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Headmistress Ellington Headmaster
Posts : 140
| Subject: Medieval Society 6/2/2014, 01:03 | |
| Here is the official hierarchy of the 14th century in England. The dots merely link the corresponding ranks under the King's rule and the Church. Ex: The King and Pope are pretty much equal - Pope rules the Church, King rules everything else. Archbishops are the church's equivalent to a Duke, etc. KING ……… POPE
DUKES ...... ARCHBISHOPS
EARLS ...... BISHOPS
BARONS ...... ABBOTS
KNIGHTS, MAYORS ..... ARCHDEACONS
ESQUIRES/GENTLEMEN, RICHEST MERCHANTS ..... HIGH CLERGY
MIDDLING MERCHANTS ..... RECTORS
FRANKLINS/YEOMEN, PHYSICIANS, LAWYERS, MASTER MASONS, MASTER CARPENTERS .... VICARS
FREEMAN, SHOPKEEPERS, TRADERS, SKILLED WORKERS ..... CHAPLAINS, FRIARS, MINOR CLERGY
VILLEINS/BONDMEN (unfree/serfs), LABORERS, HERMITS
DOMESTIC SERVANTS
BEGGARS Some little facts:
- The Pope rules over the church.
- Dukes, Earls, & Barons are all called “Lord” - There were only 4 Dukes this century.
- Franklins/Yeoman are free farmers, well off enough to own their own land and support themselves.
- Esquires are descended from knights - they and ’gentlemen’ hold manors granted by their lords.
- Dukes, Earls, & Barons are known as “tenants-in-chief” & receive a summons to parliament.
- In wartime, tentants-in-chief are bound to serve the king 40 days each year.
- The Pope is not in Rome, he is in Avignon, France.
- The term “peasant” was not used in the 14th century.
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| | | Headmistress Ellington Headmaster
Posts : 140
| Subject: Re: Medieval Society 6/2/2014, 01:08 | |
| MEDIEVAL PEOPLE!
A few facts about the people we are so interested in here.
After the Great Plague, the population in England went from about 5 million to 2.5 million. The majority of prosperous members of society live to approximately 50 years of age - poor peasants live about 5 years less. HALF the population dies before they reach the age of 20! Life expectancy at birth could be as low as 18%!
Between 35 and 40% of those you meet are under 15 -- 5% are aged over 65. The average man is a little over 5’7” -- the average woman about 5’2”.
You are bound to come across men who’ve lost eyes, ears, or limbs in the French & Scottish wars. In some towns, 1 in 20 people is getting by with a broken limb.
***
Men are in their prime in their 20s, mature in their 30s, and growing old in their 40s. Women are in their prime at 17, mature at 25, and old by their mid-thirties. In some towns, citizens as young as 12 serve on juries. Boys are expected to work from 7 -- they can also be hanged for theft at this age! Boys can marry at 14 and serve in an army at 15. Betrothals take place in infancy! Girls can marry at 12 -- cohabitation usually begins at 14, though. Most girls of good birth are married by 16 and have 5 or 6 kids by their mid-twenties, though only a couple of those would have survived. In marriage, fidelity is only required from the woman -- men can do as they please! High status women share the power of their husband’s position & rank, as do villeins. Women in cities are able to carry on their husband’s trade after his death. | |
| | | Headmistress Ellington Headmaster
Posts : 140
| Subject: Re: Medieval Society 6/2/2014, 01:16 | |
| EDUCATION
In towns and villages, children are taught about the seven deadly sins once a week by the priest.
A knight’s son is sent off at 7 to serve in the house of another knight, often his maternal uncle.
Noble children are given their own private tutors.
Children of agricultural workers work in the field by age 7.
Craftmens’ sons become apprentices at a young age.
Cathedrals, monasteries, nunneries, & friaries normally have schools attached.
The cost of a formal education at Oxford & Cambridge universities is about 10d per week; so it is a rare privilege - out of the question for villeins.
A large part of the population is literate, contrary to popular belief. | |
| | | Headmistress Ellington Headmaster
Posts : 140
| Subject: Re: Medieval Society 6/2/2014, 21:11 | |
| MAGIC & MYTH
Prophecies were widely believed in; some of them even came true!
Plain magic without heresy is normally tolerated - In fact, if you lost something, for example, you might visit a witch or wizard for help!
Heretical magic is NOT tolerated - it's this kind of magic that is feared and seen as demonic, devilish, etc.
Burning did not become the legal penalty for heresy until 1401.
Astrology is used for everything from deciding when to take medicine to when to wash clothes.
The Great Plague is believed to be a punishment from God.
Celtic speakers are shunned as speakers of the Devil’s words.
People believed anything was possible. | |
| | | Headmistress Ellington Headmaster
Posts : 140
| Subject: Re: Medieval Society 6/6/2014, 15:25 | |
| “PEASANTRY”
VILLEINS/BONDMEN
Bound to the land - if their tenant-in-chief sells his land, he sells them right along with it. Villeins are required to work their lord’s land 3 days per week. In return for their service, they have the use of some land (between 7 and 30 acres) for themselves for which they pay rent. Their lords hold feasts for harvest time and Christmas. Usually, lords demand nothing of their villeins’ goods but a “heriot” - when a villein dies, the lord is customarily given that peasant’s most valuable chattel .
The lord has power over whom his villeins marry. Example: if a widow hasn’t remarried within a few months of her husband’s death, she’ll be ordered to choose a new one within a few weeks. If she doesn’t, one will be chosen for her. If they refuse to marry, they’ll be fined; if they continue to refuse, they’ll be imprisoned until they consent.
Villeins can escape their servitude in two ways: be freed by the lord, or run away. If a man runs away to another town and lives there for a year and a day, he is legally free. But, he forgoes all his possessions, and his nearest male relative is fined, his family turned out of the house. | |
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