Living in Medieval Europe

The republics of ancient Greece and Rome are easier for today's young students to comprehend than the Middle Ages. Those serf guys couldn't own land? Couldn't travel without their lord's permission? Couldn't vote the lord out of the manor? Had to give 10% of their paltry crop earnings to the church (and there was only one)? Because of the rigid social distinctions of feudalism, younger students especially have trouble understanding medieval life, which is chronologically closer but philosophically more alien to modern thinking than the classical period. This short presentation covers the basics of the "three estates": clergy, nobility, and commoners, including that essential character, the knight, and briefly looks at artistic accomplishments, especially of the cathedral builders (oddly, merchants and tradesmen--who constituted a vital part of the medieval economy-- are not discussed). Video footage of several cathedrals and some re-enactments of medieval life and battle should make this program a welcome addition in educational settings without similar fare. Recommended. Aud: J, H, C. (R. Reagan)