How was the Medieval concept of power and equality different from our contemporary concept?

Unfortunatly in today's society there is still inequality and bad treatment between social classes, but society has come a long way since the treatment of eachother. In the middle ages, people were judged purely on their social class and could never work their way up, if you were born a peasant, or serf, you would stay a serf for life. In today's world people can do great things from very humble beginings, so in that aspect there is a large difference in these two time periods.

The idea that power and money has never gone away though. In the Midevil world the same concepts persisted that if you were more powerful than another, that somehow makes you better than them and you could control them. This concept is still in the world today just as it was in the Midevil times.

Another big difference in power and equality is the fact that you could do whatever you wanted to your serfs that you owned which is very much unlike today. This quotation shows how cruel a master could be to his slaves and they couldnt do anything about it: "For if, as was customary, a slave held a burning candle before him at dinner, he caused his shins to be bared, and placed the candle between them until the flame died; and he caused the same thing to be done with a second candle until the shins of the torchbearer were burned. But if the slave tried to cry out, or to move from one place to another, a naked sword threatened him; and he found great enjoyment in the man's tears."(http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/575Rauching.html)The physical abuse of those under you in social class is no longer present in today's society as it was in the 11th century.

The concepts of power and equality have been brought into a better light in today's world with better treatment of people and social classes but the great divide between races and social classes will never be fully restored.

Works Cited
"Medieval Sourcebook: Gregory of Tours: Harsh Treatment of Serfs and Slaves, C." FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 14 Apr. 2010. .

"Slavery." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 14 Apr. 2010. .