John Yowan                                                                                                                 Hour 1

Mrs. Keeley                                                                                                                 Type 3

Freshman English                                                                                                                     

27 April 2003

 

Student Choice Theme II

 

 

In my opinion the labels The Dark Ages and The Age of Feudalism best describes the Middle Ages between the years 500 and 1400 in Europe.

I think the label The Dark Ages fits The Middle Ages because there were many battles and wars that happened in all parts of Europe. Kingdoms fought with other kingdoms over land and power and peace was rare among the kingdoms. Two examples of these are, The Battle of Hastings, which happened in 1066, and The Hundred Years' War, which lasted from 1337 to 1453. The Battle of Hastings was a battle between William Duke of Normandy and Harold Godwinson, the king of England over the power of the throne of England. The Hundred Years' War was a battle between the English and the French, this war happened because the last French king died without a successor. Edward III of England clamed the right to the French throne as grandson of Philip IV.  One of the few ways in which to have peace between two kingdoms was by marriage. Kings would force their daughters to marry royalty from other kingdoms bringing the two kingdoms at peace with one another as long as the two would remain married.

Another reason I think the Middle Ages should be called The Dark Age is because there were many diseases including the Bubonic Plague also know as the Black Death because of the purplish or blackish spots that it produced on the skin of it's victims. The Bubonic Plague devastated Europe in the fourteenth century that killed about half of Europe's population. The Bubonic Plague started in Asia, it traveled the trade routes infecting most of Asia and the Muslim world and finally reached Europe in 1347. The disease traveled through Italy and from there it went to France, Germany, England and other parts of Europe. Fleas on black rats carried the Plague. The fleas were infested with a bacillus called Yersinia pestis. During the thirteen hundreds in Western Europe twenty to twenty-five million people died. In southwest Asia four million people died and in China thirty five million people perished from this deadly epidemic disease.

One more reason I think the Middle Ages should be called The Dark Age is because most of the population of Europe during that time were very poor and had to work for Nobles and Kings in order to get just enough money to survive. This created a very hard and dreary life for the poor.

There were many invasions of England that happened from 842 to 846 by the Northman. These invasions are another example of why the label The Dark Age fits with The Middle Ages. The Crusades started` when Pope Urban II issued a call for a holy crusade in 1095. During the Crusades many people left home and country sometimes for years. They went to battle what they considered the Infidels to regain control of the Holy Land. This is another example for the label The Dark Age.

The Middle Ages could also be labeled as The Age of Feudalism. I believe this because Feudalism lasted during most of the Middle Ages. Feudalism was the political and military system of Western Europe in the Middle Ages. Feudalism fulfilled the basic need for government, justice, and protection against attacks.

The Age of Feudalism is a good label because Feudalism affected every person in the Middle Ages. In the Feudal system, status determined a person's importance and power. The people were divided into four classes. The highest class was the king. The next class was the church officials and nobles; the knights followed this class. The lowest class was the peasant class. Peasants were the ones that did most of the hard labor during the Middle Ages. Feudalism affected all parts of Western Europe at one time of another during the Middle Ages. Feudalism reached its highest heights in the period from the 800s to the 1200s. During the 1400s it quickly disappeared from Europe. During the Middle Ages Lords helped their Vassals by giving them land and protection. In return the Vassals gave the Lords, loyalty, military service, and ransom money if needed. 

Many people call the Middle Ages the Age of Faith. This is because the church reformed in the twelfth century and the crusades happened four times during the Middle Ages to regain control of the Holy Land in which had Jesus lived. I do not agree with these people. That is because The Age of Faith only goes with part of the Middle Ages while the title The Dark Age fits with all of the Middle Ages and with all of Europe during the Middle Ages. I think The Age of Feudalism also fits better than the Age of Faith because Feudalism affected everyone, everywhere in Europe.

The Middle Ages have been labeled by other people as The Golden Age of Europe. I disagree with these people also because during the Middle Ages it was a very difficult time to live. Some examples of this are that there were wars, plagues, and people abusing power, there was a weak governmental system and most people did not get an education. One positive thing that happened was the Magna Carta, which limited the power of, the king of England in many was including the king could not make taxes without the noble's permission. The Magna Carta gave more power to the nobles, the church officials, and the common people of England. A few other positive changes were the Reformation of the Church, Europe's first Universities developed, and farming improved.

 

 

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