Middle Ages!!!
People
•Most people in the Middle Ages were peasants. They worked for their lords in
exchange for protection; they had difficult and miserable lives. Another name for them
is serfs.
•Shepherds tended the sheep of the manor.
•Some people were troubadours; they often sang love songs, gallant deeds of knights,
and sometimes delivered messages this way.
•Pilgrims-Medieval churchmen who made pilgrimages to places where Jesus lived and
died to ask forgiveness and blessings.
•Monks- men who left the company of ordinary men to live together away from worldly
temptations and took vows of obedience.
•Nuns- women who left their homes to live together to save their souls
•Bishops- noblemen of the church who ruled over large pieces of land and had knights
under them.
•Knights-Crusaders. Noblemen who helped try recapture the Holy Lands.
There were many other people, but these
are the most known and basic ones.
Castles
• Castles were great at protecting against attacks. A king or queen
usually lived in a castle. (not always) A castle’s wall was extremely
thick. A moat usually surrounded the castle. A drawbridge over the
moat was the entrance to a castle and could be pulled shut. A
postern gate was the secret back exit of the castle. A portcullis, or a
kind of gate made of metal bars, protected the castle because it
could drop down from the ceiling and block the way to the castle.
Castles were often built on rocky ledges because it prevented the
enemy from weakening the castle walls by digging tunnels. Murder
holes were built above the entrance and castles to drop things on
any enemies below. Arrow slits were also built into the towers to
allow archers to fire on incoming enemies with out being able to be
hurt themselves.
Feudal System
The Feudal system
was basically like the
pyramid displayed. People
higher up in the pyramid
were richer and lived
Greater
luxuriously. People at
Noble
the bottom lived poor
and miserable and
were considered
the equivalent of
Lesser
animals.
nobles
Tenants
of lesser
nobles
(serfs)
Tenants
of lesser
nobles
(serfs)
KING
Greater
Noble
Lesser
nobles
Lesser
nobles
Tenants
of lesser
nobles
(serfs)
Tenants
of lesser
nobles
(serfs)
Knights
• Knights were one of three kinds of fighting men in the Middle Agesfootmen, archers, and knights. To become a knight, a young boy (about 6
years old) was sent off to a castle to become a page. (A young knight in
training) A page usually did the knight’s or squire’s dirty chores and
ultimately began his basic training. The next step was becoming a squire.
(step right before a knight) The squire began advanced training and
learned the things a knight must do. Then, finally, the squire could be
dubbed a knight. The squire would be tapped on the shoulder by his
master’s sword, along with other religious ceremonies. Then he would be
a knight. Knights would serve their king or lord when need be. They
would fight for them or in battle. They were by far the most dangerous
fighters- it was very hard to wound a knight in all his armor. Swords would
bounce off him and arrows too. However, a knight’s armor was very
heavy- maybe 60 pounds or more. If a knight was knocked onto the
ground or off his horse, he could suffocate under the weight of his own
armor!
Attack & Defense
There were many weapons and tactics for attacking and defending a castle. A castle
was surrounded by a moat over which there was a drawbridge to keep enemies out.
Mahicolations (or holes in the ceiling/walls) were used to drop stones, boiling liquids, etc. on
attackers. A portcullis was like a metal gate at the entrance that could be dropped down from
above. To attack, one weapon used was a ballista-A giant, powerful, acurrrate and destructive
crossbow.