Essay About Chaucerpage 2King Arthur And Medieval Times

Chaucer and the Medieval Times
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King Arthur and the Medieval times/ PoliticsThere are many mystical tales of King Arthur but he was one of the greatest themes in British literature. We know him today as King Arthur, the Medieval King of the Middle ages who is a legendary King but he does not show up on any medieval Kings timeline (4). The timeline is very accurate but there were no records reported on King Arthur. Is he real or was he just another fairy tale made up back in the day? There is no way of us to know for sure without proper documentation. The king was also known to be associated with the “Knights of the Round Table”, with the “Code of Chivalry and Courtly Love”, and also the Camelot and a magician called Merlin (4). Nowadays there are kid’s TV shows that are related to King Arthur and the Magician Merlin, I once seen an episode which had the Magician Merlin in it. During the Medieval times the growth of trade and merchants affected the growth of the population in many towns as it increased after the black death (also known as the plague). Many towns were built on trade and the “leaders” of the town were the head merchants. Merchant guilds controlled the trade in a town as well as the towns government, they often came into disagreements with the craft guilds over power. Merchants needed a firm base for trade, therefore supporting the king and helping establishing a strong central government (5). They also regulated quality, prices, measurements, and business practices (5). Due to the power of the guilds in their domain, if one was to be expelled from the guilds, it would make it near to impossible to find a way to earn a living (5). The cleanliness back in the medieval times was far from sanitary. The sanitation was an ongoing concern; open drain channels went along side or down the streets in many towns. Almost every stable opened out onto the streets and foul smelling heaps would flow down the channels. People usually threw dirty water out their windows into the directions of the drains, keep in mind this is the same area that people use as walk ways. The law enforcement during this period was very minimal. The constables were the ones who call on citizens to get together for a night watch or a criminal watch (5). The penalties for committing a crime were much cruel compared to today’s law enforcement. A thief found in possession of stolen goods was hanged, no questions asked (5).