Dulce Coello
Encounters 6
Mr.Skipper
April 27, 2020
The Wicked Middle Ages
Introduction
The Middle Ages was a very exciting time. It had dragons, wars, knights, and systems. The Middle Ages had dramatic stories. Some of the most exciting ones were dragons, Hundred Years War, and the most important of them all is Feudalism.
Dragons
Dragons are some of the most symbolic creatures from the Middle Ages. Some dragons breathe fire, others spit water. The worm dragon was created by a man that threw a worm into a well and over time it grew into a beast. Many of these dragons were spoken of over the Middle ages (Walker).
Wyvern is known to come from Europe. The wyvern is a symbol of power, he belongs to the four-legged dragons. The Europeans also put the wyvern on their shields for the one that uses it would have power on the battlefield during a war. Wyvern was also one of the most feared from the Middle Ages, the wyvern has very sharp claws, and also he breathed fire, but the most dangerous thing about the Wyvern is that he has venom at the end its tail to poison a victim (Walker).,
The rarest dragon that the middle ages talked about was the Faerie dragons. The Faerie dragons are the smallest dragon out of dragons, it is said that the Faeries dragons would take fairies from city to city, so there were like little airplanes for the fairies. The Middle ages described them with big eyes, butterfly-like wings, they also eat nuts and fruits also known as vegetarians (Walker).
Some old maps say, “HERE BE DRAGON.” This means that it is about the sea serpent of the seas. This serpent was the dragon sailors used to see when they would travel by sea, this serpent would attack them and destroy their boats. The sea serpent may have been protecting something valuable, like treasures, gold or diamonds, so when someone comes close, it will attack. That is one of the theories, Another theory from scientists, are they think that the fishermen saw a large squid, large masses of sea kelp, or even seafaring dinosaurs. The sea serpent has a very long body, a short neck, and very sharp teeth, also known as a carnivore (Walker).
Another dragon that is famous throughout Middle ages history is the Hydra. It was the dragon that Hercules defeated. A Normal Hydra has about 6 to 9 heads. A hydra does not have wings, but it does have legs, it has sharp teeth also known as a carnivore. The Hydra spits acid from his mouth, his acid can go through a tree. When you slice one of the heads off it grows two more in its place so the way Hercules defeated it was when he figured out that to make them stop growing was sealing them with fire before the next two heads grew. Another hero that defeated a hydra was Perseus Jackson, Son of Poseidon (Walker).
The Hundred Years War
One-quarter between where into France and England lasted 116 years, it started because Charles IV from France died before his son was born. So, Edward III of England said that he had the right to be king of France (Hundred Years' War).
France-quarter queer king so Philip VI of France said that the mother could not be the king so he said that he should be king. When both countries were in disagreement they started the war (Hundred Years' War).
At first, France was more powerful. France had 17 million and England had 4 million. France had united with Scotland. So, England teamed up with the lower cities. That day England won a great battle in 1340. The next wars were fought mostly in France, but England won again in the battle of Crecy in 1346 (Hundred Years' War).
The fight between England and France was not many, because the black death had been roaming around both countries. Edward, the Black Prince won the battle for the English. John II, king of France was kidnapped during a war. England conquered France once more, but could not take more land. France made a treaty with England to take one- quarter of its land. Charles V of France the newly arrived king was way more fortunate, with his best knight Bertrand du Guesclin. While the black prince is occupied with another combat and Edward III was a senior already so he could not go into battle. So with no other option, France united with Castile fighting against England and Portugal. France had a victory against England, during that time they took their land back and there was peacefulness for 26 years (Hundred Years' War).
The famous part of the story is when king Henry V of England took over France and was victorious in the battle of Angitour. Charles VI of France Was crazed and not able to be king. The Queen of France married her daughter to the ruler of England Charles V to become the next king of France, but Henry V and Charles VI died nearly at the same time. England thought that Henry VI of England should be the new king and France concurred with this idea. Charles VII the last son of Charles VI of France said that he should be the new ruler of the French people, but France said he was not worthy enough to be because France said he probably had another father (Hundred Years' War). England kept conquering the cities of France up to Joan of Arc guided the soldiers to the victories of the Siege of Orleans and the Battle of Patay in 1429. She took back many lands the English stole and brought Charles VII to his coronation. They succeeded, but could not recover Paris because England captured her and killed her. After her sad death, France carried on getting their land back. In the end, France won the battle and it ended in 1435 ( Hundred Years' War).
Feudalism
The Civilisation of feudalism during the Middle ages, also known as feudalism. Feudalism is an operation used in the Middle Ages when a country did not have an emperor but led by independent lords or barons, who ruled their own state and nations, they would rule their nations like one big nation. Some Lords were more powerful than the kings (Ross).
Feudalism was constructed by a relation of force and mutual service between vassals and minor kings. Vassals would hold his land in order of the minor kings also known as a fief. When one of the men died, the heir of the vassal must go and tell the minor king and tell him the oath of faithfulness. This was called homage (Ross).
A bondsman would be forced to be present at the minor kings, administer justice, and contribute money if they really need it. the bondsman would have to start wars and decide on very important things during the battle. bondsmen are obligated to feed and keep the company to the minor king (Ross).
William the conqueror journeyed with a very big household if William added anyone to their family their household will On one Christmas William and his family ate chickens, rabbits, boar’s, peacocks, geese, eels, thousands of eggs and loaves of bread, and hundreds of casks of wine and cider (Ross).
The lords had many jobs, they had to protect the bondsmen, also they would have to give hospitality and protect his family if one of the minor king's daughters inherited the throne, the lord would order the wedding for his daughter if there was no inheritor he would choose for himself. A Manor was supported by a Manor home, a few or more villages, and up to a lot of hundreds of land separated into meadows, pasture, forests, and cultivated fields. The fields were separated in parts of 1/3 minor king of the Manor, not many for the church, and the leftovers were for the peasants and serfs. These acres were given to the peasants in a portion and had the same amount of proportions for the good and poor. Almost half the week was used to work in the acres of land of minor kings and the church. They also did projects like cleaning, cutting firewood, and building roads and bridges. The rest of the weekend the villagers could fix their land (Ross).
The food and drinks that were placed at the lord's table every day, the food on the lord’s table wereinto as much as the whole town. The minor king would have vegetables and foods like turnips, carrots, cabbage, beans. in a regular dinner, they would spat boar, roast swan, or peacock. They would only drink wine or juice, not one single time they would drink water, but the most drank juice was ale, this drink was not an alcoholic drink. The sweetest drinks they had had were juice and honey, spices like salt and pepper were not found until after the Crusades (Ross).
Table Manners started way back then in the Medieval times. The meat was cut with a blade and the lords would only eat with fingers and put their food on wooden plates. a wooden plate would be used for family members and one drinking cup. The leftovers would be thrown to the dogs or pets (Ross).
In the Middle Ages, the most important thing in Castles and Manors was the great hall, it was a safely built multipurpose room on the second floor. The light was faint because of the small windows in case of an attack. Later the hall came to the leveled ground and the windows got a lot bigger, this meant that they needed more defense. The family room stayed on the first floor. It became the place where the family ate. The hall started not to be used a lot when this was happening trading increased. The trading was so big it made tradesmen and women move out of the big hall. The life of many families became more private and out of the main hall. The country could not hold a lot of people anymore because of trading, trading also left the smaller countries (Ross).
Towns had 10-60 families living in uncomfortable houses, dirt, and dirty floors, with no chimneys or windows. Frequently, a part of the poor people's houses was used to put live animals, like cows, goats, sheep, etc. The peasants did not have much furniture and had three-legged stools, a trestle table, beds on the floor softened with straw or leaves. The peasants usually ate porridge, cheese, black bread, and homegrown vegetables. Poor people had a horrible life, but they did have benefits, like not working on Sundays or saints' days and they could go to fairs and markets close to them (Ross).
A serf is not a slave but serves a lord for life. The serf can't own land and needed permission to marry. The serf could not get out of the country unless the minor king said so or he decided to escape. If he escaped and managed to hide for a year and a day, then he would be a free man. Although all these serfs do have rights, they couldn't be replaced by any other man, they also are not forced to fight, and he was authorized to the protection of the lord (Ross).
Conclusion
Feudalism is the most important thing. Dragons and wars are cool and fun. The Middle Ages, the craziest and exciting things that happened in history. Learning about The Middle Ages is fun because it's the most dramatic thing that happened ever.
Works Cited
Ross, David.” Feudalism and Medieval Life.” Britain Express, britianexpress.com/History/Feudalism_and_Medieval_life.htm.
“Hundred Years’ War.” Facts for Kids, 21 Nov. 2019, kids. kiddle.co/ HundredYears%27war.
Walker, Jennifer, and Michael Whelan. “What is a Dragon?” Here be Dragons, 2019, draconian.com/whatis/whatis.htm.