Music in the background is Spagnolette XXVII by Michael Praetorius (1571-1621)
Visit the Internet Renaissance Band for more midis.

Medieval Society
Medieval Society was meshed together by the web of personal relationships between kings, princes, noblemen, knights, and the clergy. Many royals and nobles sent their sons and daughters to become monks, nuns, or in the case of many sons, knights, as part of their tradition, since the first born males inherited the wealth. Service to God and country was the rule of the time and their destiny.

Kings ranked first, then peerage, the clergy, and the knights in influence (this varied between countries). This left the guilds and farming for the poor.

The king or lord granted a unit of land, or fief, to another nobleman or freeman, in return for military or other services. This feudal system was from the Latin feudum meaning fief.

Knights were professional warriors. At age seven a knight wannabee became a page, he then joined a noble household where he learned the martial arts. From there he would go to war as a shield bearer, or esquire for his lord.

Knights were associated with a code of behavior known as chivalry, derived from the French word for knight (chevalier). Chivalry was about loyality. It was interwoven with Christianity. Knights were to respect the church and defend the faith.

I will explore all these groups on my pages and show how medieval society depended on each.

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