Middle Ages Research Project

Bridis Cuellar

Encounters 6

Ms. Damante

April 8, 2022

The Dark Medieval Times

Introduction

During the dark Medieval Times there was a system that controlled everything and divided the people into different ranks and was the main government for everything. It would put everything into its place and make sure everything was balanced. Children would play different kinds of games in many places, especially outside. The children played them just to have fun, not like the adults. When the children played games the adults played and competed in sports, to try to get to a higher rank or just to have fun. In many of the competitions people would get injured or even die. All of this happened in the Medieval Times.

Feudalism

During the Medieval Times the type of government they used was the Feudalism system. The Feudalism system was a type of government that had different ranks for the people. The ranks started from the bottom being the worst, and then the higher the triangle goes the better the ranks got. For example the lowest rank was the peasants or serfs, the peasants were the ones that did the jobs that the nobles and kings didn't want to do like “farming, disposing of the dead animals' bodies and just had a really rough life”. (Middle…)Peasants usually died really young, most of them died before they even turned 30! (Middle…) The next rank were the knights, knights were the ones that protected the king and the kingdom from others and went to war with other kingdoms. The knights wore a metal suit that protected them from cuts from swords and some shots from bow and arrows. The knights lived in the kingdom with the kings and nobles, they were trained to fight for their kingdom and protect the king, the very healthy and strong peasants usually became knights. (Middle…) The lords are in the same rank with the knights but they did not do the same thing as the knights. The lords owned their own land that the king gave them, they owned everything on his land like the peasants and all the farms and the village.(Middle…) They were in charge of everything that was on his land including the peasants and had to make sure none of them escaped. The next rank was the nobles and Barons, nobles and barons were very powerful, they owned their own land called “fiefs”.(Middle..) They had too much land to control all by themselves so they divided their land and put lords in charge. Their job was to have an army or maintain an army for the king and if they did not have an army they had to pay taxes to the king. They called the tax” shield money''. (Middle..) The next rank and final rank is the Kings, the king was the most powerful of them all he owned all of the land in his kingdom but he couldn't control all the land, so he divided all his land with the barons and nobles. In return the barons and nobles give him soldiers.(Middle..) The king's job is to make sure his kingdom is under control and to have a family. After the king dies his first born son would become king and do the same thing that his dad did.(Middle…) The Feudalism system was used in every kingdom with all the same rules.

Games and Recreation 

In the kingdoms in the Medieval Times people were getting bored so they invented games to spend their time. One of the most popular games in the Medieval Ages was ring around the rosie. Some people still play the game but it has a very interesting back story that people probably haven’t heard about, the game was based on the Black plague. (Pattie…) The song is all about death and how they thought the disease was passed on. The way it got its name was when the people got the disease one of the symptoms was a rash which was shaped like a ring on the skin.(Pattie…) They played the game with “sweet smelling herbs or posies in their pockets which were due to beliefs from their people that the disease was transmitted by bad smells”.(Pattie…) The term “ ashes, ashes” refers to the cremation of the dead bodies!(Pattie…) Another popular game that they played was called” Prisoner’s Base”.The game was basically like, bull rush but there were two teams. They played it by making a line with a chalk stick in the middle to divide the teams and then about 30-35 feet behind the line they would build a big square.(Pattie…)The square was for the prisoners that they caught. Each team would pick a person to be the prisoner for the other team, then they would send someone to try to rescue their teammate from the other team and not get touched at the same time.The person with the most prisoners at the end wins. The other popular game was a game called “Barley Break”. The game was a very fun game that kids like to play outside with other kids. The rules of the game say that the person that is “it” has to stay inside the circle that they draw out at the beginning and then the other kids have to try to run through the circle without getting touched by the person inside the circle.(Pattie…) Another rule is that if you get tagged you have to hold hands with the person inside the circle and try to tag the other people.(Pattie…) The more people there is in the circle the harder it gets for the people that have to run through the circle and the only people that can tag the people running are the people at the end of the line and the other people have to help capture the people by “netting” them so the people at the end can tag them.(Pattie…)The games were invented to keep people entertained in their free time and to make friendships.

Sports

Sports were invented in the Medieval Times because during that time they used the Feudalism system as their government so they used different kinds of ranks and the lowest rank was a peasant or serf. One of the ways for the serfs to go to a higher rank is by winning competition against other serfs. It proves that they are strong enough to fight and become a knight and then they get knighted. Some of the sports were dangerous so who ever competed in them was at risk of being hurt or even killed.(Newman…) One of the most popular sports was Jousting, Jousting was for knights to show off their combat skills by riding against one another with wooden lance.(Newman…) Most knights were tested by Jousting someone or another knight to see if they were trained enough to go to war and protect their kingdom. Another famous sport was Archery, archery was a sport that people played for fun and some played it to see if they could become an archer, and some played it to compete against each other to see who could hit the bullseye or who was the closest to hit it. Also a popular sport was Horseshoe, horseshoe is a game where you throw a horseshoe at a stick in the ground and if the horseshoe lands on the stick you get a point the person with the most points at the end wins. An interesting fact is that they invented ice-skating.(Newman…) Evidence shows that they strapped the shin bones of cows to their feet and used them to skate on frozen ponds or lakes.(Newman…) Sports were a fun way for people to spend their time and get a second chance of survival by becoming a knight.

Conclusion 

So many things happened from time to time in the Medieval Times there are still many more to name. From a system that controls everything and divides everyone to different ranks to loud and happy games that children play and also the adults competing in sports to try to get a better life in a different rank. But still more things are being discovered from the Medieval Times but for now we wait for more things to come.

Works Cited 

“Middle Ages Feudal System.” Ducksters. www.ducksters.com/history/middle_ages_feudal_system.php.

Accessed 7 February 2022.

Newman, Simon.”Sports in the Middle Ages.” The Finer Times. 29 May 2012, www.thefinertimes.com/ 

sports-in-the-middle-ages. Accessed 17 February 2022. 

Pattie, Tammy. ”Games of Amusement.” Medieval Games and Recreation. 2011. castle.eiu.edu/reading/ 

MEDIEVALGAMES.pdf. Accessed 22 February 2022.

Ross, David. “ Feudalism and Medieval Life.” Britain Express. www.britainexpress.com /History/Feudali 

sm and Medieval_life.htm. Accessed 7 February 2022.