Middle  Ages Research Project

Liam Carroll

Encounters 6

Ms. Damante

April 19, 2024

Feudalism,Bubonic Plague, and Jousting,Things that Happened in the Middle Ages

Introduction

Have you ever heard about the evil thing that happened in the 13th century or the Middle Ages.Or the plague that wiped out 50% of the population of England.And the system that was mean to the weak but nice to the rich?But what  about the intense sport of jousting.everything bad took place in the middle ages.

Feudalism

Feudalism was the main system during the Middle Ages,and because no one could do anything about it nothing changed for many years.Feudalism may have been a government system followed by all, but many people did not benefit from the feudal system in fact many people were injured or killed.According to my research ¨the center of life in the middle ages was the manor or the local lord.¨(middle…)The local lord is the one who controls everything in a town because he is the one in charge of the town ,and he is called local lord because he is always moving around because he owns almost everything.The peasants or serfs were people who pay for protection but they are basically slaves because they have  to do work for the people they pay,and the only difference with slaves is that slaves have to mine coal and pick cotton and they do not get protection.

Back during the feudal system the lord could field greater armies than the king.The lord had a servant called the vassal,and the vassal has to be by the lord's 6 side all the time.The manor/lord is obligated to protect the vassal.One of the major conquerors was William the conqueror.William had a very large family which meant they ate a lot. In fact one year William and his family had a feast were they ate 6,000 chickens,1,000 rabbits,90 boars,50 peacocks,200 geese,10,000 eels,thousands of eggs and bread,and hundreds of casks of wine.The only reason that William ate all this was because he had help from his family members that were probably starving and they ate until they were full.according to my research “Manors are not villagers but they were the economic and social units of life in the early Middle Ages.”(Ross)

The Black Death

The Black Death or bubonic plague was one of the deadliest plagues in the world.It even almost caused Europe to go extinct.The Bubonic Plague started in  fleas.It then spread to rats which the fleas jumped on and bit.The rats then snuck onto ships that went to Europe.When the ships landed the rats ran off and eventually got eaten by cats.The cats then got into peoples houses and that is how the fleas were able to bite humans and spread the disease.According to my research “It was caused by the organism,Yersinia pestis which was carried about from the bodies of black rats by fleas.”(History…)In this part of my research it talks about how the organism that caused the Black Death was on the fleas.The Black Death was a very deadly plague that almost caused the extinction of Europe.

Everyone in Europe thought that the plague was caused by something in the air so the doctors put a suit covered in wax so air could not get in.But what they did not know was that the plague was caused by fleas.So the doctors wore what was basically a gas mask stuffed with plants that were used for medicine.But when they went into houses to cure the disease the fleas tried  to get on the doctors.The fleas could not get a good grip to bite and spread the disease.According to my research “Once the disease reached the lungs of the malnourished, it was then spread to the wider population through sneezes and coughs.” .(Trueman)In this piece of my research it talks about how the disease traveled through the body until it reached the lungs it spread through sneezes and cough.

Jousting

Jousting was a thing back in the Middle Ages,and it is still a thing today.Jousting is a sport were both opponents have lances and charge at each other on horseback.The first person to get knocked of first wins.According to my research “Knights charged up to four times with lances, only three lances per match were allowed.•No winner–knights charged four more times with other weapons such as maces or flail weapons.•Still no winner–Knights dismounted and a ground battle ensued with alternative weapons such as maces and swords four more times.•No decisive winner–The judges voted, giving points for skill and accuracy and making deductions for foul strokes.•Heralds were Judges who kept order at jousting events.”(Knights…)In this part of my research it talks about how the jousting events work and how they are put together if neither person loses than the heralds would decide the winner based of skill and accuracy and they could give points and takes points by one tiny little mistake.

Sometimes juosts were interrupted by knight who show off their martial art skills by riding against one another with wooden lances in a designated area called a list.According to my research “Jousts were, from the 13th to 16th century CE, a popular part of the European medieval tournament where knights showed off their martial skills by riding against one another with wooden lances in a designated area known as the lists”( Cartwright)In this part of my research it talks about how knights tried jousting with wooden lances.They did it in a designated area called a list.Jousting was a very fun and exhilarating sport.It can be dangerous but if you know how to play the sport correctly than it can be so much fun when played competitively.

Conclusion 

In conclusion, the middle ages was a fascinating time period of blood,death,and torture.But jousting is still around today,and yes it might not be as popular jousting is still a thing.And there are some even deadlier plagues like COVID-19 or Polio.Also,there are still some corrupt systems out in the world like unlimited governments were the king/president can just do whatever he/she wants.So now yes no one would like to go back to the Middle Ages, but there is still a lot that humans don’t know about the Middle Ages.