Medieval Life Quiz PDF

## The Growth of Medieval Towns **F.Q: How did the relationship between feudal lords and towns change?** - After the fall of Rome: - Lots of towns/routes (trade) - After Rome collapsed town life declined - Scattered communities - Growth of Towns: - Agriculture improved, surplus of...

## The Growth of Medieval Towns **F.Q: How did the relationship between feudal lords and towns change?** - After the fall of Rome: - Lots of towns/routes (trade) - After Rome collapsed town life declined - Scattered communities - Growth of Towns: - Agriculture improved, surplus of crops - More everyone farmed to feed themselves - More trade, Growth of Towns - Merchants began permanent residents near waterways - Wealth made trade easier - Out with the Lords: - Resent feudal rights - Dislike demands for taxes - Don’t need Lord’s protection - Some fight for independence - Towns govern themselves - Make laws - Mayor and town council - Power shifted from feudal lords, to merchants, to craftsmen ## Homes and Households **F.Q: How is your life different than the average medieval kid?** - Homes: - Towns were small and crowded - Poor neighborhoods = Families occupy a single home - One room - cook, eat, and sleep - Fireplaces were the main source of heat and light - Rooms were cold, smoky, and dim - Boys grew up, some worked as fathers - Children: - Half of children died before adulthood - Began preparing for adult roles at age 7 - Small number of children attended school - Orderly society, people knew their place - Girls married young around age 15 - Girls learned cooking and cloth making ## Crime & Punishment **Focus Question: Why wouldn't you want to be a criminal in the Middle Ages?** - What were towns like? - Towns were noisy and crowded - Constant robberies - Smelly environments - Unsafe at night - What was life like for prisoners? - Lived in dirty/crowded jails - Relied on family members/friends - Needed money/food - Received money by wealthy people - What was "Trial by Ordeal?" - Established an accused person’s guilt - Need to pass a dangerous test - Floating - Guilty, Drowning - Not Guilty - What was "Trial by Combat?" - Test of fighting - Faith on one side by God - Everyone besides men were champions - What were some lesser punishments? - People wore fines - Put into stock - Being humiliated for hours, even days - Harsher punishments: - People would be hung to death - People would be buried alive - Live executions ## Diseases and Medical Treatment **Focus Question: Why were medical cures probably not helpful?** - What made living conditions unhealthy? - Dirty places - No running water - Chamber pots emptied into streams & canals - Rats & fleas carried diseases - Lepers forced to be isolated - Diseases: - No cure for measles, cholera, smallpox, & scarlet fever - Black Death (Bubonic Plague) - feared disease - Jews often blamed (antisemitism) - Treatments of Diseases: - In homes, not hospitals - Combo: Prayer & medical treatment - Sometimes relied on planets & magic to heal - Common to bleed people with leeches or opening veins ## Medieval Life Review - **Across:** - Trial by Combat: a person was forced to prove their innocence by fighting - Most girls did this by age 15: married - Being put in these was meant to humiliate: stocks - Medical treatment was likely a combo of medical treatment and prayer - Towns were crowded and unsafe especially at this time: night - Very few kids in the Middle Ages attended this: school - Most of the sick were treated at home not hospitals - **Down:** - Homes did not have running: water - The worst disease of the Middle Ages was: black death - In this trial, an accused person was made to endure some dangerous test: Trial by ordeal - Kids began preparing for adulthood by age: seven - Chamber pots were often emptied into canals and: streets - It was common to bleed people with these animals: leeches - 13 of 14 words placed ## Catholic Church/Growth of Towns Quiz Review - **Roman Catholic Church:** One of the most powerful institutions of the Middle Ages was the Catholic Church. - **Hierarchy:** At the top of the Church was its leader the Pope. At the bottom of the Church were the Priests. They looked after local communities called Parishes. Over time, the Church became quite powerful. This power was demonstrated when Pope Gregory excommunicated (or kicked out of the Church) King Henry IV over the power of appointing Church officials. Being kicked out was particularly scary to people of the Middle Ages because they would not receive Salvation. Because of this Henry went to the pope and begged Forgiveness. - **Sacraments:** Most people of the Middle Ages believed in God and an Afterlife. For them, Hell was a real and terrifying place. Salvation (or saving one's soul from eternal damnation) came through following the Seven Sacraments. These were (are) rituals that Catholics perform during the course of their lives. For example, Baptism takes place when a young child enters the Church as a new member. - **Growth of Towns:** After the fall of Rome, trade and town life declined. Most people lived in scattered communities. However, in the late Middle Ages, things began to change. First, agriculture improved. This helped create a surplus of crops (food). Consequently, not everyone had to farm to feed themselves. Towns began to grow near rivers because trade also expanded. This new prosperity in towns led people to resent their feudal lords/riffs. Some towns even began to govern themselves, going as far as to elect a mayor and a town council.