you are the first to feel the
pinch
. If you are female, the highlight of your life is your marriage. You marry
very young. You must obey your husband and he may beat you, as long as
he doesn’t kill you in doing so. You work as hard in the fields as the men do.
The labor is difficult, and even small children must pitch in
. Education is basically non-existent. A few bright boys may be recruited by
the church and so learn to read and write, but that is rare. The clergy also
abuse you at times, demanding tithes when you have little to no resources
Life in the Middle Ages jigsaw
SS.4&5G.18 Introduction to medieval history
and threatening you with damnation if you do not pay on time. From every
side you are criticized, put down, and beaten. Every once in awhile you may
attempt to revolt, but you are not trained and have no supplies. Even if you
overtake the manor, the lord from the land next door will come and squash
you
serfs :
Farmers who were tied to the land during European feudalism. They were
not slaves because they could not be bought or sold, but they could not
readily leave the manor either. Serfs were given land to farm in exchange for
service to their lord. This service usually involved working the lord's fields,
maintaining roads and the manor, and providing military service in times of
war. Serfs paid taxes to their lord in the form of crops. This is also how the
paid the fee to use the manor's mill or other services.
Life of a Knight
Training for knighthood during medieval times usually began at an
early age. Often the prospective knight was sent to live with a
relative or lord who had the resources to train the young boy in use
of weapons and, most importantly, the skills to handle a horse in
combat. A knight-in-training would often serve as a squire
(assistant) for an established knight, attending his needs, helping
him don his armor, and making ready his horse and weapons.
Once his training was completed and he reached "fighting age"
(usually around 16-20 years old), he would ceremoniously become
a full-fledged knight. The ceremony became more elaborate as the
Middle Ages progressed, until only the richest nobles or a king
could afford to "knight" someone.
The new knight now served his liege lord (which may or may not
be the king himself), bound to offer military service up to 40 days
a year in peace time, more, as needed, in war time. Military duties
included castle guard, serving in the lord's "bodyguard", and
Life in the Middle Ages jigsaw
SS.4&5G.18 Introduction to medieval history
participating in battle.
Apart from military duties the knight could also participate in administering justice (as
part of assizes--a medieval form of our modern juries), managing his estates (which was
his prime source of income), and continuing to hone his combat skills in tournament.
The tournament in the early Middle Ages (ca. 800-1200 C.E.) was
often a meleé, resembling actual combat in groups that could result
in injuries or even death. Men were taken hostage and held for
ransom, horses and armor confiscated by the captors. As kings and
churchmen grew concerned over this senseless loss of life and
resources new regulations and safety measures were put into effect.
The meleé was replaced by individual combat events (among them
the joust), and new innovations in armor specifically designed for
the tournament made it somewhat safer.