Life in the “Middle Ages”, Essay Example

The “middle ages” began immediately after the “fall of the Western Roman Empire”. During this age, men dominated all means of production hence all systems including social, economic, and political. During this time, children, especially from peasant families, were exposed to numerous diseases at early ages due to the poor living conditions. Child mortality rate during the “middle ages” was at 50% before a child’s first birthday. Children lived under strict parentage and were only focused on fulfilling their gender roles. Boys would go with their fathers to till land while girls were expected to do the house chores. In some societies, children were considered to be mature enough to partake fully in family business. In others, girls would be married off at 12 years old which would be the onset of puberty.

The children of today live very different lives from those of the “middle ages”. Child protection rights have played a huge rule in insulating today’s children from abuse. “Children of today therefore have warranted access to medical care, education and protection from hard labor which was the norm before” (Fanselow). The study of children in the “middle ages” therefore signify that the society has developed in all ways. People are warier of the social structures and protection of civil especially children. The society is awake to the social issues that occurred during the primitive ages and strives to prevent them from reoccurring.

When I watched the documentary, I felt had mixed reactions towards how children were treated in the past ages. I think that children were put through a lot and forced to assume adult roles at very young ages. I got confused if at all the society in the “middle ages” was conscious enough about how it treated its children given the level of toxic exposure that the children were subjected to.

Works Cited

Fanselow, Michael S., and Zachary T. Pennington. “A return to the psychiatric dark ages with a two-system framework for fear.” Behaviour research and therapy 100 (2018): 24-29.