MIDDLE AGES

Feudal Times Video

United Streaming: Feudal Times

http://app.discoveryeducation.com/player/view/assetGuid/34FDD998-F34E-4AE7-BB94-E2DA4B05093B

The Role of People under Feudalism

KINGS/QUEENS

LORDS

VASSALS & PRIESTS

SOLDIERS & KNIGHTS

MERCHANTS & COMMONERS

SERFS

Why Castles?Castles were the strongholds in the Middle Ages. They were built to protect the lords and to resist enemy attacks.

Most were built on tops of

hills. A castle served as a home, fortress, prison, armory, treasure house, and center of local government.

Gates and tricks…

Murder holes were designed for dropping hot boiling liquid or stones onto invaders

Other defenses…• Spiral staircases• Moats• Arrow loops• Dungeons

Castle Life Video Clip(3 minutes)

HYGIENE• People in the Middle Ages

were not obsessed with hygiene. Every now and then the castle was cleaned from top to bottom.

• Rats were everywhere!!• Baths were difficult and only

for the rich. King John of England took 1 bath a month.

• Toilets were rare and were just a hole that led to a moat or cesspit. A gong farmer had the privilege of cleaning the cesspits.

The Lord’s TowerThere were several floors to the towers especially the king’s tower.

Wardrobe

Master Bedroom

Solar

Basement

Used for the lady- she dressed here and had personal servants to assist herDecorated in riches from the world—was were the king slept & the lady slept on a trundle bed

King’s private living room—used to retire after dinner for a game of chess

Had a trapdoor from the solar for escape out of the castle—this room held weapons, coins, & treasures

WeaponsMace

Castle Life Video Clip(5 minutes)

Customs from the Middle Ages…• Bridal Bouquet

-After a yearly bath in May, brides started to smell by June, so they carried flowers to hide the odor.

• “Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water!”-The man of the house was the first to bathe, then the wife, and lastly the children. By the time the baby bathed, the water was just too dirty and was tossed.

• It’s raining cats and dogs! -Many serfs’ homes had thatched roofs. To get

warm cats and bugs lived in the roof. When it rained, animals would slip off the roof.

• Also, animal droppings would drop from the roof and mess up the bed, so…canopy beds were invented.

• Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot 9 days old!

- Leftover food (stew) was kept from day to day, and more food was added daily.

• Bring Home the Bacon - When visitors came to your house you

hung up pork..it was a sign of wealth. To be polite, you would cut some off and “chew the fat” with your friends.