The Middle Ages

People of the Middle Ages There were many people who tied the Middle Ages together. One of them was the Big Cheese, also known as the King. The King’s wife was the Queen. Another one of them was the knight in shining armor. He protected the king and the entire kingdom. Also, there was the serf, who was at the bottom of the “Has it Good” list. There are also merchants, who sell goods like pottery and food. A kind of merchant was the blacksmith, who sold weapons and shields. There were also people who sold common necessities like food and fire places to cook there food. Those were some people from the Middle Ages.

Knights As mentioned in the previous slide, knights served and protected the king and his noble court. Templar knights were the knights who played a big part in the Crusades. They became legends. A knights armor weighed 40 to 60 pounds! There training lasted 14 years. 7 of those years were as a page and another seven as a squire. Once they completed training, they bathed, prayed all night in a church without food or sleep, and the next day, they were knighted. Once a knight, they had to follow the Code of Chivalry, which says that a knight must be courteous, generous, valorous, and they must be good in the battlefield. Those are some quick facts about knights.

Feudal System The feudal system is kind of confusing. It was social system based on obligations between a lord and vassal, also known as a lesser noble or serf. The first obligation, or promise, was the granting of the fief. It comprised all the lesser noble needed to do to fulfill there obligation. The lesser noble got an estate that ranged from a few to several thousand acres. It almost always included houses, barns, tools, animals, and serfs. The lord also promises to protect the vassal on the court and field. The vassal in return became a knight for the lord. The lesser noble did this for 40 to 60 days. Some additional service was sometimes required. The vassal also had to give advise and appear on the court jury. By the 12 th century, the feudal system was used all through out Western Europe.

Shields were very popular, so they were always used to show the noble’s power. A file or label, which looks like an E, showed that the owner was the oldest son. A crescent was the symbol of the 2 nd son. A mullet, or star, was the symbol of the 3 rd son. I could go on and on about this, but I need to get o the animals and colors. A lion is the most popular symbol, since it stands for strength. The lion is found in four common stances. The 1 st is Passant, meaning pass, showing a lion walking with it’s more distant paw raised. The 2 nd is Couchant, meaning couch, showing a lion lying down with it’s head raised. The 3 rd is Rampant, meaning climb, showing a lion rearing up on it’s hind, ready to climb. The 4 th and final stance is Statant, meaning stand, showing a lion standing. Those are the 4 stances of the lion, and the coat of arms.

In the medieval ages, for books and other reading objects, the towns people used illuminated letters. Illuminated letters are letters that look like animals, people, objects, and others. They are usually uppercased. They are used for many reasons, but probably used for fancy writing. Illuminated letters are used in many popular writing from the medieval ages. Those are some facts about the strange yet beautiful illuminated letters. A B C D E F G