A History of Western Society 10th Edition Chapter 10

	Chapter 10

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Chapter 10: The Changing Life of the People in the High Middle Ages Chapter Outline Village Life Slavery, Serfdom, and Upward Mobility The largest and most economically productive group in medieval society was the peasants. European peasants were not a homogenous group¾climactic and soil conditions created different problems throughout Europe, and there was a wide range of wealth. Slaves (Slavs or Africans) existed in Western Europe in the Middle Ages, but their numbers gradually declined. Slaves differed from serfs—serfs could not be bought and sold. Serfs were required to perform labor services on the lord's land and were subject to arbitrary levies. Serfs could escape from serfdom by residence in a privileged town or by giving money to a third party who could buy their freedom, or sometimes by settling on newly opened lands. Over time, peasants who remained in the villages of their birth often benefited from relaxed obligations and duties. The Manor Most peasants in the High Middle Ages lived on manors. They cultivated part of the land for their lord and part for themselves. The manor was the basic unit of medieval rural organization and the center of rural life. Manors varied greatly in size and wealth. The grain-based agriculture of Europe involved a gender division of labor. In western and central Europe, villages were generally made up of small houses for individual, nuclear families. In eastern and southern Europe, extended-family households were more common. Manors typically included meadowland and some forestland. Lords appointed officials who oversaw the legal and business operations of the manor. Manors were not the only form of medieval rural economy. Agricultural Methods Peasants practiced crop rotation in the "three-field system." They used animal manure as fertilizer. Agricultural Improvements The tenth and eleventh century saw the increased use of mechanization and energy, especially water mills and windmills. From the early 1100s the use of iron tools increased; first plowshares, and later pitchforks, axes, and harrows. Horses came into wide use to pull ploughs (replacing oxen) and carts. Yields of grain approximately doubled from the ninth to early thirteenth centuries. Households, Work, and Food Most peasants rarely or never traveled beyond their village. Life on the manor was stable, but dull. The size and quality of peasants' houses varied. Medieval household depended on village markets for certain items. Peasants supplemented their diet of vegetables and bread with fish where possible, and with wild game, often poached from land reserved for noble hunting. Children worked as soon as they could walk. Health Care Overall health seems to have improved in the High Middle Ages. During the twelfth century, many hospitals were opened in England. Most people relied on barber-surgeons and popular healers for healthcare. Childbirth and Child Abandonment The most dangerous period of life was infancy and early childhood. Childbirth was often fatal. The abandonment of children seems to have been the most favored form of family limitation. Surplus children were sometimes given to monasteries as oblates. Popular Religion Village Churches and Christian Symbols The village church was the center of community life. Priests were appointed by the manorial lord. They were poor and often uneducated. They often worked in the fields with the peasants. The Mass was the center of Christian religious life. Popular religion consisted largely of rituals heavy with symbolism. Saints and Sacraments Cults of saints became important in the West during the High Middle Ages. Most saints were "chosen" by the common people, not by official church procedure. The church began to emphasize sacraments in the High Middle Ages. Beliefs Art within the church helped people to remember Bible stories, but did not impart complex theology to them. From the eleventh century the church successfully encouraged veneration of Mary as an intercessor with Jesus for sinners. Both God and the Devil were very real for medieval people. Muslims and Jews Europeans who did not participate in Christian ceremonies and daily life were marked as outsiders. Such groups included Muslims in the Iberian peninsula. By the late tenth century, Jews could be found in many areas of Europe. The Crusades made Europe's Jews targets for violence. Religion and the Cycle of Life Major life transitions were marked with ceremonies that included religious elements. Most people wanted marriages that provided economic security, honorable standing, and a good number of healthy children. Children and Religion Most brides hoped for children soon after their wedding. Women were required to remain separate from the community after childbirth. Religious ceremonies welcomed children into the community. Death and the Afterlife Death was marked by religious ceremonies. The souls of the dead were widely believed to return to earth if the soul was not at peace. During the twelfth century, the idea of purgatory was increasingly emphasized. The actions of the living could influence the fate of souls in purgatory. Nobles Origins and Status of the Nobility In the early Middle Ages, noble status was limited to a very few families. Over time, the noble class grew larger and more diverse. A noble's freedom was limited only by his military obligations to his overlord. Otherwise, no one had authority over a noble. Originally most knights focused solely on military skills, but gradually the code of chivalry emerged. Childhood For aristocratic children, the years from birth to age seven or eight were years of play. Noble boys were placed in the household of a relative or friend at about age seven, to work and receive training in the military life. Training ended at age twenty-one with the ceremony of knighting. Noble girls were also trained in preparation for their future roles. Youth and Marriage Sons were dependent on their fathers for support until their fathers died. Once knighted, young men traveled for two to three years. They generally did not marry until they inherited property from their fathers¾often at age forty or older. At around the age of sixteen, aristocratic girls were often married to much older men.. Power and Responsibility Nobles aimed to demonstrate their power and status by conspicuous display of their retinue and their goods. Nobles had to provide military service to their lord for forty days a year to serve on guard duty at his court, to attend major ceremonies there, and so on. Male nobles had to travel constantly and many died in battle. The result was that their wives managed their estates and held a great deal of power. Lateness of inheritance denied nobles constructive outlets for their energy and exacerbated the problem of noble thuggery. Monasteries and Convents Monastic Revival Viking, Magyar, and Muslim invasions led to deterioration in the quality of spiritual and intellectual activity in monasteries and convents. Secular authorities exerted considerable influence over monasteries and convents. The abbey of Cluny was established by William the Pious, duke of Aquitaine, in 909. In its charter, the monastery was declared free of all dependence on secular authorities. Cluny came to exert vast religious influence. The material success of monasteries like Cluny sometimes led to spiritual decline. The Cistercians are the best example of the new reforming spirit of the eleventh century. Recruitment of Monks and Nuns Until the thirteenth century aristocrats dominated monasticism. Many were donated to monasteries by their parents as small children. After that the creation of new orders and economic expansion brought more middle-class persons into the orders. Life in Convents and Monasteries Abbesses most often came from the highest noble families. The administration of an abbey's estates and properties took considerable time. Monasteries were headed by an abbot or prior. Prayer and chanting were regular duties for monks. A few monasteries and convents became centers of learning. Monks and nuns performed social services. Economic Activities and Difficulties Religious houses took full advantage of local economic opportunities. The Cistercians were ideally suited to the agricultural needs and trends of their times. Some monasteries got involved in iron and lead mining. From the twelfth to fourteenth centuries many monasteries ran into financial trouble. High living and financial mismanagement were the sources of this problem.

A History of Western Society 10th Edition Chapter 10

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