The Era Of The Middle Ages

Personally, when thinking of the middle Ages, I tend to have the misconception that it is a period of darkness with no progress. However, R.W. Southern’s book, ‘The Making of the Middle Ages’, offers an in depth study of the development of history in the world today. Observing that this book was published during the 1950s, Mr. Southern’s interpretation of the ‘Middle Ages’ was very distinctive in comparison to other historians of his time. He explores the significance of the Middle Ages as a separate sector in the study of history by which the audience will notice that previous categories of studied history is set aside, as we are no longer focusing on the usual ‘Classical Greece’ and ‘Rome’

They not only dressed out themselves and their wives, but also their horses. Do not be mistaken, not all craftsmen behaved in this manner. Some craftsmen were monks! A monk named Bertinus “lived in a monastery, devoting himself to work, prayer and study” (Price 14). The Guildsmen that Chaucer wrote about were very boastful and showy with their wealth, but not all craftsmen were like that.

During the High Middle Ages, there was no strong, central government that was politically organized enough to meet common needs of the people in Europe. After the fall of Charlemagne’s empire, invasions and anarchy became the societal norm. If they wanted to survive, they had to meet particular needs. The people of the High Middle Ages met their needs of political organization, economic provision, and social aspects through Feudalism, Manorialism, and through the Church.

During the time in which Rome existed in the Middle Ages it accumulated an abundant amount of land and wealth. The way that Rome accomplished this was by defeating the peoples that ruled the land they wanted and incorporating them into their ever expanding empire. The reason the Romans were so successful at doing this is because of their technological advances, logistical capabilities, and ability to implement strategy efficiently and safely. These when put together allow an army during the Middle ages to deploy consistently with high moral and low mortality.

The Middle Ages were between 500 and 1400 A.D. and have been described as either the Dark Ages, the Age of Feudalism, the Age of Faith, or the Golden Age of Europe. The Dark Ages were described as the time when trade declined, cities fell into despair, no law or order, and no school. The Age of Feudalism has been described as an age of order. The Age of Faith caused nations to become closer in faith. The Golden Age was known as the age when people were thriving and there was a surplus of goods and supplies. The three labels that describe the Middle Ages the most accurately are the Dark Age, the Age of Feudalism, and the Age of Faith.

The Christian religions rise to supremacy in the middle ages was the result of several factors. Christians had long been persecuted by the Roman Empire because the Romans felt that Christianity challenged and offended the Greco-Roman Gods and the Christians were prone to revolt against Roman rule. Christianity survived because it had many teachings that appealed to the downtrodden in Roman society, these teachings being that even though they were suffering they would gain equality and possibly superiority in the next life, Christianity gave them hope.

The Church is a highly acclaimed power that is still in power to this day. The Pope is still in power and the Catholic Church has been in power for almost 2000 years. The Church has a huge following and many people follow it blindly. Though there is no feudal system to put the Church on top and there is now a separation of Church and State, it was not always like that. The Church’s history is anything but pure. It constantly used it’s power against those that relied on the Church for answers and reassurance on salvation. The illiteracy of the Middle Ages allowed the Church officials to be trusted mindlessly. Reforms were looked down upon and even resulted in the imprisonment or death of some people. The Church is responsible for taking advantage of the lower class in the Feudal system, committing the Crusades or the “Holy wars” and killing and torturing heretics during the Inquisition as the result of trying to spread Catholicism.

The late Middle ages was definitely a troubled time for citizens around Europe. From the 14th Century to the 15th Century, humans were raveled by famines, disruption of socio economics, and lost of faith in the Catholic Church. To the eyes of many at the time, this era was looked at as a major decline of life. With the many deaths, poor condition for poor people, and the schism of the Church, it may seem easy to call this era a decline. Although upon closer looking, this era is more of a transitional period into the next period than a decline due to many reasons. Whether you look at religious, social movements, or economically, the late Middle Ages helped transition Europe into what it has become.

They not only dressed out themselves and their wives, but also their horses. Do not be mistaken, not all craftsmen behaved in this manner. Some craftsmen were monks! A monk named Bertinus “lived in a monastery, devoting himself to work, prayer and study” (Price 14). The Guildsmen that Chaucer wrote about were very boastful and showy with their wealth, but not all craftsmen were like that.

Without question, the life servants lived in the village was painstaking and time consuming. Crafts and industries were a huge part of village life--not only were towns a stop for merchants and filled with bustling trading centers, but they also consisted of adroit people with all sorts of expertise who crafted things with their bare hands (Village Life). The guild was of huge importance during the Middle Ages. Initially, it was a plan used to provide support for a certain group of workers; each village had only one or two of them as it expeditiously spread throughout Europe. Without regards to certain details, these organizations were the bases of modern trade unions and carried out in a very similar manner. Furthermore, their main

The Middle Ages seemed to be, as Charles Dickens stated in A Tale of Two Cities, “the best of times, and the worst of times” (4). From a mysterious disease known as the "Black Death" that wiped out around 20 million people in Europe (almost 30 percent of the continent’s population) to a complete rebirth of European thinkers, writers and artist, the Middle Ages were absolutely dramatic times. But how do we know? Through the works and pieces that were left behind.

The Middle Ages, often referred to as the Dark Ages, was regarded to be a time of despair, disease, and death. Just as the name the “Dark Ages” suggests, this period of European history seemed to be surrounded by darkness and hopelessness. Unfortunately, the majority of people only see this side of the Middle Ages when, in fact, the Middle Ages was a much more important era. Especially during the late Middle Ages, one can find a change in orthodox social structure, political instability mostly concerned with succession to the throne, and economic changes and how those changes went hand in hand with the change in society. After certain demographical changes and turning points such as the Hundred Years’ War, Europe began to transform

The Middle Ages is a medieval time period in Western Europe that lasted from 500 to 1500 C.E. The Middle Ages began as a result from the collapse of the Roman Empire which began in 31 BCE, and fell in 476 C.E. In around 300 C.E. the emperor of the Rome divided the land for easier control. This began the decline of Rome. The Western half of Rome fell to Barbarian invaders, while the eastern half lived on as the Byzantine Empire. The Early Middle Ages began shortly after the western half fell. After the Roman Empire lost its position as the center of power, Western Europe fell into a time of chaos and warfare. There were a lot of attacks by Vikings, Magyars (hungarian nomads), and Muslims. The invasions caused disorder, and suffering, and the government system developed into feudalism.The High Middle Ages followed, the Early Middle Ages, and was the time period in Western Europe from around the 11th century to the 13th. The Middle Ages are referred to as the “Dark Ages” because of the disorder, hopelessness of the time. It is accurate to refer to the Middle Ages (500-1500) as a whole as a” the Dark Ages”.The Early Middle Ages meet the qualities of a dark age due to the, lack of government, education, and dysfunctional economy. However, the high middle ages was a time of improvement for these issues.

The Medieval Period lasted from 400-1500 AD and began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The fall and the beginning of this era had massive changes to the social and economic systems of that time. These changes began to occur because of the start of feudalism in both Europe and Asia during this time in hope to protect themselves from barbarians. At that time, the feudal system was the law of the land, and the way that the upper class maintained control over the lower class. To maintain this order the upper class provided protection to the lower class and in exchange, the lower class worked for the upper class. This was true in both Asia and Europe as they both had a social class system to make sure everything isn’t going to chaos. Yet, these ideals weren’t passed on between one another, more that each area adapted to that type of government based on the circumstances. Even in this time where there was uncivilized and odd people rampaging about, there was people whom had done great achievements. These people allowed their nations to advance whether it was by fighting and conquering land, preaching of their religion, or by creating marvelous inventions. They did amazing and remarkable things to not only advance their nation but as well affect them long after their deaths. Making sure that their legacies were never forgotten or left behind at all. To express and prove it let’s evaluate the extent to which the expertise and the achievements of Toyotomi Hideyoshi with

When one thinks of the word medieval, there appear to be almost an instantaneous reaction. Some may see the period associated with the gothic architecture, Crusades, brutalism, death, the Black Plague, illiteracy, or the Dark Ages. Others may interpret the period as one full of valiant knights, princesses waiting to be saved, jousting, castles, and noble kings and queens. From video games such as The Legend of Zelda and the popular HBO television series A Game of Thrones, to accounts of medieval torture or treatment in the newspapers, the Middle Ages seems to be more relevant than ever. However, it can be argued that much about what we know about the real Middle Ages was constructed in the nineteenth century due to a comparative lack of records and the imaginative portrayal of the period by the Victorians. Due to the tumultuous period that was the Industrial Revolution, many social critics and artists turned back to the Middle Ages in order to reflect their anxieties of the present and the hopes and expectations of the future. I began to note that the medievalist movement was built upon medieval studies through a desire to create, rather than retrieve the past, which in turn lead to academic debates about authenticity and furthered the tension between the two fields leading to an almost insurmountable break. Those in medieval studies look towards medievalism as a misguided attempt to contemplate history which in turn changed the public’s understanding towards the era away