An unknown poet in the medieval times described the three social classes of European society of his time in this way: “One toils, one prays, and one defends.” Let us examine these social classes, their lives and what part they played in building their Europe.
One Toils
The common place peasants were referred to as toilers, because they held the base positions of workers (farmers, welders, herders, barbers). Their lives consisted of ever changing working assignments that were dictated by season and need by superior officials (clergy or political). Their homes were of simple design made of wood frames, which were stuffed with straw and rubber then plastered over with clay. The roof was simply thatched together. Homes of the poorer had but one room, while others consisted of two, one for eating and activities and one for sleeping. Their food was adequate if resources permitted, grown from their own backyard and meat was only consumed on special occasions because it was not readily available. An interesting fact was that the bread that the peasants grew was highly nutritious because it contained not just wheat and rye but it was also made with barley, millet, and oats. These grains served another purpose as well, they were used to make ale. Ale was the poor man’s liquor, and according to records a large sum was consumed and was responsible for a lot death tolls in medieval court records. All in all the “toilers” were a simple people, but in their simplicity were the foundation of European for who sewed the clothes together to clothe the superiors and who grew the food that was fed to the superiors.
One Prays
This is an obvious description of the clergy of Europe. A strong example of how important religion was to Europe was and still is the Gothic Cathedral, it ascended stretched out to the heavens, symbolic of the people’s passion for God. The cathedral was build through the hands of everyone in the community, some by using their architectural skills, others by donating the needed funds for completion of the project.
Sound management by the popes, along with new characteristics of religious life, made the Catholic church a forceful authority in every area of European citizen’s life.
One Defends
The defenders of Europe, her soldiers, ever changing the flow of their motherland. The role of solders was clear. As seen in the many battles that formed Europe.
Elected in 1958 as a ‘caretaker Pope’, Pope John XXIII implemented the greatest reforms in the Church’s history. His involvement within the Church had played a significant contribution to the reforming of social, political and liturgical Christian traditions. During the early twentieth century, the Catholic Church still held the century old conservative beliefs and traditions as they continued to separate the Church from the secular world, therefore, disadvantaging the Church to a world that was modernising. In addition to this, the Church restricted modernist thoughts due to the belief that new theologies would threaten the power and authority of the Church, but ...
Religion served the same function in the Middle Ages and Renaissance as it does today. However, religion was embraced more during the Middle Ages by desperate individuals frantically searching for calm and stability in their lives. Religion provided hope for these bleak individuals who lovingly and unquestioningly embraced religion and the church’s teachings. The church controlled every aspect of these people’s lives and had a grip on their minds. “The church had a grip on men’s minds which it is difficult for us to imagine: the strength of the grip was basically Medieval” (Rowdon 159).
Kings often struggled with the Church over power and land, both trying desperately to obtain them, both committing atrocities to hold onto them. Time and time again, the Popes of the postclassical period went to great extremes to secure the Church’s position in the world. Both the Crusades and the Inquisition are examples of this. D...
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).
Although the extent of its influence varied through the years, religion continued to command a central role in European politics, society, culture, and thought, from the late 16th century to the Enlightenment. As illustrated by the examples above, it remained a powerful tool of leaders used it in various capacities and to varying degrees.
The bottom part of the society included the peasants which made up 85% of the population, the peasants was divided into sub-classes, and these sub-classes involved the farmers, craftsmen or artisans and merchants (Hackney, 2013). The highest ranking of the peasants were the farmers, farmers who owned their own lands were ranked higher than those who did not. After the farmers, there were the craftsmen or artisans. The craftsmen or artisans worked word and metal and some of them became well-k...
Roles of the Catholic Church in Western civilization has been scrambled with the times past and development of Western society. Regardless of the fact that the West is no longer entirely Catholic, the Catholic tradition is still strong in Western countries. The church has been a very important foundation of public facilities like schooling, Western art, culture and philosophy; and influential player in religion. In many ways it has wanted to have an impact on Western approaches to pros and cons in numerous areas. It has over many periods of time, spread the teachings of Jesus within the Western World and remains a foundation of continuousness connecting recent Western culture to old Western culture.-
Shawna Herzog, History 101-1, Class Lecture: 11.2 Society in the Middle Ages, 27 March 2014.
In the Middle Ages houses of the poor and wealthy were often alike, except for the wealthy because they could occupy all their floors of the house. Their business would be on the first floor, living quarters on the second, and servant’s quarters on the third. If they family were poor they might have several families living under one roof, which makes the house very crowded (Gies, 243).
A Shakespearean tragic hero may be defined as “an exceptional being of high degree” who contributes to his own degeneration and illustrates a personality flaw. The character of Shakespeare’s Macbeth is in all ways the perfect example of a tragic hero. His greatness and bravery in battle for his country ultimately leads him to be a great thane and eventually a powerful king, making his actions have a significant impact on a country. Macbeth’s ambition on becoming a king leads to an obsession to remain in his current position. His ambition comes to a point where he falls to the temptation of evil which leads to Macbeth’s inevitable downfall. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is portrayed as a brave man whose performance in Scotland’s battle is celebrated.
Print. "The Middle Ages: Feudal Life." Learner.org. Annenberg Foundation, 2012. Web.
In order for a character to be a tragic hero, they must not be an angel nor a devil; he should have some virtues, a tragic flaw and suffering as a result of the tragic flaw. Macbeth is initially depicted as a character of greatness and dignity through appraisals but is then haunted by a fatal flaw – his vaulting ambition and lust for power ultimately leads to his demise. Macbeth meets all of the requirements and can therefore be called a tragic hero.
The Roman Catholic Church had complete influence over the lives of everyone in medieval society, including their beliefs and values. The Church’s fame in power and wealth had provided them with the ability to make their own laws and follow their own social hierarchy. With strong political strength in hand, the Church could even determine holidays and festivals. It gained significant force in the arts, education, religion, politics as well as their capability to alter the feudal structure through their wealth and power. The Church was organised into a hierarchical system that sustained the Church’s stability and control over the people and lower clergy, by organising them into different groups.
It is perpetuated by the way wealth, power, and prestige are distributed and passed on from one generation to the next
In 500 A.D. Rome had fallen and Europe’s lower classes needed protection. Kings started fighting over land and neglecting their people. Nobles then took over, splitting countries into small colonies of land, each “ruled” by a noble. Each noble had knights and lesser nobles beneath him. They were vassals to their lord above them and they would serve and protect him and his serfs and peasants. Serfs were common workers that belonged to the land they worked. Peasants were like serfs in that they also worked the land but didn’t belong to it. Nobles,vassals, serfs, and peasants all working on land, or manors, in their own ways, was called