Middle Ages Research Project

Olivia Rose Pecina

Encounters 6

Ms. Damante

March 31, 2026

The Reality of the Middle Ages 

Introduction

In an era where the church held greater power than kings, the dividing line between daily survival and eternal salvation was narrower than anything you could think of.

There were 3 big events in this time period they were called Feudalism, The Black Death, and Crime and Punishment. The Middle Ages was a very dangerous time. Feudalism was a system ruled by the king, The Black Death was a dangerous pandemic, and Crime and Punishment was torture for criminals.

Feudalism

Feudalism was a government system in the Middle Ages, and was very controlling. The reason why it was such a controlled system was because they only wanted one king so that king could do anything he wanted. According to ducksters”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.”(Middle…) This started from the 9th to the 15th century

The feudal system was organized by the medieval kings to secure military service and loyalty. The lord would return the peasants with taxes or soldiers for what they did to the lord. According to Ducksters” The lord, in return, would provide the king with soldiers or taxes.”(Middle…)

  Although it was a government system followed by all, most people did not benefit. The monarchs, nobles, and high-ranking church officials, who held land, wealth, and power. The text says”The Lord held absolute power over the fief or manor including holding court and deciding punishments for crimes.”(Middle…)This shows who can benefit and who can’t.

Feudalism ended when in the 14 and 16th century there were labor shortages which were caused by the black death. According to the text”Feudalism ended in Europe between the 14th and 16th centuries due to a confluence of factors, primarily driven by the labor shortages caused by the Black Death”(Middle…) This explains the reason for the ending of feudalism.

The Black Death

The Black Death was a dangerous, contagious, pandemic that caused many deaths. It also had a big effect on society, and killed about 75 million people. The Black Death was first located in Central Asia then later leading into Europe, in the year 1347 is when it was carried onto a ship which was heading to Europe. The Black Death was caused by the bodies of rats that had fleas, people that had the disease were covered in dark blotches due to damage in the tissue. According to the text” The Black Death is believed by most historians to have wiped out approximately one-third of the European population. This depopulation had a variety of effects.” (History..)This shows what The Black Death was. 

The Black Death was not organized by anyone just being a pandemic everyone knew about. The bodies of black rats with fleas caused so many people to die just from a rat, and it is believed that the diesease took out ⅓ of Europe’s population. The text says” This depopulation had a variety of effects. The European peasant class benefited on the one hand; they were in greater demand due to shortage of labor and there were large areas of unattended fertile land which became available to them.”(The Black Death..) This shows that no one organized it, it just was a disease everyone knew about.

The Black Death benefited the surviving lower-class peasants, laborers, and artisans in Western Europe by causing massive labor shortages that led to higher wages, lower rents, and the decline of feudalism. Because the pandemic had passed quickly, Between 75 and 200 million people died in a few years' time  starting in 1348 when the plague reached London. According to the text”Facilities were set up to allow travelers to wait until the forty days were complete; however, black rats and fleas could not be kept out by these methods so disease continued to be spread.”(History..)This shows that no matter how hard people tried to get away from this disease they couldn’t.

The Black Death ended through a combination of strict quarantine measures, such as isolating incoming ships for 40 days, and the development of natural immunity in the surviving population. Many people were able to survive the disease while others were not the same. The text says”Studies of ancient DNA found that individuals with specific genetic variants  were about 40% more likely to survive.”(The Black Death…)This shows how the Black Death ended. 

Crime and Punishment 

Crime and Punishment was a time period in the Middle Ages when criminals got harsh punishments. This would usually happen in public so people could watch these actions happening. Also they would be beheaded, and have their limbs cut off. According to the text”People often had their right hand cut off for stealing, people were beaten, burned alive, stretched on a rack and women committing adultery were drowned.”(Crime…) They would also allow all types of churchs’ use torture and imprisonment to obtain confessions. 

The Crime and Punishment wasn’t organized by a single person; it was involving the Church, local lords, and the King. The text says” Crime and Punishment in the Middle Ages were not organized by one single person, but rather managed through a decentralized system.” 

(Crime..)Also many people enjoyed watching these criminals get executed, and participating in these actions.  According to the text”  Vagrancy was considered a crime and people were put in stocks so townspeople could beat them.”(The Finer Times..) 

People who benefited from Crime and Punishment were the Church, corrupt officials taking bribes, and the state. The reason they benefited was because anyone who could pass a literacy test could avoid the death penalty and be tried in more lenient church courts. According to the text”Early, system-level benefits often went to victims through compensation, while later, the royal courts and local lords profited from fines.”(Camelot..)

  Crime and Punishment ended in the year 1500 was because of the harsh judicial system. The text says”By 1500, legal practices were evolving, with new crimes emerging and a greater reliance on, or fear of, the central, harsh judicial system.”(Crime..)

Conclusion 

In conclusion, The Black Death, Crime and Punishments and Feudalism were very harsh in the Middle Ages. Especially the torture methods and the pandemic when they couldn’t do anything and just had to accept the fact there was no way out of the situation they were in.  The Middle Ages is very important to learn because it explains the origins of modern languages, literature, and crucial historical events like the Black Death, while challenging myths about the past. 

Works Cited 

”Crime and Punishment in the Middle Ages.” Camelot International. www.camelotintl.com/v 

illage/crime/ Accessed 22 January 2026.

”Crime and Punishment in the Middle Ages.” The Finer Times. www.thefinertimes.c 

om/crime-and-punishment-in-the-middle-ages Accessed 22 January 2026.

”History of Black Death” All About History. allabouthistory.org/history-of-black-death.htm 

Accessed 22 January 2026.

“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.

”The Black Death of 1348 to 1350” History Learning Sitewww.historylearningsite 

.co.uk/medieval-england/black-death-1348-1350/ Accessed 22 January 2026.