Middle Ages Research Project

Laura Hernandez

Encounters 6

Ms. Damante

April 19, 2024

Fun Facts About the Middle Ages

Introduction

Do you ever think about how life used to be like back then ,and how different it is from today. Like how different our government system is now than how Feudalism worked. Also how different dragons were interpreted and seen back then ,than how we look at them now. As well as how our favorite games were played and created. Well all of that leads back to the Middle Ages 500 AD which was very different from now.

Feudalism

Feudalism was the dominant social system in Medieval Europe. Feudalism took place in Europe somewhere between the 9th and 15th centuries. It started because of the collapse of the 

Roman Empire. Feudalism was built on a relationship between vassals and lords. Vassals were required to attend to the lord at his court ,contribute money if needed ,and help administer justice. The lord’s side was obligated to protect the vassal. He also gave military aid and protected the vassals' children. 

Feudalism was built on a relationship between mutual service, vassals, and lords. Did you know that the country wasn’t governed by a king but by many other lords, or barons. The king couldn’t rule the whole land alone so, he evened it out among the  barons. The barons and high ranked nobles ruled a large amount of areas called fiefs. Some evidence to prove this says “ The king could not control all of the land by himself, so he divided it up among the Barons ” , (Middle…)

 Even though everyone followed this government system ,most people did not benefit from Feudalism. Support from the text says “ Villages consisted of 10-60 families living in rough huts on dirt floors, with no chimneys or windows ”, (Ross). Which is one out of the many reasons people did not benefit from this system. 

Dragons

 In the Middle Ages dragons were most of the time compared to the devil or satan also known as the serpent of all evil. Many dragon stories during this time knew dragons to bring misfortune ,destruction ,pain ,and evil. The text states “ The bestiary, a type of illuminated manuscript featuring stories and biblical lessons about animals, depicts the dragon as the bearer of death and misfortune or as the incarnation of the devil and evil ”, (Diaz).

 But scientists found out that many medieval art that are meant to represent a dragon can be easily mistaken for real reptiles like snakes ,crocodiles ,and ect. . In European stories , there were dragon creatures called basilisk ,and were described as giant lizards or snakes with crowned shaped necks. Medieval arts and stories were much different then the story fantasies about dragons today. But some stories and illustrations are a little similar to today's definitions to dragons for example “ The dragon began to belch out flames and burn bright homesteads; there was a hot glow that scared everyone, for the Vile Sky-Winger would leave nothing alive in his wake" ,(European…).

Games and Recreation

Games can date back during 1665 or even the 1300’s somewhere in England. Just like today people played Ring-Toss but the name and items were a little different. They named it Quoits ,and the items used for it were not the same. They used rope for their rings and a stakes for what you toss the ring on to ,but now we usually use plastic rings.  A traditional game that we have played at least once in our lives for fun or at school is tug o'war. Although it's usually played by children ,adults would play as well and people either were in an all kids team ,all adults team, or a mixed team. All they would need to play is 2 teams and a length of stout rope.  

 Another game that's related from today's games that was made some where near the 1400 B.C. was something like checkers called the Alquerque. The objective of the game was to take as many pieces from the other opponent to win. “ Win the game by taking all your opponent's pieces or trap your opponent so she cannot make another move ” , (Pattie). Another game that's known is chess. Chess came to Europe from Persia in the 9th century which became a popular game among nobility. This game used to be called Draughts and actually originated or came from Alquerque . Draughts was mostly played on a 10x10 board but there were other versions like the English Draughts also known as American Draughts which were played on an 8x8 board and another board which is not very popular but its gaining popularity is the 12x12 

 Some classic games known mostly everywhere are bowling and tennis. Bowling was known as Skittles and not the taste  the rainbow skittles so you don’t get confused ,but the bowling Skittles. Skittles was an early version of 10-pin bowling. The Skittles (pins) were placed at the end of the alley ,and players tried their best to get as many Skittles down with wooden balls that are a little bigger than a tennis ball in one turn. There are many other ways to play this game differently for example “  In Germany, in the 3rd or 4th century monks played a game with a kegel which was a club carried for self-defense ”,(Pattie). Now tennis like skittles resembles modern day versions ,or is like an early version of tennis. Tennis balls actually used to be cloth stitched tightly together into a sphere. Players used to throw the tennis ball with their bare palms ,and later on they made gloves to protect their hands. The tennis rackets were made of parchment stretched across a wooden frame which got replaced with catgut string which influenced our modern tennis racket.

Conclusion 

Feudalism was very different from today's system in a lot of ways. Like how their games used to work and what they were called ,and how dragons were described differently. Even how everything used to work was different. This all used to be different ,but it was also important to this period because it allowed civilizations in the Middle Ages to retain a proportionate stable political structure even as the centralized power of empires and kingdoms began to fall.

Works Cited 

Diaz, Zachray .“Separating Myth from Legend about the Medieval Dragon.” Getty. 8 May 2018, 

blogs.getty.edu/iris/separating-myth-from-legend-about-the-medieval-dragon/#:~:text=The%20dr

agon%2C%20so%20closely%20identified,of%20the%20devil%20and%20evil. Accessed  23 

February 2024.

“European Dragons.” American Museum of Natural History. www.amnh.org/exhibitions/mythic-creatures 

/dragons/european-dragons. Accessed 23 February 2024.

“Medieval Ages Entertainment and Games.” Ducksters. www.ducksters.com/history/middle_ag 

es/entertainment.php. Accessed 23 February 2024.

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

Accessed 22 February 2023. 

Pattie, Tammy. “Games Played in Middle Ages.” Medieval Games and Recreation. 2011, castle.eiu.edu/ 

reading/MEDIEVALGAMES.pdf. Accessed 23 February 2024. 

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

/History/Feudalism_and_Medieval_life.htm Accessed 7 February 2023.