Middle Ages Research Project

Jennifer Martinez

Encounters 6

Ms. Damante

April 8, 2022

The Middle Ages

Introduction

The Middle Ages took place between the fall of imperial Rome and the beginning of modern Europe from approximately 500 A.D. to 1500 A.D. The Middle Ages time is very often also called Medieval times. During the Medieval times, many things were very different from what they are now. Life was harsh during this time period. Government wasn't what it is now. Can you imagine getting your hand cut off for stealing!  Imagine living in a world where only wealthy people can dress fashionable. Feudalism, crimes and punishment and fashion made the Middle Ages a very unique and interesting time period.

Feudalism

Feudalism is known as a system in Medieval times that people worked and fought for, like a type of government.  The kings and queens were at the top of the Feudal system so they had the power to rule over the place and do whatever they wanted. One of the most important kings during Medieval times was Richard the first of England; he was most known for battling Saladin during the Crusades and going against his father.  The nobles were middle class men that helped the king rule his land. One of the most important noble families was The Medici Family, which ruled the City of Florence. The knights protected their land from their enemies; they were elite soldiers in wars and battles. One of the most important knights during this time was Sir WIlliam Marshal he was best known for his fighting skills.The peasants were the lowest class in the Feudal system they were given orders to do around the place like providing food, wool, and other resources. There are also other three types of peasants, the slaves, serfs, and the tenants.The slaves were told what to do most of time and mostly did labor work. The serf  had to work in the land and grow crops for them and their lord. The tenants job was to work on other peoples land to pay their payments to their landlord. Each class served a specific purpose and were all very important for the system to work. 

Crimes and Punishment

Can you imagine being punished for working on sunday or nagging your husband! Crimes and punishment were very cruel and unusual back in the Middle Ages. “Major crimes include Murder, poaching, rebellion, slander, and treason against the king. Some minor crimes include theft, disturbing the peace and adultery” (Crime…). Some unusual crimes were witchcraft, working on sunday, nagging your husband, playing soccer and gossiping. Living in a society where there are no policemen, punishment for crimes in this period had to be strict, cruel and public. Minor punishments for example were fines, imprisonment, whipping and body parts removal. Thieves who were caught stealing had their hands cut off. People caught hunting in king's ground had their ears cut off. Prison was too expensive so there were very few so many times mutilating and letting the people go was the best solution they could find. Major crimes had unimaginable punishments!

One of the most common punishments was being hanged. Not only  would they hang them, but just before they died they would untie them then throw them in a pit of fire burning alive in front of an audience. Sometimes they just leave the body there for the birds to feed on and for the people to watch. This was a tactic to scare the people from committing crimes. “A lot of these crimes were dealt with in trial. Before these criminals were taken to trial the sheriff would lock them up in a cell until their trial was ready”(Crime..). God, evil, heaven, and hell played a big role in the Middle Ages. Church was a way to keep the crime rate down. The villagers believed that they would go to heaven if they never did any crimes or anything bad. They would get their approval if they are going to heaven or hell based on if they did crimes or not. Witchcraft was a very serious crime back then when people thought someone was doing witchcraft they would accuse them for doing witchcraft. The whole village would go against them then they would punish them by hanging them or burning them alive.

Clothes in the Middle Ages

In the Medieval times fashion and clothing looked very unique compared to how clothing looks now. Clothing was integral to identifying who you were and where you belonged. “The royalty would wear tunics or jackets with hose, leggings and breeches”(Clothing..). The wealthy also wore furs and jewelry. “Queens wore long gowns with sleeveless tunics and wimples to cover their hair. The kings wore a well-embellished tunic with gold-work thread”(Clothing..). The king and queen would wear crowns only on special occasions.The rich men would wear pleated, fur-trimmed tunics, fitted hose, and, on their heads, the roundlet and liripipe. The rich women would wear long gowns made from richly embroidered fabrics and a typical selection of the varied styles of headdress of the time, from turbans to heart-shaped designs.  A lot of people wore hats for social status to tell if they were also lower class, middle class or high class .While the poor men and women wore tunics, a hood with liripipe,and hose. When the knights do their duty and protect the castle they wear a padded vest called a gipoun for comfort and a cloth tunic made of woven cloth called fustian. That was the knight's armor when they did their duty protecting the castle.  Fashion was very important to people back in the medieval times. It tells one person's place in life if they were either poor or rich. 

Conclusion 

During the Middle Ages there were many more things than crimes and punishments, fashion, and feudalism. All three of those topics are also important because they had their own part during Medieval times that made it a very unique period. The Medieval times were definitely challenging, hard and even unfair! We sure are lucky that we didn’t have to go through those times. Even though those times were imperfect we seemed to have learned a lot from  mistakes. The Medieval times soon after came to an end but they did start to shape the world we lived in now. 

Works Cited 

¨Clothing of the Time.¨ Teacher Created Materials. drive.google.com/file/d/1Iq3hMOC-r7Dma-c-nJ 

lE71MJ-iC8AES/view Accessed 23 February 2022.

¨Clothes.¨ Mystery in the Middle Ages. www.xtec.cat/monografics/cirel/02/middle_ages/alumne/scen 

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¨Crime and Punishment.¨ Crime and Punishment. drive.google.com/file/d/17vQWZRRiMtqCY 

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¨Middle Ages Feudal System. . Ducksters.  www.ducksters.com/history/middle ages feudal_   

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Nash, Tim. ¨Crime and Punishment in the Middle Ages.¨ The Finer Times. www.thefinertimes.com/ 

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Ross, David.  “Feudalism and Medieval Life.¨ Britain Express. www.britainexpress.com/History/Fe

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