Similarities between the Roman Empire and Medieval.
Several countries had different ways of handling life in the ancient days. The life depended on the social classes as well as political activities in the specific country. The latter depended on the type of ruler in the country. The life was either good or bad depending on the social class of an individual
Life in Medieval was luxurious .This was in early era of King Merovingian began. However it was only to the selected few, those in the upper class. This is because the gold and the furniture which were made of silverware intact. They had not been destroyed by King Franks. The king had appropriated what made them to flatter. In addition, they enhanced the preservation of the jewels the Romans called The Gallo. These made the Gaul’s to preserve the residences which were noble. The churches as well as monasteries were preserved too. The Roman Empire was composed of many cultures.These cultures enabled a sense of sharing identity. Besides, the culture also ensured that people of diverse in a political system came together under one leadership.
Just like in Medieval, the Roman culture had different classes. There was a war that lasted for twenty years in the Roman Empire.This war led to the traditional society in Rome to be in great confusion. However, the distribution of both wealth and power were not affected in any way. The lower classes were badly affected just like in Medieval. They could only make friends and other relationships within their colleagues who were of low social class. In fact, slaves remained being poor and there was no chance that they could get rich any day.
The distribution of resources among the poor in the Roman Empire was constrained. They accessed limited resources which were spent in reckless ways while in the drinking and the clubs. These were ways they got rid of stress. The higher class used the resources luxuriously and denied the lower class access to the resources. The Medieval life was rough as well. The lower class was hired as slaves. They worked for very low wages. The hours of working were also increased yet no one could raise the voice. During the reign of a king called Charlemagne the situation was worse .Life was rougher and coarser to those in the lower class. However, the poor did not get discouraged. This is because they had been used to severe life. The most affected were those of the higher class. This is because they had to forgo some of their pleasure in order to adapt to the harsh times
The legal status in the Roman Empire was very rigid; one could either be free or be considered a slave. The slaves were those from the lower social class. Citizenship was based on whether someone was free or a slave. Life in Medieval had these same aspects too. The subjects in the dynasties were ill-treated because they were not considered citizens. They were handled inhumanly because they had no homeland of their own. They were tenants of the rich and could not afford to either buy or build a house due to deprivation.
In Medieval, the lower class was the only ones who were supposed to obey the law. When the same law was imposed on the top class, they evaded it and the King of Medieval could hardly do anything to enforce the law against them. Similarly, the law was imposed against the slaves in the Roman Empire. The slaved could not engage in the same activities like those in the upper class. They could not vote. This ensured that the upper classes choose their leaders without involvement of the poor. The poor had no voice hence could not represent their grievances. They had no chances of winning since no one was ready to listen to them
Issues like marriages were within the social classes. They could not marry from outside the class. It was prohibited by law. Due to their state of deprivation, they would be able to sustain any marriage outside their social class as it was deemed expensive.
Just like society would have it, in both Medieval and the roman empires had a central government. This was the overall organ of the land. It ensures that the entire area of jurisdiction was protected. The Roman central government was composed of a government that was central. The other arms of the government were the provincial government as well as the military. The military kept the enemy at bay. The Medieval Empire was headed by Kings who ensured that the entire region was safe. These central governments, in both scenarios provided security to the lower class individuals from an external enemy.
In summary, most regions of the world had social class systems. The class systems were divided based on the economic statuses of the population. This further determined how wealth was distributed in the economy. That is why in both Roman and Medieval, those in the lower class were subjected to poor living conditions. They were the subjects of the rich and had limited access to the major services like health care. They could not move up the social class. These made them remain in the state of deprivation for quite a long time. That is what has led to the discrepancy being experienced between the rich and the poor in most parts of the world. I would live in Medieval because the life was slightly better unlike in Roman Empire.
Bibliography
Bryce, J. (1999). The Holy Roman Empire. London: Macmillan and Co. p. 1
Brian, D. (2001). Life in Medieval. NY: Oxford university press
Whaley, J. ed. (2011). Germany and the Holy Roman Empire: Volume I: Maximilian I to the Peace of Westphalia, 1493-1648. Oxford University Press. p. 17.
Pagden, P. (2008). World's at War: The 2,500-Year Struggle between East and West (First Ed.). Random House. p. 147.
