The Middle Ages

1. The Middle Ages ≈ 1000s – 1400s CE

2. Medieval England vs Contemporary New York • Contemporary New York • Capitalist: making $$$ • Individualistic: you are special and unique • Mobile: we travel • Literate: we can read • Secular: we don’t think about religion all the time • Medieval England • Manorialist: surviving on the manor • Communal: you’re not important as an individual (e.g. last names didn’t exist until 1200s); you’re part of a category of people • Immoble: you would live and die within 5 square miles • Illiterate: almost no one can read • Religious: The Church and dreams of heaven would have been important

4. Manor House

5. Serfs’ houses • Farm animals slept indoors to provide extra warm during cold weather • Always dark and smoky, because the fire was in the middle of the house

6. Inside a serf’s house

7. Food For the lord and lady • Bread • Beef • Lamb • Beer and wine • Chicken • Eggs • herring (fish) • Cheese • Being fat was a sign of wealth • Giving away food was a sign of wealth and kept the serfs happy For serfs • Porridge • Bread • Beer (at every meal) • Peas and beans were only source of protein • A little bacon or salt pork • Onion and garlic • Sometimes eggs or cheese for richer serfs • In summer, cabbage, lettuce, etc • Raw fruit was considered unhealthful • Lacking lipids, calcium, vitamins A, C, and D. Low in calories • Sometimes crops failed, which means less food

8. Childhood • Childbirth was dangerous for both mother and child. • Infants are usually left alone in the house, in swaddling clothes, while parents work. • Younger children are looked after by older girls. Young children play and maybe help out a bit with chores. • As a teenager, you would work a full day with your parents.

9. Marriage • A dowry(money or property) was paid by the father or the bride to the husband. • The lord normally gave his consent to the marriage. • Premarital sex was common, to prove a woman’s fertility . • Wedding rings were exchanged at the church door and small amount of money was given to charity. • A feast would follow • No divorce for peasants.

10. Celebrations • Christmas and Easter each last 14 days; during which time, the peasants don’t have to work. • Halloween is celebrated with bonfires • Harvest time also brings a huge feast. • All holidays are celebrated with extra food and beer, from the lord and lady.

11. Bathing and sleeping • You would bathe would about four times a year • You and your family would use a barrel without a lid. • Father would bathe first and the youngest child last, all in the same water. • You would sleep on a straw bed on the floor. Siblings would share and so would husbands and wives.

12. Clothing • Men wore • a tunic ( a long shirt) • hose (like modern leggings, but not stretchy) • a belt • a hood or cloth cap. • Shoes were made of leather with wooden soles. • Underwear was not always worn and was made of linen • Women wore • a long, loose dress • a belt • A wimple (a light hat)

13. Medicine • Doctors were for nobles and rich merchants. • Barbers would have treated the serfs. • Main form of treatment (until the mid-1800s) was blood-letting • The average person lived to be 45 years old.

14. New Vocabulary • manorialism : the economic system where everything is based on and comes from the manor • self-sufficiency: when you produce everything you need, like on the manor. • knight: a son of nobleman, who was loyal to the lord and could be asked to fight for the king • noble: someone born into a wealthy, land-owning family • serf: someone who works the land, can be sold with the land, does not have a lot of rights • Feudalism: when power is decentralized; held by lords and not the king • Chivalry: the code of behavior for knights, emphasizing honor, courage, loyalty, etc.