audio: The just Price - The medieval world order
Equal opportunity: this is the ultimate demand of any social movement. Someone who lived at the time of the Middle Ages wouldn’t even have known what that term refers to. They were part of a network of social connections that entailed a distinct and unalterable hierarchy, which nevertheless was much more permeable than it might seem to us today.
Upward advancement was possible, if only for those who were strong enough to successfully prove themselves in battle or those who were smart enough to learn the art of writing. Provided that he was a man, of course, because despite of literary figures such as Pope Joan, women played only a minor role in the Middle Ages. They served only as a means to an end to provide their husbands with a generous dowry and give birth to an eagerly awaited male offspring and heir.
Our Picture Tour titled “The medieval world order” is dedicated to the last phase of the Early Middle Ages ranging from 1000 to 1100 AD. Money was not important around that time. Everyone consumed only what his property provided. See for yourself how a rich man differed from a poor man.