Journal Entry #1 Daily life as a serf is difficult. I’m not actually a slave, but I’m bound to my lord for life. I can’t own land and I need permission to marry. Although I’m a serf, I do have rights. I can’t be fired or displaced if the manor changed hands. Also, I can not be required to fight, but I am entitled to the protection of the lord. I can never leave the land without the lord’s permission unless I run away. If I ran away and managed to stay away for a year and a day, I would be a free man. Serfs like me can also save up enough money to their freedom and become a freeman. I live in small communities called manors the are owned by a lord or vassal. I do all the work on the manor farm with the other serfs. I work the fields, cared for the livestock, built and maintained the building, made the clothing, and cut firewood. All the men, women, and children work together. We are basically slaves and our lords treat us like slaves. Because of feudalism, we do have small plots of land that we can earn from our lords by working. Working in exchange for land is what feudalism is about. So, it really benefits serfs so that they can earn enough money to buy their freedom. There, we can work for ourselves and get money. My home is nice since I live in a manor and the lord is rich. I don’t enjoy my job since it’s so hard, but I’d rather buy my freedom than run. The castle is the whole reason I am safe from the vikings. If I ran, I wouldn’t be protected and might be killed by vikings.
Journal Entry #2 The church is the center of Europe. It offers guidance and leadership because the government doesn’t. Everyday, I go and pray at the church. Even though people don’t say it in public, people think that that the church is more powerful than the king. There is an example of the Pope being stronger. Pope Gregory VII excommunicatedKing Henry IV because the king wouldn’t let him choose the bishops. King Henry IV stepped down because he was excommunicated, and he had to ask for forgiveness. This just shows how powerful the Pope is and how powerful excommunication is. The church is so powerful, they own ⅓ of the whole land. Whenever I sin, I go to the church and ask for forgiveness. To be forgiven, you have to give indulgences which is paying for forgiveness. It takes a great toll on us serfs, because we are poor, but it allows us to go to heaven when we die. Another thing that the church asks for is tithe. Tithe is donating 10% of their income to the church to save their souls. Again, this is as hard as giving indulgences, but it is worth it. The church gives us serfs protection and no one can harm us in the church. It is peaceful and quiet, so I often go there when my lord is working me hard. I wouldn’t go to heaven and live a peaceful life if it wasn’t for the church.
Journal Entry #3 The crusades changed everyones life. A crusade is a holy war made by a pope. If something happened to the church, the pope would call on a crusade. Many people die in battle, but I am lucky to survive the crusades. Since the people fighting in the crusades are all different, we put a red cross on the back of our clothes to show unity. The crusades may mean death but many, like me, have gained some land and money from the wars. Some day, I might even escape my life as a peasant. Also, if I die in battle, the church said that I would go to heaven. The First Crusade was about the holy land, Jerusalem. Jerusalem welcomed all religions, as long as they paid their taxes. Then, a group of Arabs took control of Jerusalem and closed off the city to Jewish and Christian pilgrims. Pope Urban II called for a crusade and after a two-month bloody siege of the city, Jerusalem fell. Although, we had won back the city by massacring. I did get some land and money. I’m sure the Muslims will come back to conquer Jerusalem again.We won some crusades and lost some, but I always lived.
Journal Entry #4 The Bubonic Plague is the worst disaster that could ever happen. People say that it is God making us pay for our sins. I don’t believe that since many of my family has died from the plague. My family is a kind family and we work for our masters without complaints. Now, it is only me and my brother alive. All of my family is dead, so we had to leave their bodies outside and we couldn’t bury them because we are poor. The signs of the plague are obvious. First, you get sharp pain like arrows. Then, you heat up like a bad fever. The people with the plague get these weird black things on them called buboes. That is also why some people call it the Black Plague because of the buboes. There are many philosophies of how the plague spread to Europe. The one I believe is that the rats infected us. The rats are all over Europe and now that they are dead, they must be spreading it with their dead bodies. Also, there are ridiculous treatment options. One treatment is Blood-letting. Blood-letting is where you cut yourself and let out some blood. I don’t think it helps because everyone in the room just dies of the plague after it. There is one outrageous apothecary who says these weird treatment ideas. He wants us to have fresh air and wash our hands. If we do that, it might even spread more. So, we still haven’t found treatment for this plague.
Journal Entry #5 Now that the decline of feudalism happened, everyone can live a better life. Now that I’m not part of the feudal pyramid, I don’t need to stay in the manor with my lord. I can work on my own and keep all of the money I earn. The decline of feudalism happened because of the plague, less people, workers are needed, and serfs can now leave manors. Now that the plague is over and I haven’t died, there will be a greater need for workers and I’m more likely to get hired. Also, employers are willing to pay workers more because there are not that many workers. Since the invention of gunpowder, knights are no longer needed and there are less casualties. Many people are moving to new cities and we are learning new cultures and there is more trade. There is a stronger and stable government that now wants us to learn, do art, and exploration. People no longer need feudalism and are living a happy life. Now, I might become a wealthy merchant with a good education.