The middle ages in England was a period of enormous change. Not really the dark ages, but the precursor to the modern era. The several hundred years that we call the Medieval Ages was a blend of the Roman, early Christian and barbarian effects on the British Islands. There was this struggle and diversity in all groups, even sometimes in the same person. Man was striving toward civilization, and with such huge changes, there is also often chaos for a period of time. Perhaps this is why we tend to think that life in the Middle Ages was so hard.

Was it really?  Let us investigate some of the customs and manners of every day life.

During this time, great Empires were formed in Europe. Society was developing from tolerance of slavery to serfdom, and finally unions of workers and tradesmen, dictating the rules for operation of their own business and livelihoods. The period covers roughly 1000 years, from about 450 to 1450 c.e. The Romans had pretty much decided how society and government would go for several hundred years, and when Roman rule was thrown off, the resulting chaos ended with regional chieftains and diverse social systems as a result.

Churches were a big part of life in the 1300s. The church had come into much political power in the chaos of the early middle ages when the huge governments had been brought down. Into the dirth of law administration, care for the poor, and education, the church stepped, and retained its power for eight hundred years. The church might act as a judge in disputes between neighbors or as a moral judge in person matters. Often the church educated the young, and fed the poor, subsisting on tithes of the parishioners goods or earnings. And of course, all the churches in Europe were Roman Catholic, except for the occasional and insecure Hebrew Temple.

The church also had its social functions. Since it was usually a larger building than any other in town, it was opened for dances, meeting, celebrations, and even markets. The best part of the church were all the feast days and holy days. There were 30 to 50 of these a year, depending on the locality, and these were always holidays from work.