Take me back 600 years, and I would have has a different opinion. Medieval life in the towns seemed horrific. The constant threat of fires and the perpetual smell of waste would have kept me at my lord's manor.
I wonder what importance my students will find in town life. Yes, towns were the lifeblood of medieval society. But, this was also the epicenter of the Black Death. If we could have polled the people living in the Middle Ages, I wonder if they would have shared my same fascination?
Today in class we talked about the townspeople of the middle ages. So so what who cares about them? One thing that I have realized is that the townspeople were very important to the life of medieval people. The townspeople would have been your merchants and crafters that brought wealth and goods to the city. Without these townsfolk you wouldn't have been able to get your general goods like pots and pans, tables etc. They often held great power in towns because they would join together in a guild to distribute their goods throughout the town. As you can see townspeople were very important to medieval society, that is why people care.
Middle Ages: So What, Who Cares?
As I address this question, my immediate response is because it affects our daily lives whether we know it or not. Have you ever wondered where the handy-dandy microscope in the office came from? Guess what- from the Middle Ages. During this time period, there was a development of lenses which made advancements to microscopes, telescopes, and glasses. Yes, glasses- the item you wear on your head at all times of the day. So what, who cares? You should because the inventions of the Middle Ages affect your life every single day.
Alright, still don’t care about the whole “Middle Ages” term? You know, that Mona Lisa portrait you learned about in art class affects our daily lives more than you think it does. As there is a race to the discovery of who exactly the Mona Lisa is, every day there is further knowledge. Recently, the University of California was granted 25,000 dollars to explore facial recognition features from fine art. As we wait and see what we find, people continue to question the Mona Lisa and the Middle Ages. Fine art affects what you learn in art class for art techniques, math class for calculations of the painting, and science to advance in technology. So what, who cares? The correct response is you and I, every single day. 
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