Middle Ages Research project

Michael Sosa

Encounters 6

Ms. Damante

April 8, 2022

Three Medieval Things You Should Know About

Introduction

Knights, the soldiers of the medieval ages the one who put crosses, red banners, blue banners, and even their family symbol on their shields, the one thing between the knight and there enemy red and blue, yellow and green these colors were put on their shields to stand out and to know which is which. Government was different during this time and there was only one thing tying everything together but some asked, was life fair, some asked could it be changed? But then they were dismissed. Some thought it was fair but others thought NOT. With that a dark time started to show its face, the thing that nearly wiped out their whole world, the one thing that started with coughing and sneezing and ended with death. It couldn't be stopped for years. These are the things that the middle ages had and this book will tell you all about it bit by bit every nook and cranny no detail is spared. Everythings will be looked at from start to end. You will be the king of medieval information after reading this.  

Feudalism

Government, the one thing every country hasto have to keep peace and balance, and to make some decisions for the country, it can make or break a country they range from limited power to unlimited power. Unlimited power means that they don't have limits they can do anything like tell the country to go to war or pay higher taxes, Limited power means basically the opposite of what unlimited power has, they do have limits so they can't do much like the U.S.A. our government can’t tell us things like an unlimited government can because we have freedom  just like everyone else in the country, but life was never like this in the world it wasn’t always freedom this democratic that it was way more different than this and here's why….. Feudalism. The first thing you think of when you hear that is probably the show that your grandma watches called family feud but this isn’t  anything like that it, but the word feudalism is a type of government used during the middle ages to keep things align, you can picture it like a triangle at, the top there is the kings and queens and next you have the Nobles or lords of the land the king gave to them basically a mayor in the middle ages of the kingdom the they are second and you might think where are the knights are they in the kings category and the answer is….. No. Why? Cause they treated a little less worse than the nobles risking their lives to save their king and family so they come in 3rd place and you might think that is it 3 spots but no your wrong the last and the worse treated were the peasants almost slave to lords almost the leader of their state (or area of the kingdom). You might have heard of the peasants revolt in england or the french revolution when the poor tried to kill the king and queen, well that's who they were the poor people on the streets and last one on every chart in history and are still there today in the caste system in India they don't use it to keep it things in order (almost) they uses it for religious purposes, like Feudalism they can make it into a triangle at the top they have the priests and teachers, and second they have warriors/fighters and next the merchants and last the regular people but one is left out the untouchables peasants street sweepers and other people who handle the dirty work, they are both similar they both lead to peasants revolting like gandhi for the caste system the the peasants for feudalism they both have flaws that hurt each other. But feudalism was a pain for many, not just peasants there was always someone breathing down your neck, someone controlling you. The kings were not safe from this either; some were used as puppets by their “helpers”. Feudalism, the one thing that changed life entirely for many…..

Black Death

During the middle ages there was a disease called the bubonic plague or “black death” as people today call it, and it makes sense cause the disease caused the victim to contract small or big spots all over their body and at this time there was no vaccine or cure so it went on a rampage. And just like now with covid it spread all over the world but the only places they knew was Europe and Asia at the time so it is fairly similar to modern times but the only thing they didn't know but we do is that it will be the end to 25 million or more lives. If your Mom, Dad, Grandma, or Grandpa tell you to wash your hands before eating you might think “why what is the problem, why would I get sick?” then the answer is yes, During the middle ages they didn’t have manners (except some kings and queens) plus to forks or spoons so they had to use their hands and what if I told you that they had no sink or soap and that's why some scientists think that is how it started by germs and more germs combined into a virus (basically what makes up a virus) and some scientist think it was a dogs 2nd worst enemy…..FLEAS, yes fleas the bugs that live on cats and dogs fur when they are dirty and start biting them but scientists think that the fleas (maybe even flies to) carried the/spread the disease all over the “world”.  It went on terrorizing people from 1346-1352, 6 whole years of deaths and 600 people died every day it had no mercy people as young as a new born or someone 31 years old ( which at the time was old cause life execpenty wasn´t high)wasn´t safe from it. There where doctors but some things they gave may not help at all but some would help a bit the doctors are wearing masks like ours today but it isn't the paper of cloth one you might think of it is a large bird like mask that had fern or flowers in case of emergency and glass to see through for their eyes they wore full black and gray not an inch of skin was shown to not get the plague but sometimes it didn’t work and they got sick. And if you think there was no way to stop it you are wrong because Poland basically survived because of the king of Poland's dission to keep everyone at home (probably the first time quarantine was used) and barely anyone died. Still to this day people are getting it but with modern medicine and vaccines it can be cured easily.

Coat of Arms 

Coat of arms, you might think that this is a type of jacket worn by people of kings then you are……wrong. Coat of arms is what they called (or call) shields in the middle ages. You know the wooden metal plates or boards that knights carried around with them, you might also think “So what is so important about a wooden or metal board?” well they had very important things written on them like their county’s name or family mark or symbol. They were not just used to block arrows and swords they were also used to tell the difference between you people and the other they grey, red, orange or even purple a very rare color only used by the royalty but that is  not everything they also had their religion on them like during the european wars of religion which saw the catholics and christians fight for whos was the better religion or who wanted the continent the put the cross red or blue. They were also different shapes; some were squares, some were circles; they were also sometimes random shapes made from their imagination. All shields are different and unique. They can be the same, but they were always different from the beginning, starting as a piece of wood and now the thing that protected many from death in some of the most famous battles in history. 

Conclusion 

The middle ages were exiting, adventurous, and a interesting time in history people back then made things that we use today like forks, knives, and spoon that we used to eat and they also took down the government which could have ruined life our style today they did and made things that we could not have lived without. Things that if they didn’t experience we wouldn’t have found a cure to and save ourselves like the Black death  they also made one of the oldest government systems in history that tied a whole continent together. They also experienced one of the most dangerous and contagious diseases in history and conquered it (they survived, they didn’t find a vaccine.). They also had one of the most famous combat items in history….THE SHIELD, to defend themselves from invaders and intruders trying to kill them, these are 3 cool things of the middle ages.

Works Cited 

¨Black Death in England 1348-1350.¨ www.britainexpress.com/History/medieval/black-death.htm  

Accessed 17 February 2022.  

¨A Knights Coat of Arms.¨ www.ducksters.com/history/middle_ages/knight_coat_of_arms.php 

Accessed 22 February 2022.

¨Medieval Shields¨ Medieval Life and Time Info. www.medieval-life-and-times.info/medieval-swords-and 

-armor/medieval-shields.htm  Accessed 24 February 2022.

Middle Ages Feudal System.¨ Ducksters. www.ducksters.com/history/middle_ages_timeline.php 

Accessed 7 February 2022.

Ross, David. ¨Feudalism and Medieval Life.¨ Britain express. Wwwbritainexpress.com/History/ 

Feudalism_and_Medieval_life.htm  Accessed 7 February 2022.  

¨The Black Death.¨ Ducksters. www.ducksters.com/history/middle_ages_black_death.php  

Accessed 11 February 2022.