The King has assigned me (a scribe) to create a book called, “A

Day in the Life of the Kingdom.” In order to fulfill my duty, I will

interview members of our realm, so I can understand their lives.
YOU are one of the people who is going to be interviewed!

The interview will be on __Wednesday, March 23rd_.

• Research your role using the books in class and the internet
sources provided below (if you want to use other sources you
must conference with me).
• Be prepared to answer any or all of the questions on this sheet.
• YOU MUST bring typed notes from your research to hand in on
your interview day.

Medieval Social Roles Worksheet: CHURCH

Name: _Rowan Terrowin____________________

Status:
Not married
No Children
Currently a monk for the Birmingham Monestary
Devoted to God

As you research what life was like for someone of your social status during medieval
times, find the answers to the following questions:

1. What does your home look like? (how big is it, what does it look like on the inside /
outside etc.)
My place of residence is not owned by myself. It is a place for a whole group for people like
me, monks. It’s called a monestary and it’s basically a church/school/residence. As it is a
church, it’s design on the inside and the outside are familiar with ones on a cathedral. It’s
main structure and build are made all from hard stone bricks. There are windows but they’re
just simply holes on the building, and they are in a small quantity(there are very few). Inside
it’s full of paintings, sculptures, and stone artifacts all devoted to the Religion of Christianity,
as we devote our lives to god.

2. Do you own your home? If not, who does?

I don’t own the place, neither do the other Monks. It is owned by the head priest in the
building, the abbot.

3. What do your clothes look like? Are they comfortable?

My clothes are basically the same every time. They are black robes (a bit like a hoodie, only it
extends to the legs) and in my opinion, they are comfortable.

Adrian Ma Friday, April 8, 2011 9:07:56 AM Hong Kong SAR China Time
 4. Do you have power over anyone else? If so who?
None of my kind of people have any power at all
5. Does anyone have power over you? If so who?
I would say so. The main person that controls everything in his monestary and the monks is
the abbot, the head priest.
6. What is your most prized possession?
My main possession and only one is my copy of the Bible, as it is referred to as a reference
guide or manual from the religion and God.

7. What do you usually eat for dinner?

A typical meal is some bread and soup, with fruit and vegetables grown in the monastary’s
garden. Some times we are allowed to eat meat, but only when we are either sick or on
certain days. Also, I can only eat one meal per day in the winter but I can eat two meals per
day in the summertime.

8. What do you do for fun? How often do you get to do it?

My idea of fun is work! Every day I have to do manual labor, which ranges from simple farm
work to basic manufacturing (windows etc). In other words, I am required to do a variety of
odd jobs and daily tasks every day, which is quite fun to me! And other times I study or copy
out books in the library, a monk tradition.
9. If you have children, what do you expect them to do every day?
If or when I do have children, when they reach an appropiate age I’ll send them off to the
monestary I grew up in, as I want them to be raised and guided through life as a monk, like
me!
10. What tools or implements do you use every day, if any?
I rarely use any tools in the monestary, but if I am assigned to things like farmwork I use
typical farming tools to complete my task, such as a plower for plowing the fields to a churner
when making butter or milk. Also, I usually use a writing pen for work in the monestary’s
library.

11. What is worst thing about your life?

I would say our monk’s daily “matins” or prayers (in secret outside of god’s world)
because we have to pray eight times a day, starting from the very early morning to the late
nights before I can get some rest.

12. What is the best thing about your life?

Always being protected and advised by God and my traditions!

13. What are your hopes for the future?
My main hope is to become either a bishop or an abbot of another or my own
monestary.
14. What do you fear most?
Disobeying the church or god accidentally or intentionally as there are very serious
punishments if I cross into that zone.

15. How do you and your family stay warm in winter?

My fellow monks just simply light a fire in the building for those cold days.

Adrian Ma Friday, April 8, 2011 9:07:56 AM Hong Kong SAR China Time
 16. If your area is invaded by a stronger force that can overtake the current monarchy, will
your life change? If so how?

Nothing would actually change as people of my kind are not involved in things like war or
invasion, if our region were to be taken over by a “rival force” we would just continue our
normal life as a monk. But sometimes if an invading group is very powerful over the land, we
could be killed or be forced to converting into another religion, along with the monestary
possibly being destroyed.

17. How far have you traveled in your life? If you did travel, why did you do so?
I rarely or in fact, never have “traveled” as it is against rules of the abbot to leave the
monestary unless I have permission to do so, but if I do travel it’s just to collect food from the
garden outside the monestary.

18. Other things you’d like to add?

Yes. I’d like to mention that our prayers are taken very seriously. We have to pray eight times
a day, these times called “canonical hours”, prayers at fixed times every day. We basically
pray as I said and sing the Gregorian Chant, a type of music mainly sung in the monestary.
Also, there are some women that live the same way as us monks. They are called nuns, who
live like us monks (pray every day, work around the monestary) except when they were shut
off completely of any contact from the outside world and when they enforced clothing rules
like us, they rebelled. Some often disobeyed the rules, creating some conflict between the
nuns and the church.
CHURCH: Web Resources

Feudal System and Medieval Way of Life:

http://www.learner.org/interactives/middleages/feudal.html

Way of Life:
http://library.thinkquest.org/10949/fief/medgod.html
http://westernreservepublicmedia.org/middleages/feud_clergy.htm

Costs and Benefits:

http://www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/docs/midlsoc/gr9/92handouts.html - P3357_164454

Religion: Monks, Nuns, Priests, Bishops

http://www.learner.org/interactives/middleages/religion.html
http://www2.lhric.org/irvington/ims/6th/clergy.htm

Clothing:
http://www.learner.org/interactives/middleages/clothing.html
http://library.thinkquest.org/04oct/00333/Plair%20Gennarelli/myweb/index.htm

Nun’s Realm:
http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/history/middleages/contents.html

Adrian Ma Friday, April 8, 2011 9:07:56 AM Hong Kong SAR China Time
Adrian Ma Friday, April 8, 2011 9:07:56 AM Hong Kong SAR China Time