Chapter 6 - The Middle Ages Flashcards
Who was the european leader at the time of the medieval period?
There was no European leader. The Roman Empire had broken up. However countries did have their own Kings. The feudal system emerged
What started to happen in society?
Law and order broke down and wars between rival leaders and kingdoms became common. Gradually a new system began to develop which sought to return some stability through Europe. This system is known as the feudal system
Describe how the feudal system worked?
- The King was the most important person - he owned al, the land in the country and made the laws
- Nobles and lords were second in line. The King would give them an area of land called a fief in return for knights and horses for the kings army
- Knights were full time soldiers who fought for nobles and kings
- The peasants were at the bottom of the system. They worked for the nobles and knights in return protection. The peasants paid rent. They had to get permission to leave the land as they were ‘tied to the land’
Who lived in castles?
Kings and nobles lived in castles. It housed their families, servants and soldiers. From here they defended and administered their land. It was a place of safety in time of attack
Other than housing and protection name two uses of the castles?
- They were also used as courts and prisons
- They were also centres where festivals and banquets were held
Describe a motte and bailey castle?
At first castles were made from wood.
- They were built on top of hills for protection, sometimes these hills were artificially made of rocks and soils. This hill is called a motte
- At the bottom of the mottle there was a bailey. It was surrounded by a wooden fence
- A deep ditch called a moat was dug around the fence, filled with water to stop attackers climbing over the fence
How did the motte and bailey defend itself?
It had a motte, a wooden fence and a moat. However, the motte and bailey castles were not very strong and could easily be destroyed in a fire. This is why they were eventually replaced by larger stone castles
Why were stone castles built?
Mainly for defence
What was the most important building within the castle walls?
The Keep was the most important building within the castle walls. It was where the lord and his family lived.
Describe the conditions of castles.
- Castles were cold and damp
- Windows were small and had no glass to prevent arrows or other objects to be thrown into the keep
- This kept out much daylight and made the castles dark and damp
- There was no central heating or running water
- Large fires lit for heat
- Decorated with large wool hangings and rugs to brighten it up
- No flushing toilets (garderobe - wooden seat where waste fell down into the moat)
What is a keep?
- A large square tower
- Most important building in the castle walls
- Lord and his family lived there
- Consisted if many different rooms
Name and describe the different rooms within the keep?
- Private rooms of the lord and his family on the top floor (safest place).
- The great hall where family ate their meals and entertained guests (most important room) and it was sometimes used as a court.
- Keeps also had a dungeon located below in the cold. The dungeon was used as a prison and a place to store food.
Describe the methods of defending a castle during attack?
- Stone walk with towers (turrets) surrounded the castle
- Archers could fire arrows on the enemy through battlements and hide
- Boiling oil and quicklime
- Drawbridge could be pulled up and a steel gate(portcullis) could be lowered across the gate
- Gatehouse called a barbarian
Describe the methods of attacking a castle?
➰siege (surrounding the castle and stopping all supplies from reaching the inside) , however castles were well stocked and this could take a while for them to all starve and die
➰battering rams used to break through the castle gate
➰catapults called mangonels to break the castle walls
➰rope ladders
➰tunnels were dug beneath the foundations of the wall to collapse it
Did the lord and lady of the castle live a privileged life?
Yes, hey were surrounded by a host of servants who carried pit their commands
Who was the most important person in the surrounding area of a castle?
The lord
Who would endure that rents were paid?
The lord and he would also ensure that his knights would remain loyal and ready to defend his land
Who was the estate steward?
The estate steward worked for the lord and carried out tasks for him involving his knights and peoples rent. He would issue orders to ‘bailiffs” who were responsible for collecting rents and fines.
When the lord acted as a judge what type of work did he do?
➰settled local disputes
➰handing out punishments
➰fining people who broke the law and disobeyed his rules
What time was the middle ages / medieval period?
500Ad - 1500AD
What did the lord do for entertainment?
Hosted banquets(festivals) and hunted
Describe a banquet?
➰great hall
➰entertain visiting lords or the king of the land
➰lord and nobles ate well
➰meat and veg
➰those who sat at the top of the table with the lord and lady ate well
➰top of the table ate things such as swan and peacock
➰spices added to meat to make old meat smell good
➰sometimes food dyed to look good
➰other guests, long tables
➰the more important you were the closer you sat to the top
➰food served on platters other gusts used trenchers
Describe how the lord would hunt?
➰providing food for the castle
➰hunted wild boar, deer and foxes (horseback)
➰sometimes hunted out on foot or by using birds of pray such as eagles, falcons and hawks
When did the lady of the castle usually decide to marry?
Usually there marriages were arranged, not put of love but more often as a pact between her father and a neighbouring lord. Girls were often married by the age of 14
What duties was the lady of the castle in charge of?
Domestic duties
When the lord was away who was in charge of running the castle?
The lady of the castle
What jobs did the lady of the castle do?
➰ensured there was enough food in storerooms
➰oversaw the salting of foods
➰responsible for the upbringing of children
➰ladies in waiting helped the lady do these duties(relatives, other noble woman)
What children was the lady of the castle responsible for the upbringing of?
Children who were in the fosterage. It was a common practise during the middle ages for nobles to send their children from the age of 7 upwards to another family to be taught
Did ladies go hunting horseback?
Rarely, however they did often take part in another form of hunting called hawking. It was a less strenuous form. Falcons and other birds of prey were specially trained to fly from a nobles wrist and to kill and bring back other small birds or animals like rabbits
What would the lady of the castle do in their spare time?
➰hawking
➰play musical instruments
➰chess
➰embroidery
How would ladies dress?
They would wear
➰long expensive silk dresses
➰strange looking headdresses which completely covered their hair
Who were the fighters or men-at-arms?
➰Fighters or men-at-arms were always ready to come to the lords aid at short notice
➰the men-at-arms consisted of;
- archers (armed with bows and arrows)
- watchmen (kept permanent watch from the castle towers)
- knights (fought horseback and the most trained and skilled)
Keypoints on lord and lady of the castle
- estate steward
- rents
- bailiffs
- fines
- judge
- local disputes
- disobeyed laws/rules
- banquets
- swan
- peacock
- spices
- table
- trenchers
- platters
- hunting
- hawking
- deer, wild boar, foxes
- horseback
- foot or using birds of prey
- arranged marriages
- domestic duties
- in charge of castle when lords away
- salting of foods
- upbringing of children
- ladies in waiting helped
- not their children-fosterage
- hawking with Falcons
- musical instruments
- chess
- embroidery
- headdresses
How long could it take to become a fully trained knight?
Up to 15years
What were the stages of becoming a knight?
1) page (learnt good manners in a castle as servants. Read & write, basic fighting skills using wooden swords and shields )
2) squire (accompanied a fully trained knight, learnt to fight with real weapons, responsible knights horse and armour)
3) knight (about 7 years later if the squire was a skilful and rave warrior the king or local lord knighted him)
What had to take place for a squire to become a knight?
➰If the local lord or king thought he was skilful and brave as a squire they knighted him.
➰knighting of a squire at a ceremony called and accolade
➰squire spent night before in a church paying he would never fail his duties
➰dressed in a red robe, white tunic and a black jacket on the morning of the ceremony
➰knelt before the lord for his dubbing
➰lord tapped squires shoulders with a sword and then presented it to him
Did all knights have to go through such a long process to become a knight?
No. On some occasions a squire or other men-at-arms could be knighted then and there on the battlefield as a reward for an act of bravery
Describe the knights armour.
➰chain mail ( thousands of small iron rings linked together to make a shirt)
➰plate armour (metal plate)
➰helmet on their head and metal gloves called gaunlets
How did knights keep fit?
Participated in competitions called tournaments
Mock battles called mêlées
What was the most popular contest at the tournaments?
Jousting - two knights on horseback charged ta each other on either side of a fence called a tilt. The aim was to unseat your rival by knocking em off their horse with a large wooden pole called a lance
What was expected of a knight?
➰good manners known as chivalry ➰brave ➰generous ➰loyal ➰courteous to woman
What percentage of europeans lived in the country side in the middle ages?
70%
Where did most people who lived in the countryside live?
Small villages owned by the local lord called manors
What was the lord who owned the manor called?
The lord of the manor
What was a demesne?
The lord usually rented most of his lands to the peasants in the village but the land he kept for his own private farm was known as a demesne
About how many huts did each manor have for peasants?
20 or 30
Where did the lord of the manor live?
The manor house. There was also a church
What was the open field system?
The open field system was when the peasants rented land form the lord. The lord would divide his three fields into one acre strips. The peasants were given separate strips of land from each field. This was to ensure that good and bad land was shared evenly. Crops were rotated fields each year. One field was called a fallow and left free of growing for a year to rest the land. The other fields were used for wheat and bailey
What was common land?
A small patch if land in the manor where peasants could graze their animals
What was the difference between a serf and a freeman?
A freeman and a serf were both peasants however a freeman was free to leave the village as he pleased and a serf was tied to the land. A serf could become a freeman by escaping and remaining at large for a year and a day
What is another word for a manor?
A grange
In return for land from the lord of the manor what do serfs do?
He could;
➰Work on the lord of the manors land
➰lend him animals
What did a serf have to do for the upkeep of the church?
Give a tenth of his crops to the parish priest- this is called the tithe
What work does a peasant in a manor do?
➰sow seed
➰cute the grass
➰make hay for livestock
What type of work does a woman peasant do living in a manor village?
They might;
➰grow vegetables
➰make butter and cheese
➰spinning wool
What did a male serf wear?
➰cloth tunic
➰leather boots
➰felt hat
What did women peasants wear?
A woollen dress and a wimple (linen cloth wrapped around head and neck)
Describe a serfs cottage?
➰one room
➰wattle and daub
➰no glass in windows
➰share a house with animals
What did peasants living in a manor eat?
Cooked on an open fire.
Bread, porridge and pottage (veg stew) washed down by beer
What is pottage?
A vegetable stew eaten by peasants living in a manor village
What were the 2 main festivals?
Christmas and 1st May
What happens if you break the law in the manor village?
If you break the law an animal is taken from you and put in an enclosure called a pound until the fine is paid
