The Hundred Year's War

    The Hundred Year’s War was a time of alternating warfare between England and France. It lasted from 1337 to 1453, not a hundred years, but 116 years. The main cause of the hundred years war was that the king of England, edwardIII, asserted that he had superior claim to the throne  because his mother was Philip the fair’s daughter. The economic conflict was another cause; the French monarchy had tried to put new taxes from towns in northern Europe.

     The first battle fought in the Hundred Year's War was the Battle of Cadsand in 1337. In the 1340's there were 6 battles which were all won in favor of the English. The first French vicory was in 1351 at the Battle of Andres. During the first part of the Hundred Years war great defeats were presented for the French. In 1370, a French recovery began, and a period of peace followed. After the peace ended and war resumed, the French were defeated at Agincourtin in 1415. It was there that the French signed the Treaty of Troyes, which recognized King Henry V of England as heir to the French Throne. The Battle of Castillon in July of 1453 was the last battle in the Hundred Year's war and the victory belonged to the French.

     One of the biggest and most recognized figures of the Hundred Year's War is Joan of Arc. She claimed that "voices" of saints had told her that God wanted her to fight in the War and aid her country. By lifting the siege of Orleans in 9 days and taking back the city of Reims, Joan had brought renewed confidence to the desperate French army who at the time, had suffered a number of losses to the English. Joan had been given the nickname "Maid of Orleans." Soon, Joan had been captured by the English and in hopes of taking back the War, they burned her on a stake as if she was a witch. The English though, was too late; the French had already taken the War under their wing.

     Thank You,
Jordan K.                                                          
Megan H.








Information from these websites--

http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/hundred-years-war.htm

http://www.medieval-life-and-times.info/medieval-history/timeline-one-hundred-years-war.htm

http://www.enotes.com/topics/joan-arc

Agriculture in Medieval Times

Farming was a crucial part of life in medieval times. It was how many peasants made a living to support their families. Many medieval people did not actually own the land they farmed; instead it belonged to their lord of the manor. A peasant would pay rent to his lord and was sometimes required to give up his harvest as a part of renting the land. Most of the peasants were expected to work the lord’s land for a certain number of days a week. Being a peasant wasn’t easy. They worked long hours for very little pay, but in return they were protected by the knights of the manor.

Three-field system

The Europeans developed new farming ideas that helped them greatly expand food supplies and lead to the rise of towns. One of these techniques was the three-field system. Initially, as people migrated to the northern parts of Europe, they brought with them the two-field system, which was well suited to the climate of the Mediterranean. The climate affected how the crops grew which meant it also affected how good of a living they made for their family. The more temperate climate of northern Europe allowed the peasants to grow crops in both winter and summer. This however, caused the soil to become exhausted and worn down if they used the old two-field system. As a result the peasants divided their land into three fields, one for winter crops, one for summer, and one that remained empty. The use of the fields was rotated each year. Another part of the system, in order to prevent the soil from becoming worn down, was to use different crops that took different types of nutrients from the soil. The winter crops usually consisted of winter wheat or rye, and the spring and summer crops were wheat or beans and peas. 

The plow used in medieval times was still the scratch plow, which worked fine in the dry soil of the Mediterranean, but was not suited for the wetter, deeper soils of northern Europe. Such a plow might be re-enforced with iron, or it might be nothing more than a curved digging stick. The main source of power for pulling the plow was the ox hooked up by a yoke harness pulled at the neck. Although slow, the ox was more than some peasants could even afford. As a result, they had to pull their own plows or dig with spades. Since some peasants continued to use the two-field system instead of the three-field system, only fifty percent of the farmland was in use in any given year, and because of this, crop yields were very low. 

In the Roman Empire, for every bushel of seed grain planted, four bushels would be harvested. In the early Middle Ages, with the poor techniques being used, this ratio dropped to one and a half or two to one. A full half or more of peasant’s harvest had to be saved as seed grain for next year’s planting. In years of famine, this led to serious difficulties. 

http://www.flowofhistory.com/units/west/10/FC63

by: Raleigh Manning, Alyssa Omberg, Hunter Webb

Medieval Medicine

The hisostory of Medieval Medicine is not as one would think. Acutal effective treatments weren't developed until the later Middle Ages.
Western Medicine advanced very little in Europe during the Middle Ages. Scholarship fell into the religious sphere, and clerics were more interested in curing the soul than the body.  Many theologians considered disease and injury to be the result of supernatural intervention and insisted that cures were only possible through prayer. Christian concern for the ill and injured, as well as contact with the Arab world during the crusades, did, however, lead to the creation of many large hospitals built and run by monastic orders.  Although little was done to cure the patients, they were usually well fed and comforted by a religious nursing staff. 

<--St. Benedict

The first documents that we have in the genuine history of Medieval Medicine, after the references to the organizations of Christian hospitals at Rome and Asia Minor in the 4th and 5th centuries, are to be found in the directions provided in the rules of the religious orders for the care of the ailing. St. Benedict, the founder of the monks of the West, was particularly insistent on the thorough performance of this duty. One of the rules of St. Benedict required the Abbot to provide in the monastery an infirmary for the ailing, and to organize particular care of them as a special Christian duty. The wording of the rule in this regard is very emphatic. “ The care of the sick is to be placed above and before every other duty, as if, indeed, Christ were being directly served in waiting on them. It must be the peculiar care of the Abbot that they suffer from no negligence. The Infirmarian must be thoroughly reliable, known for his piety and diligence and solicitude for his charge.” The last words of the rule are characteristic of Benedict’s appreciation of cleanliness as a religious duty, though doubtless also the curative effect of water was in mind. “Let baths be provided for the sick as often as they need them.”

Cassiodorus, who had been the prime minister of the Ostrogoth Emperors, had his rule founded on that of the Benedictines. He promoted the herbal medicine, by recommending to learn the nature of herbs, and study diligently the way to combine their various species for human health; but he advised to not place your entire hope on herbs, nor seek to restore health only by human counsels. Since medicine has been created by God, and since it is He who gives back health and restores life, turn to Him.

(Sarah A. and Sarah D.)

The Spread of the Black Plague

    The black death begun in the Medieval England between 1348-1350 that caused segregation and destruction life. The disease killed 1.5 million out of an estimated total of 4 million. Seeing that they had no medial knowledge they had to cope with the disease. During the 14th century, the black death was giving the name bubonic plague. 

    The first signs of the plague were painfully swollen lymph nodes, lumps on your groin and armpits. These tumors could range in size from that of an egg to that of an apple. Then, after, lead to black blotches on the skin, that appeared on your arms, legs and other parts of your body and bleeding from the lungs filling them with fluid causing victims to spit up mucous and blood

   

The bubonic plague was caused by the bacillus Pasteurella pestis (Yersinia pestis), transmitted to persons by Infected fleas that attached themselves to rat. Almost every victim died within three days without a fever. The belief that God was upset with them, they showed their love and devotion by whipping themselves to be forgiven of their sins and hope that God would be spare them from the Black Death. 

    One-third of Europe’s population died. Mortality rates were estimated between 25 and 38 percent; as the disease spread, both cities and rural areas suffered. Finding it difficult to keep up with the responsibility of so many burials, some cities abolished burial fees and others participated in mass funerals. The most devastating aspects of the Black Plague was fear of helping the sick. Touching the clothing of someone who was ill could be fatal. Families deserted their own fathers, mothers, and even children. Abandoned plague victims lay dying in the streets. Families who stayed with loved ones often paid the price, forced by towns people to be sealed up in their houses, healthy and sick alike, amounting to a death sentence for all. The segregation of the sick was ordered in many cities. 

  

To many historians, the Black Death marked the end of the Middle Ages and the start of the modern age. Its devastation cleared the way for Europeans to begin to reorganize their societies, to systematize landholding relations between owner/farmer and tenant/laborer on the basis of rent, and to strike a balance between capital and labor.

   The child's nursery rhyme Ring Around The Rosie is often cited as referring to the Black Plague, however this is thought to be an urban legend as the earliest record of it appearing in print wasn't until 1881.

Ring around the Rosie
Pocketful of posies
Ashes, ashes (or Achoo, achoo)
We all fall down.

　

Guilds

The guilds in the Middle Ages were an important part of Medieval life. There were two types of guilds, Merchant Guilds and Craft Guilds. The Merchant Guilds negotiated with the lord and levy trade became regulated. The regulations that the Merchan Guild and the lord made, resulted in a Merchant Guild charter. This charter allowed th merchants to pay an annual payment to the lord who owned the land where the town was based.

Merchant guilds were very powerful because they controlled the way that the town traded. They mad rules that put a ban on any illicit trading by non Merchant Guild members, fines were imposed on any Merchant Guild members who violated the Merchant Guilds charter. Leading members of the Merchant Guilds became very important members of the Medieval town community of the Middle Ages. They adopted the role of spokesperson for all of the members. The introduction of the Merchant Guilds in a town or city lead to its own hierarchy and involvement in civic duties such as chief spokesman of the Merchant Guild became the mayor of the town, or city.

Craft guilds formed in a similar way to the Merchant Guilds. They were a group of tradesmen or craftsmen engaged int the same occupation joined together. There were Craft Guilds of every trade performed within a Medieval city. They included carpenters, painters, cloth makers, bakers, shoemakers, or cobblers,apothecaries, candle makers. The craft guilds formed organizatons for protectoin and mutual aid. no one within a medevil town could practice a craft or trade with out belonging to the merchant or craft guild association.

The Craft Guilds ensured that their craft or trade effectively became a 'closed shop' or monopoly preventing any outside competition. Prices were fixed between members of the Craft Guilds. And the Craft Guilds ensured that high standards of quality were maintained. The number of Craft Guild members were also regulated, allowing a restricted membership in order to ensure that the numbers of Craft Guilds did not exceed the business requirements.

Ashley Ochoa & Lyn Shannon

Art in the Medieval Times

Art included humans dressing in tradition clothing and the new, Biblical subjects, Christian dogma, and Classical mythology. The Catholic Church financed many projects, however the oldest surviving art examples are found in Roman catacombs which were buried crypts beneath the cities. Medieval artist decorated churches and works for public appreciation of the classical themes. Roman mosaics made up of colored stone cubes (or glasses) which were called  tesserae presented Christian scenery. Romanesque architecture symbolized European wealth in cities and the power of the church.
video

The Gothic style which appeared in the middle of the 12th century which was named after the Goths who ruled France. Goths used gargoyles which were hideous on the Cathedrals to represent Hell, which the Cathedral itself represented the power of God. Notre Dame has been added a lot of times during the 12th century with the uses of gargoyles and flyingbuttresses. Over 900 years of art are found mostly in ancient churches and mainly in Cathedrals. The presence of the Virgin Mary made churches more approachable rather than intimidated the worshipper.

http://www.arthistory.net/         Art part published by Daniel Milligan. Music by Ellen Honea


Music was an important part of medieval time. Music was greatly used in religious and secular life, some priests chanted while other churches had instruments such as organs and bells. Music was written as poetry and then later set to a melody. By the 12th century music grew from one melodic line to two or more. Dozens of instruments were incorporated in medieval music including a few more common instruments such as bagpipes, harps, recorders, and flutes.

 Medieval music had many different genres which spread from a type of love song to basic plain instrumental. Just as anything would, the music evolved to adding in their version of special effects. Medieval music, like music today, was based in a scale of whole steps and half steps. The influence of medieval music can be seen in much music today including classical music and classical rock.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_music

Family Life