Medieval Europe: A Case Study in Social Relationships

Social relationships in Medieval Europe were quite different from those of today. A few centuries ago, there were far fewer social connections between people, and the average person interacted with only a small fraction of the population around them. Back then, if you wanted to know more about your social connections, you would need to interact with more people to find out what was going on in their lives and who they knew. If you wanted to make new friends, it was much more difficult than it is today, because it was hard to reach out to people in new ways and connect with them based on something unique that you had in common with one another.

Men were from Mars, Women from Venus

How to understand and recognize each gender's differing needs, values, and ways of handling conflict. In Europe during the medieval era, men and women lived very different lives. Society was divided up into two groups--those who were considered upper class or barons (men) and those who were not (women). Men's lives consisted mainly of politics and warfare; women mainly resided at home caring for the children, cooking for their husbands, keeping the household in order, caring for family members that needed care such as grandparents. Both classes relied on each other for survival but differed drastically from one another socially. If a woman committed adultery she would be punished by death. However, if a man committed adultery he could simply pay a fine. If a woman murdered her husband she would be punished with death but if a man murdered his wife he could simply pay a fine because it is not appropriate for men to kill women because they are frail and this may upset male superiority. If a man raped a woman he would be punished with death but if a woman raped a man she could just live out her life freely without any consequences- the problem being that rape victims were treated as damaged goods instead of survivors which had major repercussions on how these women were viewed by society.

Why did the Church care about Marriage?

Since much of Medieval Europe consisted of feudal societies, often ruled by a duke or king, the Church sought to gain control over the relationships between these ruling class and the people they ruled. The most effective way for them to do this was through Marriage. With so many marriages being created as a political union, if not for love and affection, there were also very pragmatic reasons behind it. Often times noblemen would use marriage to unite themselves with other rulers by taking on their second-born daughter in an arranged marriage. For example, Edward IV of England (1442-1483) married twice during his lifetime with no children from either union. His first wife was Elizabeth Woodville, who he had been betrothed to since she was just thirteen years old. He had wanted to marry someone else but when she refused him, he instead married her sister, Margaret. His second wife was Elizabeth Wydeville who he took after the death of her husband Henry VI because she is said to have bewitched him into marrying her. She actually gave birth to two sons and five daughters with him before dying in childbirth at age 33.

What is a Wife Worth?

Wealth is typically measured in four common measurements, rank (like titles), office (that of the King), land and goods. To discuss whether or not a wife was worth anything to the medieval male, we must first determine what it was that she offered. Wives had a number of roles that they were expected to fulfill which would benefit their husbands. They played an important part in managing finances and overseeing estates. One may also have been called upon for advice on how to handle wars and other political issues that required delicate touch such as diplomacy . With that being said, there is also one thing left to be desired from her as her husband's mistress and from whomever else he takes up with later on- namely sex. If a man only needed his wife to help him manage his estate, then this woman might not have seen any sexual activity until after she had provided him with children. When women became pregnant and were unable to maintain their duties outside the home, many times they would stay at home rather than going out into society where they could contract various illnesses or diseases. Women were often put in social isolation during pregnancy because of this fear of infection as well as an understanding that contact with outsiders could result in harm coming to both mother and child. In conclusion, most wives at this time did provide something significant enough for them to make it worth some type of remuneration from their husbands but the amount varies depending on each individual case study

Love your Neighbor (but do not trust him)

In the typical medieval view, people needed to have social relationships with their neighbor's. The King was responsible for both defending and protecting the citizens from outsiders and those who threatened them from within. In that light, it was better to love your neighbor but not trust him. Without that power, many citizens relied on their neighbor's for mutual assistance. This sense of solidarity ensured that they were ready to come together against dangers without exception and without fear of retaliation against one another. There is a very valuable lesson here as modern society appears more divided than ever before. Perhaps taking the time to teach our children how to live together, with dignity and respect, is more important than we can currently imagine! 

But if you did trust someone too much, you could be taken advantage of or perhaps even lose everything you had worked hard for. It was safer to be friends with everyone (or at least appear to be) rather than risk letting down your guard around anyone. This theory contributed greatly towards maintaining order through harmony and peace between people whilst simultaneously preventing individual jealousies which might lead to petty arguments or worse – wars between neighboring towns/villages/kingdoms! For example; Count Raymond VI of Toulouse granted extensive powers over his lands in Provence (southern France) to Bertrand de l’Isle-Jourdain while he went off on crusade during 1096-1099.

The Pursuit of Happiness

What makes us happy? Philosophers and psychologists are still trying to answer this question.

Eighty years ago, psychologist Abraham Maslow published a paper called A Theory of Human Motivation where he identified five levels of human needs—physiological, safety, belonging, esteem and self-actualization. These needs became known as the Hierarchy of Needs theory. According to this theory, individuals who are able to meet lower-level needs will then focus on higher level ones. In other words, if your physiological need is met you’ll move onto the next one. You'll continue moving up the hierarchy until you're either fulfilled or hit a point where you can't go any further. 

What does this have to do with social relationships? Well it means that when we fulfill our basic needs for health, food, and shelter, we're free to pursue our higher level needs like belonging and esteem. If people don't have these basic things they won't be healthy enough to work towards fulfilling their social desires so they'll resort to more desperate measures like crime or prostitution in order to meet those needs.