Middle+Ages+Artifacts


 * **Carcassonne Castle​** ||= **Ploughing** ||= **Medieval Plague Victim** ||
 * = [[image:Castle.jpg width="327" height="220" align="center"]] ||= [[image:Plough.jpg width="292" height="363" align="center"]] ||= [[image:Midieval_Plague_Victim.jpg width="286" height="204" align="center"]] ||
 * < **​****The Carcassonne Castle in France was built in the 12th century. All of the residents in the castle were ensured protection in return for their loyalty and services to their feudal lord. Most of the people living in the castle were nobility, who could afford to live in the castle. Serfs who worked inside of the castle received protection too though. They did not LIVE in the Carcassonne Castle, but lived in their own "homes" on the manor, which meant that they received equal protection.

This castle was built very sturdily. Castles of this time were usually built of stone or wood and located on a hill or near a river or lake. Typical castles were surrounded by a mote, which you could cross using a drawbridge. The gatehouse was the entrance to the "inner bailey", which is where most buildings are. The outer bailey (which is the area surrounding the inner bailey) refers to the space between the inner and outer walls. Defenders of a castle could fire arrows from a spot called the wall-walk. Most importantly though was the castle keep, which was the inner most area and the building most protected from an attack. Unfortunately though, even this protection was not enough, and castles were sometimes conquered. (For example, the Carcassonne Castle was eventually conquered by the army of Simon de Montfort IV in 1209.)

Eventually, castles became outdated as a means of protection for people living on the manor. ** ||< **This picture represents farmers plowing their land. During the age of Charlemagne, the majority of the population were farmers who lived and worked on their farms. Most farmers were freemen. (Freemen owned the land they worked.) Monasteries made up the largest landowning complexes at the time. (A monastery is a home of any community of monks or nuns.)

During Charlemagne's time, two major innovations increased agricultural production. One of these was the large wheeled plow, like the one shown in the picture. It helped farmers furrow the land. The other innovation was the three-field crop rotation. During the Carolingian period, farmers divided their land into three fields, two fields for growing and one lying fallow (or empty) allowing it to recover. Both of these innovations allowed more food to be produced each year.

This picture shows two oxen working the plow, with a man following them.** ||< **In this picture, a doctor is treating a victim of the Black Death. The Black Death, or Bubonic Plague was a rapidly spreading disease that swept through Europe in the mid-1300's. Its symptoms included large and painful lymph nodes, black areas of the skin, fever, chills, a headache, muscle aches, exhaustion, and horrible smell. The plague was carried by rats and the fleas that jumped off of them, and onto humans. People who caught the disease died within 7 days of catching it, and almost always died. (The mortality rate was somewhere between 50% and 90%.) During the late Middle Ages, almost half of Europe's population was wiped out due to this disease.

Starting in Central Asia, the Black Death quickly traveled into Europe. On and off, the plague effected people for nearly 100 years, the main surge taking place between 1346 and 1348. By 1351, almost all of Europe had experienced the plague, with the exception of a few towns in Poland. In these areas, it was noticed that cities were usually hit harder than the country, and that generally speaking, the poor suffered more from the disease than the rich did.

Because of the Bubonic Plague, many people turned away from the Church and to magic and witchcraft. Some people thought that the plague was a punishment from God and whipped themselves as punishment, while others believed that it was the result of the conjunction of Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars. Some people even thought that since their life would end soon, they should "live for the moment". The Black Death also effected the economy, causing an economic plunge due to a lack of employees, surviving employees demanding higher wages, and inflation.

As shown in the picture, many doctors stood by their word and attempted to treat the sick, although, none of their "solutions" actually cured the disease. Using medical technology, scientists have learned that the Bubonic Plague was caused Yersinia pestis, which was carried by rats and fleas. But, since this technology was not present during the Black Death, doctors could not find the cause or cure. They had many ideas such as holding a sweet smelling sponge over the mouth or nose (which is what the doctor is doing in this picture), because they thought that the infection might have occurred through sense of smell. ** ||