Near their homes, peasants had little gardens that contained lettuce, carrots, radishes, tomatoes, beets and other vegetables. They also might have fruit and nut trees. If the peasant was wealthy enough to have cows or goats, the family would have cheese and milk. Many peasants died when the weather was too wet or too dry.
Houses were constructed of stone or of branches covered with mud and straw. The rooms had dirt floors and a few furnishings in the common room, such as stools, tables, chairs and chests. An open fireplace was in the common room. Candles were used to light the inside of the house. In a peasant household, everyone was needed to work in the fields. Often children as young as age 2 were left alone. Many accidents happened. Men were the head of the household and the wife was his property — to be treated in any way he wanted.
Men were allowed to divorce their wives, but women were not allowed to divorce their husbands. They believed that faith could take them to a world that was certainly easier than the one in which they lived. Peasants generally observed the Sabbath and celebrated church holidays.
All rights reserved. Peasants In the Middle Ages, there was a definite structure in society. Clothing Because they were poor, their clothing was usually rough wool or linen. Men wore tunics and long stockings. Serfs were the poorest of the peasant class, and were a type of slave. Lords owned the serfs who lived on their lands. In exchange for a place to live, serfs worked the land to grow crops for themselves and their lord. In addition, serfs were expected to work the farms for the lord and pay rent.
Everyday peasants could be educated and marry if they could afford it. Farmers were a bit better off than peasants, as some owned their own farms. Most worked the farm lands themselves or with the aid of peasants and serfs. Farmers and peasants lived in simple dwellings called cottages.
They built their own homes from wood and the roofs were thatched made of bundles of reeds that have to be replaced periodically. The interior walls were generally made of wattle and daub — an arrangement of twigs weaved into a wall shape and coated with mud and straw to make a hard, plaster-like surface to keep out drafts. Often farmers, peasants and serfs brought their animals into their homes to protect them. Carpenters were highly skilled and considered to be elite tradesmen.
To become a carpenter, it was usually necessary to join a guild as an apprentice and learn the craft. Many were no longer settled in isolated farms but had gathered into small communities, usually known as manors or villages. These peasants were often subject to noble overlords and owed them rents and other services, in a system known as manorialism.
There remained a few free peasants throughout this period and beyond, with more of them in the regions of southern Europe than in the north. The practice of assarting, or bringing new lands into production by offering incentives to the peasants who settled them, also contributed to the expansion of population. Castles began to be constructed in the 9th and 10th centuries in response to the disorder of the time, and provided protection from invaders and rival lords.
They were initially built of wood, then of stone. Once castles were built, towns built up around them. A major factor in the development of towns included Viking invasions during the early Middle Ages, which led to villages erecting walls and fortifying their positions. Following this, great medieval walled cities were constructed with homes, shops, and churches contained within the walls.
York, England, which prospered during much of the later medieval era, is famed for its medieval walls and bars gates , and has the most extensive medieval city walls remaining in England today. The practice of sending children away to act as servants was more common in towns than in the countryside. The inhabitants of towns largely made their livelihoods as merchants or artisans, and this activity was strictly controlled by guilds.
The members of these guilds would employ young people—primarily boys—as apprentices, to learn the craft and later take position as guild members themselves. York city and walls. View of the city looking northeast from the city wall. The spires of York Minster are visible in the background. Medieval villages consisted mostly of peasant farmers, with the structure comprised of houses, barns, sheds, and animal pens clustered around the center of the village.
Beyond this, the village was surrounded by plowed fields and pastures. For peasants, daily medieval life revolved around an agrarian calendar, with the majority of time spent working the land and trying to grow enough food to survive another year.
Church feasts marked sowing and reaping days and occasions when peasant and lord could rest from their labors. Peasants that lived on a manor by the castle were assigned strips of land to plant and harvest. They typically planted rye, oats, peas, and barley, and harvested crops with a scythe, sickle, or reaper. Each peasant family had its own strips of land; however, the peasants worked cooperatively on tasks such as plowing and haying. They were also expected to build roads, clear forests, and work on other tasks as determined by the lord.
The houses of medieval peasants were of poor quality compared to modern houses. The floor was normally earthen, and there was very little ventilation and few sources of light in the form of windows. In addition to the human inhabitants, a number of livestock animals would also reside in the house. Towards the end of the medieval period, however, conditions generally improved. Peasant houses became larger in size, and it became more common to have two rooms, and even a second floor.
Comfort was not always found even in the rich houses. Heating was always a problem with stone floors, ceilings, and walls. Not much light came in from small windows, and oil- and fat-based candles often produced a pungent aroma.
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