Middle Ages Research Project

What Things Were Like in the Middle Ages 

Introduction

The medieval times were very tough and cruel to live in. They had to live by a government system called Feudalism. Their sports were different, and similar to the sports we have today. They also had very unusual and cruel punishments which consisted of torture and death. Overall the medieval times were very rough, cruel, and different compared to the world we live in today.

Feudalism

The government during the Middle Ages was called Feudalism, but it’s no longer being used today. Feudalism had different ranks which also meant that each rank had a certain amount of respect and lived differently. The different ranks were the kings and queens, nobles, knights, and then peasants and serfs; each one of these ranks had their own jobs. The kings and queens the ruled kingdom; nobles managed land, reported to the king, and they maintained an army that was at the kings service; the knights fought in the military and fought by the code of chivalry; the serfs and peasants had a rough life, and some of these people were free and could own their own businesses, but the others had to work like slaves. The article says “Lords and Barons swore oaths of homage and fealty to their kings.”(Middle…)

The feudal system was organized by a hierarchy which gave people their place in the Feudal System. First it started with the king, who was the top leader in the land; they control the land, but they cannot control all of the land, so they would divide the land among the barons, and in return the king would receive the loyalty and soldiers of the barons. Then it was the bishops which were the top church leaders in the kingdom and they managed an area called the diocese; since the Catholic Church was very powerful in most parts of Medieval Europe this made the bishop very powerful as well; that’s not all, for the church received a tithe of 10 percent from everybody, so this made the bishops very wealthy. Next is the barons and nobles which ruled large areas of land called fiefs, and they reported directly to the king which made them very powerful; their job was to maintain an army that would serve the king, but if they didn’t have an army they would have to pay the king a tax called shield money. Next is the lords and knights. The lords ran the local manors, and they owned peasants, corps, and villages; the knights were soldiers who could be called into battle anytime by their baron. Finally at the bottom of the hierarchy are the peasants or serfs; some of these peasants were free and owned their own businesses, but the others would work as slaves, and these peasants would barely have enough to survive. The article says “Feudalism in practice meant that the country was not governed by the king but by individual lords, or barons, who administered their own estates, dispensed their own justice, minted their own money, levied taxes and tolls, and demanded military service from vassals.”(Ross)

Although it was a government system followed by all, most people did not benefit. The peasants and serfs would work long and hard just to barely be able to survive, so they would suffer greatly. On the other hand the bishops would benefit greatly; for example since they were so powerful and were a huge part of The Catholic Church which taxed everybody the bishops would earn money, and become very wealthy. The lords would also benefit, for they would have some land, and they kept everything they had; for example they would own peasants, crops, and villages.

Unfortunately Feudalism ended when polite culture started to grow, centralized monarchy started to grow, when firearms were introduced, and when nationalism and bureaucracy started to rise. All of these things had nothing to do with Feudalism. Since all of these things gained popularity this would overcome Feudalism causing it to end on August 4, 1789. 

Sports

Sports back then were different from the type of sports we have today because they were focused on helping men improve their combat skills, but on the other hand there were still some sports that were kind of similar to what we have today, but it’s not the same.

First of all, these sports like jousting and archery were mainly about helping men improve their combat skills. The article says “But most of the sports played during the Middle Ages were targeted towards increasing the fighting skills of men.”(Medieval…) This shows that some of the sports back then were mainly focussing on improving the fighting skills of men.

Secondly, some of the sports they had back in the medieval times were kind of similar to the sports we have today, but there were only some similarities. The article says “Gameball - a simple football game,”(Medieval…) and it also says “Stoolball - an ancestor of Cricket.”(Medieval…) . This shows that some of the sports they had back then were kind of similar to the ones we have today.

In conclusion, the sports they had back then were dangerous and life threatening, but on the other hand some of them were kind of similar to the sports we have today.

Crime and Punishment

Back in the medieval times the punishments were very cruel. For example they would always torture people, and if you weren’t executed you were a prisoner in jail, but these prisoners would die before trial.

First of all, torture was very common as punishment during the Middle Ages. The article says “The Middle ages was a time of severe punishment and harsh torture for crimes that today would seem trivial.  People were beheaded and limbs cut off, vagabonds were often whipped and chained in stocks.”(Nash) This shows that torture was very common back in the midieval times.

Secondly, if you didn’t die by getting tortured then you would probably die as a prisoner. The article says “People also took pity on those in jail and prisoners were often let out to beg for food. Medieval officials lacked the resources or money to build suitable jails and people often died from illness before their trial.”(Nash) This shows that if you didn’t die by execution; you would die as a prisoner.

In conclusion, torture was very common during the Middle Ages, and people would die as prisoners if they had not been executed.

Conclusion 

In conclusion, the Middle Ages are very different from today. For example, the form of government they used back then was called Feudalism; they didn’t have the sports we have today, and we barely played the sports they had back then. Finally their punishments were very different, and they would be socially unacceptable during our times. This time period was so important because it introduced a new form of government, but it ended after some time; they introduced new sports which are ancestors to some of the sports we have today, so if they didn’t come up with those sports then we wouldn’t have sports such as Football. And all of the punishments that they had back then showed us the consequences of crimes which could’ve scared some people straight, and fortunately we rarely use torture as a form of punishment.

Works Cited 

Alchin, Linda. “Medieval Sports.” Middle Ages For Kids. 2017, www.lordsandladies.org/medieval-s 

ports.htm. Accessed 23 February 2024.

“Crime and Punishment in the Middle Ages.” Camelot International. www.camelotintl.com/village/crim 

e.html. Accessed 23 February 2024.

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

Accessed 22 February 2023. 

Nash, Tim. “Crime and Punishment.” The Finer Times. 23 November 2008. /www.thefinertimes.com/cr

 ime-and-punishment-in-the-middle-ages. Accessed 23 February 2024

Newman, Simon. “Sports in the Middle Ages.” Lords and Ladies. 29 May 2012, www.thefinertim 

es.com/sports-in-the-middle-ages#google_vignette. Accessed 15 February 2024.

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

/History/Feudalism_and_Medieval_life.htm Accessed 7 February 2023.