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The medieval period
Medieval society 1066 1485
The medieval period
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Life during the middle ages (1066-1485) was dictated by how much money you had. Were you a noble? Or were you a peasant. Your quality of life was in direct proportion to your status. Lords of the Noble class ruled territories, also known as villages. These villages mainly consisted of one room houses, with maybe a church and a blacksmith shop. Peasants or serfs lived in these villages and worked under said Lord. Daily life was all about survival. The days were spent planting and growing food, harvesting the crop, sewing clothes, and making any supplies that were needed to survive. Trading between different villages was something that was only done as a last resort. People in each village worked together to make their own village successful. Life also depended on what kind of Lord you had. If he was a fair Lord, they were treated reasonably well, and didn’t suffer. As long as the crop was good, they would have plenty to eat, and work was shared equally. If he was an unjust Lord the villagers were subject to his whims. If he demanded money or product from them they must give it, whether it would hurt their own survival or not. Likewise, if he was a Lord that liked to pick fights with neighboring Lords, the villagers would be subject to pillage and plunder by the other Lords that were trying to get back at their particular Lord. Any revenge sought out against a Lord by another Lord would mean that the people of said Lord’s village paid the price. Crops would be destroyed, houses burned and sometimes the villagers were killed. This was known as the Feudal System. The Feudal System was based on the rights of the Nobles, not the serfs. Nobles had preferred seating in the churches, and special hunting privileges. They h... ... middle of paper ... ...done. Giotto used tempera to paint this one. There are senses of desperation of the apostles, but it is not as compelling or moving as Leonardo’s. Giotto has bright colors, especially considering the era it was painted in. However, he doesn’t use landscape, there is no symmetry. When you look at it, you can tell who Christ is due to the golden halo around his head. However to decipher which one of the apostles is Judas, would be in vain. He used no symbolism, there is no depth. The background is done in a golden hue, not a natural life like version. The faces of the apostles do show a questioning gaze, but the diverse emotions are not there. Everyone is also sitting straight up around a table, there is no movement. I would have to say that while for its era this was a great painting, it is not a memorable one for me. Leonardo’s version is so much more.
Others were more like slaves. They owned nothing and were pledged to their local lord. They worked long days, 6 days a week, and often barely had enough food to survive”(“Middle Ages History”). Knights were above the peasants and they were given land granted by the barons in exchange for their military services if the king needed it. They were responsible for protecting the baron who granted them land as well as the baron’s family and the manor they lived at. The knights were able to keep any amount of land they were given, and they gave out the rest to the serfs. The lord, or baron, was above the knight in the social class divide. They were given land by the king and in return they showed loyalty to the monarch. They provided the king with fully equipped knights if the king needed some to serve. If the baron “did not have an army, sometimes they would pay the king a tax instead. This tax was called shield money”(“Middle Ages History”). The king was at the top of the feudal system and held the most power and wealth. The king could not maintain control over all the land in England so he divided the land up to the barons which eventually
The Renaissance Period is widely known for the abundance of amazing portraiture that circulated around Europe. During the Renaissance, Albrecht Dürer, a German artist painted a self-portrait in 1500 that had qualities that differed from the usual style of artist in that time (Chauhan). Jean Clouet also painted a portrait for the King of France and became the official court painter. Both artists had a talent for portraiture, while their styles were quite different. King Francis I wanted to be seen as a powerful man, and appointed Clouet to paint him in a classically renaissance way that highlights his wealth and authority. Dürer, described as a cocky, self-centered man, painted himself in a light that is unique and puts him on a ‘holy’ pedestal (Stokstad 356). In this essay I will show how although both paintings have clear differences with their style, both men in the compositions are conveyed in a great and very powerful sense.
“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
Many different classes of people existed in the Middle Ages. Each class had a certain and very different way of life than the other. Peasants in the Middle Ages had extremely difficult lives. Domestic life for the peasants during the Middle Ages was endured with many hardships and sacrifices, but in the end they were just everyday citizens doing what they had to in order to survive.
Imagine having to keep a promise to support a lord for exchange for land. Or having to work on land in transaction for protection and a bit of the harvest for your family. This is one effect of the rules of feudalism and the manor system (OI). For Europeans in the Middle Ages, the social, political and economic lives were influenced by the feudal system.
A system of small, independent governments led to the concept known as feudalism. Kings with large land holdings would give land to nobles, who would give portions of their land to knights in exchange for protection from invasions. An economic structure, the manorial system, became the economic structure for many regions of Europe. This allowed for each manor to be a self-sufficient community by growing their own food and taking care of their clothing needs. The common people, known as serfs, would provide the labor for the farms and because of constant warfare, sickness and starvation the average life span was only thirty years during this period. The governmental system of feudalism and manorial economic system continued the pattern of isolationism contributing to the Middle Ages
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.
The Middle Ages and the Renaissance were different in their own unique ways. The Middle Ages, time was simpler. They relied more on the churches and their religious means. The Renaissance was during the year 1350 and didn’t last until 1700. The Renaissance means “rebirth” or “revival” (Background Essay). This was a time when art and science were popular and important. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the change of man’s point of view from the Middle Ages due to the Renaissance.
The feudal system for the middle ages offered proper chances for everyone to gain reputation and higher social rank. Knights were more common, but peasants and common people were permitted to play certain games as well. This is how some peasants made their money. Peasants who became successful in these games, frequently became wealthier and were no longer known as “peasants”. During this time, peasants played games to relieve stress and to escape the cruel reality of their world.
In Europe between 1000 and 1600 the role of peasantry cannot be overlooked. Peasants were essential in maintaining the agricultural and economical standards set by their lords. They were the backbone of society because they became the source from where the supply of food will come from, sustaining themselves and those of higher power. Due to the high demands of work made by authority figures towards the English and German peasants, peasants felt taken advantage of and revolted. The grievances and aspirations that cause these revolts were similar but yet distinct. Being a vital part of society, peasants felt as the royal government and the church to be corrupted, taking advantage of their power in order to make them meet their wants and needs.
Hamm S., Jean. Term Paper Resource Guide to Medieval History. Santa Barbara, California. Greenwood Press. 2010. Print.
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.
The shift between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance was characterized by great socio-economic, political, and religious changes. Politically, the feudal system of the Middle Ages was exchanged for a more stable centralized republic/monarchy system that gave the people more freedom and input. Religiously, secularism became more important as stability gave people a chance to concern themselves with the “here and now” rather than simply the “hereafter.” Socially, there was a shift from dogma and unshakeable belief to humanism and the ability to interpret things for oneself. The Middle Ages began around 400 CE and lasted until 1400 CE while the Renaissance began around 1200 and continued until 1600. The 200 years that overlap between these two periods contain many pieces of “transition” art in which it is obvious that the change is beginning to take place. These collective changes that took place in this period dictated change in art as well. There were changes in iconography, style, purpose, and patronage that facilitated the overall transformation of art from a sense of illustrating what you are told to believe is true to optical realism and conveying how you yourself interpret that “truth”.
The first people to differentiate between the medieval period and the renaissance were those living during the latter. Renaissance writers saw themselves as set apart from the more recent past, and believed they had more in common with the distant classical period. They viewed themselves as on the cusp of a bright new era, a “rebirth” of classical innovation and knowledge. Later historians would also mark this time as something new and shiny, standing out from the dreary middle ages. French historian Jules Michelet saw the renaissance as a beacon of democracy and liberty, Jacob Burckhardt applauded the rediscovery of the classics, and Walter Pater saw in this period “a spirit of rebellion and revolt against the moral and religious ideas of the time.” They were in like mind with the Renaissance thinkers themselves, but as Bartlett points out one cannot study their own time period with proper objectivity needed for accurate historical analysis. The Renaissance is a continuation of the late medieval period, built and grounded in it, rather than the dawn of a completely separate era. The growing republics, the influx of classical influence, and the rising secularism grew out of the middle ages rather than being spontaneously birthed at the start of
Societies progress can lead to intercultural similarities, and vastily obvious differences. These influences can be seen within the contemporary theatre of the times, explaining and progressing the status of community through storytelling and performance. The reactions to these changes are important, and help shape the society we have today. These elements are best seen between the medieval ans renaissance period.