Medieval equality and our equality today were completely different. Back in Medieval times they did not believe in promotions to different classes of life. There were even bills passed for the sales of slave girls (Blancard). In the year 1248 there was a slave girl by the name of Aissa who had a bill passed to sell her to John Aleman for only nine pounds and fifteen solidi (Blandcard). In England around the ear of 1080 there was a law passed that said you couldn't sell Christian slaves out of the country for a profit (Benjamin Thorpe). From those examples you can see that life back then was way different from life today. We do not even participate in slavery anymore in this country. Back in England they did not only do that, but they actually made a profit off of them. They would even sell their children just to make ends meat. Their perspective on equality is different from ours because back then you could not move up in society. If you were born a slave, you died a slave. Today we can move up in the social chain and if you are born into a poor family you can become rich and provide better for your family. These are the obvious differences between the social life in the mid 1000's and modern life. Good thing these changes happened because if we did not so many great minds and lives would be wasted doing mindless work instead of solving the problems and curing the diseases of today.
Citations: "Medieval Sourcebook: Bills of Sale for Saracen Slave Girls, 1248." FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 14 Apr. 2010. <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/1248serfs5.html>.
"Medieval Sourcebook: William the Conqueror: Sale of Slaves in England, C. 1080." FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 14 Apr. 2010. <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/1080england-slaves.html>.
"File:Hurrier Cobden 1853.jpg - Wikimedia Commons." Main Page - Wikimedia Commons. Web. 14 Apr. 2010. <http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hurrier_Cobden_1853.jpg>.
No comments:
Post a Comment