The common people

Piers_plowman_drolleries public domain wikipedia commonsThey were poor. They did all the menial work. They made up more than 90% of the population. No, I’m not talking about students, not even my hard-working year sevens. I’m referring to the peasants of medieval Europe.

Seedman copyright free from retrokat.com medieval clipartImage kindly provided by http://retrokat.com/medieval

Even in such a lowly group, there were variations in status. Some were free and some were serfs. A serf was like a slave but not quite a slave. My beloved Shorter Oxford (which I carry around in my pocket on my i-Pod) describes a serf in this way: “a person in a condition of servitude or modified slavery”. According to this tome (which in its book form would weigh down even the healthiest peasant), the powers of the master were “more or less limited by law or custom”. You can see that the writers of the Shorter Oxford, being learned types, don’t want to be too specific.

In any case, I doubt whether such precise meanings would have mattered much to the peasants. When you are nearly a slave, but not quite, the finer distinctions might not concern you. (The word “villein” is also used sometimes as a synonym for serf.) Servitude meant that the serfs were subject to the will of the lord of the manor; they could not leave the manor without his permission. They were subjugated, they were poor, they were often hungry; to get through each year would have required unimaginable struggle, grinding toil and, I assume, a fair bit of luck.

Medieval face from http retrokat.com medievalHunger was a constant danger, starvation a real possibility. According to Lacey and Danziger, the writers of The Year 1000: What Life was Like at the Turn of the First Millenium, July in England was the toughest month for the poor to get through. The spring crops had not yet matured; the midsummer harvest produced hay for the animals and nothing for the humans. This time was referred to as “the hungry gap”.

Yet there were some healthy aspects of their lifestyle. They had a very healthy diet, if only they could get enough of it. They lived on a pottage (like a porridge) of grain and vegetables, into which they dipped the hard, coarse and often stale flat bread that they baked. No soft, fluffy bread for them: their bread was a little like a pita bread or nan, but tougher and coarser. The pottage served to soften the hard, stale bread and make it edible. The bread was also used as an edible plate, called a “trencher”.

DETAIL october tilling and sowing pd about.com calendar page of  Les Tres Riches Heures du Duc de BerryA detail from the beautiful 15th century Book of Hours (in the public domain from about.com) called Les Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. This shows October – tilling and sowing.

One of the healthiest aspects of their diet was that they had no sugar. Until the 17th century, when sugar was brought back from the Caribbean, no one in England had sugar. Honey was so precious that it was sometimes used as a currency. Imagine a life without sugar! But at least it meant they experienced almost no dental or jaw decay. The skeletal remains of the Anglo-Saxons in the year 1000 show that they were surprisingly tall, with excellent teeth.

Below are some extra details about their lives, with some websites for you to explore. Don’t work too hard. I don’t want you to feel like serfs.

On the other hand, I’d quite like to feel like a lord…

Did you know…?

Medieval face from http retrokat.com medieval

Medieval peasants worked long hours, produced most of the food and paid most of the taxes. If you want justice, don’t expect to find it in the medieval world.

Medieval face from http retrokat.com medieval

Peasants’ cottages had dirt floors and walls made of mud and straw. There was no glass in their windows and their animals often lived with them.

Medieval face from http retrokat.com medieval

Fleas were common. People expected to have them.

Medieval face from http retrokat.com medieval

Many peasants died in the winter from hypothermia.

Medieval face from http retrokat.com medieval

Outer clothes were rarely washed but wood smoke acted as a kind of deodorant.

Medieval face from http retrokat.com medieval

It has been estimated that 20% of women died in childbirth (this would not have varied much from peasants to the wealthy, presumably). Infant mortality was also high.

CLICK ON THESE SITES TO DISCOVER MORE…

General details of peasant life:

http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/daily-life-peasant-middle-ages.htm

A village street of the Middle Ages: Click on the characters in the street to discover the range of people in medieval life:

http://www.camelotintl.com/village/street.html

Peasant life and housing with pictures of cruckhouses: http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/medieval_peasants.htm

computer_station_sign_pageNow that you have read all that information about peasants, leave a PARAGRAPH comment in irreproachable formal English, answering two or more of the following questions:

1) Read up on the people in the medieval village and think about the advantages and disadvantages of each person. Who would you most like to be and why…. a trader? A peasant? A lord?

2) Which part of being a medieval peasant would you find the hardest? (Think about what you would miss most: Facebook? Warmth? Abundant food? Luxury? A soft bed? PSP? Sugar?)

3) Based on the research you have done, name one modern object/idea/thing you would give a family of medieval peasants (e.g: electricity or a television).

4) Now imagine you could only give the family one medieval object/idea/thing. What would you give them? (e.g: A cow? A new church?)

Make sure you include WHY you think this is the most important thing a medieval family of peasants needs!

Medieval Peasants – and More on the Story of English

Medieval face from http retrokat.com medievalThis little “button” of a medieval person was kindly provided by http://retrokat.com/medieval, a medieval clip art site.

The Life of Medieval Peasants

Piers_plowman_drolleries public domain wikipedia commons

A public domain image from the glowing pages of the Luttrell Psalter, which you can view properly by going to this link: http://www.bl.uk/collections/treasures/luttrell/luttrell_broadband.htm

 

 

(Do not even contemplate clicking on this link at school. Even with broadband and adequate equipment it takes minutes to load. Click on it at home, go and make yourself a cup of milo, do a few rows of knitting or a few minutes of homework and it should be ready for you to turn its magical pages.)

 

DETAIL october tilling and sowing pd about.com calendar page of  Les Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry

A detail from the beautiful 15th century Book of Hours (in the public domain from about.com) called Les Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. This shows October – tilling and sowing.

 

 

Now, some information and websites on medieval peasants:

Did you know…?

Medieval face from http retrokat.com medieval

Medieval peasants worked long hours, produced most of the food and paid most of the taxes. If you want justice, don’t expect to find it in the medieval world.

 

 

Medieval face from http retrokat.com medieval

Peasants’ cottages had dirt floors and walls made of mud and straw. There was no glass in their windows and their animals often lived with them.

 

 

Medieval face from http retrokat.com medieval

Fleas were common. People expected to have them.

 

 

 

 

Medieval face from http retrokat.com medieval

Many peasants died in the winter from hypothermia.

 

 

 

 

Medieval face from http retrokat.com medieval

Outer clothes were rarely washed but wood smoke acted as a kind of deodorant.

 

 

 

Medieval face from http retrokat.com medieval

It has been estimated that 20% of women died in childbirth (this would not have varied much from peasants to the wealthy, presumably). Infant mortality was also high.

 

CLICK ON THESE SITES TO DISCOVER MORE…

General details of peasant life: http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/history/middleages/pdailylife.html

Serfdom – not quite slavery: http://au.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761567780/serfdom.html

Peasant life and housing with pictures of cruckhouses: http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/medieval_peasants.htm

 

Two primary documents on Peasants:

Jean Froissart – a writer and the first war correspondent:

It is the custom in England, as with other countries, for the nobility to have great power over the common people, who are serfs. This means that they are bound by law and custom to plough the field of their masters, harvest the corn, gather it into barns, and thresh and winnow the grain; they must also mow and carry home the hay, cut and collect wood, and perform all manner of tasks of this kind.  (1395)

 

A fragment from a poem by William Langland, written about 600 years ago, which describes the grinding toil and sorrow of a peasant’s life:

 

Seedman copyright free from retrokat.com medieval clipartImage kindly provided by http://retrokat.com/medieval

As I went on my way,
I saw a poor man over the plough bending.
His hood was full of holes,
And his hair was sticking out,
His shoes were patched.
His toes peeped out as he the ground trod.
His wife walked by him
In a skirt cut full and high.
Wrapped in a sheet to keep her from the weather.
Bare foot on the bare ice
So that the blood flowed.
At the field’s end lay a little bowl,
And in there lay a little child wrapped in rags
And two more of two years old upon another side.
And all of them sang a song
That was sorrowful to hear.
They all cried a cry,
A sorrowful note.
And the poor man sighed sore and said,
“Children be still.”

 

Your task: Scan the sites on medieval peasants and make notes on the vital information you need for your assignment. Then copy the poem above into a Word document, making the page A3 in size. Around this poem (and behind it if you wish), scatter images of medieval peasants from internet sites. Use primary source material if you can. You may if you wish draw your own picture to go with this poem.

The Story of English, continued

Can you solve this Anglo-Saxon riddle?

I appear on the ground like a blanket. and melt in the midday sun. What am I?

Here’s a clever one written by a student called Ian three or four years ago:

What runs but never walks?
Has a mouth but never talks?
Has a bed but never sleeps?
 
First, continue to discover the story of our language by looking at Act 2 (The Vikings) and Act 3 (The Normans). Try to answer these questions extra fast (Word file: Ages of English continued) and then do some research on the life of medieval peasants for your medieval assignment. 
 
Ages of English timeline link: CLICK HERE

Act 2: The Vikings Attack and the Anglo-Saxons Fight Back

  • When did the Vikings begin raiding Britain and when did their raids end?
  • When did the Anglo-Saxons strike back?
  • Who was the Anglo-Saxon leader?
  • What was the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle?
  • A poetic device common to the Anglo-Saxons was called a “kenning”. Write down two examples of theirs and then try to write some of your own for our school, the internet, your family car and your i-pod (or another electronic aid).
  • List a few words that came into English from Old Norse (the Vikings’ language).

Act 3: The Normans Conquer (but English Survives)

  • How did the English language develop after the Norman Conquest?
  • What were the three main languages used in England at this time?
  • Look at the types of words that came from the Latin language. What are some common themes?