Middle Ages: Overview

Enrique Moreno Prd7 2/1/13 The Middle Ages From A. D. 500 to 1400, Europe went through a period of faith, disease, terror, feudalism, and advancements in art and architecture. This period is commonly referred to as the Middle Ages. The Middle Ages brought an epidemic that killed roughly one-third of Europe’s total population, renewed faith in God, and advancements in art, architecture and science. It is quite impossible to describe the Middle Ages using one label.

The Dark Ages, Age of Faith, and Golden Age of Europe have completely different meanings but come to describe one period in time- the Middle Ages. The Catholic Church was very powerful it played a very important role in faith which was a very important aspect in life. People had faith, that way they will go to heaven, but they also had to follow the laws that were made by the church. The church controlled the decision of who will go to heaven and who will not and everyone’s goal in life was to go to heaven.

If they disobeyed the laws of the church, they were rejected from the church and therefore ruining their chance of going to heaven. Many men became monks and women became nuns. They replaced their will with the will of god. ”…renounce their will with the will of god,” and”…take the vows of purity, chastity, and poverty (Doc. 8). The monks and nuns influenced everyone else during the medieval time period. The Middle Ages were also a period of feudal age. There were three social classes, the nobles which was the upper class, the peasants and serfs were on the lower class.

The lords would receive land from a higher ranking lord or the king. The lord would distribute the land between the lower lords called vassals. The mutual relationship between the vassal and lord meant that the lord would provide land and protection from invaders and in return the vassal would provide loyalty, military service, and ransom payments. Vassals had serfs working the land and knights for military services. Lords also used knights for protection, so the vassals would remain loyal. (Doc. ) “I will aid the count of champagne… and will send knights whose service I owe to the m for the fief which I hold for them. The feudalistic system originated on large pieces of land called manors. These manors contained everything that people would need for survival and it also included a large manor house were the lord was stationed. The golden age was also a part of the middle ages. Education was a big deal back then, during the golden age. The government needed men who can read and write for their bureaucracies.

The cathedrals developed into the very first universities. The Europeans studied Aristotle, theology, and philosophy in these universities. They also studied medicine and math, including geometry which was big. ”…age once described as ‘dark’ had… vitality and exuberance… they were creative and inventive” (Doc. 6). Literature written in the vernacular language was also popular back then in the middle ages. Lastly, architecture was important and perfected by the people of the medieval time period.

They built the gothic cathedrals using their skills of architecture. In conclusion, the Middle Ages were a time of faith, feudalism, and desire for knowledge. It is mostly known because of all the harsh events in brought with it like the Black Death. After the dark ages were over, the feudal age kept Europe from falling apart by keeping a mutual relationship between the vassal and the lords. The highlight of the middle ages was the golden age which was the era where everyone had a thirst for knowledge.