Importance of Family and Kin central theme kin also includes people who are very distantly related Importance of Law and Local Customs the lord makes sure that the laws are followed as barbarian invasions decline in the 11th and 12th centuries lords begin to emphasize their god given right to rule local custom is the biggest challenge to these kings claim to power Importance of Oaths oaths were solemn promises before god if you backed out on your oath you betrayed god which is considered a sin written texts are relatively uncommon it is not expected that everyone can read people trust that an oath will be kept oaths are the glue that hold politics together Lords should be self sufficient should live off their own manors lords are unable to be self sufficient when they decide to leave their residences like to travel or go on a crusade A Rural Economic Model cities aren t part of how people perceiving the world as functioning various manors profits based off the land cities provide an opportunity to gain power socially Life on a Medieval Manor scattered landscapes villages may be 10 miles apart there would be a larger village about 40 miles away main churches officials right outside of the city gates exists rural life most city residences continued to have ties to the countryside may own them or work on them inside families houses on farms there was only one room livestock lived inside the house because they were valuable possessions and helped to keep warm fire in the middle of the room resembled a campfire extremely dangerous A horse and the equipment of a plow were not generally owned by one household usually shared harvest was a huge communal event only the richest people had ovens were generally in a different building because they were dangerous usually one day a month or one day a week people would go to the market to buy sell or trade social event could get legal issues handled travel to the bigger villages would buy bread in an urban environment 40 of children in the middle ages died before the age of 5 people would have 5 7 children out of them all one would survive people in the middle ages could tell the social status of a person immediately based on their clothing large heavy duty knifes were part of standard dress rich people wore fur coats members of the clergy cut their hair a certain way life in the middle ages was very violent punishments were very severe torture weddings would be probably the biggest celebrations of a year people in the middle ages drank a gallon of beer wine a day