life in medieval towns guided rdg notes

LIFE IN MEDIEVAL TOWNSGuided Reading Notes

4.3 GUILDS

1. Guilds were organized groups of people who practiced the same craft or trade.The were set up to make sure their members were treated fairly and produced quality goods.

2. Guilds provided members and their families with money and food in times of need.

CRITICAL THINKING

What modern-day organization mirrors

the guilds of the Medieval era?

4.4 TRADE AND COMMERCE

1. Early in the Middle Ages, people traded in luxury goods, which only the wealthy could afford. Later, more local people were trading everyday items such as food and clothing.

2. Merchants became wealthy and powerful by selling a variety of goods from faraway lands, dominating the town’s business life, and joining town councils.

3. Because of religious prejudice and hostility, Jewsfound it hard to earn a living by farming, andsometimes they were the victims of violence. Rulers took their property at will. One opportunity open to Jews was banking and money lending.

CRITICAL THINKING

How would a council of tradesmen bring

power to the group of individuals?

4.5 HOMES AND HOUSEHOLDS

1. Most homes in medieval towns were small, crowded, and built of wood. The homes of the wealthy were much larger.

2. Almost half of all children died. Those who survived began preparing for their adult roles at age seven.

3. Most girls were educated at home in cooking, cloth making, and others skills for running a home. They typically married young and began raising children soon after. Only girls from wealthy families had an opportunity to learn how to paint or read music.

CRITICAL THINKING

Why did so many children die during the

Middle Ages?

4.6 DISEASE AND MEDICAL TREATMENT

1. Towns were very dirty places with no running water. Garbage and wastes were tossed in the streets. People lived in small crowded spaces. Rats and fleas were common and carried diseases.

2. Some common diseases in medieval Europe weremeasles, cholera, scarlet fever, and bubonic plague.

3. Medieval doctors used prayer, magic, and herbal medicines. Bloodletting, including the use of leeches, was also popular.

CRITICAL THINKING

Why did people think draining the body of blood would help to get rid of a disease?

4.7 CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

1. Two methods were trial by ordeal, in which the accused had to pass a dangerous test, and trial by combat, in which the accused had to fight to prove his or her innocence, or could have someone fight for him or her.

2. Fines and the stocks were used to punish those found guilty of minor crimes. Those convicted of more serious crimes could be hanged or burned at the stake.

3. Monarchs began setting up a system of royalcourts. This contributed to a growing body of common law which replaced the earlier used trial by ordeal and combat.

CRITICAL THINKING

Why would the stocks by used as a means of

punishing someone who committed a

minor crime?

4.8 LEISURE AND ENTERTAINMENT

1. Children played with dolls and toys, such as wooden swords and hobbyhorses. They also rolled hoops and played games like badminton, lawn bowling, and blind man’s bluff .

2. Adults liked games such as chess, checkers, and backgammon. Card games and dancing were also popular.

3. Mystery plays re-created stories from the Bible. Miracle plays dramatized the lives of saints.

CRITICAL THINKING

If you lived back in the Middle Ages, would

you have preferred to watch a Mystery Play

or a Miracle Play? Why?