Life And Death In Medival Times Flashcards
When did the Middle Ages start and end
It started in 800 AD and ended in 1500 AD
What was the feudal system
It was the system of land ownership where rulers divided amongst their followers in return for loyalty and taxes the followers were called nobles or vassals
What were the nobles or vassals given in return for their loyalty
They were given land called fief
What did the nobles or vassals swear to their king
They swore an oath of fealty
What was the oath of fealty
It was promising to fight for him, provide him with troops and pay him taxes
Where were the knights in the feudal system
The knights were below the nobles in the system the nobles gave them some land in return for protection
Who did the knights look after
The knights looked after the peasants ( people who worked on a lords land)
Why was a motte and Bailey built ?
He needed to build a castle to defend himself and his people from enemies they needed to build their castle quickly so they built a motte and Bailey castle quickly out of earth and wood
What is a draw bridge
The drawbridge could be raised and lowered to control entry to the castle
what is a keep
the keep was the main building inside the walls. It held the lords apartments, the great hall and chapel
what is a tower
towers were built into the walls and it gave them protection
what is a Bailey
The enclosed area and the keep was called the bailey. Here the stables, workshops, kitchen well water and soliders lodgings were situated
What is a motte
A motte was a small artifical hill with a wooden tower or keep at the top of it
what were the curtain walls
The curtain walls enclosed the castle and protected those inside
what were the battlements
They ran along the top of the keep and the walls soliders would patrol along them day and night
what did foot soliders fight with?
they fought with swords, daggers and spears and had sheilds for protection
What did archers fight with
they fought with bows and arrows or sometimes longbows or crossbows they wore very little protective clothing
what are the weapons of an English medival knight
The long sword, wooden lance with an iron tip, metal headed mace, battle axe and a dagger
What did the knights wear?
They wore heavy armour made of metal
What are the names of the 3 stages you have to go through to become a knight
A page, a squire and a knight
What happened at the first stage as a page
At 7 a boy would be sent to live with another lord which was called fostering. he would learn how to use a sword and was taught manners
What happened at the 2nd stage as a squire
At 14 he would learn to fight on horseback and accompany his lord into battle aswell as helping him dress for battles
What happened at the final stage as a knight
At 21 he is eligble to become a knight. The night before the ceremony he would pray in a chapel. Then dressed in a white robe and full armour he took part in the ceremony of dubbing
What were tournments good for?
Tournaments were a way for knights to practice for battle in between wars
what was a melee?
It was a mass tournament where two teams of horsemen clashed in formation
What was a joust
It was where two knights would charge eachother and try to knock of the other of their horse with a lance
What was a manor
A manor was a smalll, like a village. It was equipped with a manor house, church and peasant houses
Who was the baliff
the baliff kept law and order and collected tax
How did they get their resources
There were fields for growing crops and commons for grazing aninals, a river and well for water and a woodland for wood
who took the occupation of farming
peasants
What system did they use to farm
The open field system
How was the land diveded
The land for crops was divided into three huge fiels. each field was divided into long strips of land and tended by different families
What was crop rotation
It meant that the crop planted in each field changed each year
what were the two types of peasants
A freeman and a surf
What was a freeman
A freeman had to pay rent to the lord and pay a tithe but did not have to work the land for free
What was a surf
Serfs essentialy belonged to their lord. They worked six days a week farming
what were the qualities of a serfs home
It had a single room with a wattle and doub walls, an earthen floor and a thatched roof. inside was cramped, dark and smoky from the fire
What did the men and women wear in medival times
men wore tunics and leggings, while women wore long dresses with a head scarf their shoes were made from leather
what did their diet consist of?
Their diet consisted of bread, cheese and vegetable and oat soup called pottage. They drank ale because it was safer to drink than water they rarely ate meat
What were the punishments for crimes
The most common punishment was a fine or sometimes a thief could have their hands cut off or somtimes a ducking stool was used to punish women causing toruble by tying them to a chair and lowering them into the water reapitadliy
what was a guild
each town formed guilds, organistaions of people who worked in the same tired
how did someone become a master craftsmen?
A boy became an apprentice in his fathers workshop he recieved no pay and was treated harshly after seven years he became a journeyman now he could be paid for his work and travel to different workshops and towns for work. eventually he applied to become a master craftsmen. he created a masterpeice if the guild decided it was good enough he was accepetd
how could you become a monk
at 15 he joined the monastery as a novice learned how to read and write in latin and studied church teachings he had to follow the stirct set of 73 rules of St Benedict the head monk of abot then decided if he was ready to become a mon k. He swore his oath of poverty, chasity and obiedince
what was a tonsure
The crown of a monks head was shaved
what did people in the middle ages believe was the reason for their sickness
they believed that they were sick because it was a punishment from god
What did the fathers of medicine believe the body was made up of
Four humours, blood, black bile, yellow bile and Phlegm if a person was sick it meant there was an inbalance in one of these humours
What were the three most common ilnesses
Typhoid, small pox and leprosy
What did barbers also do aside from cutting hair
They used to carry out operations even tho they were unskilled
What was the feudalism
The system of land ownership
Who were peasants
People who worked on a lords land
What was an open field system
A system of farming
What was a tithe
The payment of 1/10 of the peasants annual income to the church
What was the oath of chivalry
Sworn by a night to be loyal to his lords, protect the weak and poor and to be brave
What was a charter
A contract whereby a town was granted freedom to run its own affairs but paid taxes to the king
What was a guild
An organization of skilled people who worked in the same trade
