The Bridge between the Middle Ages and the Modern Era

"In the period 1300-1565 A.D., the "known world " was much different from today. At that time, most people lived and worked on farms, producing crops for food. Very few people owned their own land - it was owned by landlords, to which the "peasant" paid rent of some kind. Very few peasants were literate. Most of these peasants in their lifetimes never traveled more than ten miles from their land.

The "upper classes" consisted of a small number of landowners, those who owned...
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"In the period 1300-1565 A.D., the "known world " was much different from today. At that time, most people lived and worked on farms, producing crops for food. Very few people owned their own land - it was owned by landlords, to which the "peasant" paid rent of some kind. Very few peasants were literate. Most of these peasants in their lifetimes never traveled more than ten miles from their land.

The "upper classes" consisted of a small number of landowners, those who owned shops or small businesses, the clergy and the military, some of whom could read and write. Even the literate had only a very limited knowledge of the world. Some of the wealthier people may have been aware that there were lands, far to the east, from which came very expensive spices which gave flavor to their food.

Educated people at that time had a number of beliefs about their world.They believed that the Earth was the center of the Universe, and that the sun moved around the Earth and that each such circuit ("year") took a little overr `365 days. Most people who thought about it probably realized that the Earth was round (although many thought it was flat.)

Beginning around the late 1300s, a great deal more was learned about the world. This book sets forth a vivid description of that period, which was truly "The Bridge between the Middle Ages and the Modern Era."