daily Life in MA Flashcards
(88 cards)
1
Q
author of LIFE ON THE MEDIEVAL MANOR
A
H. S. Bennett
2
Q
The biggest building on the manor
A
The manor house
3
Q
The manor contained
A
Manor house, church, perhaps an ale-house, peasants’ houses, fields f cultivation, pastures f grazing
4
Q
Peasants ate their meals on what furniture?
A
trestle tables
6
Q
The floor of a peasant house Wd most likely b made of what?
A
earth
7
Q
a manorial court wdhandle whatkind of cases?
A
inheritance, sexual “incontinence” in the case of a young village gir who had become pregnant (Bennett, chap 1).
8
Q
What might a peasant family ‘S simple midday meal consist of, and where wd th hot part be prepared?
A
Soup w beans, ale, and cheese. The soup Wd b heated in a pot hung over the hearth in the main room.
9
Q
Manor, definition
A
A manor is an estate . It is usually owned by a lord (a knight, who was often absent) or some branch of the Church, like, for instance, an abbey.
10
Q
Since peasants were illiterate, how dowelearn of medieval peasant Life?
A
From ms illustrations, creative writers like Chaucer and Langland, contemporary sermons, records of manorial courts. Financial records of a manor.
11
Q
What is hay? What is it used for? In medieval times in what season and how was hay made?
A
Hay is dried grass. It is used as fodder for farm animals. In MA hay was made in high summer by peasants cutting down w SCYTHES huge tracts of grass in the fields o th lord’s manor.✔️. This is one o th peasant’s major tasks.
12
Q
What is a reeve?
A
Essentially, the foreman on a lord’s manor. As such,h cd b resented by th people h supervised. See Chaucer’s Reeve and his hostile relationship w th Miller, precisely the sort of man he Wd supervise.
13
Q
What was done legally about houses that had fallen into disrepair and were dilapidated?
A
The lord of the manor, through the manorial court, could order a villein, to repair his own house.
14
Q
Food Peasants might growin their private gardens
A
Cabbages, onions,
15
Q
Tithing (in H.S.Bennett,p22)
A
Nothing t d with collection of money for the Church. Instead it is an administrative unit that figures prominently in the proceedings of a manorial court.
16
Q
What are the main crops cultivated by the medievalEnglish peasant?
A
Wheat, oats, barley, rye, peas, beans (Bennett, 77)
17
Q
What major feature o DOMEDTIC ARCHITECTURE, invented in 11th (or 12rTh- CHECK THIS) c greatly improved the inhabitants’ comfort?
A
Placing a fireplace in each room by building chimneys into the wall, instead of one hole in the middle of the ceiling
18
Q
Explain the income and expense of th average peasant.
A
The peasant Wd b paid a very small yearly wage, a pittance, for his hard work growing crops. In turn he Wd have t pay his lord, who owned the land, and from whom he merely rented.
19
Q
According t Tuchman, what were the limits of a grand seigneurs authority?
A
He CD not have authorization over clergy por merchants in s free town (loc 567)
20
Q
According t Bennett, p 79, the peasant ploughs his fallow field (one of his three fields) how many times a year?
A
Three: in April, June, and October.
21
Q
What are the major steps, in order, that the medieval peasant takes in preparing a crop?
A
Ploughing
Harrowing
Sowing
He Wd take these steps in preparing, for example, a crop of oats or barley.
22
Q
Put in proper TEMPORAL ORDER these tasks of the medieval peasant: harrowing, ploughing, sowing.
A
Ploughing
Harrowing
Sowing
23
Q
How did a medieval town get a charter?
A
The crown granted a charter f a town. This was a big source o money f the crown. Tuchman, kindle, 586.
24
Q
What does the heraldic cost of arms signify?
A
The right of a family t bear arms. The heraldic cost of arms became a great status symbol.
25
Q
Which medieval European city considered itself the cultural capital of the West, the “medieval Athens”?
A
Paris
26
What are some of the sources of the Church’s income?
Tithes, benefices, sale of indulgences, taxes on Crusades.
27
When did the First Crusade take place?
1095_99
28
Who were theKnights Templar?
a military Xian order, originally founded at timeof the Crusades t protect pilgrims t the Holy Lamd. They acquired great wealth and power and incurred enmity of other orders and secular rulers.Theywere ultimately destroyed byKing Philip of France and Pope Clement in 1311~12
29
Which king suppressed and eventually destroyed the Knights Templar?
King Philip IV of France (also known as Philip the Fair), shoreigned from 1285 untilhis death in 1314.
30
How did The Hundred Yesrs War start?
It began as a SUCCESSION DISPUTEbetw Edward III of England, son of Isabel, who was the sister of King Philip IV of France and Philip VI of France, who was the nearest MALE relative of the late Philip IV. SALIC LAW prevented succession through the female line.
31
When did villages begin t b established in England?
According t JONES, LOC 234, villages began t spring up in England in 11th c. See also LIFE IN A MEDIEVAL VILLAGE by Giess.
32
In short describe the class system in medieval England.
At the top was the King. Below him were the NOBLES. Below them were the LANDOWNERS. (NB: most nobles were landowners, but the reverse is not true: many landowners were military people, who owed the King military service and were in return given land) Below them were the workers on the land. They in turn CD b subdivided into a VERY COMPLICATED HIERARCHY, ranging from slaves to villeins t freemen? Remember, ab 85% of peoplelived on the land. Two impt groups lived outside of this feudal hierarchy: the clergy and people in the city: merchants, artisans, guildsmen, professionalslike doctors and lawyers, civil servants, e.g. Chaucer as Clerk of Customs.
33
Distinguish betw knights of romance (as depicted, e.g. in SGGK, the whole Arthurian cycle, Ch’s SqT, KnT, FrkT, Chrétien de zTroyes, and, later, DON QIXOTE) and what real knights really did, for which see Tuchmanand Jones, CHAUCER’S KNIGHT.
The knights of romance sought adventures in strange lands, encountered monsters and fought with them, and rescued damsels in distress. Real knights fought and fought and fought. See Tuchman and Jones on this. The Crusaders were one such example. They professed high objective of making the holy Land safe f Christianity and Christian pilgrims , but their motives and behaviour were not always noble, The purely secular knights did not even show a veneer of nobility in their fighting. They were often cruel and brutal t their enemies.
34
What was THE BLACK DEATH?
It was the great catastrophe of14th c. It was the Bubonic Plague. It struck England in several waves in mid 14th c. In the end, it is estimated that it killed as much as a third of European population.
35
Define Reeve and Hayward.
They were both officials on a manor. Rember, in the Middle Ages most people lived on a manor. The reeve was the general superintendent or foreman of the manor. In Ch’s CT SEE HIS ENMITY W MILLER, whom he Wd supervise. The Hayward was the official who was specifically charged w overseeing the crops, from lowing t harvesting.
36
What is the main argument of Terry Jones’s book CHAUCER’sKNIGHT?
Thatthischaracter,” far from being the embodiment of the noble ideal of knighthood, is merely a mercenary.
37
Typically the medievalEnglish peasant would do his agricultural work where?
On his particular strip of the common field (Bennett, 77)
38
What essential role did animals play in the production of crops in medieval agriculture?
They provided the manure necessary f fertilizing the fields. So who owned the animals and how many they owned were crucial. Of course the lord owned most of the animal folds on an estate.
39
What was the BEATIFIC VISION?
This was a hot theological issue. See Tuchman, loc 1128,
Philip [VI] was fascinated by the all-absorbing question of the Beatific Vision: whether the souls of the blessed see the face of God immediately upon entering Heaven or whether they have to wait until the Day of Judgment.
So King Philip VI TOOK THIS IDEA SERIOUSLY, BUT EVEN THEN SOMEBOTHERS WERE SKEPTICAL.
40
Name some of the many different RCC officials who were pilgrims in Ch’s CT.
A poor parson, a few nuns (one of whom, The Proress, is desc in detail),a monk, friar, summoner, pardoner.
41
Why was the sale of INDULGENCES such a big business in later MA?
It was a major source of revenue for RCC.
42
What wasthe GREAT POLIT SIGN of international royal marriage in late medievalEurope?
It was an impt way of making claims to distant lands. Edward III of England, for instance, laid claim to parts of France by virtue of being the son of Isabel, sister of King Philip of France.
43
At start of HundredYears War what were respective populations of Franceand England?
France21million, England 4 million. Tuchman, loc 1170
44
Medieval English economy was primarily agrarian, but there was also a growing international trade in such commodities as wool and wine. What evidence d w have of that economic activity?
Chaucer’s Merchant. See Riverside Chaucer, p 809: “in Chaucer’s day the term MERCHAUNT applied primarily to wholesale exporters and importers, dealing in such commodities as wool, cloth, and wine.”
.
45
How did a peasant pay the Jordan for the land and dwelling?
At first the peasant paid his lord by labor or crops, BUT THERE IS EVIDENCE THAT BY 13thc the peasant (villein) began to pay in cash. There is evidence (coins) of a money economy EVEN ON THE MANOR in later middle ag es in England. See Jones, loc 276.
46
What was the medieval equivalent of the modern DAILY BREAD food bank?
the great medieval Chirch tithe barns. (Jones, loc 312)
47
Name some of the major institutions that. Changed fr medieval times t our own (for beginning of talk)
Virtually ALL of them, including government, economy, religion, educayion. The subject of each of these CD b (and often is) the content of a book or university course.
48
I’m 11fh c England what natural disaster, reported in ANGLO-SAXON CHRONICLE, wiped out ,any?
Starvation, from famine
49
In early 14th c, even before the Black Death, what natural disaster struck England?
In 1315 famine struck English countryside from bad weather - heavy rains. Crop failure. Animals died. People starved.
50
According t Tuchman, loc 1188, what is the very signi difference betw medieval and modern attitudes t infants and children?
T saysMA displayed very little tenderness or even interest in infants and churn.
51
State briefly the range of personalities and roles of women in Chaucer’s poetry.
The rounded character of a serious, complicated lover - Criseyde; the intelligent, aggressive, bawdy character of a Wife of Bath; the sentimental, dangerously innocent Prioress of GP and PrT; the typical, conventional portrait of noble lady of romance in BD: the convention msrtyr zGriselda in ClkT.
52
What was a Franklin, as in Chaucer’s CT, GenPR, 330?
A Franklin was a country gentleman, a man of minor noble rank, a medieval forerunner of the English country squire (as represented, e.g. in Dorothy’s rejected suitor in MIDDLEMARCH).
53
What is the Bayeux tapestry?
It is an embroidered cloth thought t date fr 11th c depicting events leading up t the Norman Conquest of England. It is 50 metres long by 50 cm tall. It tells the dramatic story fr Norman pt o view. It now hangs in Bayeux in Normandy, France.
54
What is linguistically sign ab the v common English personal names William, Robert, Richard?
They are All French in origin.
55
What is the historically and architecturally significant difference betwDurham Cathedral and Salisbury Cathedral?
They are good examples of, respectively, Romanesque and Gothic architecture. Durham Cath was built in early 12th c; Salisbury in mid 13th c. See Ox Illus HistBrit,pp 107,109.
56
Who was harles Haskins, and why was he significant?
He was a scholar, author of THE RENAISSANCE OF THE TWELFTH CENTURY (1927), which showed the significant advances of that period in scholarship, education, thought, architecture, and other fields.
57
What was the estimated population of London by early 12th c?
18,000
58
When were mechanical clocks invented, and what did they replace?
Some time in 14th c. They replaced sundials and water locks.
59
NAME SOME OF THE MANY OCCUPATIONS IN MEDIEVAL TOWNSAND CITIES THAT TAKE PLACE BEYOND THE AGRICULTURAL FIELDS WHERE PEASANTS OR FARMERS WORK.
WINE MERCHANTS, ARMORERS, SMITHS, CSRPENTETS, DYERS. WEAVERS, GOLDSMITHS, SILVERSMITHS.
60
WHAT WERE SOME OF TH PROBLEMS OF 12thc TOWNS AND CITIES, LIKEVLONDON, PARIS, TROYES, GHENT.
THE STREETS WERE NARROW AND FOUL FROM HORSE AND DONKEY TRAFFIC. CLOSE QUARTERS INCREASED DANGEROF FIRE AND SPREAD OF DISEASE.
61
GIVE AN EXAMPLE OF TRADE BETWEEN WESTERN EUROPE AND MEDITERRANEAN .
Flemish towns Wd export woo Len cloth and import luxury spices.
62
WHAT IS ESSENTIAL DIF BETW MEDIEVAL ASTRONOMY AND MODERN ASTRONOMY?
MEDIEVAL ASTRONOMY WAS BASED ON ERRONEOUS PTOLEMAIC GEOCENTRIC CONCEPT VS MODERN HELIOCENTRIC CONCEPT OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.
63
CONTRAST THE FOUNDATIONS OF MEDIEVAL AND MODERN MEDICINE.
MEDIEVAL MEDICINE WAS BASED ON FOUR HUMORS. MODERN MEDICINE IS BASED ON KNOWLEDGE OF ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY MADE POSSIBLE THROUGH SUCH TOOLS AS X-RAYS AND MICROSCOPE.
64
AT WHAT EVENT DID MERCHANTS FR EAST AND WESTMEET AND EXCHANGE GOODS?
AT THE TRADE FAIRS IN TROYES. THESE BECAME VERY SUCCESSFUL IN 12th c UNDER ENTHUSIASTIC SPONSORSHIP OF THIBAULT THE GREAT OF CHAMPSGNE.
65
IN THE HIGH MIDDLE AGES THERE WAS GREAT CONSUMER DEMAND FOR SPICES FR THE EAST. THIS STIMULATED A RICH TRADE BY SEA THROUGH ITSLIAN PORTS. NAM E A FEW OF THESE DESIRED SPICES.
S
CINNAMON, GINGER, PEPPER, CLOVES,NUTMEG
66
WHAT WERE THE GREAT FINANCIAL ADVANTAGES OF LIVING IN A TOWN (from the lord’s or Chuch’s viewpoint, DISadvantages)?
[Living in a town or city]provided escape from such feudal duties as bringing in the lord’s harvest, repairing his castle, presenting him with sheep’s dung. Guess, LIFE IN A MEDIEVAL CITY, loc 284.
67
How did the Crusades of late 11th and 12th centuries help peasants?
Crusades were v expns. Knots had t buy arms, armour, horses. To get cash lords sold freedom t some serfs. V Tuchman, loc 429.
68
Whois the subject ofTuchman’sbook?
Enguerrand VII, b 1340. Loc 454
69
As a way of indicating the complexity of a medieval royal court or a grand nobleman’s household name some of the major positions or offices that would work in such a household.
As Tuchman describes the grand Coucy household in the 14th c [?], [it had] the same officers as the King’s: a constable, a grand butler, a master of falconry and the hunt, a master of the stables, a master of forests and waters, and masters or grand stewards of kitchen, bakery, cellar, fruit (which included spices, loc 511
70
What does a medieval bishop do?
He appoints priests, levies taxes, adjudicates on such issues as divorce.
71
What are sumptuary laws?
They are laws that prescribe and proscribe certain kinds of laws for different classes of society. They are a way of trying to maintain hierarchical class distinctions. They proved unenforceable in the late MA.
72
What was the great conflict betw King Philip IV (the Fair) of France and Pope Boniface in 1296?
Philip imposed a tax on the clergy. The Pope responded w a bull forbidding the clergy t pay a tact a lay ruler. This conflict was of great signif in the chronic struggle betw Church and State.
73
The papacy in Avignon in 14th c was rich and sumptuous. Where did it get it’s money?
According t Tuchman, loc 743: Besides its regular revenue from tithes and annates on ecclesiastical income and from dues from papal fiefs, every office, every nomination, every appointment or preferment, every dispensation of the rules, every judgment of the Rota or adjudication of a claim, every pardon, indulgence, and absolution, everything the Church had or was, from cardinal’s hat to pilgrim’s relic, was for sale.
74
What was the major military innovation of thev1340s that enabled the English t defeat the French in the battle of Sluys?
The longbow. Tuchman, beginning of chap 4.
75
What was the worst disaster of 14th c?
The lack Death, I.e. the Bubonic Plague, which killed ab 1/3 of European pop.
76
In what year in mid-14th c did rumours of terrible plague reach Europe? USEYR IMAGINATIONS T THINK JUST HOW FRIGHTENING SUCH RUMOURS WD B IN AN AGE LONG BEFORE INSTANT MASS COMMUNICATION.
1346
77
When and where in a medieval town Wd retail sLe and purchase take place,and what Wd b f sale?
Retail sale wd typically take place on a market day in town. Merchants Wd set up their stalls. Y cd buy food, spices, finished cloth, pots, shoes (wooden and leather).
78
To what extent does Xianity DEFINE The Middle Ages?
This is unlike the other questions in the deck. It is not a factual question. It is a THOUGHT question.
79
Alaric
leader of the Germanic Visigoths, who, in 410, aptured Rome
80
Who were the Huns, and who was their leader?
They were a tribe fr the Esst. They had Asian features. Their leader was Attila.In 451 they invaded Gaul. At the walls of Rome Attila suddenly died.
81
Villein
A villein is a serf in the medieval feudal system. He is a step above a slave, but he is not a freeman. He cannot pick up and go. He is bound t the land he works and th lord who owns that land.
82
What were the medieval cloth halls?
They were big buildings in such towns as Bruges and Ypres where great trading was done between the famous Flemish cloth makers and merchants from, e.g. Italy. Flemish wool was v highly graded in high MA, and Flemishcloth-making was one of great industries of MA.
83
Clovis
First king o the Franks (France), Conquered parts of Gaul. Reigned in 5th and 6th c. Converted t Xianity. A strong and great ruler, succeeded by his sons the Merovingian kings.
84
Western European culture was struggling in the Early Middle Ages, The so called Dark Ages Of 7th and 8th Centuries. Name two other cultures that were doing much better at just this time.
Byzantine and Islam. SeeBishop, pp 38 ff
85
Name some of the sites of medieval universities
Bologna, Padua, NAPLES, Montpelier, Oxford, Cambridge, Paris
86
Marsilius of Padua
author of DEFENSOR PACIS, in 1324: which argued f the superiority of the state over RCC. DID THE POPE,for instance have the right t crown the Emperor? DP WAS THEREFORE INDICATIVE of Church-state struggle in late MA.
87
What is the essential contradiction btw RCC and capitalism?
IN THEORY RCC held that money and profit were evil.
88
How did RCC make money?
It sold benefited, indulgences, pardons, dispensations, relics. See Ch’s Pardoner. The Church owned land. It levied taxes.
89
WHAT WERE THE POPULATIONS OF EUROPE’S LARGEST CITIES AT TIME OF BLACK DEATH?
Tuchman, loc 2060: those cities were Paris and Florence, with pops of ab 100,000. By contrast England’s largest city, London, had pop of ab 50,000, and next largest, York, ab 10,000,
