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October 13
Today was an ordinary day. I woke slightly before sunrise, and ate a quick breakfast with the other serfs in our Lord’s manor. Our Lord is very lazy. He didn't wake until noon. After he woke, he came to watch us work. One of the firewood cutting serfs got yelled at because he kept dropping the axe. I’m in charge of delivering materials to the clothing making serfs and the building maintenance serfs. I’m also in charge of chasing loose farm animals down, since I’m a fast runner. I actually quite like my job. It’s much easier than cutting firewood and working on the fields. My life is much easier compared to those people. During dinner, I heard some fellow serfs talking about Feudalism. I used to dislike Feudalism, since it seemed like we serfs didn’t get rewarded much for our work. But now I’m okay with it. In exchange for our hard work, we get meals and a home to stay in. We don’t receive much, but without Feudalism we wouldn’t even have these things at all. We also receive protection from attacks. If Vikings sail in and try to invade the castle, our Lord is obligated to protect and keep us away from danger. I think it’s a pretty fair deal, even though we can’t marry or leave the manor without the Lord’s permission. Although, I would be much happier if I was a noble or a knight.
Today was an ordinary day. I woke slightly before sunrise, and ate a quick breakfast with the other serfs in our Lord’s manor. Our Lord is very lazy. He didn't wake until noon. After he woke, he came to watch us work. One of the firewood cutting serfs got yelled at because he kept dropping the axe. I’m in charge of delivering materials to the clothing making serfs and the building maintenance serfs. I’m also in charge of chasing loose farm animals down, since I’m a fast runner. I actually quite like my job. It’s much easier than cutting firewood and working on the fields. My life is much easier compared to those people. During dinner, I heard some fellow serfs talking about Feudalism. I used to dislike Feudalism, since it seemed like we serfs didn’t get rewarded much for our work. But now I’m okay with it. In exchange for our hard work, we get meals and a home to stay in. We don’t receive much, but without Feudalism we wouldn’t even have these things at all. We also receive protection from attacks. If Vikings sail in and try to invade the castle, our Lord is obligated to protect and keep us away from danger. I think it’s a pretty fair deal, even though we can’t marry or leave the manor without the Lord’s permission. Although, I would be much happier if I was a noble or a knight.
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Oct 16
Today was an interesting day. When I woke up, it was snowing outside. All the serfs took out their thicker clothing. We all ate breakfast together, as usual, then went to work. Everything was normal until noon. During lunch, we saw a man standing barefoot on the doorstep of the pope’s castle. He was speaking to a pope. I couldn’t hear or see very clearly from so far. But when I went closer, I saw that the barefoot man was King Henry IV, and the pope was Pope Gregory VII. King Henry was begging Pope Gregory for forgiveness. Turns out, he got excommunicated. Everyone is scared of excommunication. If you get excommunicated, you can’t go to heaven. Religion is a very important part of my life, so it would be really scary if it happened to me. People always say that the church is good and true, but I don’t think the church is very fair to people. They take indulgences, where people pay them money to erase sins, which is basically buying their way into heaven. But only rich people can do that. People who are poor can’t afford to spend so much money. So in the end, only rich people get into heaven. The church also collects tithe, where people give 10% of their income to the church in order to save their souls. It’s also unfair. Poor people don’t have much they can give away. If they give away 10% of their income, they end up with virtually nothing. After lunch, things went back to normal. There were no more surprises, and everything ran smoothly. I wish every day could be as exciting as today. Compared to today, all the other days seem so dull now.
Today was an interesting day. When I woke up, it was snowing outside. All the serfs took out their thicker clothing. We all ate breakfast together, as usual, then went to work. Everything was normal until noon. During lunch, we saw a man standing barefoot on the doorstep of the pope’s castle. He was speaking to a pope. I couldn’t hear or see very clearly from so far. But when I went closer, I saw that the barefoot man was King Henry IV, and the pope was Pope Gregory VII. King Henry was begging Pope Gregory for forgiveness. Turns out, he got excommunicated. Everyone is scared of excommunication. If you get excommunicated, you can’t go to heaven. Religion is a very important part of my life, so it would be really scary if it happened to me. People always say that the church is good and true, but I don’t think the church is very fair to people. They take indulgences, where people pay them money to erase sins, which is basically buying their way into heaven. But only rich people can do that. People who are poor can’t afford to spend so much money. So in the end, only rich people get into heaven. The church also collects tithe, where people give 10% of their income to the church in order to save their souls. It’s also unfair. Poor people don’t have much they can give away. If they give away 10% of their income, they end up with virtually nothing. After lunch, things went back to normal. There were no more surprises, and everything ran smoothly. I wish every day could be as exciting as today. Compared to today, all the other days seem so dull now.
![Picture](/uploads/3/8/8/2/38821625/7815351.jpg?169)
Oct 23
Today was full of events. The chain of events started a long time ago. Two months before now, during breakfast, an army of knights marched past the manor. It was a scary day. They each had a red cross stitched onto their clothes, and they carried lots of weapons, as if they were on their way to war. They stopped at the front door, and our lord went out to talk. A minute later he came back in with a grim expression on his face. He called an assembly and told all the serfs about what was happening. Turns out, the troops were on their way to a Holy War, also known as crusades. He told us that the pope called for the crusade because a group of Arabs took control of Jerusalem. His goal is to retake Jerusalem. Then our lord said that the army was taking recruits to go fight with them. If we joined the army, we would be gifted with the chance to move up the social pyramid if we fought well. And if we died during the war, we would be automatically welcomed into heaven. After hearing this, most of the serfs chose to join the army. But I didn’t. Sure, the thought of glory and heaven was tempting, but it was likely that I would die, and I wanted to live longer. In the end, the army had about 30,000 people.
Now, after two months, the troops came back. Everyone in the army looked tired and injured, but they were all grinning. I scanned the army for serfs I knew, but sadly only a fraction of the ones who went survived. They announced to us that they won, and that Jerusalem was ours again. Everyone yelled and cheered for our victory. I was curious about how the army won, so I asked one of the knights. He said that they sieged the city, then massacred all the enemies.
I’m pretty happy that our army won, but I kind of feel bad for the enemies. Judging by the knight’s description of what happened during the crusade, the enemies’ deaths were kind of gruesome. And in addition to all these things, my life changed a lot after the crusade. Most of the serfs at the manor joined the army and died during the fight, so now there’s only about ten serfs left. Lucky for us remaining serfs though, our lord is now nicer to us, since the army’s victory put him into a good mood.
Today was full of events. The chain of events started a long time ago. Two months before now, during breakfast, an army of knights marched past the manor. It was a scary day. They each had a red cross stitched onto their clothes, and they carried lots of weapons, as if they were on their way to war. They stopped at the front door, and our lord went out to talk. A minute later he came back in with a grim expression on his face. He called an assembly and told all the serfs about what was happening. Turns out, the troops were on their way to a Holy War, also known as crusades. He told us that the pope called for the crusade because a group of Arabs took control of Jerusalem. His goal is to retake Jerusalem. Then our lord said that the army was taking recruits to go fight with them. If we joined the army, we would be gifted with the chance to move up the social pyramid if we fought well. And if we died during the war, we would be automatically welcomed into heaven. After hearing this, most of the serfs chose to join the army. But I didn’t. Sure, the thought of glory and heaven was tempting, but it was likely that I would die, and I wanted to live longer. In the end, the army had about 30,000 people.
Now, after two months, the troops came back. Everyone in the army looked tired and injured, but they were all grinning. I scanned the army for serfs I knew, but sadly only a fraction of the ones who went survived. They announced to us that they won, and that Jerusalem was ours again. Everyone yelled and cheered for our victory. I was curious about how the army won, so I asked one of the knights. He said that they sieged the city, then massacred all the enemies.
I’m pretty happy that our army won, but I kind of feel bad for the enemies. Judging by the knight’s description of what happened during the crusade, the enemies’ deaths were kind of gruesome. And in addition to all these things, my life changed a lot after the crusade. Most of the serfs at the manor joined the army and died during the fight, so now there’s only about ten serfs left. Lucky for us remaining serfs though, our lord is now nicer to us, since the army’s victory put him into a good mood.
![Picture](/uploads/3/8/8/2/38821625/9657375.png?228)
0ct 28
The last few days were a nightmare. Over the past few days, a strange disease broke out. It started infecting people at an impossibly fast rate. Nearly half of the serfs at the manor got infected. At first the disease didn’t seem too bad, but then the infected people started dying everywhere, and the uninfected people panicked. The disease became known as the bubonic plague. People wanted to know how this deadly disease got here, so they searched the ports and entrances of the city for answers. Turns out, the disease came from China. The chinese traders brought along the disease by accident when they came to trade with us. Rats and fleas also carry the disease, which is really frightening, because the streets here are full of both.
The disease is really scary. People who contracted it got black sores all over their bodies, which doctors called buboes. People tried all types of medicines, and even made their own, but nothing worked. Everyone became so afraid of the disease that they locked themselves into their houses to avoid other people. They even stopped showering. The doctors couldn’t treat it either. They tried numerous treatments, but nothing helped, not even blood-letting, which worked fine on other illnesses. Blood-letting is when doctors let some of your blood out. One person’s idea actually helped though. His name is Nostradomus. At first, Nostradomus’ ideas seemed really strange. He told people to breathe fresh air and shower frequently, which was the opposite of what everyone was doing. But soon everyone noticed how his way actually worked better than theirs. Sadly, Nostradomus’ ideas weren’t enough to save everyone’s life. The infected serfs at the manor all died, and the remaining ones are all scared that they’ll be next. So far, I haven’t been infected yet, and neither has our lord. I’m actually hoping for him to get the plague. Because if he dies, all the serfs would be freed from the manor. It’s a despicable thought. But it would at least mean that the plague wasn’t a completely bad thing.
The last few days were a nightmare. Over the past few days, a strange disease broke out. It started infecting people at an impossibly fast rate. Nearly half of the serfs at the manor got infected. At first the disease didn’t seem too bad, but then the infected people started dying everywhere, and the uninfected people panicked. The disease became known as the bubonic plague. People wanted to know how this deadly disease got here, so they searched the ports and entrances of the city for answers. Turns out, the disease came from China. The chinese traders brought along the disease by accident when they came to trade with us. Rats and fleas also carry the disease, which is really frightening, because the streets here are full of both.
The disease is really scary. People who contracted it got black sores all over their bodies, which doctors called buboes. People tried all types of medicines, and even made their own, but nothing worked. Everyone became so afraid of the disease that they locked themselves into their houses to avoid other people. They even stopped showering. The doctors couldn’t treat it either. They tried numerous treatments, but nothing helped, not even blood-letting, which worked fine on other illnesses. Blood-letting is when doctors let some of your blood out. One person’s idea actually helped though. His name is Nostradomus. At first, Nostradomus’ ideas seemed really strange. He told people to breathe fresh air and shower frequently, which was the opposite of what everyone was doing. But soon everyone noticed how his way actually worked better than theirs. Sadly, Nostradomus’ ideas weren’t enough to save everyone’s life. The infected serfs at the manor all died, and the remaining ones are all scared that they’ll be next. So far, I haven’t been infected yet, and neither has our lord. I’m actually hoping for him to get the plague. Because if he dies, all the serfs would be freed from the manor. It’s a despicable thought. But it would at least mean that the plague wasn’t a completely bad thing.
![Picture](/uploads/3/8/8/2/38821625/3956761.jpg?190)
Nov 4
Today’s events were incredible. You are not going to believe what happened. King John’s nobles and archbishops got tired of his cruelty and rebelled against him! They made him sign the Magna Carta, a contract that limited his power. Now that he has to follow rules just like everyone else, other people have more rights. Because of this, the government is better too. Before, the king made all the decisions. Now there are two groups of people that make decisions. The house of commons, and the house of lords. The king has to consult with both groups before a decision is made. This makes everything more fair, and also made Feudalism decline. Other than this, there are also other events that caused Feudalism to waver. Because of the crusades, the exposure to the new cultures made people more interested in trade. Trading became very important, and learning became important as well. Speaking of trade, we found out that china invented a really useful weapon called gunpowder. Now that there’s gunpowder, knights have become irrelevant. The black plague also contributed to the decline of Feudalism. Many people died of the black plague, including owners of manors. If a lord dies, all the serfs at his or her manor is automatically freed. This completely violated Feudalism’s usual rules. More than half of the serfs at the manor died, as well as our lord. Amazingly, I’m still alive. I’ve managed to evade the sickness. And now that our lord is gone, the remaining serfs are now freed from the manor! It’s such an impossible thought. Almost all serfs are bound to the manor for their entire lives. But I actually can leave now! I’m planning to explore the city, maybe even leave and go see another city. I’ll open a shop to earn money, and I’ll live happily for the rest of my life. I’ll never have to serve anyone ever again!
Today’s events were incredible. You are not going to believe what happened. King John’s nobles and archbishops got tired of his cruelty and rebelled against him! They made him sign the Magna Carta, a contract that limited his power. Now that he has to follow rules just like everyone else, other people have more rights. Because of this, the government is better too. Before, the king made all the decisions. Now there are two groups of people that make decisions. The house of commons, and the house of lords. The king has to consult with both groups before a decision is made. This makes everything more fair, and also made Feudalism decline. Other than this, there are also other events that caused Feudalism to waver. Because of the crusades, the exposure to the new cultures made people more interested in trade. Trading became very important, and learning became important as well. Speaking of trade, we found out that china invented a really useful weapon called gunpowder. Now that there’s gunpowder, knights have become irrelevant. The black plague also contributed to the decline of Feudalism. Many people died of the black plague, including owners of manors. If a lord dies, all the serfs at his or her manor is automatically freed. This completely violated Feudalism’s usual rules. More than half of the serfs at the manor died, as well as our lord. Amazingly, I’m still alive. I’ve managed to evade the sickness. And now that our lord is gone, the remaining serfs are now freed from the manor! It’s such an impossible thought. Almost all serfs are bound to the manor for their entire lives. But I actually can leave now! I’m planning to explore the city, maybe even leave and go see another city. I’ll open a shop to earn money, and I’ll live happily for the rest of my life. I’ll never have to serve anyone ever again!