In the medieval times everything had an order to follow, a price that had to be paid, and a contract that had to be obeid. Each person had a rank, which decides on your lifestyle and future for you and your descendants to come. A serf was at the bottom of the pyramid, therefore they had to work at sunrise to sunset. The lords and the ladies lived conformably in their glorious castle, which was flooded with servants. Alot of things obviously had change, which is the more reason to learn more about our history. The cold air breathed through the holes, the light escaped the house throughout the day, and the house stood quietly in the fields, this is what the serf called home. The houses is mostly consists of wattle and daub. Wattle and daub is mainly willow or oak, which is than woven together, and covered with mud and clay. The floors are usually dirt, although some will covered it with layers of reeds for cushioning. Also because the serfs have no heaters they added straw to insulate the wall. The roofs are thatch, and manure was good for binding the whole mixture together. The serf’s houses are consisted of only two rooms, one with the hearth and the other contains a stove oven. Also because the chimney was not yet invented, they build in a hole on the roof. Although the serfs’ The serf daily life starts off by waking up as an early as 3am. After they will eat breakfast, which was usually pottage. Working in the fields was than their main job. This includes reaping, which is cutting crops for harvest, sowing, ploughing, haymaking, threshing, hedging and more. They farm because they had to work his lords land and paid the lord a certain dues in return of the use of the land. The payment can be money or food etc. The serfs had to pay 3 days a week, and if they didn’t work then they are punished or resign to a new owner. There other jobs for the serfs such as craftsmen, bakers, farmers, and tax collectors. Women had to maintain their household, and assists their husband. Usually the women serf can only be a maid, servant or nun.
Swarthmoor Hall and the Lifestyle of a Wealthy Country Gentry Family in the Early 17th Century
“Feudalism was a political, economic, and social system in which nobles were granted the use of land that legally belonged to the king” (Doc. 1) "Social" life in the Middle Ages was the only kind of life people knew. Whether nobility, craftsperson or peasant your life was defined by your family, your community and those around you (OI). “The Church protected the Kings and Queens (OI).” “The King is above Nobles, Nobles above Knights, and the Knights are above serfs (Doc.1).” “ Nobles provides money and knights. Knights provide protection and military service (Doc. 1).” Social network, your village and your local nobility, was your family (OI).” “From the moment of its baptism a few days after birth, a child entered into a life of service to God and God’s Church (Doc.3).” “Every Person was required to live by the Church’s laws and to pay heavy taxes to support the Church (Doc.3).” “In return for this, they were shown the way to everlasting life and happiness after lives that were often short and hard (Doc. 3).” In conclusion, this is what it was like in the Middle Ages from a social
In the Middle Ages, three distinctive kinds of peasants existed: the serfs, slaves and the freemen. However, the majority of the peasant society consisted of the serfs (Gilberts para. 1). Serfs made up only half of the population for peasants in the 14th century, but during the mid-11th century, an astounding ninety percent of peasants, in distinct areas, were attributed to serfs. A serf was under the command of his lord and had to abide by his rules (Singman 8). He then contained absolutely no political rights (Gilberts para. 2). Alike the serfs, slaves were permitted to be sold and purchased, but, in fact, buyers of serfs did not have full ownership over them (Singman 8). If a serf happened to flee and stay hidden and unrestricted for a total of one year, he could then declare himself a freeman (Gilberts para. 2). Freemen were, indeed, permitted to roam around at liberty and own tiny pieces of land (Gilberts para. 1).
“The majestic power of a great keep, the sweep of battlements--Castles have the power to fascinate us in a way that few buildings have,” writes Christopher Gravett in The History of Castles. Even though the majority of castles across the world have similar basic structures, each country has its own personal style and touch to it. Castles are renowned around the world for their mysteries and their association with princesses such as Cinderella, but in reality they are much more complex than one would think.
Manorialism and Feudalism were weakened by the rise of merchant guilds, plague epidemics, and nationalism. The rise of merchant guilds facilitated long distance trade during the medieval period [1301 - 1500], and lasted into the 18th century. Guilds were social, political and economic organizations in medieval towns. They cared for social and economic welfare of members. Guilds assisted in the rise of new middle class. They enjoyed a trade monopoly in towns, allowed members to earn a living wage. Guilds bypassed or contravened feudalism and manorialism when they purchased self government charters for towns from nobles or started new towns.
Feudalism is a system of land ownership and duties that were used in the Middle Ages. Under feudalism, all the land in a kingdom was the king's. However, the king would give some of his land to the lords or nobles who fought for him. Rulers in all society wanted to create law and order and ensure that people make good use of the society’s resources. That is why feudalism was created. Monarchs had to accept limits on their own personal power. They also needed to respond to expectations that other groups in society have a say in decision-making. People began to use medieval courts for problems that had previously been solved by trial by combat.
1 in 7 American people are living in poverty. They are cold, hungry, and they are not getting help from the government. People who have homes view the homeless as bad people and believe that they are too lazy to work (video). In reality, they are working to get a job and provide for their family. Also, the government is also not helping the homeless (video). They’re giving less and less support to the homeless and giving support to the rich population (video). Next, serfs in the middle ages were in the lowest class in their feudal system. They were part of the land. Whoever owned the land was in control of them, but serfs weren’t slaves. Their role in society was to farm. They had to give a piece of their food to their vassal or lord (owner
The furnishings found in each hut also provide indications of how the people lived. In the centre of all the huts lay a fireplace that is thought to be the only source of heat and light in the entire hou...
Being a peasant in the Middle Ages was hard. During the summers, peasants would start as early as 3 am. They would start their day off with breakfast. Then, peasants would work in the fields. They would reap, sow, plough, thresh, and hedge. They would finish at dusk. Working hours during the summer months were longer.
In order to discuss and understand peasant revolts, the peasant’s lives and their dwellings must first be understood to show how life was from their perspective. As mentioned earlier, the daily lives of these peasants were filled with physical labour on the farm. Life on the farm meant that life revolved around the seasons. A bad summer crop meant that there would be food shortages in the winter. Houses were very simple, with minimal amounts of furniture. The houses themselves were usually made out of stone, and had straw roofs. Mattresses for beds was made from straw, if at all, as some houses were recorded having beds with no mattresses. It has also been noted that out of all furniture found in a sixteenth and seventeenth century French farmer dwelling, chairs were seldom found .
When enslaved they worked from sunrise to sundown with little to no food. They would live in shacks on the plantations and sleep on dirt floors since they had no furniture. But, depending on who they worked for the conditions varied. If they worked for a small farm the were fed well. On large plantations there were domestic slaves that worked inside the house and did house work. This job was the most sought after due to the better circumstances (Slave Life and Slave Codes).
spacious farm house with plenty of beds and a fireplace to keep them warm in the winter. Society norms forced them to take on the few wo...
Traditionally, the goods were produced by families: women took care of the family while men were the main labor forces; and tasks of less importance were given to children according to their age. In this familiar productive unit, the leisure time was mixed with the working time. Moreover, the production pace is flexible. Peasants worked for aristocracy’ and had to pay taxes. Their sustenance depended on the harvest which varied with the season and weather. Artisans were more independents as they relied on their own skill and were supported by the guild. In addition, luxury products allowed a higher income.
In the Medieval Period, life was either very great or very bad, according to your class. Only 2 classes existed during this time: the nobles, such as kings and knights who lived inside the castle, or the peasants, such as working-class people who lived in often unspeakable conditions. The peasants treated the nobles with the utmost respect, for if they didn’t, then the nobles could have them beheaded. (Sanders, p 34). The nobles were almost always the ones who owned land, and the peasants worked on this land in exchange for a small portion of it, in a sense, rented out in exchange for the labor. Peasants often worked 16-hour days as long as they could see into the nighttime and got very bad nourishment. The noble was not interested in the health of the peasants working on his land, as there was a significant supply of others who were very willing to take his or her place.
Written by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of the fourteenth century, The Canterbury Tales and more specifically it’s prologue, shed a great deal of light on the rising middle class in (fourteenth century) England. Despite the fact that some readers may not know a lot about the time period today, Chaucer’s writing in the prologue elaborates on topics such as occupations, wealth, education, and political power. Scholar Barbara Nolan writes of the prologue, “it is more complex than most…It raises expectations in just the areas the handbooks propose, promising to take up important matters of natural and social order, moral character, and religion and outlining the organization the work will follow” (Nolan 154). In other words, while noting the distinct complexity of the writing, Nolan points out that Chaucer’s prologue gives the reader a lot to digest when it comes to both background information and overall form of the following writing. Focusing on the background information supplied in the prologue, readers quickly become educated about middle class England in the fourteenth century despite having been born hundreds of years later.