1. Life in the Middle Ages Cities Peasants Recreation Women Health Black Death

2. Cities Cities became centers of trade Gave peasants an opportunity to earn respect and wealth Overcrowding and sanitation made Medieval cities filthy – Dump waste out of window

3. Peasants  Worked the Lord’s land in return for protection  Hard work and little money  Peasant mobs and riots occurred; usually ended in cruel, bloody, ruthless death amongst peasants

4. Recreation  Upper class = hunting and hawking  Sometimes women would join  Knights = preparing for war  Jugglers and Jesters

5. Recreation  Peasants = wrestling, long jump, bow & arrow, tug of war  Poaching (illegal hunting); if caught, their foot would be cut off….OUCH!  Feast of Fools  Plays

6. Women  Controlled by men from birth  Marriage was convenient  gain land  Married by 4 or 5 years old; if not…trained by abbess  Obey husband; even beg for forgiveness (beaten)  Spin cloth, work in fields, few were educated until Heloise (France)

7. Health o Life span was on average 32 years old o Baths were taken 1-2X per year o Diet = raw/undercooked meats, boiled vegetables o Cures for illnesses relied mostly on religious rituals…then isolation