John Yowan
Mr. Bruner
World History Hour 2
16 February 2003
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. In 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.
Document three talks about the
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.
Also document nine tells about the Crusades and about 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.
Document one is another good
example of the label The Dark Ages, as it describes a group of barbaric people
attacking a town and what happens to the town.
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.
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.
Document four shows a visual aid of
how the lord helped his vassal and his vassal helped him. The vassal gave the
lord loyalty, military service, and ransom money if needed. The lord gave his
vassal protection and land. This is an example of Feudal obligations.
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.