The people of the Middle Ages had different opinions on life and how they went about. There were five basic classes in the Middle Ages. They were Knights, Kings and noblemen, slaves and serfs, merchants, and Clergy. They all had different opinions on life because of how each class lived their lives. The Kings would have completely different view and lifestyles than say the slaves or serfs. All of the people should have been equal in the Middle Ages and Social Classes should not have existed.
In the eyes of the Knights and Noblemen Social Classes were the best. The knights were hired for one reason to protect and guard (http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/history/middleages/nlife.html). They would protect the noble families from the serfs and slaves who were revolting (http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/history/middleages/nlife.html). They would eat meat, bread, and vegetables with salt and pepper seasoning. Many people did not have this luxury of eating any of these things, especially the seasonings. They wear clothes made out of silk and velvet. They wore jewelry, but only with uncut jewels because they had not invented stone cutting yet. They did not have to lift a finger because their slaves and serfs would do all of the housework and chores. It was the equivalent of being a celebrity in the Middle Ages. They got everything they wanted when they wanted it. (http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/history/middleages/nlife.html). In the Knight’s Tale of the Canterbury Tales it says “And thus, in victory and with melody, Let I this noble duke to Athens ride” (http://canterburytales.org/canterbury_tales.html). This is basically saying that the duke of Athens got everything he wanted at that time. This was true for most of the Lords and Dukes of that time. Noblemen and Knights thought that Social Classes were the best way of life.
On the other side of this were the slaves and serfs. Let’s just say that they had a bit of a different opinion about this matter. The serfs had to do all the dirty work in the fields and the slaves had to wait on every need of the Kings and Lords. Not only did the slaves have to do all the dirty work but they also got tortured. (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/575Rauching.html). The Lords and Noblemen got enjoyment out of the tears and suffering from their slaves. So the slaves got the shortest end of the stick out of everyone in the Middle Ages. There was a story about a slave who fell in love with a nobleman’s daughter and got married. When the girl’s father found out about this he was not happy. He went to the priest and told him to split them up. The priest refused and made the father take an oath that he would never separate them as long as he lived. The father was so infuriated in this that he had his daughter and the slave executed. He buried them in the same coffin so that he would not violate the oath that he made with the priest (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/575Rauching.html). This proves that the slaves and serfs had a negative view on Social Classes.
The last class had a little bit of both worlds. The merchants were more in the middle than anyone else of that time. The tale of the Merchant says that “Praying Our Lord to grant to him that he might once know something of that blissful life”. Earlier in this tale it talks about how he was going to a Knight’s wedding to see what it was like to find love and hope that that would one day happen to himself. This is clearly showing that he wants the life of a Knight and to find true love. He is saying himself that he does not want to be a merchant because that is not the life that people wanted to live back in the Middle Ages. Social Classes were only supported by higher and more important classes. This proves that merchants wanted to have better lives even though they are not the worst of all the classes. (http://canterburytales.org/canterbury_tales.html)
Social Classes were a thing of the past. We do not follow by this anymore for a reason. The only people who found having Social Classes a good thing was the noblemen and Kings. Everyone else had a negative opinion about this. Even the merchants envied the Knights and wanted to be like them. You could not move up in life so if you got the short end of the stick than you lived the rest of your life like that. Social Classes were a terrible thing and everyone is created equal in the eyes of God, and that is why we are all equal today.
Citations: "File:Germansalute.jpg." Wikimedia Commons. Web. 30 Apr. 2010. <http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Germansalute.jpg>.
"Noble Life." Web. 01 May 2010. <http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/history/middleages/nlife.html>.
"Chaucer's Canterbury Tales ~ Presented by ELF." Chaucer's Canterbury Tales ~ Presented by The Electronic Literature Foundation. Web. 30 Apr. 2010. <http://canterburytales.org/canterbury_tales.html>.
"Medieval Sourcebook: Gregory of Tours: Harsh Treatment of Serfs and Slaves, C."FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 30 Apr. 2010. <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/575Rauching.html>.
Your prose could use some work. Sentences like: "The people of the Middle Ages had different opinions on life and how they went about." seem fragmentary and lack the polish of a final draft. Please go back through your writing before posting and pay attention to stylistic details.
ReplyDeleteWhile your analysis of the Merchant's Tale is better than the quick cursory glance at the Knight's Tale, nonetheless it feels a bit under-developed -- as though it were a rough draft.
The final paragraph is stymied by generalizations as well as a break down in academic tone via the inclusion of personal pronouns.