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Feudalism and Knighthood: Pyramid Power |
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Feudal Life
Life under the feudal system was highly regimented and sometimes brutal; serfs exchanged their labor, their harvests, and even their freedom for the protection of a lord. Maybe that’s why art, music, and drama were important aspects of medieval life. Visit the Annenberg/CPB Exhibits for a look at medieval entertainment. Then, try out musical instruments such as the recorder, the cittern, or the shawm.
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Too Late to Be a Knight?
Chivalry is dead, right? Don’t let Sir Elton John hear you say that. Knighthood has changed over the centuries, but it has not gone away. Visit the official Web site of the British monarchy for a brief history of knighthood. Then, find out what it takes to become a knight these days.
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Women in Medieval Society: No Voice, No Choice |
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From Heretic to Saint
Women had little standing in medieval society, but that didn’t stop them from contributing. Take Joan of Arc, for instance. Driven by what she called her “voices,” Joan saved her country from military defeat. Her reward? She was branded a heretic and burned at the stake. Stop by the Gale Group, and learn more about Joan’s transformation from peasant girl to hero to heretic to saint.
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Chivalry and Courtly Love: Ideal but Unreal |
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The Rules
Would life be easier if someone wrote down all the rules for dating and behavior? Andreas Capellanus thought so. Pay a visit to Harvard University, and check out excerpts from A Treatise on Courtly Love, which includes The Rules for Love. Do you think you could live by these rules?
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The New City Classes: Out from Under the Overlords |
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Urban Economy
If it takes a village to raise a child, what does it take to raise a village? Check out this history of medieval towns and villages and learn more about how cities formed and grew and what city life was like in the Middle Ages. Then, tour the site and learn about medieval society and the growth of self-government.
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The Great Happenings |
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The Black Death
In its brief and lethal reign of terror, The Black Death, or bubonic plague, killed one of every three people in England. The plague caused a labor shortage that led to freedom for the country’s serfs and knocked the final pillar of support from under the tottering feudal order. Let Professor Gerhard Rempel of Western New England College school you on the plague in all its grisly glory.
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