Medieval Europe Journal Entries
Journal Entry 1: Daily Life
Feudalism is a system of political organization in which a vassal gave service in return for land and protection. Unfortunately, we serfs are at the bottom of the Feudal Hierarchy. Life as a serf is extremely difficult; we wake up, eat, work, work, work, work, work, eat, and go back to sleep. In exchange of the knights giving us land and protection, we gave those ruthless defenders food and labor. We live in small communities called manors that were ruled by a local lord or vassal. At least it was better than living on the ground, cold and lonely. Occasionally, I saw Vikings trying to raid the castle and the village, but the knights would quickly shoo them away. We did all the work on the manor farm; we worked the fields, cared for the livestock, cut firewood, and many more jobs. You could obviously tell that I am very disappointed with where my life is now. I never get a say in anything and the worst part is that I see my children doing the same jobs that I do! Hopefully, life in Europe changes for me and my innocent family.
Feudalism is a system of political organization in which a vassal gave service in return for land and protection. Unfortunately, we serfs are at the bottom of the Feudal Hierarchy. Life as a serf is extremely difficult; we wake up, eat, work, work, work, work, work, eat, and go back to sleep. In exchange of the knights giving us land and protection, we gave those ruthless defenders food and labor. We live in small communities called manors that were ruled by a local lord or vassal. At least it was better than living on the ground, cold and lonely. Occasionally, I saw Vikings trying to raid the castle and the village, but the knights would quickly shoo them away. We did all the work on the manor farm; we worked the fields, cared for the livestock, cut firewood, and many more jobs. You could obviously tell that I am very disappointed with where my life is now. I never get a say in anything and the worst part is that I see my children doing the same jobs that I do! Hopefully, life in Europe changes for me and my innocent family.
Journal Entry 2: Power of the Church
Religion was very important to everyone, here in Europe. We believe in indulgences, where we could exchange money for forgiveness. First, we had to confess our sins to the priests, then they would come up with a price for your forgiveness. The church also encouraged us [Christians] to save our souls by donating 10 percent of our income to the church. This was known as a tithe. We serfs basically did not have a say in anything, so we just had to follow their rules, because if we didn’t, we would be excommunicated. We all thought the church was unfair. Pope Gregory VII excommunicated King Henry IV because they were arguing over who got to appoint bishops in the church. Following the church’s beliefs and rules were very important to us serfs; we would have no idea how bad it would be for us if we didn’t.
Religion was very important to everyone, here in Europe. We believe in indulgences, where we could exchange money for forgiveness. First, we had to confess our sins to the priests, then they would come up with a price for your forgiveness. The church also encouraged us [Christians] to save our souls by donating 10 percent of our income to the church. This was known as a tithe. We serfs basically did not have a say in anything, so we just had to follow their rules, because if we didn’t, we would be excommunicated. We all thought the church was unfair. Pope Gregory VII excommunicated King Henry IV because they were arguing over who got to appoint bishops in the church. Following the church’s beliefs and rules were very important to us serfs; we would have no idea how bad it would be for us if we didn’t.
Journal Entry 3: The Crusades
The Crusades were very famous wars because of their religious reasons. Around 1095, 4 years ago, a new group of Arabs took control of Jerusalem. To take matters into his own hands, Pope Urban II called for a crusade -- a holy war. This was my chance! I could finally escape from my sad, dreary life. I couldn’t believe that the Pope promised us serfs that we would be welcomed into heaven, if we perished while fighting a crusade. After a 2-month bloody siege of the city, our beloved Holy City fell. Fortunately, the heroic crusaders (us) won back our precious Holy city by massacring Muslims and Jews. When we went to battle, we wore a red cross on our clothing. The red cross was a symbol for us that made us look like a strong, unified army. In all, we had killed about 70,000 Muslims and Jews. Serves you right, guys! That’s what you get for invading Jerusalem! The Crusades had greatly affected us; it exposed us to new cultures and it weakened the brutal feudal system! Hopefully, in the future, my family and I will no longer be treated this way.
The Crusades were very famous wars because of their religious reasons. Around 1095, 4 years ago, a new group of Arabs took control of Jerusalem. To take matters into his own hands, Pope Urban II called for a crusade -- a holy war. This was my chance! I could finally escape from my sad, dreary life. I couldn’t believe that the Pope promised us serfs that we would be welcomed into heaven, if we perished while fighting a crusade. After a 2-month bloody siege of the city, our beloved Holy City fell. Fortunately, the heroic crusaders (us) won back our precious Holy city by massacring Muslims and Jews. When we went to battle, we wore a red cross on our clothing. The red cross was a symbol for us that made us look like a strong, unified army. In all, we had killed about 70,000 Muslims and Jews. Serves you right, guys! That’s what you get for invading Jerusalem! The Crusades had greatly affected us; it exposed us to new cultures and it weakened the brutal feudal system! Hopefully, in the future, my family and I will no longer be treated this way.
Journal Entry 4: The BLACK DEATH
The Bubonic Plague, also known as the Black Death, was a highly contagious disease that caused a high death rate. It began in China and spread throughout our home, Europe, around 1347. The dirty rats that lived underneath us carried The Black Death and fleas carried it to humans & animals. We serfs did not really have the treatments, so we had a very low chance of surviving. Every day, I saw about 150 people collapse around me. It was a very sad and difficult time for us. Then, tragedy struck. A day or two ago, I found out that my sister caught The Black Death. She had buboes all over her armpits. We have no idea how long she had. Other symptoms included: sneezing, coughing, black sores all over the body, and a REALLY bad flu. Finally, a treatment option came to save us. It was called “blood-letting”, and it was where doctors would take a survivor of the Bubonic Plague’s blood and inject it into a person who has the disease. Unfortunately, that didn’t work. A French apothecary named Nostradamus came to our village to help out my sister. He only had natural remedies like: going outside to get fresh air, taking baths regularly, and much more. Many thought he was crazy, but believe it or not, it actually worked!! Now my sister no longer has the infectious Black Death and my family & I can live in peace.
The Bubonic Plague, also known as the Black Death, was a highly contagious disease that caused a high death rate. It began in China and spread throughout our home, Europe, around 1347. The dirty rats that lived underneath us carried The Black Death and fleas carried it to humans & animals. We serfs did not really have the treatments, so we had a very low chance of surviving. Every day, I saw about 150 people collapse around me. It was a very sad and difficult time for us. Then, tragedy struck. A day or two ago, I found out that my sister caught The Black Death. She had buboes all over her armpits. We have no idea how long she had. Other symptoms included: sneezing, coughing, black sores all over the body, and a REALLY bad flu. Finally, a treatment option came to save us. It was called “blood-letting”, and it was where doctors would take a survivor of the Bubonic Plague’s blood and inject it into a person who has the disease. Unfortunately, that didn’t work. A French apothecary named Nostradamus came to our village to help out my sister. He only had natural remedies like: going outside to get fresh air, taking baths regularly, and much more. Many thought he was crazy, but believe it or not, it actually worked!! Now my sister no longer has the infectious Black Death and my family & I can live in peace.
Journal Entry 5: The Decline of Feudalism
The 3 factors that led to the decline of Feudalism were: the Plague, the 100 Year’s War, and the rise of government. This was very happy news for me and my family. The Feudal system treated us like dirt and it made our lives miserable. Less and less people were here to work, and that led to less and less labor. Good workers like us were greatly needed, and employers hiked up the rate (of money) that we would earn. My family and friends all knew that this would not work. The bloody Crusades also led to the decline of Feudalism. I always saw people leave to fight in the wars and they never returned to the manor again. This exposed us to new cultures and interest in trade increased. The decline of Feudalism led to the rise of government. One thing that I also never saw return was, surprisingly, knights! I later learned that the Chinese people of China invented this thing called gunpowder! It was much more helpful than knights carrying spears. Learning was more essential and trade increased because of a very organized government. Now my wife can fulfil her dream of being a wine shop owner, and I can finally become a politician.
The 3 factors that led to the decline of Feudalism were: the Plague, the 100 Year’s War, and the rise of government. This was very happy news for me and my family. The Feudal system treated us like dirt and it made our lives miserable. Less and less people were here to work, and that led to less and less labor. Good workers like us were greatly needed, and employers hiked up the rate (of money) that we would earn. My family and friends all knew that this would not work. The bloody Crusades also led to the decline of Feudalism. I always saw people leave to fight in the wars and they never returned to the manor again. This exposed us to new cultures and interest in trade increased. The decline of Feudalism led to the rise of government. One thing that I also never saw return was, surprisingly, knights! I later learned that the Chinese people of China invented this thing called gunpowder! It was much more helpful than knights carrying spears. Learning was more essential and trade increased because of a very organized government. Now my wife can fulfil her dream of being a wine shop owner, and I can finally become a politician.