Elizabeth Church
Michael Sanders
Dustin Sanson
ENGL 208
Professor Martin
Group Presentation
The Rise of the Middle Ages
The major form of government coming into the early medieval ages was for the most part run by the church. The feudalism that let so many men fight for rule over land left the kingship changing too often for it to gain more power than the church. However, some of the more notable leaders of this time were Edward the Confessor and William of Normandy or William the Conqueror (“Britannia”). The Church was the major power, and would run the lands like we are run by our government today. The laws of the church were what the people lived by and obeyed. The kings were basically the deciding factor on how the land was divided up and protected. How the feudal system worked was men would go to battle or war over the land and once it was won, the winning king would have to divide land amongst his upper class and they would pay homage to him(“Feudalism”). This would continue down through the ranks, and every man could make any laws for the men underneath him.
The education during the middle
ages was also ran by the church. It was deemed necessary that the youth be
taught the Bible and that they learn a new form of Latin that was
different from the classical form of Latin (“Education in
The main enemies during these times were the invaders from the Northern, Eastern and Southern borders. The Vikings would invade from the north, mostly Germanic tribes. The Magyars and Mongols would invade from the east, and the Islamic tribes would invade from the south. The enemies weren’t always the invaders though, the church sent out crusades against Islamic tribes and other peoples to the south (Lawall 1623).
The structure of the classes in the middle stages started mainly because of the vast amount of land which the kings had control over. The kings ruled over these lands under the belief of “divine right.” The problem with this situation was that the king had more land than he could physically rule. The solution to this problem was giving his barons or underlings portions of the lands with authority under the king’s rule. Clergy, barons, and priests were all part of the upper nobility class. They felt that they were more highly evolved than the lower class and treated the lower class like dirt. The church also paid the king to use parts of the land. This bond between the church and the king kept provided them with a great amount of wealth while the peasants were left with meager amounts. About 90% of the people in the Middle Ages were peasants. Some peasants worked in their own small businesses while others worked so that they could just have a bed to sleep in. The structure of this society was built for one reason: security for everyone no matter what their status was.
At times the roles of women were defined by the relation their husband had in society. If they married a peasant they would perform hard labor. If they married someone in royalty then they would be active in the court. Some women were confined to household tasks such as baking, cooking, weaving among other things. Other women became wet nurses: a woman who would nurse a baby after its birth. Some women held jobs such as blacksmiths, merchants and apothecaries. Then some women got to work on a more creative track such as writing, painting, and working as musicians. Unfortunately, women were only paid half the amount a man earned. Even if the job was more suitable for a woman, they still only got paid half the amount a man earned in wages. This did not help the women who worked in order to provide for the rest of the family.
Writers of the time period incorporated elements and values drawn from different and often conflicting traditions. The Song of Roland is a poem portraying Germanic traditions of military heroic in order to bring individual achievements to the needs of Christianity becoming unified. Geoffrey Chaucer wrote over half of his career towards the audience of aristocratic until he wrote The Canterbury Tales. When Chaucer wrote these tales his intentions were to poke fun at both all genders and also social classes. The Middle Ages were an “Age of Faith” and an “Age of Chivalry”. However this was not the focus for the writers of the time period. They were more concerned with the individual people trying to figure out their own destinies in the world.
The
introduction of Christianity to
The Christian religion influenced many aspects of Medieval society. One of these aspects is the literature of the time period. The protagonists of a lot of medieval literature go on journeys in search for the road to salvation. For example, in The Divine Comedy, Dante goes on a spiritual journey through the nine rings of hell. Although this time period was an age of faith, it was also a time where its members got caught up in the complexities and conflicts that the politics of any religion brings to the table (Lawall 1622). One of these dilemmas was that people were not living up to their religious duties. In many instances of The Divine Comedy, Dante provides a political commentary of issues that he was concerned about like the sins of individuals. Another piece of medieval literature that deals with the politics of Christianity is Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. This literature was an allegory of the corruption that the church had undergone in the later years of the Medieval Ages.
Some of the values expressed in earlier medieval literature include courtly behavior, romantic love, and chivalry. Arthurian literature was popular during the twelfth century of the medieval era; the heroes were humble, submissive, and willing to sacrifice. European nobility celebrated these values because they reflected the current military practices of the time (Lawall 1623). Some forms of medieval literature included allegories, frame narratives, and lais (”Medieval Literature”). A lot of literature during this period was also written in vernacular form, the “common language of the people” (“Medieval Literature”).
Another aspect
of medieval society that Christianity influenced was the art and architecture.
During much of the era, basilicas and gothic cathedrals were the main
form of architecture (Laporte 7).
Basilicas included high roofed halls and an apse (or dome) at the end of it.
Although basilicas were used for religious functions, they were mostly
centers for business gatherings (Laporte 7). Cathedrals on the other hand, were
mostly used for religious purposes (Laporte 9). The gothic cathedral
architecture involved high and elaborate towers, pointed arches, ribbed vaults
and flying buttresses (Laporte 9). Prayer labyrinths were also introduced in
holy establishments during medieval times. The labyrinths on cathedral floors
served as meditation devices for Christians to connect with God. These were also
viewed as symbolizing spiritual pilgrimages to
In many regards, a lot of modern day civilizations owe their origins to
the events that took place during this era. The Middle Ages in
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