Harvest - Context

Question 1

When is Harvest set?

Answer 1

Pre-industrial England, roughly in the medieval period.

Question 2

What was the feudal system?

Answer 2

A power system where people held their land in return for promising loyalty. In Harvest the 58 villagers are loyal to Master Kent and serve him through labour

Question 3

Women in the medieval period

Answer 3

• Women still had to be supervised by their father, brothers or another male.
• They had little control over their own lives.
• Women had a dual burden, did the same work as male counterparts on the farm but were also related to the domestic sphere (cooking etc.)

Question 4

Religion in the medieval period

Answer 4

• Dominated by Christianity
• The church also penalized a number of religious offenses like heresy, apostasy and sexual sins.
• Religion or Christianity signed a control/oppression (Marxist), hence why it’s fitting that Master Jordan insists on making a church

Question 5

Punishment in the medieval period

Answer 5

• The pillory; a device made of a wooden or metal framework, erected on a post with holes securing heads and hands. Lasted a few hours
• The rack; torturer turned the handle causing the ropes to pull the victims arms

Question 6

Alternative view of women in the medieval period

Answer 6

• A ‘scold’ in the medieval times, which referred to a troublesome and angry woman who broke the public peace by habitually arguing and quarrelling with her neighbors. Only women could be given this label.