Compare and Contrast Essay
In every single civilization, there are always important historical events, technology advancements, and lifestyle. Even though all civilizations are different in their own way, they all started the same way and have many of the same ideas. In this essay, there will be comparisons between Medieval Europe and Ancient Rome. These places were generally in the same area, Europe. Although they’re in the same area, they still have many differences. In this comparison, I will be comparing Medieval Europe with Ancient Rome.
In Medieval Europe, there were the aristocrats, knights, commoners, and peasants. These 4 orders of hierarchy had determined what people had owned, what they could eat, and where they lived (Lilly, 1999). People of this time had very bad hygiene and usually got diseases or illness. One fatal disease that most Europeans had caught was the Bubonic Plague (Cantor, 2005). Due to horrible hygiene, this disease had spread out to half of the population. Homes were made of timber, stone, and straw (singman, 2005). Most people’s daily meal was consisted of a lot of vegetables, some meat, and bread. The higher classes usually ate many types of meats, sweets, and other non-nutritious foods (Adamson, 1995). People of this higher class usually lived shorter lives due to the lack of healthy foods. Cities in Medieval Europe were greatly over-crowded due to immigrations from neighboring cities, which left people who could not find homes or jobs. School education was only given to boys, while girls were home schooled. This is because most men worked jobs or farms, while the women stayed home, prepared meals, and cleaned (Butt, 2002).
-Cantor, N. F. (2005). Black Death Overview. Retrieved 3 19, 2013, from Daily Life through History: http://dailylife.abc-clio.com/Analyze/Display/1512967?cid=20&terms=Black+death
-Lilly, K. D. (1999). Urban and Rural Life in Medieval Europe. Retrieved 3 19, 2013, from Daily Life through History: http://dailylife.abc-clio.com/Topics/Display/1425940?sid=1426030&cid=96&useConcept=False
-singman, J. L. (2005). Housing in Medieval Europe. Retrieved 3 19, 2013, from Daily Life through History: http://dailylife.abc-clio.com/Topics/Display/1425940?sid=1425974&cid=101&useConcept=False
In Ancient Rome, there were three social classes which were the Upper class, Lower class, and Slave class. The city had strict rules of which you had to follow, and schools treated students poorly. Most people learned from their fathers 80% of the time (Bonnor, 1977). Homes were cramped, and made entirely of wood. If a fire were to have spread, the whole area would be devastated to their poor firefighting skills. One fire was said to last 6 days straight until it was put out. Sewage systems were also not invented, so bathroom wastes were dumped onto streets, leaving the whole area filthy. Food in Ancient Rome was mostly grains, and usually cooked over an open fire (Dupont, 2001).
Some similarities between these two areas are that both had the same main food source, which were grains. Cities were also both largely over populated, and very loud. Both of the poor people’s had to live in poorly built homes, ate mostly small portions, and lastly, jobs were hard to find. For the rich people’s, they had nicely built homes, and ate many sweets. One last similarity was with their education, which some had been home schooled for various purposes.
As you can see, although these two areas had similarities and were in the same area, they were both very different in their own ways. They were also very similar in their own ways. This comparison of these two empires is a great example for other areas of the world, showing that no matter where you are, there will be something similar everywhere you go.
In every single civilization, there are always important historical events, technology advancements, and lifestyle. Even though all civilizations are different in their own way, they all started the same way and have many of the same ideas. In this essay, there will be comparisons between Medieval Europe and Ancient Rome. These places were generally in the same area, Europe. Although they’re in the same area, they still have many differences. In this comparison, I will be comparing Medieval Europe with Ancient Rome.
In Medieval Europe, there were the aristocrats, knights, commoners, and peasants. These 4 orders of hierarchy had determined what people had owned, what they could eat, and where they lived (Lilly, 1999). People of this time had very bad hygiene and usually got diseases or illness. One fatal disease that most Europeans had caught was the Bubonic Plague (Cantor, 2005). Due to horrible hygiene, this disease had spread out to half of the population. Homes were made of timber, stone, and straw (singman, 2005). Most people’s daily meal was consisted of a lot of vegetables, some meat, and bread. The higher classes usually ate many types of meats, sweets, and other non-nutritious foods (Adamson, 1995). People of this higher class usually lived shorter lives due to the lack of healthy foods. Cities in Medieval Europe were greatly over-crowded due to immigrations from neighboring cities, which left people who could not find homes or jobs. School education was only given to boys, while girls were home schooled. This is because most men worked jobs or farms, while the women stayed home, prepared meals, and cleaned (Butt, 2002).
- - Cited Adamson, M. W. (1995). Food and Drink in Medieval Europe. Retrieved 2 19, 2013, from Daily life through History: http://dailylife.abc-clio.com/Topics/Display/1425940?sid=1425960&cid=100&useConcept=False
-Cantor, N. F. (2005). Black Death Overview. Retrieved 3 19, 2013, from Daily Life through History: http://dailylife.abc-clio.com/Analyze/Display/1512967?cid=20&terms=Black+death
-Lilly, K. D. (1999). Urban and Rural Life in Medieval Europe. Retrieved 3 19, 2013, from Daily Life through History: http://dailylife.abc-clio.com/Topics/Display/1425940?sid=1426030&cid=96&useConcept=False
-singman, J. L. (2005). Housing in Medieval Europe. Retrieved 3 19, 2013, from Daily Life through History: http://dailylife.abc-clio.com/Topics/Display/1425940?sid=1425974&cid=101&useConcept=False
In Ancient Rome, there were three social classes which were the Upper class, Lower class, and Slave class. The city had strict rules of which you had to follow, and schools treated students poorly. Most people learned from their fathers 80% of the time (Bonnor, 1977). Homes were cramped, and made entirely of wood. If a fire were to have spread, the whole area would be devastated to their poor firefighting skills. One fire was said to last 6 days straight until it was put out. Sewage systems were also not invented, so bathroom wastes were dumped onto streets, leaving the whole area filthy. Food in Ancient Rome was mostly grains, and usually cooked over an open fire (Dupont, 2001).
- Works Cited Bonnor, S. (1977). Education in the Roman Empire. Retrieved 3 19, 2013, from Daily Life through History: http://dailylife.abc-clio.com/Topics/Display/1425736?sid=1425741&cid=99&useConcept=False
Some similarities between these two areas are that both had the same main food source, which were grains. Cities were also both largely over populated, and very loud. Both of the poor people’s had to live in poorly built homes, ate mostly small portions, and lastly, jobs were hard to find. For the rich people’s, they had nicely built homes, and ate many sweets. One last similarity was with their education, which some had been home schooled for various purposes.
As you can see, although these two areas had similarities and were in the same area, they were both very different in their own ways. They were also very similar in their own ways. This comparison of these two empires is a great example for other areas of the world, showing that no matter where you are, there will be something similar everywhere you go.