Women - How Were they Treated?
It is a common belief that women during the Dark Ages were badly punished and forced to work. While this was true in many instances, it was not always the case. A very clear example of this is the appearance of many woman rulers such as Joan of Arc, Julian of Norwich, etc.
Additionally, women could have very significant roles in society such as being Queens, etc. Some women were even allowed to rule a castle! This was actually very frequent - and normally, when a castle's lord was away, he would either appoint his wife or a high noble to defend it.
During the crusades, women did also take a significant role. It is true that many women did embark onto the Holy Land in order to clean their sins. However, frequently they were mistreated and thus; they returned home. For the women who stayed, they had to work twice as hard as most men were away so they had to cover for their husband's (if married) work.
Regular peasants were badly treated. Of course, so was the male population. Evidently, females took very different roles than men - as females of course, were unable to fight as a man could. This led many men to training whilst women had to stay home to work at the crops and teach the couple's kids new things.
Women would very frequently marry at a very young age. This was mainly because life expectancy was much lower than today. Since men very frequently died in battles, women were very frequently left alone and it was completely forbidden to marry again.
Additionally, women were very frequently accused of totally false claims such as attempting satanic practices more commonly referred to as witchery. This led many women to the stake where they would be burned alive. For men, this very rarely happened unless they were trapped exerting the actual satanic practice.
As we can see, life for women was not easy. They were, however, loved by many during the Dark Ages including many kings who made their life easier. As there were good kings, so were there bad ones who would yell at them and force them to work twice as hard. As time passed, women were given more freedom and they were eventually allowed to make many roles who were previously for men only.
Holidays, Medieval Festivals and Celebrations
During the Dark Ages, many holidays that we celebrate today, were celebrated back then too.
Christmas, though similar, was different in a way. Medieval people would celebrate Christmas only for twelve days - but they made sure to have a very fun time while they were at it! Most kings would have enormous feasts to celebrate Christmas and some other kings would have tournaments, games, etc. during the fourteen days.
This made many people happy as peasants were allowed to have fun during Christmas too. Unfortunately, when Christmas ended, many religious folks were scared as they could sometimes sense something wrong. Of course this led to much superstition and a feel of anguish right before Christmas was finally over.
Besides Christmas, Easter was celebrated too. People would very often give each other colored eggs as presents. They would also have parties and mainly celebrate this holiday. The Easter Bunny didn't exist back then as it was later employed.
Halloween was also practiced during the Middle Ages in a different way than we do today. It was mostly simply religious ceremonies in which priests and religious people would pray - this was later known as All Hallow's Eve and then ultimately Halloween.
Of course many other celebrations and holidays existed back then including days devoted to saints and national festivals. Additionally, the king could make a certain day a celebration just because he wanted to. This happened frequently in the case of tournaments. Unfortunately for peasants, this was mostly for the royalty and nobles.
Christmas, though similar, was different in a way. Medieval people would celebrate Christmas only for twelve days - but they made sure to have a very fun time while they were at it! Most kings would have enormous feasts to celebrate Christmas and some other kings would have tournaments, games, etc. during the fourteen days.
This made many people happy as peasants were allowed to have fun during Christmas too. Unfortunately, when Christmas ended, many religious folks were scared as they could sometimes sense something wrong. Of course this led to much superstition and a feel of anguish right before Christmas was finally over.
Besides Christmas, Easter was celebrated too. People would very often give each other colored eggs as presents. They would also have parties and mainly celebrate this holiday. The Easter Bunny didn't exist back then as it was later employed.
Halloween was also practiced during the Middle Ages in a different way than we do today. It was mostly simply religious ceremonies in which priests and religious people would pray - this was later known as All Hallow's Eve and then ultimately Halloween.
Of course many other celebrations and holidays existed back then including days devoted to saints and national festivals. Additionally, the king could make a certain day a celebration just because he wanted to. This happened frequently in the case of tournaments. Unfortunately for peasants, this was mostly for the royalty and nobles.
Houses - Housing During the Dark Ages
For medieval people, houses were very important. They represented their wealth because a bigger house would mean wealth.
Houses were usually one or two stories - these houses received the name of hovels. A medieval house could very often accommodate up to fifty people - this was mainly the case for the poor who had to live with shared space and very little privacy.
Of course this was different for the upper classes, who lived in mansions and protected strongholds. Unfortunately, building a mansion was very expensive and thus; only affordable by the very rich.
For the extreme poor, huts had to be built. They were normally made of material acquired from the forest which was practically arranged in a way to prevent the cold and animals from coming in. Nevertheless; such houses were very insecure and needless to say, in the case of huts and hovels, an invading army could mean the family's death.
This happened very frequently during the night as most hovels were built outside of the castle and offered no protection. Since sometimes the watch towers were ineffective, complete armies could pour into enemy land and kill many peasants living in their unprotected houses.
Of course, the main advantage of a castle was to prevent this, but I will discuss this topic in a future article.
Houses were usually one or two stories - these houses received the name of hovels. A medieval house could very often accommodate up to fifty people - this was mainly the case for the poor who had to live with shared space and very little privacy.
Of course this was different for the upper classes, who lived in mansions and protected strongholds. Unfortunately, building a mansion was very expensive and thus; only affordable by the very rich.
For the extreme poor, huts had to be built. They were normally made of material acquired from the forest which was practically arranged in a way to prevent the cold and animals from coming in. Nevertheless; such houses were very insecure and needless to say, in the case of huts and hovels, an invading army could mean the family's death.
This happened very frequently during the night as most hovels were built outside of the castle and offered no protection. Since sometimes the watch towers were ineffective, complete armies could pour into enemy land and kill many peasants living in their unprotected houses.
Of course, the main advantage of a castle was to prevent this, but I will discuss this topic in a future article.
Medieval Wicca & Sorcery - Witchcraft, Satanism, Practices - Dark Ages
Sorcery was very common during the Dark Ages. It was so common that many measurements had to be taken as a failed attempt to completely eradicate satanic practices or sorcery (which were considered to be almost the same).
This, itself, led medieval people to discomfort as they felt to have had their freedom taken away by a superior force. This of course was not liked and it was a cause of many internal battles. Nevertheless; most people who were involved in such battles were often sent to medieval torture which increased the fear inspired and made sorcerers or witches think twice before attempting to do any such practices.
The most common form of punishment for witches was to be burned at the stake. Afterwards, it was more common for them to be hanged (specially during the inquisition). Nevertheless, this varied greatly from town to town as bigger cities had bigger torture equipment which led to more suffering whilst a smaller town was usually unavailable to use such devices and simply resorted to fire.
The origins of medieval sorcery are unknown to this day. Nevertheless, it is believed that these traditions come from as early as the Romans and from the East (which seems most logical because of its resemblance).
Scrolls were widely used for witchcraft and some of them even survive to this day. Witches were very prone to using certain herbs and animal parts in order to make potions which, they thought, could heal the wounded or extend life as well as other spells.
Medieval people were especially scared of this because of natural disasters and phenomena including eclipses, earthquakes, etc. most times they would blame this happenings on witches or sorcerers because it was believed that through their rituals, witches triggered them.
Witchcraft and religion were both totally against each other. Ultimately, religion commanded much more power than the witches per se and thus they could easily exterminate that minority. To set an example for the rest, most medieval priests would themselves send a witch to the stake to be seen by all the locals.
Everyone was happy when witches were killed, but nevertheless; this also led to injustice as many peasants would blame each other of inducing witchcraft in hopes of staying with their victims properties and goods. Of course, such cases were investigated, but investigations could be easily misled and even sometimes the trial could be simply forgotten and the victim hanged without any prior investigation.
Satanism is also greatly linked to this same topic as many satanists would invoke the Devil in hopes of achieving greater power. They were very often allied with the witches and sorcerers in order to command more power within the dark sect of the Medieval Times.
Ultimately, this led to much fear and anguish because there were so many witches that it was in a way impossible to get rid of them. This was also a major cause of battles between the church and the state as so much fear almost invariantly ended up in war - hence the death of thousands of witches.
To this day, it is evident how witches are looked at as evil - and some people even fear them. This has been orally transmitted from generation to generation up to us which shows us what the true belief of witches was. We frequently portray them as ugly and old, but the reality was that they were very common and frequently pretty - which is a contradiction of what we believe. This is probably because of a desire for medieval authorities to make witches less-liked.
All of these traditions were transmitted to America as early as in the XVIII century when, in the Northern United States, practices against witches were common. This was a link of what was believed during the Dark Ages and it was mainly ignorance and intolerance against that minor part of society.
This, of course, can still be seen today; but not as strongly since we know much about natural disasters and what causes them. Additionally, a few third world countries still feature trials against witchcraft and sorcery as they are equally feared today as they were 500 years ago for them.
Witches used many tools to aid them in their practices. Such included, but were not limited to:
Cauldron:
It was used to brew herbs, animals and substances in order to combine it properly. They were frequently made of wood, but other materials; such as stone were employed as well.
Broom:
It has been widely discussed why our stereotype of witches is them flying on a broom at night. The most common answer dates back to the Dark Ages when peasants would use brooms to fertilize the crops. They would then ride on top of them as horses; and since most of them were women, the image stayed and was transmitted by images, cartoons, etc.
A witch per se would supposedly use a broom in order to 'fly' - but the most common reason why she would use it is to employ it within her spells somehow. This is still unknown as there is a lack of scrolls to support this.
Dolls:
Of course dolls were a very important part of a witch's arsenal as they could use them for many dark purposes. They were employed with the victim's hair or other human part in order for the doll to work effectively. The witch could then torture the doll and what happened to the doll would happen to the victim. This was a very common practice, but of course, there is no evidence to support this - other than the casual coincidence.
Witch Ball:
Of course witch balls are very famous today - but why were they made? They were made for witches to predict the future and reveal hidden answers for a person's life. Their use was mostly in good faith - but sometimes they were employed for evil practices.
Witch balls were usually seven inches in diameter and very heavy because of the material they were made of. Before they could be used, they had to be touched by the full moon's light for one night - or it wouldn't work. When not in use, a witch ball had to be kept in a dark box because if the sun light touched it somehow, it would be rendered useless.
I have previously discussed how witches are believed to have been totally bad and evil. Even though this stereotype of them is exactly how they were portrayed back in the Medieval Times, it is still worth mentioning that witches almost never proclaimed themselves to perform witchery because of fear.
Nevertheless, there were groups and complete guild of magicians, witches, sorcerers, satanists, etc. who would together look for new spells and make scrolls. When such a guild was found, the church would instantly be in a conflict against them which could last very long and could result in the demise of hundreds.
Witchery was not a major issue until the XV and XVI century when more conflicts began to arise. This hatred towards witchery can be seen in the numerous books which were written at the time - showing plenty of hate expressed directly by the respective authors.
It shall be noted that we can't simply state that witches existed or not - in order to believe what was believed back then, we should have an open mind to understand how they were treated - what they believed in and for which reasons they were killed.
This, itself, led medieval people to discomfort as they felt to have had their freedom taken away by a superior force. This of course was not liked and it was a cause of many internal battles. Nevertheless; most people who were involved in such battles were often sent to medieval torture which increased the fear inspired and made sorcerers or witches think twice before attempting to do any such practices.
The most common form of punishment for witches was to be burned at the stake. Afterwards, it was more common for them to be hanged (specially during the inquisition). Nevertheless, this varied greatly from town to town as bigger cities had bigger torture equipment which led to more suffering whilst a smaller town was usually unavailable to use such devices and simply resorted to fire.
The origins of medieval sorcery are unknown to this day. Nevertheless, it is believed that these traditions come from as early as the Romans and from the East (which seems most logical because of its resemblance).
Scrolls were widely used for witchcraft and some of them even survive to this day. Witches were very prone to using certain herbs and animal parts in order to make potions which, they thought, could heal the wounded or extend life as well as other spells.
Medieval people were especially scared of this because of natural disasters and phenomena including eclipses, earthquakes, etc. most times they would blame this happenings on witches or sorcerers because it was believed that through their rituals, witches triggered them.
Witchcraft and religion were both totally against each other. Ultimately, religion commanded much more power than the witches per se and thus they could easily exterminate that minority. To set an example for the rest, most medieval priests would themselves send a witch to the stake to be seen by all the locals.
Everyone was happy when witches were killed, but nevertheless; this also led to injustice as many peasants would blame each other of inducing witchcraft in hopes of staying with their victims properties and goods. Of course, such cases were investigated, but investigations could be easily misled and even sometimes the trial could be simply forgotten and the victim hanged without any prior investigation.
Satanism is also greatly linked to this same topic as many satanists would invoke the Devil in hopes of achieving greater power. They were very often allied with the witches and sorcerers in order to command more power within the dark sect of the Medieval Times.
Ultimately, this led to much fear and anguish because there were so many witches that it was in a way impossible to get rid of them. This was also a major cause of battles between the church and the state as so much fear almost invariantly ended up in war - hence the death of thousands of witches.
To this day, it is evident how witches are looked at as evil - and some people even fear them. This has been orally transmitted from generation to generation up to us which shows us what the true belief of witches was. We frequently portray them as ugly and old, but the reality was that they were very common and frequently pretty - which is a contradiction of what we believe. This is probably because of a desire for medieval authorities to make witches less-liked.
All of these traditions were transmitted to America as early as in the XVIII century when, in the Northern United States, practices against witches were common. This was a link of what was believed during the Dark Ages and it was mainly ignorance and intolerance against that minor part of society.
This, of course, can still be seen today; but not as strongly since we know much about natural disasters and what causes them. Additionally, a few third world countries still feature trials against witchcraft and sorcery as they are equally feared today as they were 500 years ago for them.
Tools:
Witches used many tools to aid them in their practices. Such included, but were not limited to:
Cauldron:
It was used to brew herbs, animals and substances in order to combine it properly. They were frequently made of wood, but other materials; such as stone were employed as well.
Broom:
It has been widely discussed why our stereotype of witches is them flying on a broom at night. The most common answer dates back to the Dark Ages when peasants would use brooms to fertilize the crops. They would then ride on top of them as horses; and since most of them were women, the image stayed and was transmitted by images, cartoons, etc.
A witch per se would supposedly use a broom in order to 'fly' - but the most common reason why she would use it is to employ it within her spells somehow. This is still unknown as there is a lack of scrolls to support this.
Dolls:
Of course dolls were a very important part of a witch's arsenal as they could use them for many dark purposes. They were employed with the victim's hair or other human part in order for the doll to work effectively. The witch could then torture the doll and what happened to the doll would happen to the victim. This was a very common practice, but of course, there is no evidence to support this - other than the casual coincidence.
Witch Ball:
Of course witch balls are very famous today - but why were they made? They were made for witches to predict the future and reveal hidden answers for a person's life. Their use was mostly in good faith - but sometimes they were employed for evil practices.
Witch balls were usually seven inches in diameter and very heavy because of the material they were made of. Before they could be used, they had to be touched by the full moon's light for one night - or it wouldn't work. When not in use, a witch ball had to be kept in a dark box because if the sun light touched it somehow, it would be rendered useless.
More Information
I have previously discussed how witches are believed to have been totally bad and evil. Even though this stereotype of them is exactly how they were portrayed back in the Medieval Times, it is still worth mentioning that witches almost never proclaimed themselves to perform witchery because of fear.
Nevertheless, there were groups and complete guild of magicians, witches, sorcerers, satanists, etc. who would together look for new spells and make scrolls. When such a guild was found, the church would instantly be in a conflict against them which could last very long and could result in the demise of hundreds.
Witchery was not a major issue until the XV and XVI century when more conflicts began to arise. This hatred towards witchery can be seen in the numerous books which were written at the time - showing plenty of hate expressed directly by the respective authors.
It shall be noted that we can't simply state that witches existed or not - in order to believe what was believed back then, we should have an open mind to understand how they were treated - what they believed in and for which reasons they were killed.
Health - Healing and Doctors, Methods, Medicine, Discoveries, Medieval
Health was a major issue during the Medieval Times. Doctors were very scarce and the few who actually exerted their job were very commonly unskilled to perform that important task.
This was mainly because it was a common belief that health problems were caused by God and men had no power over them. This slowly changed as time passed, but nevertheless; it was too late by then because too many avoidable deaths took place.
Many babies died because there was no much knowledge in having a safe practice for both the mother and the baby. This led to a very slowly-increasing population during the Medieval Ages.
Food:
Food played a very important role in medieval health as a famine would often cause the death of thousands of peasants. This rarely happened, but nevertheless; medieval people had to be very careful in knowing when a famine could take place.
Additionally, food was seldom cooked correctly which in turn brought many infections which were unknown and accounted for something else.
During a siege, food was conserved for many months which made most of it begin rotting. Since there was no option, medieval soldiers had to consume that food which brought the castle's end sooner. During times of peace, consuming rotten food was very rare and it only happened when there was a famine - which, as stated above, almost never happened.
Another major factor which accounted the demise of thousands of peasants was the bad nutrition during the Dark Ages. This was caused because of ignorance and lack of food as most peasants would eat a lot of bread and water, but would miss many nutrients which are required for a healthy life. This led them to a state of weakness which combined with the hard labor, brought diseased and ultimately death.
Winter:
Winter was a major cause of death as most poor peasants would very often find themselves struggling against the cold and very often catching diseases which now seem unworthy - but back then deadly.
Health-related scrolls and manuscripts were very valuable and scarce. It has been recently discovered that most of them were very inaccurate because of the numerous translations that they were subject to. The most common way of translation was from Greek to Arabic and then to Latin - which was then translated into the country's language. This led to many erroneous translations which, in terms of health, resulted in an even more inaccurate way of dealing with patients.
This slowly improved as many doctors realized newer and more effective methods to cure their patients, but this rarely happened as the church would very often forbid such practices and would account everything to God's power. Many scientists were burnt at the stake for attempting to make new cures - which significantly slowed the development of medicine and healing methods.
Plague:
Another major fear were the plagues which were very common at the time. They could often kill a whole village and could spread widely. The case of The Black Death is impressing as every fourth person in Europe died. Imagine walking on the street and every fourth person you see - dies. That's how the Black Death, which took place from 1347 - 1351, was.
Most doctors would resort to give their patients whatever herb they could think of. This was almost never sustained on a study as very few existed, so doctors would give their patients what they thought would help them - which very rarely helped and caused even more deaths when a plague struck.
Plagues were deadlier in cities as the plague could be transmitted easier between the narrow streets from inhabitant to inhabitant. When many deaths occurred, and most people were sick, there was an even greater danger of rotting human flesh which would result in an even greater number of infections and more deaths. In order to dispose bodies, huge holes were made in the ground and corpses were thrown by the hundreds without any proper burials.
Babies:
Since there was bad care for a pregnant woman during the Dark Ages (specially in lower classes), many babies with brain traumas were born. They were very often accepted into society, but sometimes when the church got in the affair, they had crosses shaved into the back of their head or were given to the monastery in hopes for God to heal them.
Obviously, nothing could be done for these babies, reason for which they were mostly a burden and poor families got rid of them.
Diseases:
The most feared disease during the Middle Ages was leprosy which killed thousands of people. Leprosy was looked at as an act of God to punish a person, and thus; the church believed that he had done something wrong and when someone had leprosy he would be investigated and sometimes killed.
Diseases were very numerous and often deadly. For this reason, it was recommended to stay warm and to try not to go out to the cold. Nobles very rarely went out without proper clothing - and would request to have warm water delivered to them for their bathing purposes.
General Medicine:
Doctors usually relied on traditional knowledge to cure their patients. They would normally use knives, scissors, etc. to perform surgeries which made them more contraproductive than the original disease per se. Additionally, most of these instruments were very poorly washed which led to infections transmitted from patient to patient.
Hospitals began to be built during the XIII century. In the same time, many medicine schools were built in order for doctors to have a proper education. A doctor could generally graduate and begin performing surgeries and giving advice after just five years of studies and two exams.
As time passed, doctors were better prepared. Nevertheless, during the Dark Ages, nobody fully believed in them and they were not taken seriously. When a doctor's attempt to cure a patient failed, the church would take care of the patient by attempting exorcism or prayers for the patient.
Many nobles believed that Eastern doctors were better - reason for which they were frequently called and asked to heal patients who were thought to die. Unfortunately, there is no much evidence to support this fact as it is even believed that Western doctors were more efficient due to a better understanding of Greek medicine. Eastern doctors would very often resort to magic and useless herbs which leads to believe this.
As time passed, more hospitals were built and more education given. The bond between religion and health was never broken during the Dark Ages and, though tolerated later on, at first religion was the only way.
It took medieval doctors hundreds of years to acquire the knowledge that was lost when Alexandria's library was burnt.
This was mainly because it was a common belief that health problems were caused by God and men had no power over them. This slowly changed as time passed, but nevertheless; it was too late by then because too many avoidable deaths took place.
Many babies died because there was no much knowledge in having a safe practice for both the mother and the baby. This led to a very slowly-increasing population during the Medieval Ages.
Food:
Food played a very important role in medieval health as a famine would often cause the death of thousands of peasants. This rarely happened, but nevertheless; medieval people had to be very careful in knowing when a famine could take place.
Additionally, food was seldom cooked correctly which in turn brought many infections which were unknown and accounted for something else.
During a siege, food was conserved for many months which made most of it begin rotting. Since there was no option, medieval soldiers had to consume that food which brought the castle's end sooner. During times of peace, consuming rotten food was very rare and it only happened when there was a famine - which, as stated above, almost never happened.
Another major factor which accounted the demise of thousands of peasants was the bad nutrition during the Dark Ages. This was caused because of ignorance and lack of food as most peasants would eat a lot of bread and water, but would miss many nutrients which are required for a healthy life. This led them to a state of weakness which combined with the hard labor, brought diseased and ultimately death.
Winter:
Winter was a major cause of death as most poor peasants would very often find themselves struggling against the cold and very often catching diseases which now seem unworthy - but back then deadly.
Health-related scrolls and manuscripts were very valuable and scarce. It has been recently discovered that most of them were very inaccurate because of the numerous translations that they were subject to. The most common way of translation was from Greek to Arabic and then to Latin - which was then translated into the country's language. This led to many erroneous translations which, in terms of health, resulted in an even more inaccurate way of dealing with patients.
This slowly improved as many doctors realized newer and more effective methods to cure their patients, but this rarely happened as the church would very often forbid such practices and would account everything to God's power. Many scientists were burnt at the stake for attempting to make new cures - which significantly slowed the development of medicine and healing methods.
Plague:
Another major fear were the plagues which were very common at the time. They could often kill a whole village and could spread widely. The case of The Black Death is impressing as every fourth person in Europe died. Imagine walking on the street and every fourth person you see - dies. That's how the Black Death, which took place from 1347 - 1351, was.
Most doctors would resort to give their patients whatever herb they could think of. This was almost never sustained on a study as very few existed, so doctors would give their patients what they thought would help them - which very rarely helped and caused even more deaths when a plague struck.
Plagues were deadlier in cities as the plague could be transmitted easier between the narrow streets from inhabitant to inhabitant. When many deaths occurred, and most people were sick, there was an even greater danger of rotting human flesh which would result in an even greater number of infections and more deaths. In order to dispose bodies, huge holes were made in the ground and corpses were thrown by the hundreds without any proper burials.
Babies:
Since there was bad care for a pregnant woman during the Dark Ages (specially in lower classes), many babies with brain traumas were born. They were very often accepted into society, but sometimes when the church got in the affair, they had crosses shaved into the back of their head or were given to the monastery in hopes for God to heal them.
Obviously, nothing could be done for these babies, reason for which they were mostly a burden and poor families got rid of them.
Diseases:
The most feared disease during the Middle Ages was leprosy which killed thousands of people. Leprosy was looked at as an act of God to punish a person, and thus; the church believed that he had done something wrong and when someone had leprosy he would be investigated and sometimes killed.
Diseases were very numerous and often deadly. For this reason, it was recommended to stay warm and to try not to go out to the cold. Nobles very rarely went out without proper clothing - and would request to have warm water delivered to them for their bathing purposes.
General Medicine:
Doctors usually relied on traditional knowledge to cure their patients. They would normally use knives, scissors, etc. to perform surgeries which made them more contraproductive than the original disease per se. Additionally, most of these instruments were very poorly washed which led to infections transmitted from patient to patient.
Hospitals began to be built during the XIII century. In the same time, many medicine schools were built in order for doctors to have a proper education. A doctor could generally graduate and begin performing surgeries and giving advice after just five years of studies and two exams.
As time passed, doctors were better prepared. Nevertheless, during the Dark Ages, nobody fully believed in them and they were not taken seriously. When a doctor's attempt to cure a patient failed, the church would take care of the patient by attempting exorcism or prayers for the patient.
Many nobles believed that Eastern doctors were better - reason for which they were frequently called and asked to heal patients who were thought to die. Unfortunately, there is no much evidence to support this fact as it is even believed that Western doctors were more efficient due to a better understanding of Greek medicine. Eastern doctors would very often resort to magic and useless herbs which leads to believe this.
As time passed, more hospitals were built and more education given. The bond between religion and health was never broken during the Dark Ages and, though tolerated later on, at first religion was the only way.
It took medieval doctors hundreds of years to acquire the knowledge that was lost when Alexandria's library was burnt.
Knighthood During the Dark Ages - Knights
When the word "knight" is mentioned, we often imagine a strong and handsome mounted warrior fighting dragons to defend his beloved.
As young as the age of seven, kids were already chosen to become knights by their parents. In order to be chosen to become a knight, a test had to be conducted on them to decide whether they were suitable for the task or not. In order to be chosen, a kid had to be tall for his age, strong and extremely healthy. If chosen, the kid was called a "Page". It was his lord (normally a knight) who frequently trained the young Page by assigning him diverse tasks in or outside the castle. In this process, many Pages died, though it was common since their death meant their weakness.
In order to become a Squire at the age of 13 or 14, the Page had to have shown promise in fighting. The Squire frequently stayed with the former knight who had taught him about knighthood since he was a young Page. During this period of time, the Squire handled the knight's weapons and was appointed to clean them and help the knight in any way he could. By the time a Squire reached the age of 15, he had to start wearing an armor to begin getting used to the weight.
Between 18 and 21, the Squire was finally ready to become a knight. A ceremony invariantly took place to help the knight overcome his problems. The day before the ceremony, the Squire had to fast and bath himself "to cleanse his sins". Afterward he had to go to confession and stay in the church praying to God for guidance all night long. When the ceremony took place, the knight had to enter the hall with his eyes looking straight ahead toward the altar and his sword charging forward, being carried with both hands. As the Squire walked toward his lord, the lord asked him some questions about his tasks and what he was destined to do during his lifetime. If the lord was satisfied with the answers, he would carry on with the ceremony which was later to become a feast.
Though knights were characteristic for being courteous and almost invariantly descended from the upper class, knights sought to exploit serfs as accorded in the feudal system.
Their objective was simple - knights had to protect their lord and king in exchange for fief and sometimes gold. Their strength and ability to command others in the battlefield and in a castle's garrison made most kings focus in them.
When a knight earned a lord's confidence it was common to see a castle appointed to the knight. They always swore loyalty to their king and would fight for him to the end.
Knights reached their peak during the XI and XII centuries, but they appeared earlier since the beginning of the end of the Viking Raids. It was then when their image was forged for they had to follow the code of chivalry.
I was recently reading an excellent book by Andreas Capellanus called "The Art of Courtly Love" in which the art of loving is outlined.
1.Marriage is no real excuse for not loving.
2.He who is not jealous cannot love.
3.No one can be bound by a double love.
4.It is well known that love is always increasing or decreasing.
5.That which a lover takes against the will of his beloved has no relish.
6.Boys do not love until they reach the age of maturity.
7.When one lover dies, a widowhood of two years is required of the survivor.
8.No one should be deprived of love without the very best of reasons.
9.No one can love unless he is propelled by the persuasion of love.
10.Love is always a stranger in the home of avarice.
11.It is not proper to love any woman whom one would be ashamed to seek to marry.
12.A true lover does not desire to embrace in love anyone except his beloved.
13.When made public love rarely endures.
14.The easy attainment of love makes it of little value: difficulty of attainment makes it prized.
15.Every lover regularly turns pale in the presence of his beloved.
16.When a lover suddenly catches sight of his beloved his heart palpitates.
17.A new love puts an old one to flight.
18.Good character alone makes any man worthy of love.
19.If love diminishes, it quickly fails and rarely revives.
20.A man in love is always apprehensive.
21.Real jealousy always increases the feeling of love.
22.Jealousy increases when one suspects his beloved.
23.He whom the thought of love vexes eats and sleeps very little.
24.Every act of a lover ends in the thought of his beloved.
25.A true lover considers nothing good except what he thinks will please his beloved.
26.Love can deny nothing to love.
27.A lover can never have enough of the solaces of his beloved.
28.A slight presumption causes a lover to suspect his beloved.
29.A man who is vexed by too much passion usually does not love.
30.A true lover is constantly and without intermission possessed by the thought of his beloved.
31.Nothing forbids one woman being loved by two men or one man by two women.
Seducing Women, love and nobility were obviously extremely important for knights.
A knight would frequently die for his beloved or for defending his own honor, which was sometimes as important. It was common for knights to marry at an early age and have many children who he would protect. The role of knights as the head of the family was extremely important, though it was his mistress who taught their children needed skills, and who spent most of the time with them while the knight performed other activities in or outside of the castle.
Even though knights continued to be important for centuries, when gunpowder was incorporated into medieval warfare their importance began to decline slowly to the point when feudalism reached its end and so did knighthood. France was the last country to still have knights, though they were mostly symbolical and no longer used for warfare since it was enough for a bullet to kill him, rendering his skills useless.
A thousand years later, today, knights have evolved into a legend. Their stories are told and tens of thousands of books about them have been written. Undoubtedly, knights are very symbolical of the Middle Ages. Most of us are blown away by their stories of love making us aspire to achieve their code of Chivalry.
Chivalry comes from the French "Chevalier" and the Spanish "Caballero" which mean, basically, "mounted warrior" or "knight". The term had a completely different meaning during the Middle Ages since it was a complete code of ethics that a knight had to follow in order to be good. Chivalry covers many key-concepts such as helping the weak, protecting a lady and swearing loyalty to the lord. Following is a list of the basic rules of the code of Chivalry as contained in the book "Chivalry" by Leon Gautier
-Thou Shalt believe all that the Church teaches, and shalt observe all its directions.
-Thou shalt defend the Church.
-Thou shalt repect all weaknesses, and shalt constitute thyself the defender of them.
-Thou shalt love the country in the which thou wast born.
-Thou shalt not recoil before thine enemy.
-Thou shalt make war against the Infidel without cessation, and without mercy.
-Thou shalt perform scrupulously thy feudal duties, if they be not contrary to the laws of God.
-Thou shalt never lie, and shall remain faithful to thy pledged word.
-Thou shalt be generous, and give largess to everyone.
-Thou shalt be everywhere and always the champion of the Right and the ood against Injustice and Evil.
Way to Knighthood:
As young as the age of seven, kids were already chosen to become knights by their parents. In order to be chosen to become a knight, a test had to be conducted on them to decide whether they were suitable for the task or not. In order to be chosen, a kid had to be tall for his age, strong and extremely healthy. If chosen, the kid was called a "Page". It was his lord (normally a knight) who frequently trained the young Page by assigning him diverse tasks in or outside the castle. In this process, many Pages died, though it was common since their death meant their weakness.
In order to become a Squire at the age of 13 or 14, the Page had to have shown promise in fighting. The Squire frequently stayed with the former knight who had taught him about knighthood since he was a young Page. During this period of time, the Squire handled the knight's weapons and was appointed to clean them and help the knight in any way he could. By the time a Squire reached the age of 15, he had to start wearing an armor to begin getting used to the weight.
Between 18 and 21, the Squire was finally ready to become a knight. A ceremony invariantly took place to help the knight overcome his problems. The day before the ceremony, the Squire had to fast and bath himself "to cleanse his sins". Afterward he had to go to confession and stay in the church praying to God for guidance all night long. When the ceremony took place, the knight had to enter the hall with his eyes looking straight ahead toward the altar and his sword charging forward, being carried with both hands. As the Squire walked toward his lord, the lord asked him some questions about his tasks and what he was destined to do during his lifetime. If the lord was satisfied with the answers, he would carry on with the ceremony which was later to become a feast.
Knights:
Though knights were characteristic for being courteous and almost invariantly descended from the upper class, knights sought to exploit serfs as accorded in the feudal system.
Their objective was simple - knights had to protect their lord and king in exchange for fief and sometimes gold. Their strength and ability to command others in the battlefield and in a castle's garrison made most kings focus in them.
When a knight earned a lord's confidence it was common to see a castle appointed to the knight. They always swore loyalty to their king and would fight for him to the end.
Knights reached their peak during the XI and XII centuries, but they appeared earlier since the beginning of the end of the Viking Raids. It was then when their image was forged for they had to follow the code of chivalry.
I was recently reading an excellent book by Andreas Capellanus called "The Art of Courtly Love" in which the art of loving is outlined.
1.Marriage is no real excuse for not loving.
2.He who is not jealous cannot love.
3.No one can be bound by a double love.
4.It is well known that love is always increasing or decreasing.
5.That which a lover takes against the will of his beloved has no relish.
6.Boys do not love until they reach the age of maturity.
7.When one lover dies, a widowhood of two years is required of the survivor.
8.No one should be deprived of love without the very best of reasons.
9.No one can love unless he is propelled by the persuasion of love.
10.Love is always a stranger in the home of avarice.
11.It is not proper to love any woman whom one would be ashamed to seek to marry.
12.A true lover does not desire to embrace in love anyone except his beloved.
13.When made public love rarely endures.
14.The easy attainment of love makes it of little value: difficulty of attainment makes it prized.
15.Every lover regularly turns pale in the presence of his beloved.
16.When a lover suddenly catches sight of his beloved his heart palpitates.
17.A new love puts an old one to flight.
18.Good character alone makes any man worthy of love.
19.If love diminishes, it quickly fails and rarely revives.
20.A man in love is always apprehensive.
21.Real jealousy always increases the feeling of love.
22.Jealousy increases when one suspects his beloved.
23.He whom the thought of love vexes eats and sleeps very little.
24.Every act of a lover ends in the thought of his beloved.
25.A true lover considers nothing good except what he thinks will please his beloved.
26.Love can deny nothing to love.
27.A lover can never have enough of the solaces of his beloved.
28.A slight presumption causes a lover to suspect his beloved.
29.A man who is vexed by too much passion usually does not love.
30.A true lover is constantly and without intermission possessed by the thought of his beloved.
31.Nothing forbids one woman being loved by two men or one man by two women.
Seducing Women, love and nobility were obviously extremely important for knights.
A knight would frequently die for his beloved or for defending his own honor, which was sometimes as important. It was common for knights to marry at an early age and have many children who he would protect. The role of knights as the head of the family was extremely important, though it was his mistress who taught their children needed skills, and who spent most of the time with them while the knight performed other activities in or outside of the castle.
Even though knights continued to be important for centuries, when gunpowder was incorporated into medieval warfare their importance began to decline slowly to the point when feudalism reached its end and so did knighthood. France was the last country to still have knights, though they were mostly symbolical and no longer used for warfare since it was enough for a bullet to kill him, rendering his skills useless.
A thousand years later, today, knights have evolved into a legend. Their stories are told and tens of thousands of books about them have been written. Undoubtedly, knights are very symbolical of the Middle Ages. Most of us are blown away by their stories of love making us aspire to achieve their code of Chivalry.
Chivalry:
Chivalry comes from the French "Chevalier" and the Spanish "Caballero" which mean, basically, "mounted warrior" or "knight". The term had a completely different meaning during the Middle Ages since it was a complete code of ethics that a knight had to follow in order to be good. Chivalry covers many key-concepts such as helping the weak, protecting a lady and swearing loyalty to the lord. Following is a list of the basic rules of the code of Chivalry as contained in the book "Chivalry" by Leon Gautier
-Thou Shalt believe all that the Church teaches, and shalt observe all its directions.
-Thou shalt defend the Church.
-Thou shalt repect all weaknesses, and shalt constitute thyself the defender of them.
-Thou shalt love the country in the which thou wast born.
-Thou shalt not recoil before thine enemy.
-Thou shalt make war against the Infidel without cessation, and without mercy.
-Thou shalt perform scrupulously thy feudal duties, if they be not contrary to the laws of God.
-Thou shalt never lie, and shall remain faithful to thy pledged word.
-Thou shalt be generous, and give largess to everyone.
-Thou shalt be everywhere and always the champion of the Right and the ood against Injustice and Evil.
Water in the Medieval Castles - Uses and Replenishing
Water in a medieval castle was a difficult job. Dozens of servants were appointed each day to carry water from the well to upper floors of the castle from which it was stored within a reservoir to later travel to the inferior floors with tubes.
During warm weather, baths would be normally taken outside; whilst during cold weather, they were taken inside a chamber as close to the fire as possible.
When the lord traveled, his bath would come with him as it was very difficult to find other places in which a lord could bath. For this same purpose, lords would be often accompanied by bath-men who were appointed to prepare the lord's bath.
The lower classes normally used the river instead - except during war time when baths would be seldom taken - a major cause that contributed to the spread of diseases.
During warm weather, baths would be normally taken outside; whilst during cold weather, they were taken inside a chamber as close to the fire as possible.
When the lord traveled, his bath would come with him as it was very difficult to find other places in which a lord could bath. For this same purpose, lords would be often accompanied by bath-men who were appointed to prepare the lord's bath.
The lower classes normally used the river instead - except during war time when baths would be seldom taken - a major cause that contributed to the spread of diseases.
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