Everyday Life in Medieval Europe

• Overview:  Life in Medieval Europe was very routine, and revolved around an agrarian calendar.  Most of the time was spending toiling over the land and attempting to grow enough food to survive.  Peasants lived and worked outside in simple dress and had a meager diet.  Church feasts marked important planting and harvesting as well as rest days.  Life was very much localized.  Social events like weddings involved the entire town.  Fairs involved performers, merchants, games of chance at the tavern, and tournaments featuring knights.  Superstition dominated the minds of the people.

• Cities:  Few cities existed in Europe before the 13^th century.  Viking invasions influenced the proliferation of cities in the West.  Cities’ origins were that of towns fortifying in order to protect themselves from being sacked and plundered.  Urban life became more prominent as time passed.

• Villages:  The majority of people lived in villages and their lives centered around farming.  People and buildings resided near the center of the village surrounded by fields and pastures.  Lives were lived out here with rarely a chance to leave.  Villages depended on common enterprise to survive and sometimes moved if the land became infertile or the weather too harsh.  Villages often had lords residing in castles nearby.

• Commerce:  (1) Merchants began trading with those of other cities and treaties were formed to protect those carrying goods from one city to another, with these caravans often protected by government troops. Within a city, merchants often swore association to protect each other within the walls.  (2) Medieval towns held markets at least once a week in the square, where stalls were set up and local merchants would sell their wares. Nearby towns may have also sent any surplus goods they could to be sold.  (3) Fairs attracted foreign merchant to sell things not easily found in the area.  (4) Particular trades banded together to form guilds, setting standards as well as protecting the members.  Apprenticeships were how people started in a particular trade.

• Women:  Women in the Middle Ages were usually treated as property. While medieval country marriages were often the result of love, marriage among the noble class was more a business transaction.

• Entertainment:  Monotony in medieval life was broken by holidays and festivals.  Medieval entertainment varied by status but included feasts, banquets, jousts, tournaments, plays, fairs, games including chess, and animals.

• Sources: 
http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/entertainment-middle-ages.htm
http://www.medieval-life.net/

Medieval Religious Practices and Institutions

Medieval Religious Practices and Institutions

The Catholic Church: or as it was called, the universal church was perhaps the most influential institution of the medieval era.  The Catholic Church teaches the gospel of Jesus Christ and practices sacraments such as the holy Eucharist, baptisms, and also performs various charities.   All people (including peasants – who often worked for free on Church properties) were required to pay taxes or “Tithes” to the Church either in money or in goods.  However, the Church itself was not required to pay taxes.  Thus, the Holy institution was easily wealthier than any King or noble family.  Much of this money was used to build beautiful cathedrals, churches, and monasteries of which some are still revered as some of the most elegant structures in Europe today. 

Church Hierarchy:  The pecking order of the church begins with the Pope – which is a Greek term meaning ‘father.’  It has been said that Saint Peter, the apostle, was the very first Pope.  Duties of the Pope during medieval times included simply to represent the sacred authority of the church.  With the declaration of the Doctrine of Two Swords in 1302, this authority was extended from the church itself to the state as well.  The doctrine declared that all people, in order to attain eternal salvation, must be entirely submissive to the will of the Pope.  It also stated that the two ‘swords’ of Catholicism were spiritual and secular and sought to reconcile the two by demanding the submission of the state under the church.  Thus, all institutions, though they may be carried out by men of the state, were ultimately under the direction of the church. 

            Under the Pope, the next highest power of the church was that of Cardinals.  The word Cardinal itself is Latin for ‘hinge’ which suggests their influential nature.  Duties of the Cardinal now include the election of Popes, but historically this duty belonged to the clergymen and diocese of Rome up until about 1059. 

            Under the Pope and Cardinals, there were Archbishops and Bishops, who levied taxes and were deeply involved in the undertakings of feudal society.  Priests conducted mass and because they were often the only people of the village (besides Monks – who often kept to themselves) who could read and write; priests were responsible for the keeping of records. 

            Finally, Monks were the most humble of the Catholic Church hierarchy.    Historically, they often lived alone, but eventually many came to live in Monasteries and became very well educated.  Most bibles came out of Monasteries – as Monks were responsible for making copies of the Holy texts.  Monasteries were self-supporting, so Monks were usually not allowed to leave them.  The life of a Monk was therefore devoted entirely to prayer, education, and obedience under God.  Monks were required to take three solemn vows of chastity, of poverty, and of obedience.  They could not keep money or own property and more often than not, were banned from communicating with the outside world even with their families.

Monastic Orders:  The emergence of Monastic orders was a result of the Church’s need for organization and designated leadership.  In the West, there were orders such as that under the rule of St. Augustine or St. Benedict. 

Mendicant Orders:

            Mendicant orders developed in an effort to ‘reinvigorated’ the life of Catholics.  There were five great orders of the medieval era: Francisians, Carmelites, Dominicans, Servites, and Augustinians.  Many were established in popular towns and revived the practice of public preaching and serving the poor and the sick – as followers of Jesus Christ.  Although the friars of the orders were not allowed to own property, the orders were funded by charity and as time went on, the Church gradually began to allow collective ownership of a property by friars.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_monasticism#Roman_Catholicism

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15126a.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church_hierarchy#Cardinals

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mendicant_orders

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church