Work in the 21st Century is very different to what it was in the Middle Ages. Today work is apart of everyday life, and therefore creating a rewarding standard of living. Not only is work needed to sustain the needs of an individual or family, people pride themselves on their work ethic, no matter what line of work they are in.
“The fall of the Roman empire marked the beginning of a period generally known as the Middle Ages.” Whilst there are many positive aspects of work in recent centuries, in Medieval times workers were referred to as Peasants. Peasants were people who lead a tough and rigorous lifestyle. Men worked long hours in fields, planting seeds, and taking care of livestock, while women were delegated the household chores. Whilst this may sound comparable with today’s lifestyle, peasants had a poor standard of living because they were under the rule of the Lord. This meant they had to give back to the Lord. The church required 10% of everything the peasants produced. They believed in the Lord but work was still perceived as punishment by God for man’s original sin.
Work was heavily despised due to the risk of death. Work in crops was standard for male peasants and if those crops failed, they were given harsh penalties. They were forces to eat grass, nettles and other plants. Many starved to death. Whilst work was potentially life threatening on a daily basis for peasants, it was the only way of life they were accustomed to.
The higher level of society in the middle ages lived off the peasant class. Therefore society was divided into two classes – The filthy rich and dirt poor. The Lords and priests comprised the second level of society. There was no way for Peasants to move up into the second level of the social order as the duty of the worker was to remain in his class, passing on his family work from generation to generation.
Whilst the lower class citizens despised the work, as centuries moved on, the quality of life increased. After the plague there was a shortage of jobs and therefore many peasants were given the opportunity to move into larger towns, which offered more diversity and quality in work and life. Work is no longer perceived as a punishment by God. Instead, those who rely on unnecessary charity are perceived negatively in today’s society. Finally work in medieval times offered no intrinsic value, where the function of work was simply to accommodate for basic family and community needs. Nowadays one works to sustain there own standard of life whilst achieving personal satisfaction.