For women, long hair was considered one of the most beautiful features they could have. Cleavage, ankles or wrists were considered very beautiful and were often exposed. Fair skin was a sign of wealth and, therefore, a sign of beauty. Long foreheads were also considered pretty, as well as a relatively long, slender symmetrical figure. Sometimes, a bit of a protruding belly was also a sign of beauty. As Christianity had become very important, many women wanted to look like Virgin Mary and they wore makeup to achieve this, though in a very subtle way as the Church disapproved of it. 

In this video you can see some of the techniques women used to appear more attractive for their husbands:

All classes commonly drank ale or beer. Milk was also available, but usually reserved for younger people. Wine was imported from France and Italy for those with money. Inland lakes and streams provided freshwater fish and turtles, while coastal regions near oceans and seas had access to saltwater fish like herring, cod, whale and eel. Honey straight from bee hives called apiaries was the common sweetener ; while herbs, nuts, roots and flowers were eaten and used in medicinal tonics and teas.

Medieval schools were of three main types: song schools, monastic schools and grammar schools. The most important subjects included Latin language and grammar, rhetoric, logic and the basics of math and science. 

As regards women, only Upper-class women could study. They were not allowed to visit educational institutions but were taught at home. Women’s education was designed to help them in becoming good wives and mothers in future. 

In the Medieval times, for the elite marriage was quite different than today. Women didn't have a choice as to who they would marry and, most of the time, women didn't even know the man before they wed.

The arrangement of marriage was done by the bride and groom's parents. The arrangement of the marriage was based on monetary worth. The family of the girl who was to be married would give a dowry, or donation, to the boy she was to marry. The dowry would be presented to the groom at the time of the marriage.

#Funfact: What does the word wedding mean? Consent to a marriage or a pledge to marry was shown by giving and receiving an item referred to English as a ‘wed’. A ‘wed’ could be any gift understood by those involved to mean consent to marry but was often a ring.  A ‘wedding’ where a man gave a woman a ring and she accepted it created the marriage.

William I was the first Norman King of England. He ruled from 1066 until his death in 1087. He invaded England and defeated Harold, the other potential claimant to the throne, at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.  In 1086, he ordered the compilation of the Domesday Book, a survey listing all the land-holdings in England. His reign in England was marked by the construction of castles, settling a new Norman nobility on the land, and change in the composition of the English clergy. 

Eleanor of Aquitaine was queen consort of France and England; and Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right. She was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in Western Europe during the High Middle Ages. She led armies several times in her life and was a leader of the Second Crusade. She was the mother of Richard the Lionheart and King John.  

Richard I was King of England and Duke or Lord of various lands such as Normandy. He was the son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. He is known as Richard the Lionheart because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior. Richard was a central Christian commander during the Third Crusade, achieving many victories.  

Marco Polo was a famous Italian explorer. He is known for travelling along the Silk Road to China, where he explored much of Asia not yet explored by Europeans. 

He was a Scottish knight and landowner who was a leading figure in the Scottish Wars for Independence. He is remembered for his famous victory in the battle of Stirling Bridge at which his forces were vastly outnumbered. And he is also remembered for his loss a year later at the Battle of Falkirk. He was eventually captured and executed in a very brutal manner. He is considered a National hero in Scotland.

He was a poet, writer and philosopher of England. He is often considered to be “The father of English literature” and he brought a legitimacy to the English language when literature was considered to be either only in French or Latin. He is best known for The Canterbury Tales.

He invented the printing press and the concept of movable type which revolutionized the book making process. Up until his time books were copied by hand. His invention is considered to be among the most important of the modern period. Books became much easier to make and much more affordable. And most importantly this changed the availability and flow of information throughout the world.  

She is considered a heroine of France for her role in the Hundred Years War and she was canonized as a Roman Catholic saint. She asserted that she had visions from God directing her to free her homeland from the English. And she started out as a missionary but quickly became a military leader who led French troops in decisive military battles. She was captured by the English and executed by burning at the stake at the age of 19. Joan of Arc has remained a popular figure in literature, painting, sculpture, and other cultural works since the time of her death. 

He was an Italian painter, inventor, architect, sculptor, astronomer, writer, the most diversely skilled human being who have ever lived. He is considered to be the archetype of a Renaissance man. His most universal legacy is in the field of painting. The most famous ones are the “Gioconda” and “The Mona Lisa”.

People would normally use a privy (outhouse) which was often just a shack with a slab of wood over a hole in the ground. In castles, monasteries, and convents, these were narrow rooms for people to relieve themselves. These indoor privies were placed as far away as possible from the interior chambers, and usually had double doors. There were also chamber pots under the beds, so that people could use them at night. As sewers were non-existent, people simply made cesspits, which were huge, deep holes dug in the ground, into which human waste was dumped. This was not hygienic, as the waste products exposed to the air created an environment for bacteria that could spread diseases. In castles, human waste would either fall into the moat, or released down the side of the castle’s walls. 

In terms of dental hygiene, people would simply clean their mouths by rinsing with water and would clean their teeth by wiping them with a piece of cloth. To keep their teeth white, people use mixtures of herbs and abrasives, including burnt rosemary. 

The plague is spread by a bacillus called Yersina pestis. It travels from person to person through the air, as well as through the bite of infected fleas and rats. Both of these pests could be found almost everywhere in medieval Europe, but they were particularly at home aboard ships of all kinds, which is how the deadly plague made its way through one European port city after another.

The plague never really ended and it returned with a vengeance years later. But officials at the ports were able to slow its spread by keeping arriving sailors in isolation until it was clear they were not carrying the disease.

The sailors were initially held on their ships for 30 days (a trentino), a period that was later increased to 40 days, or a quarantine- a practice still used today. 

In the following video you can see some other important inventions.

A feudal society has three distinct social classes: a king, a noble class (which could include nobles, priests, and princes) and a peasant class.

·        The King was the highest authority in the land.  He had to make laws and take care of the citizens in his kingdom. The king owned all the available land, and he portioned out that land to his nobles for their use. The nobles, in turn, rented out their land to peasants.

·        Each member of the nobility was free as a person and he was only responsible for his military duties. The social function of members of nobility was to ensure security of the weak and poor. They were also required to follow the virtues of chivalry. These barons possessed significant portion of King’s land and they had a right to collect direct and indirect taxes along with rents which was offered by the serfs. 

·        The peasants or serfs were those who used to do work or to produce wealth. These serfs used to live in manors controlled by barons or lords. There were independent serfs who used to maintain their own business while offering taxes for their lords. In addition, these independent farmers, blacksmiths, carpenters, weavers, or bakers were also allowed to own indentured servants.

They were given definite portion of land to till and grow food and other necessary things and they had a degree of control over this land as they could pass it on after their death through inheritance. Independent peasants also had some political rights. Peasants accepted the ruling of lords and kings because of their want of security against marauders, looters and barbarians from surrounding lands.

The Catholic Church was a very powerful institution of the medieval period. It had political power because it was then able to influence the European kings’ and rulers’ decisions and because many bishops often served on the council of kings. It had economic power because it owned large lands and accumulated wealth. All people, whether they were kings, nobles or even poor serfs, were expected to pay taxes and indulgences to the Church. Indulgences were ‘certificates’ which pardoned people’s sins and gave them access to heaven. The Church had social power as well because monasteries served as centres of education. Medieval people were illiterate and the only people who knew how to read and write were the monks. Thus, the clergy taught not only to ordinary people but also to the royal families these abilities. It was also the clergy who copied books by hand before the invention of the printing press.

Major battles were fought during this time, including the control of the valuable wool trade, disputes over certain areas of land, and the support for Scotland by the French. Even though the war stopped for a long period during the Black Death, England seemed to be winning the war. 

The Hundred Years War saw some major developments in military strategy and technology. But what gave France the edge and helped them win the war was not some gunpowder or better weapons; it was a young peasant girl called Joan of Arc, who claimed to hear heavenly voices. She lifted the morale of the French army but was later on captured and given to the Church by the English. She was burnt as a witch in 1431. 

The French were inspired by Joan of Arc's leadership and sacrifice. They continued to fight back. They pushed the English army out of France taking Bordeaux in 1453 signaling the end of the Hundred Years War.

Most doctors still believed the Greek theory from Galen, a doctor during the Roman Empire, that you became ill when the 'Four Humours' - phlegm, black bile, yellow bile, blood - became unbalanced. During the medieval era dissection of human bodies was banned so doctors didn’t properly understand what went on inside the body. What is more, most people in Medieval times never saw a doctor. They were treated by the local wise-woman who was skilled in the use of herbs, or by the priest, or the barber, who pulled out teeth, set broken bones and performed other operations. 

During epidemics, people would blame witches, nobility or groups who were culturally different such as Jewish people, and attack them. When a disease like the Black Death hit England in 1348, the doctors were powerless to stop it killing half the population. There were both supernatural and natural explanations for it, for example, some people said that God had sent it as a punishment, others that the planets were in the wrong conjunction.

Treatments continued to be a mixture of herbal remedies, bleeding and purging, and supernatural ideas. Recently, historians have suggested that many medieval treatments were successful, especially the herbal remedies. Nevertheless, successful cures were mixed up with, what it seems to be, crazy cures. For example: bleeding, applying leeches, smelling strong posies, causing purging or vomiting, cutting open buboes, draining the pus and making the patient hot or cold, trepanning - cutting a hole in the skull, praying, or whipping themselves to try to earn God's forgiveness.

-The vast majority of Medieval music was MONOPHONIC MUSIC. It means there was only a single melody line, for example the Gregorian chant. It consists of a single line of vocal melody in free rhythm. It was one of the most common forms of medieval music given the importance of the Catholic church during the period. The Mass (a commemoration and celebration of The Last Supper of Jesus Christ) included Gregorian chants in the liturgy, which were spoken and sung. 

- The SHEET MUSIC IN THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD was a standardised music notation as people sung in churches across the Western world. For example, the NUEMES were signs written above chants giving an indication of the direction of movement of pitch. 

-INSTRUMENTS OF THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD include the flutes made of wood. Medieval flutes had holes for fingers rather than keys. There were also dulcimers were originally plucked, but then hit with hammers as technology developed. Then, the lyra is considered to be one of the first known bowed instruments

 

-The period was also characterised by troubadours and trouvères. They were travelling singers and performers

.

-The SECULAR STYLES OF MEDIEVAL MUSIC include the  Ars Nova or "new art”. It was a style of music originated in France and Italy in the 14th century. The style was characterised by increased variety of rhythm, duple time and increased freedom and independence in part writing. The main secular genre of Art Nova was the chanson.

Source:https://www.musictheoryacademy.com/periods-of-music/medieval-music/

Here, there is a video representing the Medieval music. You can see a character from the series “The Witcher”. His name is Jaskier, a poet and troubadour. He accompanies Geralt, the Witcher, in many of his adventures. 

Once a message was written down, it was often sealed with wax, using a custom seal that was associated with the sender. Some seals were small and humble, while royal and papal seals were large and elaborate. Finally, the finished message was sent. If the message was not urgent, it could be sent along by a travelling merchant, or possibly pilgrim passing from one town to another. If the message was urgent, a rider could be dispatched. The fastest message required fresh horses at regular intervals and tireless messengers. 

Beyond the problems associated with actually getting a message down and having it understood, sending written communications were very expensive. Taking into account that letters were written on parchment (pieces of dried animal skin) with the use of ink and quill pen, and also that travelling was difficult, dangerous, costly and time consuming.