The Tragedy Of Medieval Society

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’

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 drastically thus threatening traditional Europe. Therefore, unlike popular belief, the late Middle Ages was a time when absolute monarchy began to die and when social structure seemed to be flipping upside down due to drastic changes in economic practices.

Medieval times saw an age of countless wars and bloodshed. From Persian conquests and Viking massacres, to Crusades and The Hundred Years War, Europe was no stranger to tragedy. Unfortunately, in the mid 1300s, there was an attack they never saw coming; a bloodthirsty raid unlike anything they had ever encountered. This invader had no mercy, killing all who came in his path and no one was prepared to fight back. He had no preference in victims; men, women, and children; Jews, Christians, and Muslims; even animals all fell prey. This ruthless intruder was the bubonic plague known as The Black Death. Historian, Ole J. Benedictow refers to the epidemic as “The Greatest Catastrophe Ever,” but just how devastating was it and what was the lasting impact?

The Medieval Mind, is most focused on reviving the oft-scorned term "the Dark Ages." For a long time over the last several centuries, it was commonplace to see the time period that last roughly from 400 A.D. to 1400 A.D. as a culturally backward and impoverished period of time. The rough social image is one of a declining Western civilization after the barbaric destruction and decay of the Roman Empire. It would not be until the rise of a number of social movements, the rediscovery of antiquity and the creation of modern science. Then the Western World would emerge from the darkness and enter the light through social periods like the Renaissance and the

Europeans’ changing world-view had enormous impact following the Middle Ages. Evaluate cultural and intellectual changes and continuities in Europe during this period.

The societal mindset that was prevalent in medieval Europe, feudalism, phased out due to the bubonic plague and the religious beliefs of the people.

Western Europe went through a lot changes through the 8th and 14th century it was the rise of the medieval culture.The Church started to gain power as Christianity started to gain popularity throughout all over Western Europe. Christianity had a lot of influence on the development of Romanesque and Gothic culture, as they took a lot of the ideas from Christianity and implemented it into theirs. As Western Europe went through all these different events the religious and political aspects started to change as well. The Church started to gain a lot of power as death was spreading all over Europe, people started to worry where their soul would go after their death. In the beginning of medieval Europe the aristocrats had a lot of the power while

The Medieval Period was a time where citizens were controlled and dominated by three basic things- their feudal obligations, their religion and the crime and punishment system forced upon them. Feudal obligations helped build their social hierarchy and what was proper for them (depending on their rank) to do, Religion controlled their beliefs and ultimately what provided entertainment and the law system sparked fear so that no one will misbehave. They all play an important roll, but the most controlling factor was Religion.

What exactly sparked the transition of medieval Western Europe into the new modern age? In its prime, the Medieval Period was host to the age of faith, with the Church harnessing supreme authority (Sayre 467). In every sense, medieval religious culture dominated every aspect of life, whether it was in societal norms or in the manner in which individuals saw the world (Sayre 246).The feudal system was also very intrinsic to the time period. It became the foundation of Europe, as its structure dominated life during the Middle Ages and eventually even translated into aspects of religion (Sayre 320). However, these times did not last.

In the Medieval Ages, many people had to steal to stay alive. However, stealing is a sin, and therefore the government believed that people should be punished according to their sins and crimes. How would they know what was too much of a punishment, or how would they tell who committed the crime and who is innocent? They came up with the idea of an ordeal, which is quite common among many different societies. The Vikings used ordeals to decide if someone was worthy or not.

The 16th and early 17th centuries of Western Europe were dark and dramatic, as French Catholics had slaughtered more than ten thousand Protestants in Paris on August 23rd, 1572. However, during this period, people began to challenge and question religion. Francis (Francois) Rabelais published his satirical novels Gargantua and Pantagruel (between 1532 and 1564) to criticize the French Catholic Church on social hypocrisy; about forty years later, Miguel de Cervantes completed his satirical book Don Quixote (in 1605) to show readers the absurdity of government in society. The social concerns of their time were religion and politics, which remain hot topics in today’s world.

Through the modern eyes, history of Western civilization, from the fall of the Roman Empire to the Age of Discovery, is seen through Medieval literature. Ten centuries of history are noticed, involving individual products of heroic periods and their unique era of culture. Acknowledging Medieval literature illustrates a society of heroic knights, led by a luxurious king, charging into battle, romantic connections between royalty and a common person, and new discoveries being found. As well as times characterized by feudal activity, along with the Catholic Church holding an influencing control of society, and placing heavily on the laws they laid. The Church ruled simultaneously with the government, controlling every aspect of the Medieval

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

Western European people had endured a series of changes during the late medieval period. Changes can be categorized into two aspects: politically and socially. On politics, Popes were not as strong as they were due to conflicts between the state and the church. Socially, people began to live a religion- dominated life, and experienced active sexism towards women. These changes, either positive or negative, have become an undivided part of European History.

European society in the Middle Ages was predominately rural. The great urban centres of the Roman Empire had either decayed or remained as administrative and religious centres. The societal wealth and power rested within the countryside. The countryside began to experience economic growth in the 11th century. This economic growth would trigger a series of changes to the European societal order in the 12th century. While the majority of the population remained in the countryside, an influx of people migrated from the countryside to towns. A process of urban revival was seen throughout Western Europe. Industries emerged, trade flourished, and the societal structure began to change, leading to a shift in power dynamics. Conflict arose in the