Medieval Art and Town Life

The Limbourg Brothers

• The Limbourg brothers, Pol, Herman, and Johan, created the painting Haying between 1412 and 1416.
• The painting was part of a prayer book called Les très riches heures du Duc de Berry.

Medieval Town Life

• The majority of medieval towns functioned as centers for farming communities.
• They were usually established near castles, palaces, or large monasteries.
• The townsfolk would build stone walls around the town to defend against enemy cities or lords.
• The towns offered diverse commodities, both local and imported, in their shops.
• Despite crowded, unsanitary conditions and infestations, the towns provided freedom and opportunities.
• Individuals enjoyed the freedoms of personal choices, independent marriages, and pursuing wealth through various means.
• Runaway serfs could gain independence by residing in a town for a year and a day undiscovered.
• Skilled peasants could establish workshops to craft and sell goods, while unskilled individuals could learn trades.

Feudalism Challenges

• The feudal system, despite its longevity of many centuries, eventually weakened and ultimately dissolved.

Peasant Revolts

• Beginning in 1337, a war erupted between England and France, lasting over a century and known as the Hundred Years' War.
• The protracted fighting devastated the countryside.
• Peasants in both countries revolted in response to high rents and taxes levied to finance the war.

The Black Death

• The nursery rhyme "Ring Around the Roses" is associated with the Black Death.
• The "roses" likely refer to the boils that affected Plague victims.
• The "posies" symbolize the flowers people carried in hopes of preventing the Plague.
• The "Atchoo" represents the sneezing commonly associated with early Plague symptoms.
• The "We all fall down" signifies the widespread death caused by the Plague.

Timekeeping

• People in medieval times primarily relied on the sun's movement, seasonal changes, and sundials, water clocks, and hourglasses for timekeeping.
• With the development of trade and business, mechanical clocks became essential.
• By the early 1300s, mechanical clocks were constructed and equipped with bells to announce time and call people to religious services.

Social Structure in Renaissance Europe

• The rise of towns led to a less rigid social structure.
• Wealth and skills, particularly in cities and towns, allowed people to rise from one social level to another.
• A new social structure emerged, with wealth and skills defining social standing.
• The power and social status of wealthy merchants and the new middle class were determined by finances rather than land ownership.
• People were drawn to material possessions and sought to showcase their wealth through clothing, furnishings, and elaborate meals.

Social Classes in Renaissance Europe

• Top Level: Aristocracy (including high Church officials, rulers or lords, old noble families, and wealthy merchants)
• Middle Level: Middle Class (including merchants, business people, craftspeople, shopkeepers, bankers, priests, and lower Church officials)
• Bottom Level: Lower Class (including peasants, rural labourers, urban labourers, servants, and the unemployed)

Worldview

• Medieval times discouraged travel and most people lived in the same area for generations.
• The lack of travel limited exposure to different cultures and restricted worldviews.