JCH6 Notes

Seite 1

Video Link: What were some of the main causes of death in Medieval Times? https://youtu.be/7B1kU-4vF9o

Video Link: Life in a medieval castle https://youtu.be/PejJGGJKZiw

Keywords (Understand the following words)

◆ Feudal system

◆ Peasant/Serf - Serfs were peasants who worked lords' land and paid them certain dues in return for the use of land during the middle ages

◆ Fallow

◆ The Commons

◆ Bailiff

◆ Guild

◆ Knights

◆ Chivalry

◆ King

◆ Motte and Bailey castle

What was the Middle Ages?

◆ The Middle Ages was the period in European history from the collapse of Roman civilization around 500 AD to the period of the Renaissance which began around 1500 AD.

Timeline

◆ 476 AD: Roman Empire collapses.

◆ 500 AD until around 1500 AD is known as The Middle Ages.

◆ 1350 AD: The Renaissance begins in Italy.

After the Roman Empire…….

◆ No one leader in Europe, but many different kings.

◆ Many Small kingdoms were formed.

◆ Result: No law and order and many wars between rival kingdoms.

The Solution to war?

The Feudal System

◆ The King

◆ Lords and Nobles

◆ Knights

Medieval Towns

◆ In the Middle Ages, many people lived in towns.

◆ They were usually built on a river or on the coast so people could trade and fish. They usually had a castle nearby.

◆ Towns had a list of rules called a town charter.

◆ They had high walls to defend against an attack.

◆ They had gates which were closed at sundown. Travelling merchants often had to pay a toll.

◆ Towns often contained a high street (main street) and a market square.

◆ Many houses in medieval towns and manors had wattle and daub walls.

◉ THE LIFE OF A MEDIEVAL PEASANT

Medieval peasants were also called Serfs. They belonged to the lord of the manor.

The serf worked on the land for a lord.

In return for a small plot of land, serfs worked for free on the lord’s farm three days a week.

Every year they gave one-tenth of their crops to the church – the tithe.

Serfs lived in a one-room cottage.

They needed the lord’s permission if they wanted to leave the town or get married.

They enjoyed pastimes such as wrestling and cockfighting.

Serfs celebrated festivals at Christmas and on May Day

Medieval Craftsmen

Medieval Craftsmen were extremely skilled workers.

◆ They trained as apprentices and journeymen before they became fully qualified craftsmen.

◆ They had to produce a masterpiece before they could become a master craftsman.

◆ Craftsmen that worked in a similar trade set up groups called guilds.

◆ Guilds set down a set of rules for the trade.

◆ Craftsmen of a similar trade usually had their shops on the same street, e.g. Baker Street.

Medieval Knights

Medieval kings needed knights to maintain their empire. Only a select few became knights.

◆ It could take up to 15 years to be trained as a knight.

◆ Young boys started their training at six or sevenyears of age as a page.

◆ At 14 they became a squire.

◆ At about 21 years of age, they became a knight following a ceremony called an accolade.

◆ Knights had to follow a code of conduct called chivalry.

◆ Knights wore heavy armour going into battle.

◆ They fought in religious battles called crusades.

◆ They took part in competitions called tournaments.

Medieval Lords/Kings

◆ After the King, the Lord was the most important person in the Kingdom.

◆ They made sure peasants paid rents and knights stayed loyal.

◆ They acted as judges.

◆ His work was often carried out by an Estate Steward.

The Lady of the Castle

◆ Lived a tough life compared to the Lord.

◆ Often married as young as 14.

◆ Sometimes their marriage to the Lord was arranged.

◆ In charge of domestic duties.

◆ In charge of up bringing of their own children and foster children.

Recap/Quiz

Q1. When did the middles ages begin and end?

Q2. Why was the feudal system brought in? Who was on each level of the feudal system?

Q3. What was a tithe?

Q4. How did a craftsman become a master craftsman?

Q5. What were the stages of a knights training?

Medieval Castles

The most important people in medieval society were Kings and Lords.

They lived in medieval castles. The castle also housed:

◆ The King and Lord’s families

◆ Knights

◆ Servants

There were two types of castle:

Motte and Bailey Castles

Stone Castles

Attacking a medieval castle

When rival kingdoms went to war, they often attacked each other’s strongpoints such as castles. But how did they do this?

◆ Battering rams were used to break down the main gate.

◆ A mangonel (a large catapult) was used to fire rocks at the castle walls.

◆ A trebuchet (a large sling) was used to fire ‘Greek fire’ at the castle.

◆ Rope ladders and siege towers were used to scale the castle walls.

◆ Sappers dug tunnels under the castle foundations in order to collapse the walls.

Defending a medieval castle

How did an army defend a castle?

◆ Archers fired arrows on the enemy from the battlements and turrets.

◆ Heavy rocks were thrown down the ‘murder hole’ on attacking soldiers as they entered the castle.

◆ Boiling oil and quicklime were poured over those attempting to scale the walls.

The Black Death

◆ The Black Death arrived in Europe from Asia in 1347.

◆ It killed over one-third of the population of Europe.

◆ It consisted of two different types of plague:

The bubonic plague was spread by bloodsucking fleas that lived on rats.

The pneumonic plague was spread by breathing infected air.

◆ Some people blamed the Jewish people for spreading the disease.

◆ Others, called flagellants, whipped themselves, believing that the disease could be stopped if they punished themselves and asked God for forgiveness.

◆ The Black Death ended the feudal system.

EXAM PREP

Summary of an account of life and death in a medieval setting

1) MEDIEVAL SETTING: A Medieval Manor

A person’s place in medieval society was set by the feudal system; the king was at the top, then the lord, then his vassals, his knights and at the bottom were the serfs.

The lord’s land was called a manor, which consisted of a village, common pasture fields and the lord’s manor house or castle.

WORK: The peasants, called serfs, would work the land which was mostly seasonal. The serfs were tied to the lord in exchange for protection, a one bedroomed cottage and enough land to provide food for their family. They couldn’t leave the manor or get married without the lord’s permission.

They used the open field system of farming. Three large fields were divided into long strips. Crops were grown in rotation, e.g. Field 1 = wheat, Field 2 = oats, Field 3 = fallow (left empty for a year so the nutrients could return to the soil). Another field called the commons was used for grazing the peasants’ animals

FOOD: Bread, cheese and pottage (vegetable and oat soup) were common, while meat was eaten only rarely. Ale, a weak beer made of barley, was safer to drink than water.

LEISURE: Leisure time for serfs was on Sundays and saints’ days. They attended Mass, and entertained themselves with singing, dancing, drinking and games when not working on the land.

RELIGION: Religion was very important. Each village would have a church and the serfs would have had to pay a tithe, which was one tenth of their produce, to the parish priest. Because life was so short and difficult, people had a strong belief that there would be a better life after death.

ILLNESS AND DEATH: Due to a lack of hygiene, lack of medical knowledge and a lack of clean drinking water, diseases such as the flu, smallpox and cholera were extremely common. The most well-known and biggest killers was the bubonic Plague or ‘Black Death’. Which was highly contagious and is believed to have killed over one-third of Europe’s population.

2) MEDIEVAL SETTING: A Medieval Town

Life in a medieval city was often unpleasant and dangerous.

A medieval town would seek a charter from the king giving it the right to become a borough. Towns were run by a corporation and a mayor, who were responsible for keeping the walls in good repair, dealing with sewerage and waste, enforcing the laws and curfew, and paying the town guards.

Medieval town were centres of commerce and people would travel from the surrounding area to attend the markets that would be held at least once a week to buy and sell food and wares. Port cities would have bustling docks as ships brought in trade from all over Europe.

STREETS: The streets were dark, narrow, unpaved and very muddy. They were noisy, with the town crier, church bells, and traders calling out their wares. There was no sewage system and people would throw the contents of bed pans out the window onto the street below. The water supply was often polluted so outbreaks of disease such as cholera were common.

BUILDING: Houses were several storey's high and built close together, and made of wood. Only important buildings such as the church or town hall were made of stone. Medieval shops were workshops, open to the street for customers, with the craftsman's house above. Because few people could read, shops signs were a huge model showing the craftsman's trade.

CRIME & PUNISHMENT: People who broke the law were punished severely. Punishments included being publicly whipped or locked in the stocks. For serious crimes people were executed by beheading or hanging.

3) MEDIEVAL SETTING: Lord and lady in a Medieval Castle

Summary of an account of Life of a Lords and ladies in a Medieval Castle

Maybe asked to write an essay

MEDIEVAL SETTING: Lord and lady in a Medieval Castle

Medieval society was structured by a feudal system; the king was at the top, then his lord, then his vassals, then his knights, and at the bottom were the serfs.

WORKING LIFE:

A lord was very powerful; he owned land and commanded knights and soldiers. He organised the business of the castle, kept his territory under control, and carried out the wishes of the king. He presided over the courts, settling disputes in his territory. Lords enjoyed tournaments and hunted deer, pheasants, and other wild animals as a pastime.

The lady of the castle marriages were arranged at a young age, often to seal an alliance. A dowry was paid to the groom. She ensured that life in the caslte ran smoothly, these duties were to bear children and run the household for the lord. She would act in her husband's place if he were absent from the castle.

The family lived upstairs in the keep.

The solar was a sunny room in the keep where the lady would weave, teach the children or play music. They raised the children and often raised the children of other noblemen. which is called fosterage

LEISURE: The lord’s leisure time was spent hunting, hawking and holding tournaments, including jousting. Jesters (comic performers) and minstrels (musicians) provided entertainment.

FOOD: The great hall was used for feasts, where beef, pork, venison (meat of a deer) and pheasant were served. Salt, herbs and spices were used because food did not stay fresh for long. Eaten on a trenchers (stale bread) were used instead of plates.

4) MEDIEVAL SETTING: Life as a Knight or Soilder in a Medieval Castle

TO WRITE AND FINISH

DEFENDING THE SETTLEMENT: Medieval castles often came under attack from rival kingdoms who wanted to take over another kingdom. Medieval Castles were heavily defended in case of an attack. Archers fired arrows on the enemy from the battlements and turrets. Heavy rocks were thrown down the ‘murder hole’ on attacking soldiers as they entered the castle. Boiling oil and quicklime were poured over those attempting to scale the walls.

ILLNESS AND DEATH: Disease was common and castle setting were no different. Due to a lack of hygiene, lack of medical knowledge and a lack of clean drinking water, diseases such as the flu, smallpox and cholera were extremely common. The most well-known disease during the middles ages was the Plague or ‘Black Death’. There were two types of plague: The Bubonic and the Pneumonic plague. It was highly contagious and is believed to have killed over one-third of Europe’s population.