I have a couple of questions, hopefully you all can help me out

Anon "the middle ages" is around 1000 years of history, where and when do you specifically mean? The answer is going to vary a lot depending on that.

>>3363802
I wasn't thinking of a specific range, but I guess between the 10th and 16th century is fine. I hope it's not too broad, I'm genuinely curious about this and I'm not sure where else I can ask.

>>3363775
>1) How were people with diaabilities treated? In particular, deafness and muteness. Were they taken care of, hated, treated?

By their families. Deaf and mute people were seen as being disabled, it was mental illness that would attract fear and hatred, schizophrenics in particular were often objects of shame and hate.

>2) Related to n.1, what exactly is illiteracy? Does a person who can't read see words the same way we see egyptian hieroglyphs? Do they understand words and grammar? And would a deaf person be able to use sign language despite not knowing how to write and read?

Sign language does not require written literacy, although it is a related concept. Literacy was generally poor at all levels of society, but again there were exceptions such as England were peasants achieved high levels of literacy because the Common Law allowed them to sue their masters for breaches of the feudal contract, giving them a financial incentive to learn to read so they can check up on their rights.

>3) Was there any slavery during this time? Not quite forced labor, but explicit slavery.

It varied, in the North and West not really, Vikings kept slaves but in very small numbers and this custom died out with the spread of Christianity. Of course, the Byzantine Empire still used slaves in huge numbers, as did the Muslims.

>4) Any big, noteworthy civil wars around this era?

What era? "The middle ages"? Yeah, one or two.

>5) How were different sexual orientations viewed during this time? I imagine a pair of lesbian lovers must've kept it pretty secret.

Lesbianism wasn't understood as a thing. Sodomy was against God and so persecuted, and most people lived in very small communities where everyone knows everyone else, so keeping homolust secret would have been tricky. OTOH, most people then as now didn't much care what you get up to in your bedroom, and I'm sure many homo couples lived more or less openly, tolerated by their neighbors but kept away from the priest.

>>3363876
>tolerated by their neighbors but kept away from the priest.
There are letters around that English noblessent to a priest in the early medieval. They joke about how they'd trust him with their daughters (and their virginity) over the summer, but not their sons.

>>3363965

People don't change. Homolust has never been "polite" in the West, but it's never been something Westerners get too upset about, like they seem to in the Middle East.

>>3363876
Thank you so much for the answers. Any place I can read more on those subjects. Also, what civil wars did you have in mind?

>>3363993

The whole medieval period was one long civil war, with lords switching allegiance and fighting one another pretty much non-stop. If you mean something more like an uprising, try the Hussites and the Peasant's Revolt (spoiler: things went poorly for the rebels), but again nearly the whole period is filled with little other than conflict for any and all reasons.

>>3363843
It's very broad and the 16th isn't really medieval. Also the other anon didn't mention it nut you should also ask for a specific place or at least a region.

>>3363876
The aragonese did have slaves for sure, I spent some time reading documents in medieval catalan/valencian and it's not rare to find a slave or two amongst the possesions when they declare what they have. It was probably a med thing.

>>3363775
>Any big, noteworthy civil wars around this era?
What do you mean by big and noteworthy? Relative to what? All western european kingdoms had at least one internal conflict, most had more.

>>3364023
My bad, I'm not all that good when it comes to history. Specifically, I was thinking of England and what would be Germany today.
>>3364056
I guess I'm thinking of something big like the american civil war or the end of the shogunate in japan.

>>3364087

Hundred Years War was a civil war between Normans or control over France.

>>3364095
Thanks, I'll check it out.