Middle Ages Research Project

 Jade Puente 

Encounters 6

Ms. Damante

March 24, 2022

The Rough Times 

Introduction

The Middle Ages was the most hard life to live in. During the Middle Ages most of the countries used the Feudal system. If you did something that the king thought was wrong you were punished in many different ways like being in prison or torturing you in front of many crowds. In those times depending on how much power you had it depended on how you dress up. The Middle Ages was one of the hardest times to live in.

Feudalism

The Feudal system was a basic system in Europe during the Middle Ages. (Middle…) The Feudal system was in charge of keeping everything in balance and made sure that each person received the amount of power they needed to have. The country was not governed by the king but by individual lords or barons who made most of the decisions with laws. (Ross) The feudal system was created by vassals and lords. (Middle…)

The king was the most powerful so he was at the very top, but he could not control the whole land by himself so he shared it with barons that are a little lower than the level of power as the king “The top leader in the land was the king. The king could not control all of the land by himself, so he divided it up among the Barons. “. Since the king shared his power with the barons, the barons in return gave the loyalty of their soldiers and themselves. If the king's family was in power for a long time it was called a dynasty. When the king died the firstborn child would take the throne. (Middle…)

Bishops were below the king's power. The bishop was in charge of the church in the whole kingdom and was also in charge of an area called diocese. The bishop was really rich because the church received 10 percent from all the people's money. A fact is “The Catholic Church was very powerful in most parts of Medieval Europe and this made the Bishop powerful as well.” (Middle…).

Barons and nobles were after the bishop's power. They both shared the same amount of power. They ruled large areas of lands that were called fiefs. They also reported everything to  the king. Also they had to maintain an army for the king's service but if they did not they had to pay the king a tax that was called shield money. (Middle…)

Lords and knights also shared the same power. The lords owned everything in their land, even peasants, crops, and villages. The knights could be called in a battle at any moment by a Baron. (Middle…) The lords were also in charge of protecting the vassals, giving military aid, and guarding their children. Also if there was a daughter that was to inherit the lord’s place, he had to arrange her marriage. (Ross)

Peasants and serfs were at the very bottom with very low amount of power. They were the ones that lived rough lifes during the middle ages. Some of the peasants and serfs were considered free and could make their own business. (Middle…)

Crime and Punishment

Everyone that was below the king's power owed allegiance to the king “Under feudal law everyone, from the greatest baron to the poorest peasant, owed allegiance to the king.” (Camelot…).

The ones in charge of the minor crime were the lords. They had to give a fair punishment to the one who committed a minor crime “Lords were responsible for punishing minor crimes in their local courts, but serious crimes were dealt with by justices appointed by the king from among his officials and trained lawyers. “. The king would prepare a justice appointment and trained the lawyer. If you committed a bigger crime then you would have a harsher punishment. (Camelot…) The catholic church also tortured and imprisoned criminals to obtain confessions from the people to see if they were guilty. (Crime…)

The conditions were mostly dirty and most of the punished people died because of bacteria that caused them to die. Some people, like charitable people, helped prisoners buy food. Before the prisoner was put in a cell, he would have food from his family or friends, but if not they would starve and die. The punishments were really harsh during the middle ages. Some people that were responsible for offenses were put in stocks, but the ones that were found guilty for really serious crimes were carried out in public and were watched by crowds of people. (Camelot…) The punishments were often used and have existed for over a thousand years but after the years have passed they have changed. (Crime…)

Parliaments made laws to stop specific situations like highway robbery around the 14th century. In England they even made a law in which they had to cut down all trees and bushes from 30 feet on each side of major roads so robbers would have nowhere to lie in wait for passing travelers. (Cammelot…)

Some of the punishments were suffocating people in water which was practiced a lot. They also boiled people in oil, eyes were burned, and fingers were taken off with pinchers. Then after all that they would cut their whole body into four pieces. They would often do it in public, hanging them and torturing them in front of kings, men, and people that came from far away. People would mostly bring children with them. (Crime…)

Clothes

During the middle ages there were a lot of differences between the clothes of men and women “ This surcoat could be trimmed with fur. “. They wore several layers of cloth to stay warm and light cloth on the outside to allow mobility. After all the regular clothes they wore tunics on top so they wouldn't be cold. (Mystery…)

Women wore an underdress or a slim-fitting gown beneath a surcoat. Then they would put a dress on top that was cut so people could see the gown below. The gown was trimmed with fur. (Mystery…) Rich women wore jewelry as part of their clothing. They also wore wimples to cover their hair. Womens also wore hats instead of hoods. (Clothing..)

Men wore leggings and then wore tunics, but they changed the tunic into a doublet and a close fitting jacket and a secure belt “Later on, men changed from the tunic to the doublet - a close-fitting jacket secured by a belt.” (Mystery…). During Elizabeth’s time men wore their cloth shaped as armor. Then women started to wear two garments or more. (Mystery…)

The hair styles were both the same; they just had to have their hair brushed back from the forehead. (Clothing…) Hoods and turbans were used for the cold weather and became really famous. Wimples were very famous for women. The cloth also showed the amount of power you had. The women peasants wore cloth that was brown, but other women with more power wore really colorful cloth. (Mystery…)

Conclusion 

From the Middle Ages to now the times have changed a lot. Sometimes in the Middle Ages people had to make really hard decisions. The Middle Ages was a very important time because it is when things got organized during those times.

Works Cited 

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

Accessed 22 February 2023. 

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

/History/Feudalism_and_Medieval_life.htm Accessed 7 February 2023.

”Camelot Internal". Britain's Heritage and History. www.camelotintl.com/village/crime.html . Accessed 

26 January 2023

”Crime and Punishment in the Middle Ages”. The Finer Times. www.thefinertimes.com/crime-and 

-punishment-in-the-middle-ages. Accessed 26 January 2023.

”Mystery in the Middle Ages”. Clothes. www.xtec.cat/monografics/cirel/02/middle_ages/a 

lumen/scene1/punt2/index.htm. Accessed 30 January 2023.

”Clothing of the Time”. Womens Clothing. drive.google.com/file/d/1Iq3hMOC-r7Dma-c-nJlhE71 

MJ-iC8AES/view . Accessed 30 January 2023.