In the Middle Ages, there was a definite structure in society. You were born into a class of people and generally stayed in that class for your entire life. Working hard did not change your status. Your clothing, food, marriage, homes, and more, were determined for you. After the rank of king, the hierarchy was the nobles. Nobles were very important in the society of the Middle Ages. One of his duties were to Protect the people. When the empire collapsed, there was a king, but there was no formal organization to keep the people safe. The nobles filled this role. The nobles were able to provide protection to all of the peasants and Tradesmen through the of knights. A single Noble was able to command a whole army of knights for what they should do and when they have to do it. Kings were also very important, they had to govern and make sure everything was right with their HUGE amount of land. However, there was no physical way for a king to govern all the land effectively because there was no quick communication system, (because they had only messengers back then) and it often took several days to travel from one part of the country to the other, even in a relatively small countries. The king needed a way to maintain control over his lands, even if indirectly. As a solution, he formed a sort of contract with his nobles, his direct underlings. The nobles were given a large portion of the king's land, known as fiefs or manors. In turn, they had to pay "homage and fealty" to the king. They did this by giving their support to the king at all times, governing the land that was given them, and being ready to provide troops and fight for the king when the need arose. The Nobles Lifestyle was very different from ours. A daily life as a Nob... ... middle of paper ... ...val clothing were covered with wooden and leather outdoor overshoes. Hats were also part of a nobles clothing which were similar to a cap and pointed at the front. The materials were made of velvets, silks, lace, cottons were dyed in bright colors. The nobles ate a variety of different foods. The Nobles in the middle ages were considered to be the upper class who were wealthy and there food and diet was extensive though they consumed little quantities of food. Their diet consisted of limited fresh vegetables and fruit, manchet bread, cheese, variety of meats such as venison, beef, pork, goat, lamb, rabbit, fish, crab, oysters, salmon, eel and many others. Their food was highly spiced with expensive spices which included pepper, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, saffron, coriander, cumin, garlic and mustard. The Nobles barely ate fruits and vegetables and mostly ate
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
“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.
Nobles are lords. The Noble’s role was to battle for power. Warfare was the way of life. They trained from boyhood to become a knight.
During the medieval times the social status and the rank of the citizens where very important in determining the obligations and restrictions of the people. When citizens jumped social class or stepped out of line, it was looked down upon by the other citizens. In the Knights tale some of the social class stereotypes are broken by characters such as Kate, William and Joselyn.
Social Classes Throughout History The gap between different classes has always been very prominent in
In the Middle Ages, there was something called Feudalism. Feudalism was a political and social system. Nobles were granted the use of land by a king and in return nobles had to give military services and loyalty to the king. The serfs and peasants worked on land and they would get food and protection (Doc. 1).The order of the chart was kings,nobles,knights then serfs. When serfs provide food and protection for the knights they would get land granted to them. Then, when knights provided protection and military services to nobles they would also get land. When nobles provided money and knights for a king they would get land in return (Doc 1). As you can tell, feudalism affected many people's lives on the daily basis.
Kings and nobles have been known to have a close relationship during the middle ages. They have traditionally lived under the King and served him in return for land. However, there have been rocky time periods where the nobles have turned against the king. One of the world best documents, the Magna Carta was developed to bring peace between the king and nobles. This had effect on the way the law was developed and parliament system that European would be based upon.
Noble men were responsible for overseeing lord and vassal relationships as well as defending the
The Middle Ages are often called the Dark Ages, and for a good reason. It was a very difficult period of time for most people due to poor living conditions. But for others, life was very easy. Everyone in the manor was given a spot in the feudal system. This system wasn’t exactly fair though. Many people had to spend countless hours working in a field in the heat all day, while others got to stay inside the manor house, protected from the Sun. These jobs that people had to do could differ depending on their culture. This was unfortunately how life was in the Middle Ages. The culture of the Middle Ages had a big impact on people's daily life. Everybody living in a manor had things to do on a daily basis, but these tasks differed for different
During the middle Ages, a system called feudalism was developed due to the dangerousness of kingdoms at the time. Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs for a structured society by allowing the allotment or owning of land in exchange for service, loyalty, and employment. Feudalism was a hierarchal system meaning that there was a pyramid of command with the king on the top. During that time the king was believed to have divine right, which means God gave the rule the right to rule that kingdom. The feudal system, a city within a city, was created to maintain order within the kingdom by giving barons parts of the kingdom to rule in exchange for their loyalty to the king.
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.
Lambert, Tim. "Daily Life in England in The Middle Ages." (2014): n. pag. Web. 29 May
The nobility included people who inherited wealth. They were inclined in cultural endeavors like arts and music. Wealth in this group was transferred from generation to generation.
Feudalism was a set of political and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries (“Feudalism”). “The feudal system was not planned but, rather grew and developed in response to the social chaos that followed the fall of the Western Roman Empire. It provided order where there no longer was any, and it created new chains of command to replace those that were gone” ( James 58). Feudalism was introduced by King William I to England; this system organized power, land, and divided people into classes. The king, who owned all the land, gave some land to the church and to the barons in return for large blocks of land, the barons promised to fight for the king. Lent land to the knights and also common people (Susie 5). Feudalism test was also to defend against invaders (John 32). In the absence of centralized government authority, people look to personal relationships to bind society together. An individual with military power to offer gave his services to a feudal lord (Hay 170). Feudalism was created to put society, land, and power into order. In the economic system, landlords would force laborers to work on the lord’s manor to the lord’s profit (Medieval 65).