Carter Zimmerer
Encounters 6
Mr. Skipper
April 27, 2020
The Dark Times of The Middle Ages
The Middle Ages were a crazy time to live in. Having a chance to never be able to leave your village and having to work six-day workweeks until you died were terrible conditions to live in. The Middle Ages brought the stories of Merlin the Magician and the Black Death which are both important in their own ways. The Middle Ages were a time when the world was truly out of order.
Feudalism
Europe during the Middle Ages was mainly based around the feudal system. Small communities would form on land owned by a lord, and the lord keeps peasants safe in return for their work. The lord would also provide the king with soldiers or taxes (Nelson).
Peasants were the majority of the population in the Middle Ages. They had tough lives that included six-day workweeks. Some peasants were considered free and could own businesses. Others weren't as lucky and were like slaves, they owned nothing and had to do whatever their lords tell them to (Nelson).
The lords ran local manors, they also were knights that could be called into battle on a short moment's notice by their Baron. The Lord owns everything on their land and in it, including supplies and villages (Nelson).
A manor was the center of life in the land. A manor was run by the local lord. The lord would live in a large house or castle where peasants and others would gather for celebrations or protection if under attack. A village would start to form around the lord's living space. Farms would also be created and be worked by peasants (Nelson).
Barons and high ranking nobles would rule areas of land called fiefs. The Barons would split their lands among Lords. The main job of the Barons was to maintain armies at the king’s service. If they did not have an army, they would pay taxes instead, also known as shield money (Nelson).
The highest leader of the land was the king. The king cannot control everything himself, so he divided the lands among the Barons. In return, the Barons would vow their loyalty and soldiers to the king. After a king has passed, his firstborn son would become king. When a single-family would remain in power for an extended amount of time, this was called a dynasty (Nelson).
Merlin The Magician
Merlin the Magician (also known as Merlinus) was a fictional twelfth-century magician, prophet, adviser, and good friend of King Arthur. Merlin was created by the writer Geoffrey of Monmouth while making Prophetiae Merlini in 1135 (Barber). Geoffrey of Monmouth created Merlin based on the character Myrddin, a creation of the mystic Nennius (Currin).
Merlin became very popular during the Middle Ages. Not only is Merlin very important in the French Vulgate Cycle, but he is also frequently included in French and English romances. Sir Thomas Mallory was the first to use Merlin as an advisor and guide to King Arthur in his book, Le Morte d'Arthur. Since the Renaissance period, Merlin has continued to be popular in Arthurian tales. In The Idylls of the King, Alfred Lord Tennyson portrays Merlin as the architect of Camelot. And Mark Twain uses Merlin as a villain. Throughout many centuries, Merlin has been the center of multiple stories making him one of the most frequently portrayed Arthurian characters (Currin).
In the History of the Kings of Britain, Merlin helps Arthur's father, Uther Pendragon, and is in charge of moving the stones of Stonehenge from Ireland, but Merlin is not directly associated with Arthur in this story. Additionally in The History of the Kings of Britain, Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote a piece specifically on Merlin named "The Prophecies of Merlin", which later became the seventh book in The History of the Kings of Britain series.
The Black Death
The Black Death was a deadly disease that spread during the mid-thirteen-hundreds that left most of Europe and Northern Asia in ruins. The Black Death claimed about sixty percent of the European population which equates to about 50 million people. It took about 200 years for Europe’s population to elevate back to pre-plague numbers (Benedictow).
Historians tell of the Black Death as starting in the fourteenth century in Russia near the Crimean Peninsula. Not much later, the disease spread along eastern routes towards Western Europe and the Middle East. Pre-existing war and famine only advanced the spread of the disease. Due to war, farming and trade patterns were affected, leaving many people malnourished and weakened. These people were more susceptible to the disease (History of Black Death).
The Black Death had three manifestations, the bubonic, pneumonic, and septicemic plague. The most common of the three was the bubonic plague. Its symptoms included swollen lymph nodes (buboes) down the armpits and groin areas, fever, chills, joint pain, headaches, nausea, and malaise. The average mortality rate was thirty to seventy-five percent (History of Black Death).
The second most common manifestation was the pneumonic plague. This disease was an airborne infection, making it very easy to catch. Symptoms included blood-tinged sputum that progressively became more free-flowing. This form of the disease had a mortality rate of ninety to ninety-five percent (History of Black Death).
The very least common and deadliest form of the Black Death was the septicemic plague. With a mortality rate of almost always one-hundred percent, the symptoms include purple discolorations in the skin and high fevers (History of Black Death).
The Middle Ages was a chaotic time. The Feudal System was bad for people due to its main priority being work, Merlin the Magician helped people escape from the reality of long workweeks, and nobody had a way to stop the Black Death, killing tens of millions of people. The Middle Ages is and will always be important. The world will probably never forget it.
Works Cited
Arturus, Galfridus. The History of The Kings of Britain. London, England, 1136
Barber, Richard. Arthurian Literature IV. D.S. Brewer, 1985
Benedictow, Ole J. “The Black Death: The Greatest Catastrophe Ever.” History Today, 3 Mar. 2005, www.historytoday.com/archive/black-death-greatest-catastrophe-ever.
Currin, Nathan. “Merlin the Magician.” King Arthur's Knights, kingarthursknights.com/arthurian-characters/merlin/.
Hewitt, David. “10 Reasons That Prove Living in the Middles Ages Was Truly Bad.” HistoryCollection.co, 10 Dec. 2018, historycollection.co/10-reasons-that-prove-living-in-the-middles-ages-was-truly-bad/4/.
“History of Black Death.” All About History, 19 Nov. 2019, allabouthistory.org/history-of-black-death.htm.
“Merlin.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 6 Mar. 2017, www.britannica.com/topic/
Merlin-legendary-magician.
Nelson, Ken. “Middle Ages.” Ducksters Educational Site, www.ducksters.com/history/middle_ages_feudal_system.php.