What was it like to be a king in the medieval times?

Answer 1

The Germanic tribes that invaded the Roman Empire, eventually breaking it up, consisted of armies and their families, following a leader, who was usually called their king, and often elected by councils of important people. These were the kings of the Early Middle Ages. Their role was largely military, but they always had a responsibility of enforcing whatever laws the tribes had, and possibly of creating new laws.

As they settled, and came to regard lands as their own possessions. They came more and more to be people who provided not only defense and political guidance, but social and moral guidance to their people. Kings, for example, were instrumental in the spread of Christianity because if a monk could convert a king, he could convert a nation. The mission of St. Augustine of Canterbury to the court of King Ethelbert of Kent, in 597 AD, lead to a mass baptism of his subjects on Christmas Day of that year.

Kings made policies for the improvement of their kingdoms. Charlemagne and Alfred the Great introduced policies that improved education within their kingdoms.

Kings organized the government, which was usually dependent on a hierarchy of power in which estates were granted in exchange for support and loyalty. The person receiving the estate and office was called a vassal, and he could delegate authority similarly. The ceremony in which this happened was called commendation.

They often had a great urge to extend the boundaries of their kingdoms. This lead to wars, which were endless during the medieval times. The destruction and misery resulting from these wars was impossible for many people to imagine. Nothing we have today is any worse. Treatment of prisoners was incredibly cruel in many cases.

But the effect was to form greater kingdoms with more unified languages and literature. Kings increased trade to become richer, and to enrich their nations. Economic development became a carefully though out policy in many cases, and many kings invited people into their kingdoms to improve them. The treatment of Jews is a good example of this, and provides a good example also of how kings could be ignorant and destructive. Jews were invited into areas that could benefit from their presence. They included many educated people, physicians, scientists, philosophers, teacher, and bankers. The physicians could save the lives of people in a king's family, and the bankers could pay high taxes and lend a king money. That is fine until a king comes along who is deep in debt, healthy, and ignorant, and then the Jews are expelled without repayment of loans, or worse.

The inconsistencies of royal leadership lead eventually to parliaments or other councils gaining control. Eventually, the role of the king became less and less political, and more and more symbolic. This was true more in some places than in others. For example, the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire was often a man without much power. And it was more true or less in various times. Kings of France gained, lost, and regained power as centuries went by. The Magna Carta was signed because barons pressured King John, but it reduced royal authority and provided a basis for English laws and freedoms.

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Answer 2

The queen had her duties, one of which was often to stand in for her husband or act as regent for her son. Some queens had duties as monarchs in their own right. To perform these duties, she had to be able to make decisions regarding diplomacy, contracts, relationships with the nobility and the people. She had to be able to supervise the management of finances. She sometimes would have to command a garrison, or even take full responsibility of an army in a war.

During time off, she was usually able to decide about what she wanted to do with her life. Many queens wrote poetry, made tapestries, sewed, designed clothing, played Musical Instruments, sang, and composed. Some are recorded to have been avid readers. They hosted feasts, watched plays, and attended festivals and events of various kinds. I do not recall ever hearing of a queen who cooked.

Queens often organized their own households. They had ladies in waiting attending them, and often had other friends who stayed with them. Queens raised their children or not, depending on the situation.

Some queens got involved with the church, dedicating churches and convents or commissioning various other religious acts. A few queens went into convents because they simply wanted to retire.

Unfortunately, some queens wound up on the wrong sides of political problems, either because of disagreements with their husbands, or because their husbands fell from power. Some were imprisoned, but a greater number wound up in convents. In fact, convents provided sanctuary for queens whose husbands were abusive in one way or another because even kings were hesitant to take on problems with the church.

Answer 3

Not very good. Medieval life even for kings was not all about the pomp and grandeur

if you were a king you had the constant struggle of maintaining power over the nobles, lords, middle class, and most importantly the pope. Of course you had good food but your only entertainment are jesters and jousts. you had to keep your people happy and had to be a capable leader if you were a descendant of king john you had it even worse your powersa were tightly bound and restricted[ then again that was better for the people] also you had to live in dark dingy unhygienic dirty castles-plus you thought bathing was evil so you only bathed around once in 6-8 months!

Answer 4

The king during the Early Middle Ages was in law (de jure) supreme. The

kingdoms at this period were the immediate successors of the Carolingian Empire

after its collapse. Most medieval kings wereraised to office by a combination

of ritual acts. The king would first be chosen in an assembly from among the last

kin of the last ruler, whose nomination would carry great weight in cases of

doubt. This choice was not often complete until the new king traveled through

his kingdom in a continuous election. The king then would be consecrated in a

liturgy copied from the Old Testament precedents of Saul and Solomon and

would be invested with such insignia as crown, sword, helmet, or scepter. Before

or after this ceremony, the nobles of the kingdom declared their allegiance and

often performed symbolic acts of domestic service at the coronation feast. As

the anointed of the Lord, the king had a special claim on the obedience of the

Church and a measure of physical security. The violent death of a king was

regarded as a strike against the fabric of the divine and moral order.

Answer 5

the king was the leader of the country he lead battles and told what people what to do but he never really got along with the priest or pope ine the middle ages in Europe

Answer 6

what was daily life like for a prince in the medieval ages

Answer 7

life back then very harsh and crule