Slavery and Chains in the Middle Ages

Slavery and Chains in the Middle Ages When the Western Roman Empire fell in the 15th century, slavery, which had been such an integral part of the empires economy, began to be replaced by serfdom (an integral part of a feudal economy). Much attention is focused on the serf. His plight was not much better than the slaves had been, as he was bound to the land instead of to an individual owner, and could not be sold to another estate. However, slavery didnt go away. How Slaves Were Captured and Sold In the earliest part of the Middle Ages, slaves could be found in many societies, among them the Cymry in Wales and the Anglo-Saxons in England. The Slavs of central Europe were often captured and sold into slavery, usually by rival Slavonic tribes. Moors were known to keep slaves and believed that setting a slave free was an act of great piety. Christians also owned, bought, and sold slaves, as evidenced by the following: When the Bishop of Le Mans transferred a large estate to the Abbey of St. Vincent in 572, 10 slaves went with it.In the seventh century, the wealthy Saint Eloi bought British and Saxon slaves in batches of 50 and 100 so that he could set them free.A transaction between Ermedruda of Milan, and a gentleman by the name of Totone, recorded the price of 12 new gold solidi for a slave boy (referred to as it in the record). Twelve solidi were much less than the cost of a horse.In the early 9th century, the Abbey of St. Germain des Prà ©s listed 25 of their 278 householders as slaves.In the turmoil at the end of the Avignon Papacy, the Florentines engaged in insurrection against the pope. Gregory XI excommunicated the Florentines and ordered them enslaved wherever taken.In 1488, King Ferdinand sent 100 Moorish slaves to Pope Innocent VIII, who presented them as gifts to his cardinals and other court notables.Women slaves taken after the fall of Capua in 1501 were put up for sale in Rome. Motivations Behind Slavery in the Middle Ages The ethics of the Catholic Church concerning slavery throughout the Middle Ages seem difficult to comprehend today. While the Church succeeded in protecting the rights and well-being of slaves, no attempt was made to outlaw the institution. One reason is economic. Slavery had been the basis of a sound economy for centuries in Rome, and it declined as serfdom slowly rose. However, it rose again when the Black Death swept Europe, dramatically reducing the population of serfs and creating a need for more forced labor. Another reason is that slavery had been a fact of life for centuries, as well. Abolishing something so deeply entrenched in all of the society would be about as likely as abolishing the use of horses for transportation. Christianity and the Ethics of Slavery Christianity had spread like wildfire partly because it offered life after death in paradise with a heavenly Father. The philosophy was that life was terrible, injustice was everywhere, disease killed indiscriminately, and the good died young while the evil thrived. Life on earth simply wasnt fair, but life after death was ultimately fair: the good were rewarded in Heaven and the evil were punished in Hell. This philosophy could sometimes lead to a laissez-faire attitude toward social injustice, although, as in the case of good Saint Eloi, certainly not always. Christianity had an ameliorating effect on slavery. Western Civilization and Being Born Into a Class Perhaps the world-view of the medieval mind can explain a great deal. Freedom and liberty are fundamental rights in 21st-century Western civilization. Upward mobility is a possibility for everyone in America today. These rights were only won after years of struggle, bloodshed, and outright war. They were foreign concepts to medieval Europeans, who were accustomed to their highly-structured society. Each individual was born into a particular class and that class, whether powerful nobility or largely impotent peasantry, offered limited options and strongly-ingrained duties. Men could become knights, farmers, or craftsmen like their fathers or join the Church as monks or priests. Women could marry and become the property of their husbands, instead of the property of their fathers, or they could become nuns. There was a certain amount of flexibility in each class and some personal choice. Occasionally, an accident of birth or an extraordinary will would help someone deviate from the course medieval society had set. Most medieval people would not see this situation as restrictive as we do today. Source Slavery and Serfdom in the Middle Ages by Marc Bloch; translated by W.R. BeerSlavery in Germanic Society During the Middle Ages by Agnes Mathilde WergelandLife in Medieval Times by Marjorie RowlingThe Encyclopedia AmericanaThe History Medren, Melissa Snell, 1998-2017

Whistleblowing Ethics Essay Sample

Whistleblowing Ethics Essay Sample Whistleblowing Ethics Essay Perhaps, one of the most difficult things to do when inside an organizational setting is saying when â€Å"enough is enough†. Although it is true that every organization, workplace, or community has their own flaws, just as how they have their own rules, delineating what is ‘going beyond’ is not exactly as easy as it sounds like. Therefore, any individual regardless of his/her rank, gender, class, age, etc. must know when to blow the whistle. In order to do this, one must first know what is enough and even this is subject to limitations. As for many experts out there, the belief is that the threshold for any flaws or mistakes that are committed within an organization is if it poses certain threats to the organization and the people around it, or if it crosses and undermines the ‘rule of law’ as established by the society. In this equation, one might ask about the ethics of whistleblowing in doing this, since at times conflicts might arise in terms of â€Å"loyalties† especially if the one doing the mishaps is a friend, colleague, or even a family member. However, by looking into it, it is also more unethical to let someone get away with their wrongdoings since it might not only damage the system or the organizations as well as the people around them but even the people that someone cares for. Nevertheless, this debate is still ongoing today with plenty of people being subscribed to both sides. In other situations, it might still be harder to blow the whistle, even if ethics is not on the line. This is most likely due to inefficiencies and other difficulties in the system itself such as the method or channels of reporting or even the hierarchy with which to do things. Perhaps, the system is too bureaucratic that it takes a long time for these reports to go to the right people who could and would do the necessary steps to cull these mishaps. In these cases, people how directly sees the action might feel a little bit frustrated and ‘unethical’ since their actions are not reaping what is needed. Thus, this is the time when these people do unnecessary steps which, instead of helping improve the situation, lead to conflicts and other actions which lead to other circumstances that make matters worse. These actions are usually outside of simply â€Å"whistle blowing† (which is healthy in the correct circumstances) are now also considered unethical since they tr y to circumvent the established laws are regulations which are designed to deal with these matters. Although there are other people who believe that these are acts of heroism, most of the times stepping out of these established notions could just lead to more trouble and are not exactly the best thing to do in order to bring peace and harmony to each and every member of the organization. Nonetheless, ethics in itself is a very complicated matter. What might seem ethical for one person, might not be for another. This is exactly the case for whistleblowing and thus for any individual who experiences this dilemma, it is important to know that when confused and frustrated about what to do, the best way might be to stick with the pre-established channels and methods of dealing with conflict. By doing this, not only are these individuals doing their part for the betterment of society, they are also doing a part for both the betterment of themselves (as a member of a collection of individuals) and at times, the betterment of the people whom they â€Å"blow the whistle† for.