Middle Ages Research Project

Joseph Lopez 

Encounters 6

Ms. Damante

March 24, 2022

The Medieval Times 

Introduction

The medieval ages were an era that lasted roughly 1,000 years, and for most of its history the medieval ages revolved around a system that separated people into different classes based on their money and power. The medieval ages were also the time period in which the black plague started that killed millions and is a major part of the medieval ages history, but even with a plague that killed millions being around people still found ways to entertain themselves and that's where the stories of king arthur came in. These stories of king Arthur were fictional and only made to entertain people but are still what many people think about when they hear the middle ages. Throughout the times of the middle ages and throughout all the challenges people still had to survive during these terrible times including the black death and the feudal system failing but yet all this happened during the time period called the middle ages.

Feudalism

How it started: The feudal system began in medieval Europe. Its main purpose was basically to give more power to the king and distribute it. The feudal system made it so that any given area was assigned to a lord or king and the king owned everything in that area. The feudal system revolved around a chart where any given person was awarded with land based on their power and rank in the feudal system this meant that a knight would be awarded more than a serf or a peasant because they were worth more to the king and the civilians. The feudal system didn’t always work how it was supposed to because of the fact that the feudal system granted land to people who were higher ranks that meant that very little land was given to the serfs this meant that the rich had so much land they didn't know what to do with and the serfs and peasants who are meant to grow crops and food had nowhere to plant their food this often lead to food shortages. “Most of the people living in the Middle ages were peasants. They had a hard, rough life. Some peasants were considered free and could own their own businesses like carpenters, bakers, and blacksmiths. They worked long days, 6 days a week, and often barely had enough food to survive”

How it affected people The feudal system was a big problem for most regular civilians instead of it supplying land, jobs, and opportunities for people like it promised it led to more taxes people losing their jobs and having to pay more so overall the feudal system did the opposite of what it was supposed to do instead of helping its people by redistributing the land from the rich and wealthy who had no use for it besides making more money they gave more money to the kings lords and the rich for their “service” over the poor people who could of actually used it. The main problem with giving land to the rich and not the poor was that the rich had no sue for it, the rich aren't just going to open a huge farm and sell to the poor, they were going to sell it for 10x what they got it for and overall just make a profit, and that's what the feudal system did wrong they gave land to people who didn't need it and only used it for personal gain they didn't give it to people who actually needed it like the peasants. If the feudal system haf redistributed land to the peasants and not to the rich it might of worked out because if you give land to the poor who need money and are barely surviving when they see a new opportunity like say this land they are going to work extremely hard until they finish what they started while a rich person might see the land and see it as something to sell a peasant might see it and think to themselves of opportunities to use the land they might  grow a farm which would be extremely useful during this time period because at this time during the middle ages there wasn't much food and most people were barely able to survive and if this land was just redistributed to the peasants the feudal system may have worked out.

How it ended:While the feudal system is a big part of medieval history and did work well in some cases at some point during the 1400s the feudal system came to an end for many reasons, one of which being the fact that it wasn’t very fair. While the peasants and serfs are out working and having to give some of their money to the king, the rich and wealthy are out relaxing and becoming richer off the hard work of the peasants. Another huge problem with the feudal system was that it didn’t really work how it was supposed to because while it was meant to give land to people who needed it and those people would go on and use that land to build farms and stuff the land was being given to the rich basically creating a loop where the rich give back to the rich. Overall the feudal system was a good idea but didn't work well enough to last more than 700 years.

The Black Death

How it started The black death was a plague started in eastern europe and lasted from 1348 to 1350. The black death was started by fleas riding on top of animals and when a flea saw someone it would infect them with this disease. Over the course of 2 years the black death led to over 75 Million deaths. However even though the main cause of the spread of the disease was fleas a study done in 2014 shows otherwise. The study claims that the disease was never spread from fleas but was really spread from the disease being airborne and the disease was in the air. “Evidence produced by forensic scientists and archaeologists in 2014 from human remains in the north of the City of London suggests that fleas could not actually have been responsible for an infection that spread so fast – it had to be airborne. Once the disease reached the lungs of the malnourished, it was then spread to the wider population through sneezes and coughs'' Even with all this the main cause of the spread of the black death is still unknown some say its fleas other say its airborne but it seems like only time will tell.

How it affected people. The black death being a plague affected people in many negative ways. Many people became sick and eventually died for there being no cure. Many of the side effects of the black plague included swelling on the neck,armpit and groin as well as fevers, chills and headaches. “This manifestation of the disease was characterized by the characteristic swelling of lymph nodes (buboes) along the neck, armpits, and groin. These symptoms were accompanied by fever, chills, joint and headaches, malaise, and nausea”The black death traveled fast with entire towns being taken out, and whenever anyone caught the plague an entire town would be scared for their life. Very few people survived the black plague because of its 75+% mortality rate killing anyone you caught the plague.

 How it ended. The black death ended in 1350 when it basically disappeared. The belief of why it disappeared was because people believed that the black death was started as a punishment of god and only ended because god wanted the punishment to end. The punishment apparently wasn't meant to harm civilians and was only meant to harm the pharaoh and the egyptians because the egyptians didn't want to free god's people and the black death was a punishment for them until it ended. 

King Arthur

How he started off. King Arthur wasn’t a real person and was only in stories, however he was a big influence on people in the middle ages. The stories of king Arthur were written between 1135 1139. A thing many people don't know about king arthur is that he was a character in romance stories because most people think he was a warrior riding a horse and holding a sword but that couldn't be further from the truth. Early Welch literature quickly made Arthur into a king of wonders and marvels. The 12th-century prose romance Culhwch and Olwen associated him with other heroes, and this conception of a heroic band with Arthur at its head doubtless led to the idea of Arthur’s court.

How he affected people. The stories of King Arthur affected many people mainly with his influence on people in the middle ages. The stories of king Arthur influenced many people, many of those people being authors looking for inspiration for their work."Historia Regum Britanniae" became incredibly popular and spread throughout Europe. It influenced French writers and led to the creation of the Arthurian romance. The poet Chretien de Troyes wrote several poems about love and chivalry in the mid-1100s that incorporated tales of Knights of the Round Table. The most significant ones established the romance between Lancelot and Guinevere and told the story of the search for the Holy Grail” The stories of king Arthur were great inspirations for many people, many of those people being writers who wrote many good stories.

How he died. King Arthur died in a story released in 1485. In this story we learn about king arthur’s backstory and all the events that happened in his life but near the end of the story king arthur dies and that story is mainly regarded as the death of king arthur.Sir Thomas Malory's compilation "Le Morte d'Arthur" (The Death of Arthur) is probably the best-known version of the Arthurian legends. It was first printed in 1485 and contains the entire story of King Arthur's life, as well as the quest for the Holy Grail and stories about two different Knights of the Round Table: Sir Gareth and Sir Tristan. Up until this time, most of the retellings focused more on pagan and Celtic elements. But in Malory's version, Christianity plays a large part. For example, Guinevere becomes a nun and Lancelot becomes a monk after their affair is discovered.

Eventually after many years and many stories about king arthur he eventually died in this story but king arthur's legacy real or fake still lives on.

Conclusion 

Throughout the times called the middle ages people had to survive through many tragedies including the black death which killed most of the population in Europe at the time, and the feudal system didn't work very well leading to more people dying of hunger and lack of nutrients. But people were still able to have fun during these tragedies by writing and reading books, specifically the stories of king arthur.Overall the medieval ages had many ups and downs but the time period is still important because it shows that we shouldn't make the same mistakes again.

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.

“History of Black Death.” allabouthistory.org/history-of-black-death.htm. Accessed 26 January 2023

Black Death The Black Death of 1348 to 1350” www.historylearningsite.co.uk/medie 

val-england/black-death-1348-1350 Accessed 26 January 2023. 

“King Arthur.” Britannica. www.britannica.com/topic/King-Arthur Accessed 30 January 2023. 

“How King Arthur Worked.” How Stuff Works. history.howstuffworks.com/historical-figures/knight.htm 

Accessed 30 January 2023.