Daily Life Of A Monk In Medieval Europe

By the time of the Crusades in Medieval Europe, Knights were nothing out of the ordinary. A knight's training began at around four or five. It involved them learning how to ride a pony. Around the age of eight, the young trainee would be sent to be a page for a lord or a relative with influence. At this point, they would refine their swordsmanship, improve their horse skills, and would be taught more about their religion. At the age of 14, pages were eligible to become a squire, where they continued their sword fighting skills. They would accompany a knight into a battle, care for him, care for his horses, and would simply hope to be chosen to

Knights are one of the most mistaken figures of the medieval era due to fairytales and over exaggerated fiction novels. When medieval knights roamed the earth, it was known that they were only human and, like humans, had faults. These knights did not always live up to the standards designated by society. However, in The Canterbury Tales, the knight is revealed as a character that would now be considered a knight in shining armor, a perfect role model in how he acts and what he does. Modern day people see them as chivalrous figures instead of their actual role as mounted cavalry soldiers. As time passes, the idea of what a knight is changes from a simple cavalry soldier to a specific type of behavior.

In warfare today weapons have improved in accuracy and ease of use. With the simple pull of a trigger a soldier can take down his/her intended target. Rather than knights trying disarm their objective with a sword. With the ability to shoot long range it removes the necessity to ride horses, while in battle, to move quicker and more efficiently. However, the way one trains to defend for the common good is similar. Comparatively both knights and soldiers have to go through some degree of training to reach their rank. Although, to be a knight the men must have been born into nobility and women could not fight. While anyone over the age 18 can fight in current day. However, to be knight a young boy would start learning at the age of seven and would continue learning up to the age of 21. Where a soldier today will start training and only train for a couple months to possibly a year.

When thinking about a medieval monastery the first thing that comes to mind is the origin of the word monastery which comes from the Greek monos, meaning alone. Monasticism in itself is a way of life that is devoted to God in seclusion. A large part of monasticism is isolation, not only from the neighbors but from family. When taking the vows to be a monk one not only completely devotes ones life to God but all friends, family and earthly possessions are left behind. Taking the vows of monasticism takes brutal dedication and severe strength. What pushed Guibert of Nogent into monasticism is that his mother withdrew from the world after his father’s death. During that time he was left alone and

Knights, were from the medieval era. At age twelve or thirteen a boy born in to nobility would become a squire. They became assistants to knights, they would look after the knight's armor and weapons. They would be able to follow the knight in to battle and learn the use of the weapons. When the knights were in tournaments, the squire was the only person allowed to help him. Once the squire was old and skilled enough, he would become a knight himself.

In medieval Europe it was a dangerous and fearless time, as being a knight you weren’t the most outstanding class in the feudal system but you got well looked after.

It was not easy to become a knight. They started off by becoming a page. A noble's son could start training to be a knight when he was seven years old. Nobles' sons had to train with weapons of course, but they also had to learn how to ride a horse, how to behave towards their liege lords and ladies, and even about music and the other arts. It was just like going to school, only their teachers were the squires. Once they reached a certain point in their training, they would be appointed as a squire. A squire, who was generally a teenager, had a different set of duties. They had to teach the pages of course, but they also had to wait on the knights. They continued their training in battle, but also were assigned to a specific knight who completed their training. As a squire you went into battle with the knight and fought at his side. This

The knights were the warriors of the time period in between the fall of Rome and the beginning of the Renaissance, also known as the Middle Ages. Knights had to undergo years of training starting as a young boy. Though they were well trained, knight still needed protection. To protect themselves, knights would wear complex armor that usually took over and hour to put on, and usually needed the help of his squire. In order to fight well, they needed strong weapons. A knight’s weapons were sharp and durable.

The Middle Ages was a time of war and extreme poverty. While some empires were thriving, Western Europe struggled to maintain order and safety in the kingdoms during the ninth through fifteenth centuries. Food was a rarity and many people failed to support themselves and their families because of the inequality stemming from the feudal system. The feudal system, a way of ordering people based on their social and economic status, brought inequality to Western Europe, but also kept a sense of order during times of war and instability. In order for the Medieval feudal system to function properly, peasants, knights, and lords all had to fulfill their duties and stay within the boundaries of their given position.

The clergy were known as “the people who prayed” and had two separate types: regular and secular. The regular clergy was an order of monks that were set apart from the world in cloisters. The secular clergy lived and work directly among laity (Nasiadka). The clergy had a special responsibility of looking after the moral order of society. In efforts to improve moral order they often turned large numbers of violent men into servants of the church (Noble et. al. pg. 275).

For around 7 hours you read the bible and sing hymns for around 1 hour. (Website) Next, you do your vows. Like the Vow of Poverty, Vow of Chastity, and Vow of Obedience. (Website) Third, you wash and cook for the monastery, grow vegetables, and fruits to feed people, and produce wine ale and honey. (Website) Also, some manual labor you do is reaping, sowing, ploughing, binding and thatching, haymaking and threshing, providing medical care for the community, providing education for boys and novices, copying the manuscripts of classical authors, and providing hospitality for pilgrims.

Two facts about the Monasteries is the Monks & Nuns were the most smart ones and educated in the Middle Ages. The second Fact is that the Monasteries was always about god but they helped the poor they let the travelers stay in the middle ages and help the sick people. If I was in the Monasteries in Middle Ages I would advise them to make houses for separate people because their might be a chance someone can get the sickness that the person has. Then for the poor people they should have rooms for all of them and a lot of food.

When someone becomes a knight there are codes they have to live there life by in order to succeed, “For which he swore and pledged his honour to it” (Chaucer 286). If a knight does not follow the strict codes they are viewed as lower class and does not receive the same honors that a noble knight would receive. That is why knights devote their lives to their king or queen and follow their orders. Also that is why the knight ended up taking the old women as a wife. In the Death of King Arthur the people also strive to be loyal.

Monasticism is a religious practice whose members attempt to live by specific laws, customs, and practices that require works that go beyond those of either the laypersons or the spiritual leaders of a religion. From the origins of Catholic monasticism, the works of monks, nuns, sisters, and friars have brought forth many important things. Spiritual development in the form of poverty, chastity, obedience and devoting oneself to sanctity and holiness is their main objective. The preservation of culture and ministering to the poor and ill of society are some of the most important things to have come out of monasticism.

Monks took a vow of poverty, obedience, and chastity to their leaders. They had to do physical work, could not leave the monastery, could not own land, or engage in the rest of society. Nuns and monks gave help to the poor people of the community. Not to forget, monks went to the monastery church eight times a day to worship. The first service started at two in the afternoon, and the rest came in intervals in the evening. They were very literate, and their whole lives were focused on reading and writing. Between prayers the monks wrote down scripture and