From Distress and Fatality to Bright Ideas: The Middle Ages

Life In The MiddleAges Middle Ages

Crime And Punishment

Treason, or the betrayal of the royal family was considered the WORST crime anyone could commit. Punishments were harsh and consisted of hangings, being held in a restraint and the harshest punishment was execution! When a person was executed, the remains of his/her body were left on display in a public area to remind others what would happen if they did that crime!

Religion

Christians considered Churches God’s homes on Earth and the center of religion and education. Christians fasted every Friday, Saturday and ESPECIALLY Sunday, which was considered “God’s Day”. Although Christianity was the most popular religion, there were also two others. The Jewish and Islamic were the other major religions studied in the Middle Ages.

The Feudal System

The Feudal System was made because there were no laws and it became chaotic. Before the Feudal System people in Europe lived under Roman law. The Romans began to spread. By doing this their government weakened greatly. The Barbarians felt that it was a good time to attack when the Roman Empire began to spread.

Feudalism in The Middle Ages

Science and Technology

There were different studies in Science and Technology. There were two major studies, Alchemy and Astronomy. Alchemists were the first chemists of the Middle Ages. They read and got new ideas from ancient philosophers and Chinese and Greek magicians. Alchemists tried many times to make gold but never succeeded. Instead, they made something called “Fool’s Gold” it looked and felt like gold and tricked many people. Astronomers studied the movement of the stars. By doing this, people could tell time, month and, year.

Women and Girls

In the Middle Ages, girls were not allowed to go to schools, they were only expected to do housework and have babies. If a woman was not married by age 13 or 14, she was considered useless to her father. Before a girl was born, her parents would write a book of rules for her to follow. The book included recipes and tips so she would not embarrass her father or more importantly, her husband. In less wealthy families, the daughter was able to choose her husband but in a wealthier family, husbands were chosen by the parents of the bride.

Bailey, Gerry. Age of New Ideas. Minneapolis, MN: Allegra Publishing Limited, Eastwood, Kay. Places of Worship in the Middle Ages. New York: Crabtree Publishing Company, Eastwood, Kay. Women and Girls in the Middle Ages. New York: Crabtree Publishing Company, Findon, Joanne and Marsha Groves. Science and Technology in the Middle Ages. New York: Crabtree Publishing Company, Kallay, Zelma. Kings, Queens, Castles, and Crusades. Parsippany, NJ: Good Apple, Trembinski, Donna. Law and Punishment in the Middle Ages. New York: Crabtree Publishing Company, Works Cited

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