Can you list to me as many medieval values, even bad ones?

[HorsesandMOARGaloar 300]

I would like a list of specific values (in various topics: economic, personal behaviour, treatment of others, relationships, family) from medieval-era Europe, as I would like to "make accurate" the medieval fantasy setting I might be writing about.

 

Can you list any?

[Dovashy 1,734]

Chivalry, and honour were key. 

[Twilight Circuits 603]

What people biblically believe at the time... *whistles*

[The Crimson Cross 7,532]

Religion/philosophy were pretty big at the time, I believe there were frequent wars on religion back in those times.

though if you'd ask me anything from the top of my head, I'd say chivalry without a doubt. The first thing that I think of when I hear "medieval" is the knights and fighting.

Edited August 27, 2014 by The Crimson Cross

[M'aiq the Liar 5,804]

Religion was a huge part of the peasants life, as most often the church and monistary's were the only source of both biblical knowledge (as the average man could not read the bible himself) and of general knowledge as most libraries were run by monks during that period. As for the chivarly of the knight/baron class (the average peasant was not privy to the ideal, nor did any who were believe in it) it depends on what era of the medieval times you are talking about. the high medieval period is were you get alot of the more "classic" references to chivarly, with knights in shinging armor and fair maidens, but the low medieval peroid did not involve itself much in chivarly as it was a recovery period from the collapse of the roman empire, and the large scale raids by barbarian hoards. The Church was a fundimental source in the life of the everyday peasant, as it was not only their spitural center, but also the centers for education and learning as only they had the organization and funding to keep and study classical and more modern works of science and philosophy.

 

As for treatment of others, it would vary from feifdom to feifdom as in some areas there was only 1 or 2 barons and thus not much interaction, or you had the more "classist" interactions of the larger kingdoms were many nobles were present in the every day lives.

 

The economies were cottage based technical skills, with everything being made at the home of the skilled worker. skills were of course often passed down via heardly and large guilds (yes trade guilds and guilds of skilled workers, like in the D&D games) formed as cooprative collections between skilled workers. As for currency, it would vary but most often it was barter goods (such as trading meat for sacks of flower), in some of the more economically powerful areas a coined currency was used, and it was widely accepted amongst nobles, but the average peasent traded at the market via the barter system.

 

the family was the core unit of the peasent, and if you want how they lived within their home I can recamend more accurate studies and documentaries, but the family unit was the traditional unit of a male head of house, a mother who handled rearing of children and house work while the father tilled fields (although women would assist in the farm work if more hands were needed) along with multiple children of varing ages (due to a low childhood survival rate).

[Invincible 2,091]

Faith for starters was all the rage back then. To attempt to decipher the mysteries of the universe was considered to be equivalent to questioning god, so zealotry was common. In fact, faith hindered tolerance in many things - banally, other religions. Other faiths were often depicted as outright evil and discriminated against. The crusades, for instance. The inquisition. Fun fact - Hitler didn't invent the ghettos, in case you thought otherwise - Jews used to live in enclosed locations and were forced to wear demeaning clothes in order to outline them to the public.

 

There was a great push towards materialistic values - taxes were usually unjust and would be changed at a lord or a noble's whim. Things like the plight of peasants wasn't the first thing that was considered in their priority.

 

Chivalry and knightly behavior, the following of solemn vows and setting examples was prominent too, especially among knights (duh) who were considered the lowest class of nobility. Codes of honor were paramount.

 

Castes were thing, too - usually, a person born to a family of peasants had no chance at improving their status, although cases where a merchant or a farmer rose into higher ranks are not unheard of.

 

Education was a privilege, not a right, and was often offered only to people of higher classes (royalties, nobles and the priesthood). It was considered unbecoming of a person to learn things outside of their circles.

 

Vassalhood and permanence were a thing to be mentioned, too. In medieval times, a land and it's lower-class residents were a commodity among nobles. A vassal is a noble who governs land(s) in exchange for privileges and rights bestowed upon him by the ruler of the kingdom. They 'get' the residents of the land and it's resources, and in-exchange must offer whatever aid possible (military / economic / etc.) when called upon. 

 

Marriage was often orchestrated and planned between the parents of nobles, as every noble family vied for power, so it was customary to wed one's children to politically strong figures.