That being a peasant was awful

Being a peasant was not all that bad. In fact, in multitudinous ways, Medieval European peasants lived truly comfortable lives. utmost peasants had a labor arrangement known as “ tenant- drudge, ” where they worked for a Squatter in exchange for covering, among other benefits. The peasantry’s head of ménage therefore Norway had to worry about making a mortgage/ rent payment.

Multitudinous lived in tone sustainable ecosystems, where the estate handed enough food for everyone, so no bone was floundering to eat. And medical care was largely free since the Church was responsible for furnishing care for the sick. The Church also handed services that we would see moment as internal healthcare and social services. And so long as the peasant paid their periodic 10 tithe to the Church, and stayed on good terms with the Squatter, everything was largely taken care of.

occasionally, the Squatter/ Landlord turned out to be a oppressor. But it’s not like the peasants had no legal expedient to get the Landlord off their tails. There are several cases where a group of peasants took their grievances against their Landlord to a majestic or Ducal Court, and won. And while our history books are filled with stories about peasant revolutions, historically these were actually truly rare.

Being an Polytheist/Non-Believer was a death penalty

I recommend reading Alec Ryrie’s disquisition on this content. multitudinous of us have been under the print that the Catholic Church stamped out any and all opposition, indeed at the individual position. But this was not exactly the case. The Catholic Church only came negative if anon-unqualified reality tried to reach the institutional position, like in the case of the 16th century Protestant movement. The Catholic Church executed institutional supremacy via sacrilege laws.

But sacrilege laws were actually hard to prove in court in multitudinous cases. According to Alec Ryrie’s disquisition, suspicion and unbelief/ dogmas were slightly ever fulfilled. The vast maturity of atheists pessimists were left to believe whatever they wanted to, so long as they did not challenge any being institutions with those beliefs.

With that said, being labeled an polytheist was not exactly commodity you wanted to be privately criminated of. multitudinous people criminated of being atheists were not fulfilled by the law, but multitudinous were socially outcaste. Being called an polytheist was synonymous with being labeled as impulsive, having no morals or being weak-conscious. And while legal action was rare against atheists, there were cases where it did affect in imprisonment, excommunications or indeed execution; albeit the ultimate being extremely rare.

Below- a depiction of Kazimierz Lyszczynski, a 17th century Polish author of “ Denon-empirical Dei, ” which listed out all his opinions as to why God does not live. After the publication of the book, he was arrested, and the case went all the way to the King’s Court, similar to a modern day Supreme Court. Polish King Jans Sobieski ordained a Warsaw Confederation Court hail, and indeed tête- à- tête interceded on behalf of Lyszczynski. But Lyszczynski was ultimately condemned to death by the Court, and privately headed in 1689.

Life anticipation for everyone was 33 times

The issue with measuring life anticipation of pre-artificial societies is the fact that so multitudinous children failed in labor or childhood. But for those that survived past their springtime, further than 50 of them lived into their 50s. And while survival into the 60s & 70s was not exactly common, it was not exactly a rare phenomenon also. The life anticipation for European nobles in 1500 was 71 times of age, given that they had the most resources to maintain good health.

Everyone allowed the earth was flat

To the extent that anyone had knowledge of the Universe it was from the Book of Genesis. But indeed Ancient Greek proponents presupposed of a spherical earth. utmost educated thinkers in the Roman/ intricate Empire would have had some knowledge of a spherical earth generality. When Christianity spread into Europe, utmost Greek & Latin Christian theologians accepted a spherical earth generality.

The idea of a flat earth was Norway dominant in Southern Europe. rather, it was dominant in early Norse & Germanic tradition. When Christianity spread into Europe, the cultural distinction between the former Roman Europe and former Germanic Europe separated what they believed. Greek & Latin pens wrote about a spherical earth, while Germanic pens were more likely to write of a flat earth.

Below- a description of Norse tradition containing a flat earth and the realms beyond. A serpent was believed to command the abysms at the edge of the earth with the sole purpose of killing anyone who dared to enter the waters.

There are multitudinous misconceptions about Medieval Europe. Being a peasant was not inevitably a brutal actuality with severe oppression from the top. Nor was the Catholic Church inevitably hung up with non- institutional/ individual opposition. And not everyone failed at age 33. Nor did everyone suppose the earth was flat. The Medieval period was a tone sustainable ecosystem that survived for, 000years.However, I do not suppose it would have lasted that long, If it was as brutal and rough as we have been tutored.

With that said, I would not trade living in the modern period with living the medieval period. I ’ll take minimal child mortality, seeing all my children surviving into maturity, and the freedom to make my own financial and particular opinions any day over the way our ancestors lived.

Edit- There is a lot of disagreement about the comfort capability of life as a peasant. Some have mentioned that peasants worked 12 hour days( which is not true), along with the physical threat of life on the estate. Medieval peasants were truly serious about their rest time. Below is a description listed by Juliet Schor a Boston College Economist

Because the need for agricultural labor in the Middle ages was season-dependent, the average peasant had about eight weeks to half the time off. Plus, the Church knew the occasion to rest would keep workers happy and orderly, so they ordered frequent obligatory leaves.

“ The tempo of life was slow, indeed laggardly; the pace of work relaxed, ” said Schor. Our ancestors may not have been rich but they had an cornucopia of rest. Also a 16th century description from an English Bishop of life as a peasant

The laboring man will take his rest long in the morning a good piece of the day is spent afore he come at his work also he must have his breakfast, though he have not earned it at his accustomed hour, or else there is grudging and grunting; when the timer smiteth, he will cast down his burden in the interior, and whatsoever he is in hand with, he will leave it as it is, still multitudinous times it’s marred afore he come again; he may not lose his meat, what pitfall so ever the work is in.

At noon he must have his resting time, also his beaver in the afterlife, which spends great part of the day; and when his hour cometh at night, at the first stroke of the timer he casted down his tools, holiday his work, in what need or case so ever the work standing. There are innumerable samples like the passage above ranging from England, to France, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, etc.