Middle Ages

Welcome to the second episode of the first season of the Let’s Keep It Simple podcast. Today we will discuss the Middle Ages. First, let’s talk about what the Middle Ages is. This period is the time between the ancient era and the modern era, which is why it’s called the Middle Ages. The Middle Ages began with the fall of Rome in 476 CE and ended with the start of the Renaissance in 1500 CE, making the Middle Ages almost a thousand years old. By the way, CE is another name for AD. Now, the Middle Ages was divided into 3 main phases: the Early Middle Ages, or the Dark Ages, the High Middle Ages, and the transition to the modern world.

Let’s start with the Dark Ages. First of all, the reason the Dark Ages is called the Dark Ages is because we are in the dark about what really went on during this time. There aren’t a lot of written records available to historians. The Dark Ages was not a fun time to live in: there was constant fighting, a decline in trade and cities, and a loss of literacy. The only thing that really brought people together was the Church. Now, people wanted to find a refuge from the chaos, and that’s why they fled to monasteries, or a house of monks: where they could live peaceful, isolated lives. Also, monks in the monasteries were incredibly important. Not only did they care for the sick, the orphans, and the poor, but they copied down many of the ancient works. Almost all of our written records of the Dark Ages comes from them.

Now, before we move on to the High Middle Ages, let’s speak a bit about Feudalism. Feudalism was a system where the peasants are at the bottom in terms of power, followed by the knights, then the barons, and then at the top is the king. In feudalism, the king would grant land to barons in exchange for money and knights. Then the barons would grant land to knights in exchange for military service. Then those knights would give the peasants land in exchange for food and other services if they wished for them. Long story short, it was an exchange of currency, which was land, for goods and/or services. Feudalism focused on self-sufficiency and personal protection during the dangerous and chaotic Middle Ages.

Ok, now we move into the High Middle Ages. The High Middle Ages saw a revival in trade, due to the stoppage of chaos caused by Vikings, and weather changes, which led to increased ability to grow crops. More food led to more people, and less chaos led to less self-sufficiency and isolation. Basically, the High Middle Ages the rainbow after the storm that was the Dark Ages.

Now, let’s talk about law during the Middle Ages. They didn’t have courts or juries back then, so instead they used something called ordeals to prove people guilty. Ordeals were trials in which the accused would go through a dangerous or painful experience, and if they didn’t get hurt or didn’t die, they were innocent. Examples include touching a hot piece of metal and being thrown into freezing cold water. On the topic of law, let’s talk about the incredibly important Magna Carta. The Magna Carta was a document that King John of England was forced to sign in 1215 CE. One of the most important things this document said was that the king’s power is not as great as the people’s. This forever limited the English monarchy’s power as well as the king’s. It was a really important moment in history.

While the monarchy in England, which is where the Magna Carta was signed, was weakened, the monarchy in neighboring France was thriving. Philip the Fair, one of the French kings, can definitely take some credit for this. He set up 3 estates. One was the clergy, or the Church officials, the other was the nobles, and the last was everyone else. These three estates would advise the king, though he didn’t have to listen to them. This gave the illusion that the people had power, but in reality, the monarch was supreme. Philip the Fair was one smart dude.

Now, we can’t talk about the Middle Ages without talking about the Bubonic Plague. The bubonic plague was spread by rats infested with infected fleas. The plague was brought by Italian merchants to Europe from Asia, and quickly spread to the entirety of the continent. Within the course of 4 years, a third of the population died. The plague concluded the Middle Ages and led to the renaissance.