Mr. Power’s Medieval Times

Grade 4 Social Studies

Hear Ye.. Hear Ye! The medieval times started around 400

CE in what we call Europe today. In medieval life everyone had a role, from a peasant to the king. There were knights, castles, feasts, lords and ladies that made the medieval times an exciting place to be. Believe it or not there were a lot of things in medieval times that are still important today. At the end of our lesson see if you can think of some things that are similar and different from medieval times to today!

What kind of clothing do you think people in medieval times

wore?

Medieval Clothing

- Men and women in the middle ages wore clothes made of wool and linen. - Brighter colours and longer jacket length meant the person was richer (i.e. Lords and royals)

What kind of food do you think people

ate in medieval times?

Medieval Food

- In medieval times your role in the kingdom would determine what you ate.

- Peasants could only eat what they made: vegetables, small animals they caught and bread if they were lucky .

-Nobles, who were rich, could afford many different kids of food and had it made for them: Beef, pork, fresh fish, cheese and fruits

- Peasants meals were simple and plain

- Nobel's could afford to have spices and lots of flavor.

Environment The medieval times were

a part of the countries that today we call Europe (England, France Italy…).

Their home you lived in depended on if you were a Peasant or a Nobel

Peasants lived simple homes made of stone walls with straw for your roof.

Lords and royals would live in large stone castles with towers, moats and draw bridges.

Government In Medieval times government

and society revolved around the feudal system.

Communities would have lords who owned the land and everything on it. The lord would keep peasants safe as long as they worked for him. Kings were happy because the lord would pay him taxes to be apart of the kingdom.

The Feudal System

Technology - In the middle ages there were many inventions created to help make life better.

- Plows for farms: Plows made it much easier for people in medieval times to have farms and grow their own food.

- Spinning wheels for cotton:

Spinning wheels were a fast way to make cotton thread for clothing. before this invention it would take a long time to make

- Another important invention that we still see today, especially in church are stain glass windows

Education In medieval times only

the richest children were taught by the Catholic church.

Boys were the only ones who were allowed to go to school. Here they learned grammar, astronomy, philosophy and math.

Girls were not allowed to go to and were only allowed to take specific classes like music and art.

Can we think of any medieval myths

that we have heard of?

Religion, Myths and Legends

The main religion in medieval times was Christianity (Catholic Church). Other religions were Islam and Judaism.

There were many myths and legends during medieval times like the story of King Arthur.

Myths of wizards and dragons.

Can we think of any medieval

celebration that we still have today?

Special Celebrations In the middle ages

there were many celebrations like feasts to honor religious holidays (Easter, Christmas…) and ones that went along when to plant crops

Today we have some of the same celebrations that people in medieval times did (All hallows eve – Halloween! 2 week holiday after Christmas)

Structures in Medieval Times Castles

In medieval times lords would build castles on their land to defend themselves from attacks.

Most castles had a few certain features: Moat (ditch dug around castle) Keep (tower that was the last spot of defense) Curtain Wall (walls that surround the castle) and Draw Bridge (a bridge that could be raised over the moat to stop attackers from entering).

Time for a quick video on Castles!