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  1. Jewelry in the Middle Ages Much like clothing, jewelry in the Medieval Ages portrayed status and wealth. Initially, only the wealthy could afford fine ornaments. However, as trade and commerce grew in the continent, the European middle class began to afford them. By the 14th century, wearing jewelry had become common. The elite started to wear fancier stuff to distinguish themselves from the middle class who promptly caught up and upped their game. This led to jewelry becoming more lavish. As there were no state-of-the...
  2. The Spartan Warrior Way If you were born a male in Sparta about 2500 years ago, you had no real chance to choose a profession. One profession chose all boys. That profession was the life of a soldier. Unlike Athens, which encouraged the “finer” aspects of life, such as arts and philosophy, the ethos of Sparta revolved around the warrior culture (in other words, the over-the-top machismo that runs through the movie 300 may not be an exaggeration after all). Spartan males started the journey to warriorhood as early as...
  3. The Craftsman in the Middle Ages Being a master medieval craftsman was no run-of-the-mill exercise. It took years and several stages to learn a trade. Boys who wished to pick up a trade either learnt it from their fathers or as an apprentice in a master craftsman’s shop. The first step was to reach journeyman status, which took about seven years of training. Once an apprentice became a journeyman he would be paid a daily wage. To become a master, the journeyman would have to fashion a piece of work that other master craftsm...
  4. Roman Soldier Gear – The Legionary A Roman legionary had to be a Roman citizen and over 17 years of age. And, of course, he had to be a stud – fit, strong, and brave. Anything less and he would be rejected. Roman soldiers typically signed up for 25 years of service. If they survived the time, they were gifted a land they could farm. But surviving in the brutal battlefields was tough. It required skill and armor and gear you could trust. A Roman legionary could carry between 66–100 lbs of gear and weapon, which included corn ra...
  5. Fashion in the Medieval Period What was the streetwear in vogue during the Middle Ages? Is that even a relevant question, you may ask. Did fashion as we know it today exist 10 centuries ago? The answer is a resounding yes. Of course, London was not the cosmopolitan hub it is today, Paris had not understood the concept of the runway, and Milan’s luxury houses Gucci, Prada, and Versace were in the very very distant future. But, there was enough going around. And it is no stretch to state that the razzmatazz of today’s haute ...
  6. The People’s Crusade In November 1095, Pope Urban II called for Christians to go to Jerusalem and free it from Muslim rule. The Crusades began in August the following year. But, did you know that there was a Crusade before the First Crusade? This venture did not garner the status of the real thing and was largely a failure, but it was an honest effort nonetheless. So, what was it? The People’s Crusade was the prelude to the official thing and lasted about six months, from April–October, 1096. It is also called t...