The Medieval Period in England
I am honored to be chosen as one of the medieval time travelers to witness the history in the Fifth Century. I found out that the people during that time suffered greatly due to disease and war. They studied, worked, and they played, just like we do today. I discovered also a huge gap between rich and poor. They had highly organized system of government and religion. There’s no doubt that our today’s modern society is developed from the past. Europe in the Middle Age saw a mix of Roman, Germanic and Gallic cultures. (“Medieval History”) Because countries started war frequently, the destruction of the battle led people to seek comfort in religion. The church played an important role in middle ages daily lives, and the most common religion was Christianity, in the form of the Catholic Church. It’s not unusual for a person to go to church every day and pray, it did not matter if a person was a peasant, a serf, a noble, a lord or a king. (“Daily Life and Social History in the Middle Ages”) Religion was a dominant force in their society; it was both the model of morals and the basic law that instilled social discipline. However, the constitution was written by the king and favored the nobilities over the citizens. The king would have the absolute power and since ninety percent population was peasant without being educated; the peasant was used to obey the king and being oppressed by the upper-class. (“Middle Ages Customs” ) Women’s social status was vulnerable. It was acceptable to have more than one wife, even the church advocated polygamy marriage. Marriage was considered permanent and the woman was given marriage by his father who presented a dowry to the man’s family. Liven 2
Women from the lower or peasant-class were expected to work as hard as their male partner in the field. The wives of the nobilities were supposed to stay at home and take care of the husband.( “ Medieval Life” ) Moreover,
Cited: "Daily Life and Social History in the Middle Ages." About.com
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"Medieval History." Medieval History. Medieval Life and Times. 20 Feb 2013. .
"Medieval Life." Main page. 10 July 2012. Historyonthenet. 20 Feb 2013.
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Newman, Simon. "Middle Ages Customs." The Finer Times: War, Crime and History
Resource. The Finer Times. 20 Feb 2013.
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