THE MIDDLE AGES

Society in the Middle Ages was divided into distinct classes each with rigid customs, obligations and a strict etiquette on how a member would interact with those of higher and lower classes. Costume and speech assisted in maintaining class distinctions.

The Court:

The courts of princes and the higher nobility (e.g. dukes, earls and barons) were the natural centers for the social life of the noble class. The great feasts of the Christian year: Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost were celebrated with great pageantry and ceremony. The gathering for military expeditions, whether it be war, tourney, or Crusade began at the courts and it was to the prince's court that the nobles were summoned for judgment in their own cases or those of their peers and to which they came to give counsel to their lords. Because they fought exclusively on horseback, the nobles became the cavalry, the chivalry of Europe. Prowess, loyalty, generosity and courtesy were the basic values of their social code.

Monasteries:

Outside the walls of the towns lay the monasteries. Monasticism came to western Europe in the fourth century, and many people had fled to the cloisters before Saint Benedict of Nursia founded Monte Casino in southern Italy in 529. The rule of Saint Benedict was to spread throughout Latin Christendom, its only real competitor being the monasticism of Ireland where the monks spent their summers in missionary activity far away from their cloisters.

A new monastery founded in 910 at Cluny in French Burgundy became the mother house of a reformed order that spread throughout Europe. In its turn it was succeeded by more radical reformers like the Cistercians or the regular canons under a rule attributed to Saint Augustine. In the thirteenth century the friars (Dominicans and Franciscans) abandoned the cloister entirely and with the healing and teaching orders of brothers and sisters entered into the service of the world, although still committed to the vows of obedience, poverty and chastity.

Monasteries became the principal repositories of learning, including virtually all the existing classical Latin authors and the Fathers of the Church. Knowledge was increased from the tenth century onward by contact with the Arab scholars in Spain, Sicily and North Africa and with the Greeks in Constantinople. More of the works of Aristotle were discovered along with their Arabic commentators; Greek and Arabic scientific works were translated for western use; and above all, the Arabic mathematics including Hindu notation was imported to Europe.

The new learning was brought into the classical curriculum taught in the schools: the seven liberal arts divided into the trivium of grammar, rhetoric and logic, and the quadrivium of arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and music. Monastic schools primarily taught young monks. Boys aspiring to be secular clergy were taught first in parish and then cathedral schools, some of which became famous and attracted numerous students. Although there was some organized female education in convents, most of the education given to girls was received at home. As more and more students became concentrated in one place, there was demand for more teachers. In time a guild of teachers at Paris, a guild of students at Bologna, and a guild of doctors at Salerno called themselves universities and began to establish statutes and demand liberties from church and state alike, thus sowing the seeds of academic freedom. Soon other universities were founded at which a young man could become a master of arts and receive a license to teach. Or if he was impelled to further learning, he could go on to study theology, law or medicine. In the Later Middle Ages students attended the universities for their intellectual and social life, whether or not they wished to become clergy or to teach or to practice a profession. This emphasis on knowledge for its own sake was a central strand of the Humanism that led to the Renaissance.

Weddings

Weddings during medieval times saw the origin of several modern traditions and customs. There was more to the Middle Ages than just castles, chivalry, and fancy colours. It was a time of developement for many social and marriage customs followed by brides today. This era between the fall of the Roman Empire and the Reformation was unique and through it all, faith was the ever-present catalyst for artistic, intellectual, social, and political developments. Medieval marriage was still the province of the Church, and the sacrament of matrimony was central to Christian doctrine.

Grooms, on the average, were much older than their brides. Noble women sometimes didn't marry until the age of 24, but this was rare. More than 3/4 were married before they reached 19. By today's standards, western Europe was inhabited by the young, with more than half of the population under 20 years of age.

Marriage during the Middle Ages

Weddings during medieval times saw the origin of several modern traditions and customs. There was more to the Middle Ages than just castles, chivalry, and fancy colours. It was a time of developement for many social and marriage customs followed by brides today. This era between the fall of the Roman Empire and the Reformation was unique and through it all, faith was the ever-present catalyst for artistic, intellectual, social, and political developments. Medieval marriage was still the province of the Church, and the sacrament of matrimony was central to Christian doctrine.

Grooms, on the average, were much older than their brides. Noble women sometimes didn't marry until the age of 24, but this was rare. More than 3/4 were married before they reached 19. By today's standards, western Europe was inhabited by the young, with more than half of the population under 20 years of age.

Marriage Laws during the Middle Ages

Marriage laws began to evolve during the Middle Ages. The Council of Westminster decreed in 1076 that no man should give his daughter or female relative to anyone without priestly blessing. Later councils would decree that marriage should not be secret but held in the open. But it wasn't until the 16th century Council of Trent that decreed a priest was required to perform the betrothal ceremony. Separation of couples was tolerated, but there was no legal divorce, though marriages between those too closely related could be annulled.

Wedding customs meant agreements or contracts were drawn up describing the rights of both the bride and groom. Medieval marriage ceremonies and celebrations depended largely on the social class of the bride and groom. Inheritance and property were usually two reasons why arranged marriages were contracted.

Medieval Beauty

Every part of a woman's face would be painted with some type of cosmetic, and many women during the Middle Ages would sun-bleach their hair. Medieval fashion prompted young women to pluck their hairline giving them a higher forehead. A wedding might be the one time a woman would wear her hair loose. Others would weave flowers into their hair to make a floral crown.

Bathing and Perfume

Medieval society actually liked to bathe. Hot baths were very popular and most towns as late as the mid-1200s had public bathhouses. But as forests were depleted, firewood became expensive and the rising costs of heating the water forced most of the bathhouses to close. Some tried burning coal to heat water, but the fumes proved to be unhealthy. By the mid-1300s, only the very wealthy could afford firewood for hot water in the winter. The rest of the population was forced to be dirty most of the time. Perfumes made from the oils of flowers combined with spices were very popular during the Middle Ages as trade between countries improved. Perfume became an easy, quick fix for those who could not bathe.

Medieval Castle Weddings

Arranged marriages amongst the noble class would be decided when the future bride and groom were only 10 or 11 years old. Many would not meet until their wedding day 5 to 6 years later. Marriage meant sharing a lord's property or a noble name. Love wasn't often an issue, but it did occur. But usually the most important goal of marriage between nobles was continued success and the acquisition of wealth. The feudal system of the time meant that wedding celebrations in a castle were not uncommon. In the early Middle Ages, the Catholic Church allowed ceremonies to take place outside the church, so long as the couple later had the union blessed by a priest later. Ceremonies may have taken place in the castle's Grand Hall, or perhaps in one of the courtyards. The marriage day would include an incredible celebration with minstrels, jugglers and other entertainers. Inhabitants of the manor would attend as would other nobles and distant relatives. The lord of the castle might free prisoners to mark the occasion and beggars would gather at the gates to feast on leftover food.

Wedding Feasts and Food

Medieval wedding feasts celebrated the day no matter what social class the bride and groom came from. Some of the Middle Age food that could have been served at a feast include: Roast quail, turtledoves and partridge, goose, venison, roasted boar (sanglier), gilded and slivered calves' heads, fish, roasted peacock, mutton, cheeses, walnuts, fresh fruits, oysters steamed in almond milk, ale-flavored bread, stewed cabbage, tarts and custards, fresh fruit preserves and spicy mulled wine. Apples were the only cultivated fruit, but others grew wild. Wild fruits like pears, quinces, and even peaches were served on some medieval tables. Strawberries raspberries, red currants could be found in the woods. Nobility could afford exotic foods like dates and pistachio nuts. Many kinds of vegetables were known during the Middle Ages, but few were eaten. Vegetables of this period include: carrots, cabbage, lettuce, leeks, cardoons, onions, shallots, parsley and asparagus. Feasts were elaborate, and it was not uncommon for banquets to serve up to six courses.

Spices and Flavorings

Middle Age spices used in cooking included: Cloves, cinnamon, saffron, mace, pepper, ginger, anise, and nutmeg. Food was seasoned with herbs like basil, parsley, sage, tansy, savory, betony, and rosemary. Sugar was becoming increasing popular during the Middle Ages, but it was expensive and only the wealthy could afford it in great quantities. Honey was still the sweetener of choice, usually supplied by the local monastery.

Wine, Ale, and other Medieval Drinks

Drinks during this period included water, ale, beer, mead, milk, and wine. Cider became increasingly popular, starting in the Basque country and moving northward. Fruit juices made from cherries, sloes, and mulberries may have been available, but most of them would have been fermented. Wine was believed to nourish the body, restore health, aid digestion, clarify ideas, open the arteries, cure melancholy and help in procreation.

Eating Etiquette

Guests at a medieval feast would eat with their fingers, though forks and sometimes a knife were used by some. Since little food could be preserved, the guests would eat until the food was gone. Napkins were becoming more popular. Glassware was becoming more widespread, and traditional bread trenchers were being replaced with wooden boards that had sections hollowed out to hold certain courses.

Medieval Dancing

Medieval feasts would usually be followed by hours of dancing to the accompaniment of vocal or instrumental music. Lords and ladies would "round dance" and "carol," and this was one of the chances young men had to meet damsels.

Romance, Love and Chivalry

"Courtly love" began to emerge during the 1100s starting in southern France. This was a code of behavior made popular through Romance literature, defined then as any prose written in one of the Romance languages. This term later evolved to include any tales of knights, chivalry and courtly love. Troubadours originally told these stories as they went from village to village, and later they were written down by court scribes, musicians, clerics and aristocrats. They were first used for edification of the noble classes but found popularity among the masses. Romantic poetry and prose emphasized the ennobling power of love, the concept of "passionate," or inextinguishable love, and the elevation of the beloved woman to a superior position over her male suitor. This was a dramatic change in the cultural attitude toward noble women, though common women were still viewed mostly as property during the Middle Ages.