Middle Ages Research

Jazmin Luna

Encounters 6

Ms. Damante

April 17, 2025

 The Middle Ages

Introduction

How you ever thought about the different events or how people lived and worked in the Middle Ages? The government feudalism was  made during the  Middle Ages and for the type of people. Also the people went through a rough and horrifying disease called the Black Death. All people in the town would be dreaming of living in a castle. The middle ages lasted a longtime and had some important effects or how important stuff were like

Feudalism

 First of all, in the middle ages the government system was Feudalism. In the Feudalism system they were rules. The local lords would trade land to the barons and then to the knight and then to the peasants in return the lord would give them service and provide their taxes. According to the website it states, “The basic government and society in Europe during the middle ages was based around the feudal system. Small communities were formed around the local lord and the manor. The lord owned the land and everything in it. He would keep the peasants safe in return for their service. The lord, in return, would provide the king with soldiers or taxes.”(Middle…) This means that the people in those communities most of the men would be working to provide the other needs their family needs 

Next, the kings were in the highest position. The kings were like lords they didn’t take care or charge of anything . They trade lands with the borons in for loyalty and army. Also when a king died  their first son would take that place, but if the king only had a daughter the daughter would have to get married if there were no heir the king would  choose who would be the next king. This means that when a king dies its first born son would inherit that place but then soon another family would take that place and be on top of the system because they are the kings and they care of trading land and keeping its people safe for their service.

Furthermore, the peasants were at the bottom of the feudalism system. There were 2 types of peasants one was like a slave that worked for the king, like taking care of the land and other stuff in return for the king keeping them safe. The other type of peasants were like free peasants they had their own shop like a carpenter and bakers and other stuff.  In the website it states, “They had a hard rough life. Some peasants were considered free and could own their own businesses like carpenters, bakers, and blacksmiths. Others were more like slaves.They worked long days, 6 days a week, and often barely had enough food to survive.”(Middle…) This means that the peasants were fighting for their life and for their family trying to survive in the environment they were but they did not have to worry about taxes if they were working for the king.

The Black Death

To begin with, the black death was a disease that contained Yersinia pestis and it killed about 75 million people in Europe. Yersinia pestis was a bacteria it was carried about black rats and fleas. The Europeans were hurt and damaged on their skin that they had to be covered in dark blotches. In the website it states, “ The total number of deaths attributable to this devastating pandemic was 75 million people. It was caused by the organism,Yersinia pestis which was carried about from the bodies of black rats by fleas. Victims of the disease were covered with dark blotches due to damage to the underlying skin and tissue.”(History…) This means that people that had this disease which were most of the people in Europe were suffering with this painful disease because it was connotations and it had bacteria. 

Secondly, the black death had 3 manifestations. The first manifestation was the bubonic plague it was described as the “swelling of lymph nodes” that appear around in the area of your arms so that means that the aftermath would be fever, chills, headaches, and nausea. The second manifestation was pneumonic plague. This type of disease was transferred from person to person and it had blood-tinged. The last manifestation was the septicaemic plague it was the least common but the deadliest. It was described as “purple discolorations of the skin and extremely high fevers.” This means that the 3 manifesting were still horrible because it have you in pain and it was most likely that people don't go out because some of them are contagious and their type of disease would probably get even worser.

Lastelly, some survive the black death. Most of the Eroupeans might of been traumatized of all the pain their city went through the black death. It was bad when people started to realized the they were setting up quarantine so the people who weren't infected would not get in. On History of the Black Death it states, “Survivors of the disease had horror stories to tell of life and environment during the plague years. The air was full of the horrific smell of sick, dead a(History…)nd rotting bodies. Quarantines were set up on land to keep infected people out of the city.” This shows that that people that went through the black death tell their story of what they went through and probably how they survive were important because not all Eroupeans survive the black death.

Life in a Castle

First, most Medieval castles were built after 1066 and were used to celebrate in the Great Hall and more. Also almost all castles were including military activities to defend the lord when they got attacked. On the website it states, “ Life in a medieval castle was filled with a constant hubbub of busied work in the kitchens, preparations for celebrations in the Great Hall, and religious worship in each castle’s own chapel.” (Life…)This means that they used their castles for mostly stuff to celebrate because in that time most of the king were fighting other king for a lot of reason so winning or doing a big step would be so important they will usually make a celebration party with some of the rich people because the broke people that are peasant they meant nothing to the kings.

Moreover, the location and how the castle is built has a meaning. If the castle was built around the border it was made for defensive and protection. Other castles that were built around southern England were made more fancy and more culture that were usually made for the king and his lady. After all most of the castles shared features and were influenced by the same thing. Also a keep is what you could see the most it was usually the heart of the castle and in this time they called it “don-jon” . This shows that they were a couple Castles that were different because they were meant for different things but the other had around the same feature in their castles.

In addition, they were different people that work in these castes.  They were about 100 to 150 people that were living or working in a Medieval castle .The most common or reasonably would have been the kitchen ladies that provide the food.  Another worker in a castle would be the groom that would take care of the gest when they celebrate something and work basically like a servant. On th website Life in a Medieval castles, “Well, it evidently depends on the size of the castle, but, for a site like Goodrich Castle in England, you could expect around 100-150 people to surround the Lord’s family.These would have included everything from cooks to gardeners, grooms and horse-men.”(Life…)This shows that a Medieval castles would probably sound busy with the amount of people because of the work people and the people living in the castle and also the noise like in the kitchen or somewhere else.

Conclusion 

In conclusion, the Middle ages had different way thing work and it depended in what category of people you fell on. The feudalism had its way it works and the effect you get when you are a king or a peasant. Also the Black Death took a good amount of Eroupeans but they still kept going and living their life. People or kings that owned a castle  had a better life than the other people that also when through the Middle Ages. The Middle ages had its way it work that made differences so its important to know the different way thing used to worked in those times.

Works Cited 

“History of the Black Death.”  All About History. allabouthistory.org/history-of-black-death.htm. 

Accessed 27 January 2025.

“Life in a Medieval Castle.” Exploring Castles. www.exploring-castles.com/castle_life/  . 

Accessed 27 January 2025.

“Medieval Castle Layout.” Exploring Castles. www.exploring-castles.com/castle_designs/med 

ieval_castle_layout/. Accessed 27 January 2025.

“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.

“ The Black Death of 1348 to 1350.”  History Learning Site. 5 March 2015. www.historylearning 

site.co.uk/medieval-england/black-death-1348-1350/. Accessed 27 January 2025.

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