Alana H.

Encounters 6

Ms. Damante

April 29, 2021

Living Styles And Hairstyles From Medieval Times 

Introduction

Do you ever wonder what happened in Europe before they adapted to what Europe is today? Well, I’m here to tell you about that. The Middle Ages or Medieval times was a period in European history. Do you wonder what the poor or the rich had to live in? I will tell you about Feudalism and the system. I will tell you all about the Living styles for the poor and the rich. The Hairstyles were nice to see and weird to wear.  Let’s see what they had to live in and what they did to their hair in the Medieval Times. 

Feudalism

Feudalism was the system people used in Europe during the middle ages. The kings of the middle ages believed that they had been given the right of the ruling by God. It was called the “ divine right”.  The Lords were second to the king. The lords would give soldiers and taxes to the king. Ninety percent of the people in the middle ages were peasants. They were sorted into social groups or classes. Like this,  kings and queens, nobles, and the lords, and last were serfdom the and peasants. The KIngs and Queens lived in a castle. Yes, those fairytale castles in stories we were told when we were kids.  Nobles or Lords lived in Manors and were the social unit of that time. A manor had one manor house and one or more villages and almost a thousand acres of land filled with gardens, meadows, forest, and fields. The peasants and serfdoms lived in villages that can consist of 10-60 individual families. They lived in huts on dirt floors with no chimney nor windows. They stored the animals at the end of the hut. For the work half of the week was spent on land for the Lord and church. Some people did maintenance. Serfdoms (Serfs) worked for the lords and worked on the land they lived in. They would rent homes.  Castles

 Who were the Castles for? And why were they built? The castles were built during that time for the king and nobles. Some Europe was divided up between lords and princes. They would rule the nearby land and all the people who lived there. What would they do inside a castle? Well, life in a medieval castle was filled with a rush of busied work in the kitchens, Great Hall, and the chapel. The layout of a Medieval castle was to be influenced by great needs rather than their defensive concerns. For them to defend themselves, they built their homes as large castles and in the center of the land they ruled. What did it look like on the inside? Was it always peaceful?  Living in a castle was busy, noisy, and they were always packed with people. The castles would feel like it’s a large, dark, eerie, and cold place.  They could defend from attacks as well to launch attacks from their castles. What were the castles built with?.  The castles used to be built with wood or timber, but now they are built with stones and rocks for a better hold. The wood and timer were dull so when they got attacked their castle will fall to the ground. The stones and rocks hold together stronger than the wood or timber that helped the attack damage when in battle. But the people in the middle ages built a cannon for their attacks. It was used to knock down castle walls of Kings or Nobles. The castles that were made out of stones or rock easily fell to the ground using this. Sometimes they used a big catapult that shoots rocks on fire to the castle, destroying them. That is why they stopped making the castles present day. 

Hairstyles

What hairstyles could they wear back then? And was their hair short or long? Medieval hairstyles were formal with nice headwear and a variety of styles. Sometimes, bands of flowers and leaves were used along with silk ribbons. The variety of women’s hairstyles was greater than men’s for very obvious reasons.  The women could use colored ribbons and flowers and could style their hair into braids and other arrangements.  They most likely tied their hair at the top of their heads and made a high knot for the men.  There was rarely a person with short or medium hair it would always stay long. On the other hand, women usually used braids and bands to keep their hair from falling on the face. The long hair provided an opportunity to use medieval women’s hairstyles in different styles. The king, queens, nobles, or lords wear braids and buns and it was common to use metallic wires and ribbons for making marvelous hairstyles. The styles were cool to see maybe it would be marvelous to see it in person. Hairstyles modern-day are some of the hairstyles in medieval times. Like the braided updo, braids, coiled(braid crown), halo crown, dual braided bun, infinity, and wrap-around french. These hairstyles are still around today, and they are very beautiful. The women hair to wear hair in these styles to keep it from falling on their faces. You will rarely see a person in a picture from the Middle Ages with their hair down.

Conclusion 

The Middle Ages was a period in European history. Medieval times had their ups and downs. The peasants live in horrible conditions. The castles were knocked to the ground. Some hairstyles made it to the 21st century. All of this made Europe into what it is today.  People say everything happens for a reason. well with so much cultural diffusion it made Europe change, but the history stayed and mixed, for now, a new product is formed. This was very fun to learn about, and I hope you learned something about the Medieval period. 

Works Cited 

“Castles”. Ducksters. 1 February 2021. https://www.du cksters.com/ history/middle_ages 

_castles.php  

“David, Ross. “Feudalism and Medieval Life.” Britain Express. 25 January 2021.http 

s://www.britainexpress.com/History/Feudalism_and_Medieval_life.htm 

“Medieval Hairstyles” Medieval Chronicles. 8 February 2021.https://www.medievalchronicles

.com/medieval-clothing/medieval-hairstyles/ 

“Middle Ages Feudal System.” Ducksters. 25 January 2021. https://www.ducksters.com/

history/middle_   ages_feudal_system.php  

“The Manor System” ER Services. 27 April 2021.https://courses.lumenlearning.com/

suny-hccc-worldhistory/chapter/the-manor-system/#:~:text=Serfdom%20was%20the%20

status%20of,some%20time%20working%20the%20land.