1. Middle Ages Review

2. The Middle Ages refers to the period in Europe roughly between 500 C.E. and 1500 C.E. It began with the fall of the Roman Empire. It ended about one thousand years later, when artists and scholars in northern Italy began to take an interest in the arts and science of ancient Rome and Greece.

3. Life in the Middle Ages: For much of the Middle Ages, most Europeans lived in small villages which were parts of a manor. The manor was a large block of land made up of forest, meadow, farmland, the village, a church, and the house or castle of the noble who owned it all.

4. Ninety percent of the population, however, were peasants
Ninety percent of the population, however, were peasants. These people lived in the village. One group of peasants, the serfs, were tied to the land. This means that if the land was sold, they were sold along with it. They grew food for the village and the manor. Although they worked the land, they did not own it. The noble owned the land.

5. In return for being allowed to use the noble’s land, the serfs paid the noble in services and goods. In addition, they also had to pay the lord a yearly tax and a fee when a women got married. Each week they worked on his land. At harvest time, they gave him a part of their crops. In return, the noble protected the serf from attacks by enemies from other villages. This is “trading loyalty for protection”, or feudalism.

6. The other group of peasants were the freemen
The other group of peasants were the freemen. These were people who were NOT serfs. They, or an earlier generation, had bought their freedom. This group were the craftsmen: the blacksmiths, the millers, and the carpenters. These peasants paid rent to the lord, but not the fees the serfs had to pay.
Section of stained glass from the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, showing a blacksmith.

7. The noble himself was a tenant of the king
The noble himself was a tenant of the king. Under the law of the time, the king owned all the land in his kingdom. He kept large parts of it for himself and divided the rest among the nobles who agreed to help him in times of war. These nobles were called vassals.

8. Bodiam Castle, East Sussex, England
A king’s vassal agreed to perform services for the king in return for being given use of the land. The vassal also had to send soldiers to fight in the king’s army, fight in battles himself, and collect the king’s taxes.
Bodiam Castle, East Sussex, England
Built in 1385

9. Knights were those soldiers
Knights were those soldiers. A knight began training as a page at the age of seven, when he was sent to a nearby castle. Training included wrestling and sword and lance practice.
David I of Scotland knighting a squire.
Year and artist unknown.

10. Knights were of the nobility
Knights were of the nobility. They were the younger sons of the noble, since only the oldest son inherited his father’s estates. A knight had to be wealthy to be able to afford the armor, weapons, and the horse. A full suit of armor weighed about 55 pounds! However, in the mid-1300, it was customary to wear both plate armor and chain mail, a burden of 110 pounds.

11. Tournaments were a way of practicing for battles
Tournaments were a way of practicing for battles. At first, knights divided into two teams and fought all over the countryside for days. By the 1200s, tournaments had become jousts, contests in an enclosed field between two knights. The knights charged at each other with blunt swords or lances while the king and guests looked on.

12. The most important institution in the lives of most medieval people in Europe was the Roman Catholic Church, the only Christian religion in Europe at the time.
Notre Dame, Paris, France
Construction started in 1163, completed in 1250 C.E.

13. The Church’s power and wealth were equal to that of kings and emperors
The Church’s power and wealth were equal to that of kings and emperors. Like the rest of medieval society, the Church was divided along class lines. The Pope, the head of the Church, and the bishops under him lived in splendor. Many village priests, on the other hand, were poor and not well educated.

14. St. Francis of Assisi, painted by Bonaventura Berlinghieri, in 1235.
Men and women who wanted to devote their lives to serving God became monks and nuns. They went to live in religious communities called monasteries and convents. There, they spent their time working, reading praying and meditating.
St. Francis of Assisi, painted by Bonaventura Berlinghieri, in 1235.

15. Section of illuminated manuscript
Many monasteries were centers of learning, where monks painstakingly copied books by hand – the only way of reproducing books during the Middle Ages.
Section of illuminated manuscript

16. Middle Ages Review:
Notes:
Feudalism is “trading protection for loyalty”.
Social status was determined by BIRTHRIGHT: You were born into your class
There were two types of peasants: Freemen and Serfs.
Freemen were the craftsmen: the blacksmiths, millers, etc.
Serfs were bound to the land. If the land was sold, the serfs were part of the deal.
Knights were the younger sons of nobles.
There was only one Christian Church (institution), the Roman Catholic Church.