Article 10

What do you think?

The thoughts and actions of people are the characteristics that define their lives, but what drives these thoughts? The basis of a person’s thoughts are derived from what they know, whether it what is right or wrong, fair and unfair, the basic outlook on other people. The thoughts of someone who was born and raised as a peasant will be drastically different than a person from a noble family. In the middle ages, the social classes had very drastic differences which to the animosity between these classes and in some cases led to the revolt of social classes against each other. The thoughts of people are dramatically affected by the social class they are in.

The views on the roles and rights in society and government had a large difference between people in different social classes. A peasant, or serf, had no political rights or any say in what happened to them in their lives. They were bound to the land they farmed and there was very little hope for them. A serfs idea of what was fair was very different to that of a knight in that a knight may think that it is for them to have slaves work the land and a serf would believe that he has the God given right to his own freedom and that no one can take that from him. The height of the serf’s injustices incarnated itself in the Baron’s Revolt in 1214-1215. Although the revolt was unsuccessful for the serfs, it gave inspiration to future generations to do the same and stand up for what they believe in. (http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0Ac_ADRi5NNLsZGNmMjN6ZmdfMTI3czI3eHc2aGs&hl=en_) .Being a serf in the Middle Ages meant being judged before known, belittle based on what family you came from, and considered to have no right to make their views known to others and no say in their own destiny.

The word knight “was a term used to refer to a nobleman or warrior.” Being a knight became a sign of nobility and social status in the Middle Ages as it became more expensive to be equipped for fighting on horseback. Eventually the word “knight” became a formal title. A knight may think like a warrior, always be ready for battle, want to fight, and have a strong sense of what they believe in. A knight would also have a sense that he is above a serf so then the idea that serfs had no rights in the government would seem appropriate to a knight when other social classes would not agree with. Knights protected the lord’s lands from opposing forces and fought in the lord’s battles against other kingdoms, so they have a heightened sense of protective instincts and caution and think about how they can defend, fight, and protect, not only their lands but their family, friends, and lands. Their thoughts would be very different than those of people in other classes. (http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/history/middleages/knighthood.html)  

Another major social class in the middle ages that would have had very different thoughts from other social classes was the clergy. The clergy’s thoughts were less self centered towards themselves and put more towards other people and God. A passage from the books written by the Benedictine monks show some of the thoughts of the clergy,

 “Let us arise, then, at last,
for the Scripture stirs us up, saying,
"Now is the hour for us to rise from sleep" (Rom. 13:11).
Let us open our eyes to the deifying light,
let us hear with attentive ears
the warning which the divine voice cries daily to us,
"Today if you hear His voice,
harden not your hearts" (Ps. 94[95]:8).

(http://www.osb.org/rb/show.asp?mode=today)

That passage shows their devotion to God above all else and how they want to share this message with others, and that is how their thoughts would greatly differ from other people because of even if other people were religious a monk or member of the clergy would have a much greater devotion to God than others.

What people think has changed over time with new technology, culture, and government, but no one will ever think the exact same thing as someone else. The thoughts between social classes have changed over time but they still greatly differ on some of the most important topics in the world today just as they did in the Middle Ages.

Works Cited


"Chaucer's Canterbury Tales ~ Presented by ELF." Chaucer's Canterbury Tales ~ Presented by The Electronic Literature Foundation. Web. 03 May 2010. http://canterburytales.org/canterbury_tales.html.

"Daily Reading from the Rule of Saint Benedict: Text, English. OSB." The Order of Saint Benedict (OSB). Index. Information about Monastic Benedictines, Men and Women, and the Rule of Benedict. Oblates, Monks, Sisters, Nuns and Brothers in Abbeys, Monasteries and Priories Worldwide. Web. 03 May 2010. http://www.osb.org/rb/show.asp?mode=today.

"Knighthood." Web. 03 May 2010. http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/history/middleages/knighthood.html.

"The Peasant's Realm." Web. 03 May 2010. http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/history/middleages/peasant.html.

"Summary of Events Timeline - Google Docs." Welcome to Google Docs. Web. 03 May 2010. .