Social Changes In The Middle Ages

Changes are an important part of history, and a natural part of life. In the case of geography throughout history, the world has made many changes to its borders and who has grievances with one another. From the High Middle Ages of olden Europe, to the twentieth century, change has occurred. These changes have unified and broken ties between countries and regions time and time again throughout history. There are many forces that push toward and against unity throughout time. The world map became what is today because of both unity and division marking change in the past.

Towards the end of the Middle Ages and into the duration of the Renaissance, the Medieval Church’s social and political power dwindled. Centuries prior the Catholic Church gained a surplus of control, largely due to the stability it maintained during the chaotic breakdown of the Western Roman Empire . Yet toward the end of the Middle Ages the Church set in motion factors that would ultimately lead to its downfall as the definitive figure of authority. However, despite political and social controversy surrounding the church, the institutions it established cleared a path for a new way of thinking, shaping society in an enduring way.

After the fall of the Roman Empire, there was no main dominating force in Europe to enforce laws and protection for the people. The Middle Ages had begun and without the Romans, life became centered around survival. The destabilization caused rates of illiteracy, disease, and deaths to rise dramatically and to remedy the average peasants worry, the feudalism system flourished and required work in exchange for the safety of manors. Yet while there was not a overlooking empire to look towards for authority, the Catholic Church served its role to bring all classes together (Document 6). The Middle Ages will be ultimately known as an age of faith because of the prevalence of violence, power of religion, and the Catholic Church’s preservation of knowledge.

The Peasants life journey, through the Middle Ages was tough. The life of a peasant was hard and not easy or respected. A peasant’s work was never appreciated by the high social classes. Peasant life should be acknowledged for the work and impact it had on British History.

The Middle Ages were a time of political turmoil, unstable economies, and significant social changes however, one must understand the effect of an extremely pertinent aspect of those times, religion

How do the personal lives/experiences of historians/authors affect their vision of the medieval world? Please remember to use specific examples from our readings.

During the Middle Ages the church was an influence in the people's lives, meaning that most of the intellect and culture at the time was based off religion and god. Slowly, the church became less part of people’s lives when classical art and intellect of Ancient Greece and Rome was revived. This revival is known as the Renaissance. The Renaissance is regarded as a turning point in the Western intellectual and cultural tradition because of the new philosophy, education, and art. Before the Renaissance, many people’s beliefs of reality and existence was based off religion and god.

The church had a dynamic effect on the development of Western Civilization. The spiritual enthusiasm displayed spiritual growth and passion during the High Middle Ages. The High Middle Ages influenced a great deal of the European Society. The church was one of the most powerful forces during the creation of the middle ages and caused great innovation throughout Europe. Therefore, the European

Peasants’ daily lives revolved around work to provide food for their families through mostly farming. They were the backbone of society during the Middle Ages because they paid the taxes and produced the food. Most peasants lived in small two-room cottages with dirt floors or farms on a manor. The common room was the kitchen, living room and dining room. Their beds were piles of straw, the windows were holes and light was provided by candles. Peasants owned a few furnishings and a wealthier one would own a bed frame. In the winter, peasants brought their livestock inside to keep the cottage warm and some peasants died from overexposure to the cold. Their clothing consisted of long stocking, dresses, undergarments, and wooden clogs that were

The Middle ages were controlled and shaped by the despair of the common people. Things like, the bubonic plague shaped the common people by dropping the population of France by more than five million. During this time the Jewish people were once again persecuted for their different beliefs. In London they were attacked and their houses burned. The disease was transferred from fleas to rats and then to people. The way other countries would get infected was the infected rats would run across the ropes that kept boats to the dock and the boats would sail to countries and the rats would cross back over the rope and onto land. The Plague wiped out so many people, it devastated the land and it’s people. The land never fully recovered from the “Black

From 1000 to 1300 western Europe went through political and economic reorganization. There was no revival of central imperial authority in western Europe, even though there was an establishment of the Holy Roman Empire. Agricultural improvements brought increased food supplies, which encouraged urbanization, manufacturing, and trade. In the high middle ages, Roman Catholic Christianity was the cultural foundation of European society. The church advanced educational institutions such as cathedral schools and universities. Between 1000 and 1300, western European peoples strengthened their own society. There was an establishment of regional states, an economic growth and social development, European Christianity during the Middle Ages, and medieval expansion in Europe.

There are a few similarities about the economy in the Early Middle Ages as well as the High Middle Ages. People in both eras of the Middle Ages both had economies revolving around agriculture. Using a method of crop rotation, a section of the designated field was cultivated, but another section was left alone so that the soil could rejuvenate. The different parts would switch off every year. These agricultural systems would be used within Manors, which were common in both the Early and High Middle Ages. In the Early Middle Ages, trade was a rare thing to be done from at a large scale but, there was definitely trade from people within a manor or from manor

This is the period was the height of the middle ages, renaissance, the reformation, and European explorations of the Americas and continuously evolved. During the middle ages, there was a huge economic boom. The Renaissance underwent significant changes such as education and art which transformed the culture. The reformation caused wars between the Catholic and Protestant rulers. The European explorations of the Americas were caused by increased wealth from the Renaissance. All four of these times periods had many changes.

Written by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of the fourteenth century, The Canterbury Tales and more specifically it’s prologue, shed a great deal of light on the rising middle class in (fourteenth century) England. Despite the fact that some readers may not know a lot about the time period today, Chaucer’s writing in the prologue elaborates on topics such as occupations, wealth, education, and political power. Scholar Barbara Nolan writes of the prologue, “it is more complex than most…It raises expectations in just the areas the handbooks propose, promising to take up important matters of natural and social order, moral character, and religion and outlining the organization the work will follow” (Nolan 154). In other words, while noting the

The Church was the central institution of the European Middle Ages and no aspect of medieval life was untouched by its influence. The pre-Reformation church shaped the daily life of peasant and magnate alike, from birth until death. The Church was the key to a civilized society; The Church was the most significant force of the pre-Reformation era, as it acted as the stimulus of western learning and development. Most of the economic and social advances seen in Ireland were driven by the Church. The pre-Reformation church was the most important institution for the people in Ireland at this time, and it is evident from a study of this topic that through its various institutions, the pre-reformation church had a huge impact on the daily lives of