Frida O.
Encounters 6
Ms. Damante
April 26, 2020
The Medieval Times
Introduction
The middle ages is a period in european history from about the 400 to 1400 A.D. During these years also known as the Medieval period Europe evolved from ancient to modern times. This gradual change began when the roman empire collapsed in western europe during the 400s. “This was a time of castles and peasants, guilds and monasteries, cathedrals and crusades. Great leaders such as Joan of Arc and Charlemagne were part of the Middle Ages as well as major events such as the Black Plague and the rise of Islam.”
Feudalism
Feudalism system is a medieval European economic and political system from the 9th to the 15th century, a social system based on personal ownership of resources and personal loyalty between a lord and a subject. Small communities were formed around the local lord and the manor. The lord owned the land and everything in it. Defining characteristics are direct ownership of resources, personal loyalty and a social structure reinforced by religion. An example of feudalism is someone farming a piece of land for a lord and agreeing to serve under the lord in war in exchange for getting to live on the land and receiving protection. It can be defined as a system for structuring society around relationships from the holding of land, known as an exchange for service or labour. That situation became untenable with the arrival of the Black Death. “ The late-medieval plague created catastrophic population collapse among rulers and ruled alike. An estimated number of between 30–50 percent of all Europeans died between 1347 and 1351. Eventually, the surviving peasants in most of Europe achieved new access to larger land parcels and gained enough power to shed the legal shackles of medieval servility.”
The Black Death
An epidemic of a plague in a bubonic form that killed large amounts of people throughout Europe and Asia in the 14th century. The plague hit hard and fast. It has been described as the worst natural disaster in European history and is responsible for changing the course of that history to a great degree. “The name ‘Black Death’ was actually a later term for the plague, and may derive from a mistranslation of a Latin term which means both ‘terrible’ and ‘black’ death; it has nothing to do with the symptoms. Contemporaries of the plague often called it “plaga,” or “pest”/”pestis.” Yersinia Petis was spread through infected fleas which lived first on black rats, a type of rat which is happy to live near humans and especially on ships. Once infected, the rat population would die off and the fleas would turn to humans infecting them instead. “The plague could turn into a more virulent airborne variant called pneumonic plague, where the infection spread to the lungs, causing the victim to cough up blood which could infect others.” People lay ill for a little more than two or three days and died suddenly. “ The main instance of the Black Death was between 1346 to 1353, although the plague returned to many areas again in waves during 1361-3, 1369-71, 1374-75, 1390, 1400, and after.” “The great epidemic ended in 1353, but waves followed it for centuries. However, medical and governmental developments pioneered in Italy had, by the seventeenth century, spread across Europe, providing plague hospitals, health boards, and counter-measures; plague consequently decreased, to become unusual in Europe.”
Middle Ages Clothes
In medieval times, as today, both fashion and necessity dictated what people wore. And both fashion and necessity, in addition to cultural tradition and available materials, varied across the centuries of the Middle Ages and across the countries of Europe. So when you ask the question "What did a man (or woman) wear in the Middle Ages?" “Be prepared to answer some questions yourself. Where did he live? When did he live? What was his station in life (noble, peasant, merchant, cleric)? And for what purpose might he be wearing a particular set of clothes?” The many types of synthetic and blended fabrics people wear today were simply not available in medieval times. But this didn't mean that everyone wore heavy wool and animal skins. “Various fabrics, such as taffeta, velvet, and damask were made from textiles like silk, cotton, and linen using specific weaving techniques.”Virtually everyone wore something on their heads in the Middle Ages, to keep off the sun in hot weather, to keep their heads warm in cold weather and to keep dirt out of their hair. Of course, as with every other type of garment, hats could indicate a person's job or their station in life and could make a fashion statement. But hats were especially important socially, and to knock someone's hat off his or her head was a grave insult that, depending on the circumstances, could even be considered assault. “Types of men's hats included wide-brimmed straw hats, close-fitting coifs of linen or hemp that tied under the chin like a bonnet, and a wide variety of felt, cloth or knitted caps.” “By far the most common fabric of the Middle Ages (and the core of the flourishing textile industry), wool was knitted or crocheted into garments, but it was more likely woven. Depending on how it was made, it could be very warm and thick, or light and airy. Wool was also felted for hats and other accessories.”
Conclusion
All of the middle ages was a struggle for many. After the fall of the roman empire a new system called feudalism was made to support Europe. It created society, which then made a nation. This made various social classes, the serfs, the monarchs, the knights, and the lords and ladies. “The dark ages weren't necessarily all that dark. In fact, at many points in history they were filled with light. Many forget the victories, but remember the tragedies. For there were many tragedies. Deaths, illnesses, wars, and punishment occurred, more horrible than most have seen.” But out of those horrors came a new beginning, which proved that the horrible happenings were essential to the rebirth of Europe.
Work Cited
“Clothes.” Mystery In The Middle Ages. 08 February 2021. http://www.xtec.cat/monograf ics/cirel/02/
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“Clothing On Time.” Clothing On Time.pdf. 08 February 2021. https://drive.google.com/file/
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“Feudalism and Medieval Life.” Britain Express. 25 January 2021. https://www.britainexpress
.com/History/Feudalism_and_Medieval_life.htm
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“Middle Ages Feudal System.” Ducksters. 25 January 2021. https://www.ducksters.com/
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“The Black Death 1348.” Eyewitness To History.Com. 02 February 2021. http://www.ey
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