Highlights of the Medieval Times

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Highlights of the Medieval Times

The Medieval period was a time of many great

accomplishments. Even though "kings struggled for land power"(Holt, 186), and people struggled just to stay alive, it was a time that will always mark a spot in history. Of the Middle Ages there were three main topics; government, manor and town life, and the role of the church. All three of these influenced the medieval Times greatly.

The government of the medieval times was based on a system called feudalism. This was a system of government was based on personal loyalties between lords and vassals. This system is different from modern governments, do to the fact that they are usually strong and centralized. The top person of feudalism was the lord. The lord had authority over everybody including the vassals. The vassals were people who owed loyalty to a lord. In feudalism, the status of knights was considered to be the lowest, however, to be a knight in armor was a great honor. Feudalism continued to gain power through out many countries during the medieval times. It lead to the success of many powerful monarchies. Eventually feudalism died out do to new ideas and stronger centralized governments began to take over.

During the Middle Ages, all life was surrounded around the manor. The castle that was in the manor was made of stone and had a moat surrounding it. Although people would think that manor life would be great and pleasant, it was not always like that. Food scraps and other garbage was often just left on the floor. Arrows could be shot through the windows because they had no glass for windows. The peasants lived outside of the castle in little villages. "Peasant families lived in small hut made of mud or wood with straw roofs" (Holt, 195). These hut only had one room, therefore it made life very miserable for many people. A peasant's day of life consisted of farming. Not only did they have to farm their land, but also had to farm the lord's land also. Life in the medieval Times may seem to be very difficult, which it was, but it has changed our lives for the better.

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