Middle Ages

The Middle ages lasted from the 5th all the way to the 15th century in Europe. The beginning of the Middle Ages is marked with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the end of the Middle Ages by the rise of the humanism idea in North Italy, known as Renaissance.

Jousting Knights at Tournament

The Middle Ages is usually split into three different periods:

The First period is the end of the Roman Empire and the invasion of the Barbarians who created their own kingdom on the ruins of the Western Roman Empire.  At the same time and later during the 7th Century, territories of the formerly Eastern Empire were conquered by the Islamic Empire.

The Second period is known as High Middle Ages which started around 1000 AD. It was marked with the growth of the population in Europe, and with new society form-Feudalism.  Also the first ideas of the Crusades were introduced; it was an attempt of the Christians to regain the power over the Middle East and the Holy Land.

The Late Middle Ages was probably the worst period of the Middle Ages regarding the overall health situation in Europe. Indeed, the Black Death, killed a 3rd of the population in Europe. It was one of the reasons the rulers turned their back to the Catholic Church and decided to adopt the new Humanistic ideas of Renaissance. With the end of the Middle Ages came the Early Modern period.

Articles in this section:

People

Cities, Buildings & Money

War, Torture & Criminals

Lifestyle, Culture & Society

 Law & Government

Events & Advancements

Countries, Continents & Time Periods

 

 

 

Sports, Activities & Entertainment

 Work & Education

Religion

  Art, Music & Dance

General

Medieval Foods

by

Many of the philosophies of how meals are taken and the types of foods that are suitable for a family meal that we hold today have their origins in medieval times.  The image of a slovenly king eating a turkey leg with his hands makes for fun at a medieval faire but that image is … Read more

Medieval Castles – The Changing Look of Medieval Castles Over the Centuries

by

The narrow definition of what life was like during medieval times that comes from the entertainment industry is short sighted because it does not account for the fact that the middle ages was an extremely lengthy period in the history of civilization.  From the fall of Rome to the birth of the Renaissance period spans some 700-800 years and the changes in culture and what civilization looked like during those centuries was dramatic. 

Read more

Clothing in Medieval Times and Social Status

by

It should come as no surprise that during medieval times, a big indicator of where you stood on the social hierarchy was your clothing.  Even today, clothes tell us much about where a person is in society.  A bricklayer dresses much differently from a policeman and both dress very differently from entertainers or the wealthy … Read more

Real Medieval Life

by

Our fascination with all things medieval comes from two places.  There are the very popular medieval faires where hundreds of people dress up in what is perceived to be medieval garb and feel like they are transported back to the middle ages for a day.  Other than that, the movies and television give us much of our imagery from this time in human history.  From Robin Hood to King Arthur, our vision of what life was like in medieval times is highly romanticized and influenced by the fictional stories we enjoy.

Read more

Medieval Knights – Good & Bad Knights

by

The stories and images that have come down to us from medieval times have become so morally simplistic as to make them more parables or fables than genuine history.   Of the many characters where that is true, the knights that represented the elite of the military of medieval castles are perhaps the most romanticized.  We … Read more

Crime and Punishment in the Middle Ages

by

The Middle ages was a time of severe punishment and harsh torture for crimes that today would seem trivial.  People were beheaded and limbs cut off, vagabonds were often whipped and chained in stocks. People lived in a state of fear thinking they would be the next victim. Even the Catholic Church used torture and … Read more