Ordinary European Lifestyles: Middle Ages vs. 17th Century

After the long expanse of Middle Ages, Europe went through many significant periods. The Renaissance, the Reformation, and the Price Revolution are just a few of the more commonly known periods. However, it is implied that these periods only affected the nobles and the kings, possibly excluding the Reformation. The lower classes were left in the dust, unmoving and unchanging. On the contrary, this idea might apply to eastern Europe, who enforced feudalism to increase production. However, by the 17th century, western Europe had changed significantly. It is a false and untrue claim, that “The lives of ordinary people in Europe by the 17th century had not changed significantly since the early Middle Ages.” While the lives of ordinary eastern Europeans had no significant changes, the lives of ordinary western Europeans had changed in lifestyle, in education, through the roles of women, and through the roles of children.

By the 17th century, the lifestyles of ordinary western Europeans had significantly changed. An important factor of lifestyles, is religion. The Reformation, was one of the few important periods in history that remarkably affected the lower classes. The manor’s priest, or simply the peasants themselves, could have easily switched to Protestantism, especially in the Holy Roman Empire. Religious change was certainly a significant change. In the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church was dominant. Suddenly there were two churches. Thus, this is one great difference ordinary people faced by the 17th century, contrary to the Middle Ages. This led to secularization, another great difference; neither church was really dominant. Another factor of lifestyles, is social class. By the 17th century, ordinary people made up new social groups. Some had broken off from the peasantry, and joined the urban poor. While distinguishing between the two may seem difficult, a difference was there. The urban poor were not as involved in feudalism as the common peasant was and thus they had more opportunities. The Poor Law of 1601, for example, introduced in England, encouraged the said urban poor to find jobs. This is not a significant change, per say, but it does show a difference. A greater, and much more significant social change, was the introduction of the middle class. The middle class was the yeomanry, the bourgeoisie, the hidalgos, and the plebeians. They were educated town dwellers, mostly Protestant, who took on jobs as simple as store keepers to jobs as important as doctors, lawyers, judges or merchants. In the Middle Ages, this class had been hidden in the aristocracy and in the peasantry. By the 17th century they had come together to form a new class of people. They were neither urban poor, nor nobility and they led good, profitable lives. This is yet another greatly significant change for ordinary people by the 17th century, compared to the Middle Ages. Occupation and general health are two other factors of lifestyles. The rise of Ambachten changed the way that jobs or occupations were considered. With these new organizations, the unity of a family was disturbed. The ordinary man had schedules and projects, and was thus more involved in his occupation, than in his family. Thus, inspired by Abmachten, the idea of occupation was different from the Middle Ages, by the 17th century. On the issue of health, the potato was introduced from America. While it was at first rejected due to its repugnant display, it was at last accepted. The potato had many nutritional benefits. In fact, it was more nutritious than, virtually, anything else eaten at the time. Thus, health was improved, and, also due to other factors, life expectancy greatly increased. The population rose remarkably, compared to the Middle Ages. Thus, by the 17th century, the lifestyles of ordinary western Europeans had significantly changed.