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9. The early modern age. Humanism and the Renaissance
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Before this period, people ate
with their hands. In the 16th
century, Catherine de Medici
started the fashion of eating
with a fork in the French court,
but this custom took a long time
to spread. It did not become
popular in Spain until after the
Early Modern Age.
It was not considered advisable
to bathe or wash because
it was believed that water
spread disease. Some people
also considered that washing
was impure from a religious
perspective. People rubbed
themselves with a piece of cloth
or only washed their clothes.
Bad smells were neutralised with
perfumes.
In the Early Modern Age women
were considered less important
than men. Their main function
was to have a lot of children.
There was a high infant mortality
rate and few of the children
survived. Breast feeding was
not socially acceptable, so the
women from the nobility and
the upper bourgeoisie paid other
women, called wet nurses, to do
this for them.
Understand
7.
Explainwhy the population increased in the transitional
period between the Middle Ages and the Early Modern
Age.
8.
Which social groups had to pay taxes in this period?
Which groups did not have to pay taxes? Why?
9.
What rights did the peasants and bourgeoisie fight
for?
Analyse
10.
Look at the illustration above and identify at least
one member of each of the different social groups
mentioned in the text. Write a short paragraph
describing this city scene. Explain why cities grew in
this period.
Evaluate
11.
Some past customs such as not washing or eating
without knives and forks seem strange to us
nowadays. Discuss which modern customs you think
will seem strange to future generations.
