Middle Ages Research Project

Kaitelynn Pacheco

Encounters 6

Ms. Damante

March 24, 2022

The Dark Medieval Times

Introduction

The Medieval Times was one of the darkest times in history and many things at that time were different from us right now. Their government at that time was run by the Feudal System, otherwise known as Feudalism. Clothing was a very big thing in the Middle Ages, now our clothing has advanced and is not the same as it was in those times. One of the hardest things in the Medieval Times was crime and punishment because punishments would be harsh and the crime rate wasn’t very high. A lot of things were wrong with the Middle Ages but they helped our community become what it is today.

Feudalism

Feudalism was the basic government between the 9th and 15th century during the Middle Ages and was based upon the Feudal System. The Feudal System was created to help lower ranked people earn land in exchange for their work. According to “Middle Ages Feudal System”, “The basic government and society in Europe during the middle ages was based around the feudal system.” and “Under the feudal system land was granted to people for service. It started at the top with the king granting his land to a baron for soldiers all the way down to a peasant getting land to grow crops.”.

The Feudal System was ranked by kings, lords, soldiers, and peasants. Feudalism started with kings which owned everything and they had people called lords who were in charge to distribute lands between soldiers and peasants so they could grow crops. Then, soldiers' jobs would be to protect the king and they would get paid with land. The last rank would be peasants where they worked for the king and were given land to grow crops. “Middle Ages Feudal System” stated, “It started at the top with the king granting his land to a baron for soldiers all the way down to a peasant getting land to grow crops.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. In return, the Barons pledged their loyalty and soldiers to the king.”. 

Although it was a government system followed by all, most people did not benefit from this government for example peasants. At the time peasants were treated poorly and the higher rank people would take advantage of the peasents. The people who did benefit from the Feudal System were the higher ranked people and they were treated very nicely. “Feudalism and Medieval life” stated, “Although not technically a slave, a serf was bound to a lord for life. He could own no property and needed the lord's permission to marry. Under no circumstance could a serf leave the land without the lord's permission unless he chose to run away.”

Feudalism ended because there were many diseases, political changes, and many wars had happened so this caused the Feudal System to end. “Political Developments in England” stated, “There were many reasons for the decline of feudalism in Europe. In one country, England, political developments during the 12th and 13th centuries helped to weaken feudalism.”

Clothing

Clothing was a big part of the Middle Ages. In the Middle Ages time the clothing was very exaggerated and your clothing represented you, so what you wore back then was very important. According to “Mystery in the Middle Ages” , “Then, the upper classes used to dress in fine clothes.” and “Women's hats and hairstyles became very grand.”. 

Women for the higher rank’s clothing was mostly very fancy and exaggerated. Most of the time women who had money would wear nice jewelry and have their hair nicely done. In those times women wouldn’t really wear makeup because makeup wasn't a very big thing. “Mystery in the Middle Ages” stated, “In late medieval times, rich women were very fashion minded. Those who could afford it liked to adorn their dresses with fine jewelry”. For peasant women their clothing would be more simple than the higher class people. They would also wear dresses but not as fancy as the other women but they would try their best to create dresses like the higher class women. “Mystery in the Middle Ages” stated, “On the other hand, poorer people used to make their own clothes in simpler styles, so these, like their tools, were mostly home-made of local materials.”

Men in the higher class would have very thick vests and would wear many garments to stay warm and to look nice. The type of clothing men would wear at the time would be vests, tunics, and many garments. Peasant men would try to create their own versions of these types of clothes. “Mystery in the Middle Ages” stated, “In the early medieval ages there was little difference between the clothes worn by men and women, as both used to wear several layers of garments: the outer layers were loose to allow mobility while the the inner ones served the purpose to give warmth, so they consisted of fitted leggings and vests. In the early part of the period, men and women used to wear tunics of several styles. Sometimes these had sleeves that opened out towards the wrist-jagged sleeves.”

Crime and Punishment

Crime and punishment was a very big thing in the middle ages. At the time the crime rate wasn’t very high because the punishments would be very bad.  “Tim Nash” stated, “The Middle ages was a time of severe punishment and harsh torture for crimes that today would seem trivial.  People were beheaded and limbs cut off, vagabonds were often whipped and chained in stocks.”.

The punishments given would depend on the crime the person did. Many times the punishments would be harsh like death or your limbs would be cut off. The harsher the crime the worse the punishment. “Crime and Punishment in the Middle Ages” stated, “The harsher the crime the more horrendous the punishment, If a man committed Manslaughter or Robbery they would be hung up in a cage so people could see their slow death.”.

The poorer classes would have a worse punishment than the higher classes. Even if they did the same punishment the poorer classes would be treated differently, sometimes the higher class wouldn’t even get a punishment. According to “Crime and Punishment in the Middle Ages”, “It was the poorer classes that were discriminated against. Lords and high officials were exempt. Courts and judges did exist, but were biased and often judgements were known before the case was even heard, if a person did not turn up to court they were considered an outlaw and their property was seized and became the kings.” .

Till this day there is still crime and punishment but now the punishments aren’t as bad. Now, people don’t get their limbs cut off, they just spend more time in jail but there is still the death penalty but not as many people get the death penalty. According to “Crime and Punishment in the Middle Ages”, “Medieval officials lacked the resources or money to build suitable jails and people often died from illness before their trial.”.

Conclusion 

The Middle Ages was a hard time in history, if we could go back we would change many things in those times but they tried their best to make a community. The feudal system was a huge part in the middle ages because it was their government now looking at it the feudal system was not a very good thing. The middle ages clothing affected many people because your clothing defined you and how people viewed you. One good thing about the middle ages was that the crime rate wasn’t so high because at the time punishments were very bad but some people lost their lives because of a small crime they did. The Middle Ages were important because it helped us grow as a whole and helped us advance as a society.

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.

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

ene1/punt2/index.htm. Accessed 30 January 2023.

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

MJ-iC8AES/view. Accessed 2 February 2023.

“Crime and Punishment in the Middle Ages.” Camelot International. www.camelotintl.com/village/crime. 

html. Accessed 8 February 2023.

Nash, Tim. “Crime and Punishment in the Middle Ages.” The Finer Times. 23 November 2008. 

www.thefinertimes.com/crime-and-punishment-in-the-middle-ages. Accessed 8 February 2023.