Violence in the Middle Ages

With all of the violence on television, one might wonder when and why the violence began. Violence began with the dawn of time. Violence began because the people had no other way to convey their messages to one another. As time evolved, the reasons for violence changed as well. Violence was used for a purpose. The violence in the literature of the Middle Ages stemmed from the cerebral culture of the time and from the strong dependence on religion.

In Beowulf, the violence was used for a purpose. The purpose was to show the people of England the story of the violent Viking culture and the problems that arose from violence. The cerebral aspect of the Viking culture taught them to fight at an early age. With this mentality, Beowulf set out on his journey to other lands. By leaving home, Beowulf attempted to prove that he was worthy to his homeland. While speaking to King Hrothgar, he is informed that Hrothgar paid blood-money to end the feud. At the time that Beowulf was told, the religion of the day was paganism; therefore, anything that happened occurred because of something that was done to the gods. When Beowulf was a child, he and a friend, Brecca, swam in the North Sea with armor. Later in his life, Beowulf wonders if that day in the sea cost these people their serene culture. He attempted to explain to Hrothgar that his purpose was to win the good will of you people or to die (trying).

Geoffrey Chaucer used violence in many of the tales he wrote. In the Prioresses Tale, he used martyrdom as an outcry against violence. In the story, a child wanders the into a Jewish ghetto singing O Alma redemptoris. The boy is thrown into a privy where these Jews purged their entrails. Although the child s throat was cut to the neck bone, his song never wavered. This shows that violence cannot stop religious beliefs and strongholds to cease. When the boy is found, his body is taken back to a Catholic funeral bier were the priests were told (by the boy) that his singing will continue until the grain is taken from his tongue. A blissful, gracious maiden placed the grain there. The grain was removed and the boy ceased to sing. After this miracle, the rest of the monks also lay on the floor . . . they rose and went forth, taking this martyr from his bier.

There are patterns that emerge with the advance of time with regard to violence. In Old English literature, violence was used to convey a story. In Middle English literature, violence was used to provoke religious sentiments. A change in purpose is the pattern that occurs.

During the Middle Ages, people did not think about the ramifications of their actions or how those actions effected others. Their concerns were surviving and doing so without provoking religious strife upon themselves or others. The cerebral culture and the dependence on religion caused much of the violence in the Middle Ages.