living in the middle ages (living in the ancient world)

L I V I N G I N …

MIDDLEAGES

THE

L I V I N G I N …

MIDDLEAGES

THE

Series consultant editor: Norman Bancroft Hunt

LIVING IN THE MIDDLE AGES

Text and design © 2009 Thalamus Publishing

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bancroft-Hunt, Norman.Living in the Middle Ages / Norman Bancroft Hunt.

p. cm. -- (Living in the ancient world)Includes index.ISBN 978-0-8160-6341-3

1. Middle Ages--Juvenile literature. 2. Europe--History--476-1492--Juvenile literature. 3.Europe--Social life and customs--Juvenile literature. 4. Civilization, Medieval--Juvenile literature.I.Title. II. Series.

CB351.B34 2008909.07--dc22 2008033137

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For Thalamus PublishingSeries consultant editor: Norman Bancroft HuntContributors: John Haywood,Angus Konstam,Warren LapworthProject editor:Warren LapworthMaps and design: Roger Kean

Printed and bound in China

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1This book is printed on acid-free paper

Picture acknowledgmentsAll illustrations by Oliver Frey except for – Roger Kean: 53 (both), 54 (both), 55; Mike White/Temple Rogers: 18–19 (top), 22–23 (below),24–25, 42–43, 50–51, 60–61, 73, 80–81 (top), 84–85, 86, 88–89, 90–91 (top), 92.

Photographs – Gianni dagli Orti/Corbis: 37 (top), 37 (below), 43 (top), 49, 75; David Reed/Corbis: 54;Archivo Iconografica/Corbis: 40, 43(below), 47, 52, 60, 87;Arte & Immaginari: 84 (center), 84 (below); Philip de Bay/Corbis: 62–63; Bettman/Corbis: 72 (top); ChristiesImages/Corbis: 67 (below); Elio Ciol/Corbis: 84 (left); Corbis: 8–9; Franco Frey: 25 (both), 29 (both); Francis G Mayer: 67 (top);ThalamusPublishing: 2, 19, 20, 28, 34, 36, 39, 44–45, 48 (both), 57 (both), 63, 66 (all), 69, 72 (below), 74, 76, 82–83 (all); Nik Wheeler/Corbis: 53.

CONTENTS

Introduction

Place in History 6

What the Middle Ages Did for Us 7

Landscape and Climate 8

A Brief History of Medieval Europe, 800–1450 CE 10

Table of Major Dates 12

Chapter 1:Working for the Overlord

A Life of Obligations 14

The Early Medieval Village 16

A Peasant’s Life in the Farming Year 18

Local Medieval Government 22

The Manor House 24

Chapter 2: Life in the Castle

An Early Feudal Castle 26

The Medieval Stone Castle 28

A Castle Under Siege 30

Building a Castle 32

Jobs in the Castle 35

The Noble Family 36

Men-at-Arms 38

The Road to Chivalry 40

Jousting—the Sport of Knights 42

Chapter 3:The Power of the Church

Father of the Community 44

The Abiding Faith 46

Prayer and Toil—the Monastery 48

The Monastery as a Surgery 50

Building God’s House 52

Gothic—Reaching for Heaven 54

Pestilence—the Black Death 56

Chapter 4: Life in a Medieval Town

The Growth of Towns 58

A New Middle Class—the Yeoman 61

A New Middle Class—the Burgher 62

A Burgher’s House 65

A Flowering of Styles 66

Merchants Gang Up 68

The Rise of Education and Universities 70

Books and the New Literature 72

A Hodge-Podge of Laws 74

Punishment Fits the Crime 76

The Town Inn 78

All the Entertainment of the Fair 80

Coinage and Banking 82

A Town’s Trade and Commerce 84

The International Wool Trade 88

The Rigors of the Journey 90

The Medieval Port 92

Glossary 94

Index 96

Place in History

6000 BCE

4000 BCE

3500 BCE

2340 BCE

1900 BCE

1600

BCE

1100

BCE

539

BC

E

3100 BCE

2686 BCE

2200BCE

2040BCE

1782

BCE

1570

BCE10

70BC

E

747

BCE

332

BC

E 30B

CE

2600 BCE

1100

BCE

800

BC

E

500

BC

E 146B

CE

753

BC

E

509

BC

E 27B

CE

476C

E

800CE

1200 CE

1350 CE

1450 CE

1700 CE

7

The period called the “Middle

Ages” is often portrayed as

one of romance, of mighty castles,

of chivalrous knights and their

elegant ladies, but it was also a time

when peasants, through their own

efforts, began to assert their rights.

While it was still a time of

primitive superstition, the Middle

Ages gave us the foundations of

the modern city and the laws to

govern it, the beginnings of

modern democracy, a return to a

monetary economy, the first banks,

the first real books mass-produced

on printing presses, and a merchant

middle class that would soon

promote undreamed of exploration

of the world in their perilously

small sailing ships.

INTRODUCTION

What the Middle AgesDid for Us

8

Landscape and ClimateFrom the rainswept Atlantic seaboard to the edges of theRussian hinterland, western Europe is a land of differingregions, divided by mountain ranges and mighty rivers.

41

42

61

57

1

25

26

30

29

27

28

1. Dublin2. London3. Hamburg4. Copenhagen5. Oslo6. Stockholm7. Reval (Tallinn)8. Riga9. Danzig10. Lübeck11. Caen12. Rouen13. Paris14. Cologne15. Frankfurt16. Munich17. Bordeaux18. Lyon19. Basel20. Zurich21. Arles22. Genoa23. Milan24. Venice25. La Coruña26. Oporto27. Lisbon28. Cadiz29. Toledo30. Málaga31. Valencia32. Barcelona33. Cagliari34. Florence35. Ravenna36. Rome37. Naples38. Palermo39. Syracuse40. Bari

41. Ireland42. Scotland43. England and Wales44. France45. German states

46. Denmark-Norway47. Sweden48. Baltic states49. Lithuania50. Italian states51. Hungary52. Balkan states53. Balearic Islands

54. North Sea55. Baltic Sea56. Adriatic Sea57. Atlantic Ocean58. Mediterranean Sea59. Ionian Sea60. Tyrrhenian Sea61. Spanish states

Europe’s climate varies enormously,from north to south and from west

to east.The temperature gradient fromthe Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean isextreme, being warmer further south.To theeast, winters are bitterly cold due to theprevailing icy winds from the northernTundra region, and summers are dry and hot.However, temperatures are kept on a moreeven keel along the Atlantic seaboard becauseof the moderating effect of the ocean.

Typically, those countries facing theAtlantic Ocean have a much higher averagerainfall than those in the central and easternareas, which are sheltered by the mountainranges of the Pyrenees,Alps, and centralGerman highlands.As a result, northwesternEurope is more suited to growing grain andlivestock.While England is best suited toraising sheep, France is the great granary.

The mountains have a large effect on boththe climate and cultures, naturally dividingone region from another.They are also thewatersheds for Europe’s great rivers, alongwhich most trade flows in the Middle Ages.

At the start of our story, and with theexception of the more arid regions of theSpanish plateau, approximately 80 percent ofEurope is covered by forest.The few roadsthat exist are little more than mud tracks,and almost everyone is engaged withagriculture in one way or another. Not manypeople live in the very few small cities—most inhabit widely scattered villages, oftenof no more than a hundred people.At thestart of the medieval period, that’s all aboutto change…


9

INTRODUCTION

43

44

45

46

46

46 47

48

48

49

50

5050

50

51

52

53

5455

56

60

61

61

58

58

59

52

48

2

1213

17 18

21

20

22

19

14

15

16

23 2435

36

37

39

40

38

31

32

33

34

5 67

8

103

11

9

4

Following the fall of the Roman Empire,Europe faced its bleakest period for

centuries as it was occupied by successivewaves of invaders. Christianity was almostextinguished, but the faith was kept alive byisolated Celtic and Mediterranean monkswho ensured its survival.

A series of Gothic, Saxon, and Frankishstates emerged in western Europe.Theeventual dominance of the Franks innorthwestern Europe created a degree ofstability.The conversion of the Franks toChristianity took place just as Muslims wereinvading Spain, and much of the Iberianpeninsula remained in the hands of these“Moors” for most of the Middle Ages.

Unity of the Holy Roman EmpireThe Merovingian and Carolingian dynastiesof the Frankish kingdom halted the Muslimadvance, and under Charlemagne(r.768–814) the Franks created an empirethat unified western Europe culturally andpolitically.Although this unity wasshort-lived, it was encouraged bythe Roman Catholic Church.

In 800 the institution of the Holy RomanEmpire was created when Pope Leo IIIcrowned Charlemagne “Roman Emperor.”This politically minded move split westernEurope from the Byzantine east, whoseemperor claimed sovereignty over all ofEurope as the direct successor of the ancientRoman rulers.

For centuries to come, Holy RomanEmperors and later French kings wouldbattle with each other for dominance ofItaly—sometimes allied to the pope,sometimes against him.At the start of theperiod, much of Italy was dominated by theLombards, another Germanic “barbarian”race. Soon enough, the southern regionscame under the thumb of Norman invadersand became a battleground betweenNormans, Byzantines, and Germans.

The Normans and feudalismThe Normans were descendants of Vikings

who settled the region of France aroundthe mouth of the River Seine in

about 900.They created the Duchyof Normandy, in theory subject to


A Brief History of Medieval Europe, 800–1450 CEWhile this volume covers the whole period from the late Frankish empire in about800 CE to the beginnings of the Renaissance in about 1450, it concentrates on twoperiods in detail—1000 to 1200 and an “ideal” moment in about 1350–1400.

The Crusades were adefining event of theMiddle Ages. For 200years between 1096and 1291, Europepoured nobles, knights,and armed retinues bythe thousands torecover Jerusalem andthe Holy Land fromMuslims. In the end, itwas a failure andamong some unhappyexamples, the saddestwas that of theChildren’s Crusade of1212. Most never madeit beyond the heel ofItaly, prey to slavers andstarvation.

the Frankish kingdom, but in reality quiteindependent.

Norman adventurers began invading Italyin about 1050, and famously Duke Williamof Normandy conquered Anglo-SaxonEngland in 1066.The Normans and theirAngevin successors were great castle-builders,inspiring a spate of building in all parts ofEurope that saw stone towers appear onalmost every suitable hilltop.

It was the Normans who developedfeudalism to its peak (see page 14).Thissystem of obligation lasted until almostthe end of the Middle Ages, finallyoverthrown by the demands of agrowing middle class of merchants andskilled craftsmen.

The feudal system took rootthroughout western Europe, although theway it operated altered from region toregion.While France and England weresimilar, the numerous rulers of thepatchwork German states kept the peasantryin something approaching slavery.The localrulers also kept themselves more aloof oftheir overlord, the Holy Roman Emperor.His was an elected position, unique inmedieval Europe.

Fighting FranceFrance’s story during the Middle Ages wasone of the king struggling to dominate hisvirtually independent barons. Unity wasneeded to drive the English from their vastholdings in the old Frankish kingdom.

These were the hereditary Norman landsand those of the Angevin (or Plantagenet)dynasty that followed through intermarriage,which originated from the region ofsouthwestern France.

Eventually, the French kings gainedascendancy over their nobles, and theHundred Year’s War (1337–1453) endedEnglish dominion on the Continent.

A growing spate of urbanizationAlthough there were differences in thepeoples, languages, and cultures across

Europe, there were many similarities.TheRoman Catholic Church was the greatdefining power and, in theory at least,from peasant to king, everyone owedallegiance to the pope in Rome asspiritual head of the Church and God’srepresentative on Earth.

In 800, much of Europe wasforested, its low population widelyscattered, mostly peasants tied to thelands of their overlords. By the end of

the Middle Ages Europe had changedbeyond recognition. Most of the forests weregone, cleared for grazing land and to providetimber for building towns and the growingmerchant fleets and navies.

Towns came to dominate the economyand culture. No matter the means of wealth,from Germany to Italy, from England toFrance and Spain (beginning to emerge fromMuslim dominance), the new townsprospered through the efforts of a growingmiddle class of merchants, fueled by cheaplabor, and financed by the new banks ofGermany and northern Italy.

All over the Continent, universities hadappeared, sponsoring a passion for learningand acting as a unifying force between manydifferent countries.With the new knowledgecame discoveries of ancient Greek andRoman teaching, and the way was paved forthe cultural Renaissance.

INTRODUCTION

The pope or anarchbishop anoints aking with oil at hiscoronation. The oilsymbolizes that themonarch has receivedGod’s grace from hisrepresentative on Earth.It also gives popes aclaim to rule the king,a source of muchconflict throughout theMiddle Ages.

12

PEOPLEANDCULTURE

MILITARYANDPOLITICS

• Jewish merchantsin Lombardy open thefirst bank/moneyrepository, 808• Vikings discoverIceland, 861• Technique ofnailed-on horseshoesinvented, 890

• Charlemagnecrowned RomanEmperor, 800• Vikings raid Frenchcoast as far south asthe Loire estuary, 814• Kenneth MacAlpinefounds a unifiedScotland, 844• Danes attack theAnglo-Saxon kingdomof Wessex, 871• Alfred defeats theDanes, 878, Englanddivided between theDanelaw to the northand Wessex in thesouth• Viking fleetbesieges Paris, but isdriven off by Charlesthe Fat, 887

• Abbey of Clunyestablished in France,910• St. Bernard'sHospice founded inSwitzerland, 962• Olaf Skutkonung isfirst Swedish king toaccept Christianity,993

• Magyars enterGermany, 907• Franks recognize asmall area of theSeine estuary as theDuchy of Normandyunder Viking Hrolf(Rollo) the Ganger,911• Rollo annexes all ofNormandy, 923• Battle of Lechfeldends Magyar threatto western Europe,955• First record of silvermining in Germany’sHarz mountains, 964

• Dawn of the newmillennium createswidespread terror;people think it is theDay of Judgment• Lief Erikssondiscovers the NorthAmerican continent,1000• Musical scalesintroduced by Guidod’Arezzo, 1027

• First persecution ofheretics by theChurch, 1012• Danes conquerEngland, 1014• Normanadventurers act asmercenaries in Italy,1015• Navarre annexesCastile in Spain, 1028• Macbeth of Moraykills Duncan in battleat Elgin, Scotland,1040

• Welsh epic poemthe Mabinogion iswritten, 1050• Work begins onWestminster Abbey inLondon, 1052• Appearance ofHalley’s Cometrecorded in BayeuxTapestry, 1066• Start of theInvestiture Crisis thatdamages authority ofthe Holy RomanEmpire, 1075 (until1172)• Construction begunon the Tower ofLondon, 1078• The DomesdayBook compiled, firstsurvey of the MiddleAges, 1087• First Cistercianmonastery founded inCiteaux, France, 1098

• Norman kingdomestablished insouthern Italy, 1053• Macbeth, King ofScots, is killed by hisrival Malcolm, 1057• Duke William ofNormandy defeatsKing Harold atHastings andconquers England,1066• Normans beginconquest of Sicily,1072• Toledo in Spainrecaptured from theMuslims, 1081• First Crusadebegins, 1096• Crusaders captureJerusalem, 1099

• The First Miracle(Passion) Play isperformed, 1110• St. Bernardfounds amonastery atClairvaux, 1115• First trade guildsare recorded, 1120• Pope recognizesthe religiousmilitary Order ofthe KnightsTemplar, 1128• Work begins onrevolutionaryGothic abbeychurch of St. Denisin Paris, 1132• ChartresCathedral built onGothic lines, 1145• First mention ofRussia in historicdocuments, 1147

• Stephen ofBoulogne seizesthe English crownon the death of hisuncle, Henry I. Civilwar breaks out,1135• Start ofHohenstaufendynasty inGermany, 1138• Second Crusadeends in failure,1149

Table of Major DatesAll dates CE 800 900 1000 1050 1100

The peak of Crusader castles,Krak des Chevaliers.

13

INTRODUCTION

• Council of Catharheretics formed insouthern France,1167• Foundation ofOxford University,England, 1167• Romantic verseLancelot is written,1168• Thomas à Becketmurdered in CanterburyCathedral, 1170• First recordedwindmill in westernEurope, 1180• Reynard the Fox iswritten, 1186, a Frenchfable that influencedlater writers • First Florin minted inFlorence, 1189• Teutonic Order ofKnights founded, 1190

• Frederick IBarbarossa(1152–90) becomesHoly Roman Emperor• FrederickBarbarossa sacksMilan in Italy, 1162• Henry II of Englandformally annexesIreland, 1171• Saladin recapturesJerusalem for theMuslims, 1187• Third Crusade isproclaimed, 1189

• Foundation ofCambridge University,1200• Wolfram vonEschenback writes ofknights and chivalryin Parzifal, 1203• Francis of Assisifounds the FranciscanOrder of monks, 1209• Gottfried vonStrassburg writesTristan und Isolde,1210• Danes adopt thefirst national flag inEurope, 1218• Foundation ofNaples University inItaly, 1224• Roger Bacon firstrecords gunpowder inEurope, 1249

• Fourth Crusadeturns from the HolyLand to sackConstantinople, 1204• King John ofEngland agrees tomake England apapal fief, 1213• King John signs theMagna Carta,creating rudiments ofa parliamentarysystem, 1215• Pope orders thecreation of theInquisition to endheresy, 1233

• Minting of goldcoins begins, 1252• Birth of the painterGiotto in Florence,Italy, first of the new“Renaissance” artists,1267• The Venetian MarcoPolo starts his 24-year journey to China,1271• English philosopherRoger Bacon isimprisoned forheresy, 1277• The romantic poemLohengrin is written,1285• Spectacles areinvented, 1290• First mechanicalclocks recorded,1270

• ByzantinesrecaptureConstantinople fromthe fading Latinempire, 1261• Muslim armiescapture Acre, the lastChristian strongholdin Palestine, markingthe end of successfulcrusades, 1291• Edward I’s “ModelParliament” summonsknights and burghersfrom English shiresand towns toparticipate ingovernmentdecisions, 1295

• Dante’s DivineComedy is written,c.1300• Birth of Italian poetand humanist thinkerFrancesco Petrarca(Petrarch), 1304• Giotto paints hisfrescos in Padua,Italy, 1305• Birth of Italianhumanist writerGiovanni Boccaccio,1313• Construction isbegun on the PapalPalace at Avignon inFrance, 1334• Hanseatic Leaguedominates Baltictrade, 1344• Approximately 24million die in theBlack Death,1346–50

• The papacy ismoved from Rome toAvignon, 1305• The English captureand execute Scottishrebel William Wallace,1305• Robert the Brucedefeats Edward II atBannockburn andmakes Scotlandindependent, 1314• Swiss defeatHabsburg dynasty atMorgarten, 1315• Start of theHundred Years Warbetween England andFrance, 1337• Persecution ofJews gathers pace inGermany, 1348

• Black Death endsafter ravaging mostof Europe, 1350• First marineinsurance begins inGenoa, c.1350• Hans Fugger foundsa bank in Augsburg,Germany, 1380• Theologian Wycliffeis expelled fromOxford and his firsttranslation intoEnglish of the Biblecondemned, 1382• Geoffrey Chaucerwrites the CanterburyTales, 1346–1400• King addressesparliament in Englishrather than French forfirst time, 1367• Construction on theBastille fortress inParis begins, 1369

• English victory overthe French at Poiterstemporarily halts theHundred Year’s War,1356• Hundred Year’s Waris renewed, 1369• Start of the “GreatSchism” when twoand then threeopposing popesexisted, 1378–1414• The Peasants’Revolt is led by WattTyler in England,1381

• Italian architectFilippo Brunelleschiproduces his Rules ofPerspective, 1412• The Medici ofFlorence becomepapal bankers, 1414• Joan of Arc relievesthe siege of Orléans,1429• Portuguese sailorsexplore Africa’s westcoast, 1434• Birth of Leonardoda Vinci, 1452

• Owen Glyndwrproclaims himselfPrince of Wales andrebels againstEngland, 1400• French aredecisively defeatedby the English atAgincourt, 1415• The English burnJoan of Arc at thestake in Rouen, 1431• The English aredefeated by theFrench at Castillon,ending the HundredYears War, 1453• Start of the Wars ofthe Roses betweenthe Lancaster andYork dynasties ofEngland, 1455

1150 1200 1250 1300 1350 1400 1450

Monks kept alive theChristian faith and theskills of reading andwriting.

The word feudal comes from the Latinfeudum, or fief (estate).A fief is a parcel

of land held by an individual in return forhis allegiance and military commitment tohis feudal superior.The roots of feudalism goback to the barbarian invasions during thelast years of the Roman Empire.

The holding of a piece of land in returnfor certain obligations was common underRoman law, while the fealty (an oath ofloyalty) sworn by an inferior to his superioris a Germanic tribal tradition. Feudalismsimply combines the two practices.

The feudal system is a pyramid, with theking or a duke at the top and the mass ofpeasants at its base. From top to bottom,feudalism is based around military service.Beneath the king or duke come thepowerful nobles—barons and then counts—and lower down the scale the many lesserknights.

Protection at a priceThe minor lords and knights are mountedwarriors, who need to own the resources tosupply horses, armor, and equipment.Theyare required to devote most of their time tomilitary service.

In return, their overlord grants them landas a fief, including all the peasants livingthere.The peasants, called serfs or villeins, arevirtual slaves of their lord, and toil in thefields to create the wealth the knight needsto fulfill his feudal obligations.

In times of war, the knight conscriptsmany of his serfs to take up arms asinfantrymen to fight for the king or duke.This forced conscription is part of theirobligation to their lord. In return, the lordmust offer his serfs protection, so that theycan sow and harvest the fields in safety andraise children.

CHAPTER 1

Working for the OverlordA Life of ObligationsBeset by enemies—Magyars from the east, Moors from the south, and Vikings fromthe north—the Franks have developed a social and military system that offersprotection against external threat. This structure is known as the feudal system.

15

Servants of a higher authorityIn the war-torn Middle Ages, free farmerslack the means to defend their own lands,and so many seek the protection of a knight.Unfortunately, this means exchanging theirfreeholding status for serfdom, but at least itensures survival.

In theory, it is the king or duke whogrants a knight his fief, but in practice manylesser knights lack the resources to defendtheir land against large invasions. In this case,they often surrender their lands to a morepowerful count or baron. In turn, thisoverlord grants the fief back to the knight,who becomes his vassal, or subject (“vassal”comes from the Latin vassus, meaningservant).

In theory, the king is the feudal overlord,but in reality his barons are supreme in their

own fiefs. Many kings are little more thanfigureheads. Barons administer their ownestates, dispense their own justice, levy taxesand tolls, and demand military service fromtheir vassals. Often, the barons can fieldgreater armies than the king.

The Catholic Church apartIn the Middle Ages, the Church stands apartfrom the feudal system by not being a vassalof king or noble. Under the Carolingiankings—who adopted some aspects ofRoman government—Church lands weregiven special privileges, which have beenmaintained.

Bishops may operate separately from royalauthority.They can also pass local laws, ownthe serfs working on their land, and raisetithes (taxes) as they see fit.

London

York

Hamburg

Ribe

ENGLAND

IRELAND

SCOTLAND

SCANDINAVIA

NEUSTRIA

AUSTRASIA

UMAYYADCALIPHATE

GREECE

Vikings

Magyars

Arabs and Moors

Paris

Tours

Lyons

Narbonne

Toulouse

Athens

Uppsala

Toledo

Cordoba

Gibralta711

711

844

844

8591015

1015

821

936

714

721

732

841

739

845

882

883937

899

908

Rome

Venice

Seville

Raiders of Europe

Corsica

Sardinia

Sicily

Balearics

ATLANTIC

OCEAN

NORTH

SEA

BALTIC

SEA

M E D I T E R R A N E A N S E A

Far left: The feudalpyramid of power—from mighty king orduke down the ranks tothe lowly serfs.

Ludford is a fictitious but authentic earlymedieval village.There are various

reasons for its siting, but the most importantis that the castle guards a ford, which crossesthe river at the highest point barges canreach from the nearby sea.The road here isan old Roman route, and much trade iscarried along it.The knight can increase hiswealth by charging a toll on all merchantstraveling north or south on the road.

Ludford’s lord is Sir Edmund, a knight ofsome eminence, and his manor (see “Lord ofthe manor”) boasts a castle of a type calledmotte and bailey (see pages 26–27), a simpleaffair built on the low rising hill beyond thevillage.The land around the river crossingwas cleared long ago during Roman timesand provides plenty of fertile ground forfarming.

Everyone is a farmerLudford’s population is less than a hundredmen, women, and children.Almost all ofthem work in the fields, although somewomen and a few men are also employed inthe castle, doing menial jobs in the stablesand kitchen.

Some of the population are peasantfarmers, who rent their land from either thelocal priest or from Sir Edmund, the rest arehis serfs.

Children are also expected to toil in thefields, with the youngest looking after thepigs and poultry.There is no school, since noone needs to be able to read, write, or countany more than a handful of farm animals.

16


The Early Medieval VillageAt the heart of every fief is the village—a community wherethe villeins live. It is usually situated close by the localknight’s castle, to offer service and receive his protection.

1

3

5

17

Religious observanceLudford has a small church and a priest wholives in a hut beside it. He also acts aschaplain to the castle, and survives on therent from peasants living on the nearbychurch lands, tithes from the villagers, as wellas a small stipend (salary) from the knight.

However, the monastery at some distancefrom the village also provides religiouscounsel. Its monks share the knight’s revenuefrom tolls and exact tithes (see pages 48–49)on the villagers in return for providingmedical care.

Beyond the outskirts of the village, thedark forest closes in, isolating Ludford fromits nearest neighbors miles away.

The peasant’s hutAt this stage of its development, Ludfordconsists of about 30 families living in roughhuts.These are typically of one or two rooms(see page 20), constructed of simple timberframes filled in with dried turf or “wattle anddaub”—a screen of small branches coveredin a mud made from soil and cow dung,whitewashed after drying out.The floor isjust stamped-down dirt.A portion of thehouse is divided off as a “byre” to stable thelivestock in winter.

The roof is a thatch of straw or riverrushes.There are neither chimneys nor realwindows. Smoke from the hearth escapesthrough a hole in the roof. Furnishings arefew—simple stools, a trestle table, and beds onthe floor made from rushes, straw, or leaves.

CHAPTER 1: WORKING FOR THE OVERLORD

Lord of the manorFrom the Latin manere (to remain, ordwell), manor is the term that describes afeudal lord’s estate.A manor consists of afortified manor house (or castle), one ormore villages, and up to several thousandacres of land divided into meadow,pasture, cultivated fields, and forest.

The farm land is divided into three—about half for the lord of the manor,about a third for the church, and theremainder for the peasants and serfs.Peasants who rent land, called a croft, payfor it by giving at least half of every weekto work for the lord and the church.

1. Ancient Roman road,now fallen intodisrepair.

2. Ford across the river,with the lord’s tollgate.

3. Huts of the villagers.

4. Chapel and priest’shut, and behind it the“tithe barn.”

5. The lord-knight’smotte-and-bailey castle.

6. Benedictinemonastery.

2

4

6

This is an agricultural world in which asmuch as 90 percent of the population is

engaged in farming.The weather shapes thelives of the serfs, and determines theoutcome of the harvest—and whetherpeople will survive or die of famine.Whilethe Church marks the New Year on January1, for the medieval peasant Lady Day, March25, is the start of their New Year. It is thetime when work in the field begins inearnest after the winter lull.

The winter months are far from idle,however. December is occupied withmending tools, carrying out maintenance,and caring for the confined animals. Dungfrom the barns is stockpiled and mixed withmarl (a clay rich in lime used as fertilizer)and spread on the fields. Unfortunately, thereis never enough to fertilize more than theclosest strips.

The spring plantingThe fields are made up of long strips, anddivided into fertile and fallow fields. In orderto give the soil time to recover its fertility,fields are left fallow, or unplanted, for a year,which means only half of the availableground can be used for crops. However, theconcept of crop rotation is catching on andimproving yields (see “The three-field system”).

The first plowing starts in April when thesoil is soft enough to turn easily.A wheeledplow is used on sandy soil, but in heavy clayareas the “moulboard” plow is preferred.Themoulboard, mounted on the right-hand sidebehind the plowshare, turns over the cutearth.The heavy plow is pulled by up toeight oxen or heavy horses, guided by aplowman. Each team is expected to plow anacre a day.

Behind the plowmen come the sowersplanting barley, oats, peas, and beans.Theseed is protected by covering it with soil by“harrowing.”A harrow is effectively a largewooden rake which is dragged over theplanted ground.

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A Peasant’s Life in the Farming YearThe turning seasons mark the basic rhythm of people’s lives.The time of year determines what they do, the length of the working day, and what they eat.

A harrow is used forbreaking up the soil andcovering over seeds. Ithas between four andsix wooden beamscalled bulls, into whichare set wooden pegsprojecting down to rakethe earth. The bulls arejoined together bywooden crossbeams.

A moulboardplow produces a deepfurrow and turns earththat the coulter bladeand plowshare have cutthrough the surface.

The three-field systemOne simple agricultural improvement hasbeen the change from a two- to a three-field system, where one field is plantedwith winter grain, one with spring grain,and the third is left fallow, ready for use inthe following year.This crop rotationsystem improves a village’s productionduring the year by about one third.

Improved horse harnesses and theintroduction of horseshoes has alsoincreased the efficiency of plowing teamsover those using oxen, and horses arebecoming more widely used in farming.

Summer activitiesHaymaking is the main activity of June, andinvolves almost everyone in the village.Teams of haymakers, using long-handledscythes, cut the grass close to the ground.Women and children follow behind themturning the hay to ensure it dries evenly.Finally, the hay is gathered into large stacks.

The hay crop is vital to the village. Itprovides the main winter fodder for animalsand a good crop means a steady supply offresh meat over winter, a good supply ofbreeding stock, or a surplus for sale.

As the summer progresses, the main task isweeding with hoes or a pair of long-handledsticks, one with a Y-fork at the end and theother with a small sickle blade. Usedtogether, they cut the stem of the weed atground level.

The peasants go hungry in July. Grainstores and vegetables are at their lowest andmany peasants eke out their diet by foragingin the forest, some of the more daring bypoaching their lord’s game.

Harvest timeWeather permitting, the main grain harvestbegins in August. Several weeks of warm sunand gentle rain are required for a good cropto grow, but also several dry sunny days areneeded to bring the harvest in.

Wheat is harvested with a sickle and cutjust below the ear of corn, leaving the longstubble standing in the field.A team offive—four reapers and a binder—can harvesttwo acres of crops in a day. In a processknown as “gleaning,” some peasants aregranted the right to pick up any grain thatfalls to the ground during harvesting.This isdone before livestock is released to graze thestubble. Gleaning rights are hotly contestedbecause they are of considerable benefit tothe recipients.

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Above: This illustrationfrom a manuscript ofabout 1050 shows serfsusing a hoe and long-handled scythes to cutgrain in August.

Following the plowman,the sower scatters seedfrom a box. He isfollowed by a harrowand boys with slings to

stone the hungryrooks and crows.

Planting continues into May, and childrenwith slings defend the newly-sown seedfrom birds. Only the lord’s doves are safe,since killing one brings a heavy penalty.Thedoves cause considerable damage to cropsand they are a hated symbol of the lord’spower.

Other peasants attend to the gardens, usedto grow such staples as cabbages, onions,leeks, and garlic. Flax and hemp are also

grown for use in making cloth, rope, andsacking. Culinary and medicinal

herbs include parsley, fennel,celery, camomile, mint,summer savory, catmint,mustard, opium poppy,and coriander (cilantro).

Into the fallIn September, other crops such as peas andbeans are picked, and the grain is processed.It is first threshed with a flail to separate theindividual grains from the ears and thenwinnowed to remove the chaff and straw.This is done by throwing the grains on awinnowing sheet and letting the wind blowthe lighter chaff and straw away.The chaffand straw is collected to use as animal fodder.

Church tithes—one sheaf in every ten—are collected from the field before thepeasants take the crop to the lord’s barns (seepage 23). Carefully stored and kept free fromvermin—a difficult task—the grain will lastfor several years. Because flour is muchharder to keep, the grain is only milled whenrequired for making bread.

Toward the end of September andthroughout October, swineherds drive theirpigs into the woods to forage for acorns, ameans of fattening them up for slaughter.Martinmas (November 11) is the traditionalday for slaughtering and salting pigs andolder livestock to provide a supply of meatfor the coming winter.

Little of the animals is wasted.The fleshprovides meat, most of which is preserved bysalting or smoking it.The skin is cured(preserved) into tough leather, the bonesdried for making needles and pins, or boiledto make glue. Even the blood is carefullysaved to make blood puddings.

In mid-November it is time to collectfirewood from the forest.The serfs areforbidden from taking anything but deadwood for their own use, and the amountthey are allowed to take is limited. Peat isalso cut from the wettest sections of the rivermeadows and stacked to dry for the winterfire. Other serfs cut reeds to be dried for roofthatching.

The success of the harvest will determinehow the people fare during the harsh wintermonths before it is time to prepare the fieldsfor the next year’s sowing.

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Apple picking in aFrench medieval village.The lord, with his bailiff,checks on the progressthe serfs are making inpicking his apples.

1. Thatch roof of straw orriver reeds, with an openend to allow smoke toescape.

2. Wattle and daub wall.

3. Simple furnishings:three-legged stools,trestle table, and a straw bed on the floor.

4. Wall dividing off the animals’ byre.

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The medieval peasant’s dietSerf or peasant, the diet is unchanging.Thestaples are coarse unleavened black bread,peas porridge, and a broth of stewed rootvegetables called pottage. Pottage is a soup-stew made from oats, occasionally flavoredwith beans, peas, turnips, parsnips, or leeks.

There is very little meat in the diet, andmost protein is obtained from butter andcheese made from cows’ milk. Since thechoicest cuts of any freshly slaughteredanimal go to the lord of the manor, thepeasants are left with the bones and gristle.Of this, they hash and mash the fatty pork,stringy mutton, or tough chicken (only afterpassing egg-laying stage) into soggy stews.Their teeth are worn to stumps fromgnawing bones and munching coarse grains,which usually contain grit from the flourgrinding.

Adding to the dietAlthough there is little free time in theworking week, a few men manage to slipdown to the river bank in early evenings inthe hope of a catch. Fish is fried or stewed,as well as smoked or salted to preserve it forthe winter.

The peasant crofter can grow suchseasonal vegetables in his garden as lettuces,beans, radishes, carrots, turnips, and onions.Most keep a few scrawny chickens thatprovide tiny eggs, but the serf is reduced totaking eggs from the nests of any and allwild birds—from swans to sparrows. Fruittrees and bushes provide apples, pears, plums,and berries, but most of this supply belongsto the lord or the priest, so only a smallamount of fruit finds its way into thepeasant’s diet.

The common drink is ale, an alcoholicconcoction made from grain, water, andfermented with yeast. In some regions, amore expensive beer is also available, thedifference between medieval ale and beerbeing that beer also uses hops as a flavoring.

Peasants’ clothingThe clothing of peasants and serfs isgenerally made from rough wool or linenmade from flax fibers.Women spin wool intothreads and weave a coarse cloth. It is rarefor any peasant to own more than two setsof clothing.

Men wear a tunic, with long stockings orleggings, while women wear long gownswith sleeveless tunics and a simple form ofwimple to cover the head. Sheepskin cloaksand woolen hats and mittens are worn inwinter to protect against the cold. For thosewho can afford them, linen undergarmentsprotect the skin from the scratchy outerclothing.

The base coloring of cloth is a russet(brown), so most clothing is a drabcombination of browns, reds, and grays, withonly small variations. Both men and womenwear wooden clogs or shoes made of thickcloth or leather. Leather boots are soled andcovered with wooden patens (plates) to keepthe feet dry. Children’s clothing is simply aminiature version of their parents’.

Outer clothes are almost never laundered,but linen underwear does get a regularwashing.The tunics and leggings smell ofsweat and the wood smoke that permeatesfabric in the poorly ventilated huts.

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A cheese mold andbutter churn. Butter ismade freshly fromcow’s milk, but cheesecurds are allowed tomature in the mold.

Pigs aresent out to

forage.

The women grow

seasonalvegetables in

the smallcroft garden.

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Local Medieval GovernmentThe oppressed peasants and virtually enslaved serfs are further burdened by theobligations they owe to their lord and the Church. Both powers rely on the “reeve”to make sure people work hard, obey the rules, and pay their taxes.

Before the Norman conquest of Englandin 1066, Germanic Anglo-Saxons lived in

rural communities called tuns (from whichthe word “town” is derived).A tun compriseda group of ten families called tithings, or“tens.” In turn, tithings were grouped inblocks of ten, called hundreds, and collectivelythe hundreds formed into geographicallybased divisions known by the Anglo-Saxonword scir, which means,“a piece cut off.”

The Normans altered the pronunciation,scir became “shire,” and they loosely adoptedthe boundaries of the shires as feudal fiefs.They did much the same in France and Italy.

The reeve’s responsibilitiesThe Anglo-Saxons appointed a gerefa(guardian) for each hundred, which theNormans now call a “reeve.” Each lord ofthe manor has his own reeve, who supervisesthe work of the serfs and guards against anylaziness or cheating.The baronial overlord’sreeve is an important person because helooks after the whole shire. His title is “shirereeve,” or sheriff.

Like others of his station, the reeve ofLudford has a police responsibility to thelord of the manor. He has authority to raisethe “hue and cry” for the pursuit of thievesand other criminals.The hue and cry is acommunal posse in which all who hear thecry that a crime has been committed arebound by honor to join the pursuit until thevillain is captured.

The reeve is also responsible foroverseeing the collection of his lord’s taxesand tolls, as well as enforcing the Churchtithes. In return, he is allowed to keep aportion of each and also enjoys the benefitof choice farming acreage and the use ofserfs to work it.

Raising the “hue andcry,” the reeve is joinedby a posse of villagers.

The church’s great tithe barn is one of the largeststructures in Ludford. Winnowed grain is taken toone of the mills for grinding at no cost to the priest.

The role of the ChurchThe Church dominates everybody’s lifebecause it is the representative of God’searthly power (see page 46).At every level ofmedieval society, people are gripped by theirutter belief in the physical reality of Heavenand Hell. Since it is common knowledgethat the only way to reach the heavenlyparadise after death is with the blessing ofthe Roman Catholic Church, everyone doestheir best to honor their obligations to theChurch.

As a result, the Church has total controlover the people. One such obligation is towork unpaid on Church lands. For the serfswho also have to devote a portion of theirtime to working in their lord’s fields, this isan extra hardship, using time that could bebetter spent working on their own plots,producing food for their families.

A religious taxIn addition, both serfs and free peasants payto their local church about 10 percent ofwhat they produce in a year—a form of taxcalled a tithe. Because there is almost nocoinage in circulation, tithes are paid inseeds, harvested grain, fruit, or livestock.

The produce that forms the tithe is keptin huge tithe barns. Failure to pay may resultin arrest by the reeve and subsequentpunishment—the stocks and floggings arecommon. In addition, the priest tells theoffender that his soul will certainly go toHell unless he does religious penance (seepages 46–47).

Hatched, matched, and dispatchedThe Church is involved at every stage of aperson’s life. Even the poorest must pay apriest for the baptism of their children,which is essential because the unbaptized areunable to pass the portals of Heaven.

To remain unmarried is considered sinful,and again the priest must be paid to bless theceremony. In order to reach Heaven, burialin holy ground is essential, and churchburials are a heavy cost for families.

However you look at it, the RomanCatholic Church receives wealth from everyquarter—so much in fact, that its disposableincome far outreaches that of the king.Andas well as that, it is exempt from taxes.

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A spell in the villagestocks for wrongdoersis an unpleasantexperience.

A priest joins the handsof a couple during awedding. Early medievalmarriages are secularaffairs—a priest is notneeded to officiate, butby the 14th century theChurch makes itunlawful to wed out ofchurch.

Manor houses vary in size, reflecting thelord’s wealth and status.They often

comprise several buildings and are mainlyself-sufficient, with serfs growing the lord’sfood and keeping his livestock in the groundssurrounding the house. Because the times areuncertain, the manor house is often fortified,and while the defenses will notkeep out an army, they aresufficient to give the lord,his family, and servantsprotection againstbandits and smallerraiding groups.

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The Manor HouseWhile the most powerful lords live in large castles—eitherolder ones or newly constructed ones, built with the king’spermission—the lesser nobility prefers the extra comfortafforded by a manor house.

1. The kitchen, next tothe brew and bake-houses, is a hive ofactivity. Because of thefire risk, it standsseparate and is linkedto the main building bya passage way.

2. The dovecote.

3. The buttery andpantry, with a guestchamber above.

4. The chaplain has hisown room above theentrance to the hall.

5. Guests gather in thegreat hall, ready for thefeast.

6. The lord and lady’sprivate chamber,reached via a staircasefrom the hall.

7. The private chapel.

8. Storerooms at groundlevel, where the lordkeeps his luxury goodsand valuables.

9. Outbuildings line thewalled courtyard. Theyprovide room for stores,arms, servants, anddogs.

10. The fortifiedmanor’s gatehouse.

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Stokesay CastleDespite its name, Stokesay in England is afortified manor house—a fine example ofthe more luxurious living available to thelord of a manor than a drafty castle can offer.Its owner—a leading wool merchant—is awealthy man. He built Stokesay to impresshis business partners as much with theelegance of his house as with its strength.

At the southern end there is a three-storytower topped by battlements—a place ofsecurity for the family to retire in case of


Mid-10th century,Anglo-Saxon enclosure

Mid-11th century, lateSaxon-early Norman

Early 12th century

Mid-12th century

Late 12th century

Early 13th century

Early 14th century

Development of themanor houseThese plans show thesame building atdifferent periods. Thehouse starts small, butexpands to become acomfortable home forthe lord of the manor.In the earliest days,windows are few, andsmall to make themeasily defended. As thetimes become morepeaceful, the walls arepierced by more andlarger windows.

Top: Stokesay’s northend, with the lord’sprivate apartments ontop, surrounding wall,and the later timber-framed gatehouse (builtin the 17th century).The great hall, seenhere (center) from theeast, links the privateapartments to the towerkeep, with its separateentrance.

hostilities.The lord’s private apartments aresituated at the northern end, and include alarge solar (see page 33) with unusually largewindows.These are set up high to make itdifficult for an attacker to reach, and areprotected by arrow slits beneath.Thewindows let in plenty of light while notharming the house’s defensive capabilities.

In between is a great hall for entertaining,with heavy wooden shutters to secure themin case of attack. Stokesay also has adefensive outer wall running in a semi-circlefrom the north end to the tower, with agatehouse in its center. Beyond the wall, awet moat is supplied from a pond.

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The castle pictured here is typical of theearliest Norman fortifications.As the

Normans conquer lands in northern France,England, and Italy, they need strongholds thatcan be erected quickly and defended againstthe hostile natives. Many of these woodenstructures take the form known as themotte-and-bailey castle.

The motte, or mound, is surrounded by afortified enclosure called a bailey.The baileyis protected by a ditch, the earth from whichis thrown up to form a steep-sided bank.This raises the height an attacker must climbto reach the timber palisade that runs alongthe top of the bank.This “ring-work”—theterm usually applied to a castle’s outerdefenses—is formed from stout tree trunksrammed into the earth and fixed together.

The Norman-style castleA wooden platform runs along inside thepalisade to form a walkway, and the spacebelow is sometimes filled in with earth tothicken the base of the palisade. Inside thering-work stands the motte, usually about15–30 feet high, sometimes surrounded by asecond ring-work.The top of the mound isflattened and on its summit stands a tallwooden tower, called a keep or donjon.

Where the palisade is pierced by a gate, asecond area of enclosed ground forms thebailey.Another ditch and palisade surroundsthe bailey, and the two fortifications areconnected by a wooden walkway or ramp.

The bailey contains a kitchen, barns,stores, stables, animal pens for livestock,workshops for carpenters and smiths, achapel and a well, as well as domesticquarters for the lord’s retainers and servants.

Using the lie of the landThe exact layout of these motte-and-baileycastles varies considerably, depending on thefeatures of the local terrain. For instance, anexisting hill or rise in the ground might beused for the motte, otherwise it must beman-made. Some early castles have evenbeen constructed inside the remains of pre-medieval earthworks, such as old Celtichillforts, which provide additional outerrings of ditches and banks.

The Normans brought the motte-and-bailey castle to England, and many wereerected within months of the country’ssubjection. However, most have now beenrebuilt of stone to be far stronger.

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CHAPTER 2

Life in the CastleAn Early Feudal CastleIn the Dark Ages, the Roman fortifications were dismantled and their stones usedfor building houses and churches. When castles begin to appear again during the9th and 10th centuries, they are constructed from wood.

If danger threatens, thelocal serfs and villeinstake their goods andlivestock to the castlefor protection.

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CHAPTER 2: LIFE IN THE CASTLE

The lord’s dungeonThe modern word “dungeon” is derivedfrom donjon, which itself is the medievalLatin for domnio, meaning “home of thelord.”The fact that captives were oftenheld in the donjon’s cellar has led to theconnection between “dungeon” and“prison.”

1. Wooden palisadestanding on top of arampart made fromearth dug out of theditch.

2. The castle’s maingateway, with defensiveextensions of thepalisade on either side.

3. Bridge across themain defensive ditch,connecting the maingatehouse to the outerbailey.

The small stream on theleft is the castle’s mainwater supply, butsensible castle ownersdig a well near thedonjon to provide somewater in times of siege.

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4. The drawbridge canbe raised to preventattackers from reachingthe secondarygatehouse in thepalisade surroundingthe outer bailey.

5. Outer bailey, with itsseveral buildings forsmiths, carpenters,stables, kitchens, andquarters for theservants and workers.

6. Outer bailey well,usually used only intimes of siege.

7. The main ditchcompletely surroundsthe entire castle insidethe palisade.

8. Walkway over thecross-ditch, connectingthe outer bailey to theinner bailey, with itsown gatehouse.

9. Inner bailey, withlord’s stables and armedretainers’ quarters.

10. Raised motte.

11. The wooden donjonor castle keep standson top of the motte. Itonly has small windowson the upper floor tomake it easier to defendagainst attackers whomight break through allthe other defenses.

Castles are centers for administration andthe dispensation of justice.They are

constructed at strategic sites, often alongborders, roads, or rivers, or in a stretched lineto enable easy communication with eachother. Sometimes a site is chosen because itsterrain is ideal or because the lord wishes tocontrol an immediate area, perhaps followingits seizure from another noble.

A single castle can command thecountryside for a radius of about 10 miles,which represents a day’s ride out and back.Invading armies usually prefer to avoidpitched battles, and so send soldiers to pillage,which destroys the local economy while atthe same time feeding their own men.

But a garrison can also cut off the raidingenemy’s supply lines and act as a base formassing troops for counterattack.This meansthat an invader cannot seize any land untilhe has captured its castles. Because sieges areexpensive, castles therefore act as a deterrentto invasion.

Those regions that are most in disputebetween nobles or kings always have thegreater concentration of castles within theirboundaries.There are several common typesof castle, reflecting the needs of their owners,and the main purpose to which they are put.

Tower keep—ConisbroughThis is an example of a tower keep, a castlewhere the donjon stands alone, withoutextensive outer ring-works. It was erected inabout 1185–90, during the Third Crusade(1188–92) and the reign of King Richard I,by the half-brother of Richard’s father, KingHenry II. Its semi-circular bailey is littlemore than an entrance yard.

Conisbrough is one of the first circularkeeps erected in Britain, and is unusual inhaving six wedge-shaped buttresses juttingout. Only the one that partly contains thechapel is not solid throughout the levels.There are four floors above a vaultedbasement, with a first-floor entrance.

Typically, there are few windows, and theyare mostly narrow arrow slits.


The Medieval Stone CastleWithin a few years of the Norman conquest of England,Norman-French castles of stone have replaced the earlywooden motte-and-bailey structures.

The circular donjon atConisbrough has largebuttresses, which showclearly on the sectionand floor plans.

0 10 20 30 40 50 ft

0 5 10 15 m

S

B B

Plan at CC

Plan at BB

Plan atAA

Section through keep at SS

C C

S

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AA


Above: Ludlow’sunusual circularNorman chapel sits inthe inner bailey. Thedonjon, one of the firststone-built keeps inEngland, was originallythe gatehouse on theearly curtain wallsaround the inner bailey.

1 Mortimer’s Tower2 Magazine / ice house3 Moat4 Bridge (originally a

drawbridge)5 Buildings of Sir Henry

Sydney6 Porter’s lodge7 Staircase to keep8 Norman chapel9 Site of chapel choir10 Apartments occupied by

sons of Edward IV11 General room12 Armory13 Watch tower14 State apartments

15 Council room16 Prince Arthur’s Tower17 Kitchens18 Original chapel, later a

prison19 Well (85 feet deep)20 Lion’s Den Tower21 Norman Tower22 The ‘Black Hole’23 Stables24 Main gateway25 Offices (fire watch)26 Barracks27 Beacon Tower28 Iron palisades across

outer court29 Sallyport

castle yard or

outer court

original donjon1

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Plan of Ludlow Castle

1 Legge’s Mount2 Brass mount3 Devereux Tower4 Flint Tower5 Bowyer Tower6 Brick Tower7 Martin Tower8 Chapel of St. Peter

ad Vincula9 Beauchamp Tower10 Waterloo Barracks11 Museum12 Lion Tower13 Middle Tower

Plan of the Tower of London.The outer curtain wall was added in the later 13th century.

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TowerGreen

moat

Wharf

White Tower(donjon)

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River Thames

0 25 100 150 200 ft

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 m

14 Byward Tower15 Bell Tower16 Queen’s House17 Bloody Tower18 St. Thomas’s Tower19 Wakefield Tower20 Site of Great Hall21 Roman town wall22 Lanthorn Tower23 Cradle Tower24 Constable Tower25 Broad Arrow Tower26 Salt Tower27 Well Tower

Curtain wall castle—LudlowIn a curtain wall castle, the wooden palisadesenclosing baileys are replaced by stonewalls—the “curtain.” Some do not have akeep and make up for the lack of a greattower by making the single ring of defensivecurtain wall as impressive as possible.Thewalls have strong mural (wall) towers that jutout, allowing archers inside to shoot alongthe wall face at attackers.

Ludlow castle, sited near the Welsh border,is one of a line of Norman castles built topacify the countryside and hold back theunconquered Welsh. Begun around 1085, theinner bailey is separated by a rock-cut ditchand protected by a curtain wall.

This aerial view clearlyshows the Tower ofLondon’s concentricrings of defense.

Concentric castle—Tower of LondonWilliam the Conqueror of Normandy beganthe castle in 1066.Within ten years, workstarted on the huge donjon, known as theWhite Tower, because of the whitewash usedto protect it from the weather.

With King Edward I’s moat, 160 feetwide, and an outer circuit of walls(1275–85), the Tower of London is one ofthe most powerful castles in Europe. It hashoused the royal mint and the royal zoo.

Easier options to a possibly bloody assaultare usually exercised first. Surrounding

the castle and starving the garrison intosurrender sometimes works. Bribes canbring a lord’s castles into the hands ofanother noble. If these tactics fail, the useof sheer terror by physical demonstrationbefore the walls of a fortress—with theassistance of captives or the heads of slainopponents—can be enough to persuadedefenders to give up.

Taking a castleFortresses are attacked in several ways. Oneof the most effective is to dig a mineunderneath the walls for the attackers toemerge inside the castle. More commonly,the mine is dug under a wall or tower andwooden props used to shore it up as it isdug. Smeared with fat and set alight, theprops collapse and bring down the wall.

The defenders set out bowls of water andwatch for telltale signs of vibration, but

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A Castle Under SiegeOpen conflict—expensive in men and horses—is avoided whenever possible. But ifa lord shelters in his castle, the invaders must inevitably lay siege to it. Attackershave tools and tactics to employ… and defenders have their countermeasures.

Timber hoardings built out from thebattlements allowdefenders to stand in front of the wall faceand fire down at

attackers throughslots in the

floor.

Above: Machicolatedparapets are formed byprojecting thebattlements forwardand supporting them onstone corbels, creatingslots between them fordropping offensivematerial.

Below: The torsioncatapult’s twisted ropesfling up a throwing arminserted into them torelease a missile.

Above: The ballista’sbow arm shoots a largebolt. The screw is usedto wind the slider backwhen the bowstring isengaged on the trigger.

Right: The trebuchethas a throwing armswung up by pullingdown the other endwith ropes or, as here, abox filled with earth orstones.

mines are very difficult to stop. Effectivemeasures include digging a countermine to break into the enemy workings, orerecting a makeshift palisade built behind thethreatened wall.A moat filled with water is the best deterrent to mining.

Sometimes a trench is dug up to the walls,protected with timbers, so men with pickscan prize stones from the wall. Battering ramsand drills are used to dig into it.These arecountered by lowering sack cloth to deadenthe blows. Rams shelter under sheds coveredwith wet hides to protect against fire arrowsand other combustible materials throwndown from the walls.

The medieval armory is comprised ofseveral engines for hurling rocks and largearrows. If a direct assault is required, thesimplest means are ladders, but this isextremely hazardous—the defenderstry to push ladders away with forkedpoles, and assailants can only arrivesingly at the wall-top.

Far more powerful is the siegetower, or belfry. Huge woodenstructures higher than thebattlements act like gantries.Wheeled up to the walls, menin larger groups can attack thedefenders.There might be aram or shed at the tower’sbase or a catapult at the top.Cumbersome and vulnerableto fire, towers too are coveredin hides. Sometimes they sinkinto hidden pits thedefenders dig under thecover of night.

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A castle under attackA battering ram, slung under amobile shed, is hitting the wall,where defenders have lowered a pad tomuffle the blows. They also hurl downbarrels of burning oil, but wet hides help todampen down the flames. Some attackersscale ladders, but arriving at the top singly,they are easily beaten back. A mobile siegetower has been moved over a specially builtcauseway of earth and stones across the ditch.

Soldiers attack across thetower’s lowered drawbridge, and

a catapult on the top level shootslarge stones into the castle.

Selection of a castle’s site is the lord’sdecision, advised by his senior knights

and his architect—usually the masterstonemason.Wherever possible, naturalfeatures of the landscape are used to theiradvantage, such as hilltops, cliffs, or mountaincrags.A rock foundation is always best, for itdeters enemies from mining underneath.Rivers not only offer the opportunity of amoat, again deterring mining, they are also alifeline during sieges and an obstacle toenemies in themselves. If there is goodpasture or woodland nearby, even better.

Architectural or engineering plans forcastles are rare and the masons simply workfrom their own measurements. Freemasonsare put to work cutting squared ashlar,moldings, and stone tracery. Roughmasonslay the stone, while layers build walls andhewers work in the quarries.

The construction requires a long list ofother workers—miners, hodmen (stonecarriers), carpenters, woodcutters,hammerers, levelers, foundation workers,well-diggers, fencing workers, lime-burners(for making mortar), mortar-makers, porters,smiths, plasterers, glassmakers, ditchers,carters, carriers, barrow-men, water-carriers,and pickaxe-men. On a large castle theremight be as many as 3,000 workmen.

Timber and stoneThe carpenters are kept busy because woodis used everywhere. Shuttering for moldingconcrete, roofs, beams, and flooring, doors,window shutters, and room paneling—all aremade from wood. So is the scaffolding. Holesin the walls, called putlog holes, are left forthe insertion of scaffolding beams and belowbattlements for wooden hoarding.

The castle’s defensive walls, towers, andthe keep are constructed with rubble facedwith dressed stone, or ashlar.The bondingmortar is made from sand, lime, and water,the lime is sometimes prepared on-site byburning limestone. Iron is needed for nailsand tools, some of which are of steel. Plasteris used for interiors.

Workmen’s tools differ little from those inuse today.A block-and-tackle or a treadmill-driven windlass hoists stone and timber.Timber piles are driven into the groundwith a ram, or a raft of timbers isconstructed on soft ground.

A large castle could take between two andten years to build, and often was extendedover the centuries.

Inside the keepAll castles have one basic element—the hall.This is a large room with a lofty ceiling,sometimes on the first floor, but moreusually raised to the second story for greatersecurity. Rows of wooden posts or stonepillars support the timber roof, althoughsome later castles have vaulted stone ceilings.The windows are typically small andunglazed, equipped with wooden shutterssecured by iron bars.

In a first-floor hall the floor is simplybeaten earth, with a stone or plaster

covering. Second-story halls have atimber floor, supported by woodenpillars or stone vaulting in thebasement below. Floors are strewn with


Building a CastleThe construction of a castle requires planning and thegathering of numbers of men and materials. But the first taskis to choose a suitable site.

Below: Builders of the14th century at work. Inthe foreground, twomasons prepare stoneusing T-squares, ruler,and adzes, while alaborer mixes a load oflime mortar.

rushes sprinkled with sweet-smelling herbs.Although the rushes are replaced at intervalsand the floor swept, the rushes often smellbadly. One chronicler observes that underthem lies “an ancient collection of beer,grease, fragments, bones, spittle, excrement ofdogs and cats, and everything that is nasty.”

The lord and lady’s chamber is called thesolar. Its principal item of furniture is a greatbed with a heavy wooden frame and springsmade of interlaced ropes or strips of leather,overlaid with a feather mattress, sheets, quilts,fur coverlets, and pillows.The bed is

designed for dismantling so it can be takenalong on the frequent trips a lord makes tohis other manors. Linen hangings curtain offthe bed, which can be closed at night forprivacy as well as protection from drafts.

Chests for garments, a few “perches” orwooden pegs for clothes, and stools make upthe remainder of the furnishings. Sometimesa small anteroom called the wardrobe adjoinsthe chamber—a storeroom for cloth, jewels,spices, and plates, and where the lady’sdressmaking is done.

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Home in a tower

1. The tower houses thespiral stairs to all floors.

2. An overhangingwooden defensivegallery.

3. Quarters for men-at-arms and servants.

4. The lord and lady’sprivate quarters. Behindthe curtain is theirlatrine (5), whichempties into the moatbelow.

6. Centerpiece of thekeep is the great hall,where important guestsare welcomed and mainmeals are taken.

7. The entrance hall.

8. A large kitchenprovides all food.

9. Provisions are storeddeep in the cellars ofthe tower. This is wherethe vital water-well is.

10. The dank dungeon.

1

2

3

6

7

8

10

3

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9

Above: Forms of timberscaffolding used bycastle builders.Horizontal beams areinserted into “putlog”holes left in the walls bystonemasons.

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draw off the liquor), and cupbearers, whoserve the drink.

The bottler runs the milkmaids and butterchurners in the “bottlery,” or buttery. In thekitchens, there are several cooks workingunder instruction from the head cook, whilethe lowliest workers, called scullions, scourand wash the dirty pots, pans, and the lord’sfine pewter, silver or gold plates.There aremany other people involved in keeping thelord’s table supplied—bakers, poulterers,fruiterers, and slaughterers.

Chamber maids look after the privateapartments and while ladies-in-waitingattend to the lady’s personal needs, the lordhas several young page boys at his command.These are usually of noble birth, sent fromtheir homes and given into his care untilthey are old enough to become squires.

The role of minstrels should not beoverlooked.While playing musicalinstruments and singing ballads providesentertainment, roving minstrels also act asnews-bearers and—through learning the oldstories as part of their ballads—they are thehistorians of the Middle Ages.

The first impression of a castle is of thelord and his knights and men-at-arms

riding helter-skelter over the drawbridge andunder the portcullis of the gateway, butbeneath them a startling number of skilledcraftsmen and laborers inhabit the variousstructures around the baileys.

Among those with status, the three mostimportant functionaries are the steward,marshal, and bailiff.The steward, or seneschal,is responsible for the manor’s estates and thecastle’s domestic administration. He directsthe household servants and supervises eventsin the great hall.

The marshal is in charge of thehousehold’s horses and wagons, as well asacting as the transportation captain. Underhim work the farriers, grooms, carters,blacksmiths, and clerks. Farriers shoe horses,while grooms feed and care for the horses.

Carters bring wood and stone to thecastle. Blacksmiths forge and sharpen toolsand weapons, maintain armor, and make allthe metal items needed, such as door hingesand defensive window grills. Clerks keep theaccounts, pay the wages, and are responsiblefor checking goods in and out.

The bailiff supervises the manor’s serfs andpeasants, He allots them jobs and ensures thatthey have the right tools for the job.When atool breaks or becomes blunt, he organizesthe blacksmiths to repair or sharpen it. Healso supervises any building repairs.

The domesticsAttached to the functions of the kitchens,and reporting to the steward, the butler caresfor the lord’s cellar. He is in charge of thelarge butts (barrels) and little butts (bottles) ofwine, cider, and ale.The butler also has alarge staff under him, consisting of brewers,tapsters (those who “tap” the large butts to

Jobs in the CastleIn medieval society there are two classes—people with status, and those withnone. While the lord and members of his entourage may have status, to functionthey need the support of the many laborers and peasants.

Other medieval jobsThis list suggests how many tasks need tobe fulfilled in and around a castle.

almoner (ensures the poor receive alms);atilliator (crossbow maker); barber (alsoacts as a surgeon, dentist, and blood-letter);board-hewer (joist and floorboardcarpenter); carders (worker who brushescloth after weaving); dyer; ewerer (bringsheated water for the nobles’ baths);haywards (gardener who tends hedges);laundresses; messengers; musicians;spinsters (women who spin yarn forcloth); tanners (workers who cureleather); soap makers; candle makers;painters; plasterers; weavers.

While the aristocratsenjoy their leisure (hereon a hunt in the spring),

an army of lowlyworkers keeps a castlein working order.

The estates of an earl, a count, a baron, ora distinguished knight are his by the

right of the king, but a good marriagesettlement can add considerably to hisholdings. It is technically impossible forwomen to inherit land (although there arenotable exceptions to this rule), but on theirmarriage, the father will endower her, eitherwith money or by giving her new husbandaccess to some of his land as a holding. Inprinciple, this should be returned to the lordif the married daughter dies or is divorcedby her husband—but many small-scale warshave occurred when the husband refuses toreturn it.

The problems of inheritanceOf course, on his death, the lord wants tohand on all his assets to his son to keepeverything in the family. If he has no sons,the family property passes to the closestrelatives, particularly surviving brothers. Butin a noble family where there are severalsons, life can become difficult. It is normal

for the eldest son to inherit all his father’sestates, which leaves his younger brotherswith few options.

At the age of seven, a younger brothermight be sent to serve as a page in anothernoble’s castle (see page 40), and may never seehis home again.When he is in his early 20s,if a second son is lucky enough to make agood marriage, he might receive land fromhis father-in-law, effectively becoming hisfeudal knight.

Many second and third sons seek a patron,a powerful noble who will take them intohis retinue, where they can seek theirfortunes as warriors, probably overseas bywarring in France or in the Crusades. Forsons who cannot inherit, the only otheroption is to take holy orders and become achurchman.

As for the daughters, failure to find asuitable husband—or, more likely, have onefound for them—will almost certainly resultin their being sent away to become a nun ina convent.

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The Noble FamilyOwnership of land, either by force or as the king’s gift, is what sets a noble apartfrom other lesser men. For the lord of a manor, the question of receiving land andassets from his father and passing them onto his son is an important one.

Wealthy lords havecalendar books createdfor them, called Booksof Hours, beautifullyillustrated with scenesrepresenting themonths of the year. Thisis a scene from aFrench book made forthe Duc de Berry.

Above right: While aneldest son can expect toinherit his father’sestates and position,younger sons have littlealternative but tobecome a page andthen squire withanother lord, become amonk, or take holyorders and become apriest. Some young menprefer to take up armsand join a crusade torecover the Holy Landfrom the Muslims.

The lord and lady’s banquetThe noble family usually eats three meals aday.A small breakfast of bread and cheese atsunrise is followed in the late morning orabout noon by the main meal of two tothree courses.These consist mainly of meatsand pastries, bread, wine, or ale, fruits,cheeses, and nuts. Since they are consideredmore as common fare for peasants,vegetables do not figure much in a noble’smeal.

Before sunset a light supper is served of ameat stew, bread, and cheese, accompaniedby song and music played by minstrels.Awandering troubador might entertain withsome yarns, and acrobats or contortionists area popular diversion.

When a lord is in residence, he isfrequently obliged to entertain traveling

guests, other nobles, high-level clergy,perhaps even the king, all of whom areaccompanied by their extensive retinues.The

feast is the centerpiece of theentertainment and a great contrast

to the everyday meals.The guests can look forward

to consuming quantities ofbeef, mutton, poultry, gamebirds, pork, venison (inseason), fish, eggs of allkinds—everything presentedin a variety of ways—cheeses, bread, and allwashed down withgallons of wine, ale, cider,and mead.

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The big blow-outSome feasts are truly vast in scope. In1467, the Archbishop of York fed 6,000guests on: 104 roasted oxen, 6 bulls, 1,000sheep, 304 calves, 2,000 pigs, 1,000 caponchickens, 400 swans, 104 peacocks, 2,000geese, 1,500 deer, more than 13,000 otherbirds (such as starlings, vultures, seagulls,herons, storks, cormorants, and cranes),1,500 venison pies, 608 pikes, 12porpoises and seals, finished with 13,000bowls of jello, cold baked tarts, custards,and spiced fruits. In addition, a largequantity of alcoholic drink was consumed.

Center left: Eatingimplements.Forks are almostunknown (although usedin Italy during the 15thcentury, they only reachnorthern Europe in the1600s). Most food iseaten by cutting andspearing it on a dagger, ora special dining knife.Spoons are so preciousthat they are made to foldup for carrying around.

Right: A minstrel and ajester.

Above: Unlike the serfsand peasants, nobleshave some leisure time.Hunting with falcons isa favorite recreation.

The number of military personneldefending a castle varies enormously,

depending on the size of the castle.Threeknights and ten men-at-arms represents avery small garrison.At the other end of thescale a royal castle might have as many as 100men-at-arms, 20 or more knights, and avariety of lesser men, all serving under theconstable.The constable is in charge of theretinue when the king or the noble lord isabsent.

A life on footA knight taking service is expected to comeequipped with his own mounts, saddlery,weapons, and armor, but the peasant has nosuch resources and must look to his lord tosupply his needs.This means he is neverlikely to have a horse and will go into battleon foot as an infantryman.

His level of protection and armamentdepends on the lord’s financial status. Usuallythis is not a complete suit of armor, butcomprises at least a helmet, a body defensein the form of a mail shirt, fabric armor, or ametal or leather breastplate, as well as aweapon such as a spear, pike, ax, or crossbow.Among the English armies, one of the mostfearsome weapons is the Welsh longbow.

The lowliest level of men-at-arms areemployed as security men in basic garrisonduties.These include castle wall sentry duty,guard duty on the castle’s gates, at the towngates, and the collecting of taxes frommerchants entering or leaving the lord’sdomain.The more presentable man-at-armsmay find himself in the retinueaccompanying his lord when traveling, orseconded to the protection squad for abishop journeying around his diocese.

BowmenThose who show sufficient skill in their aimreceive some training with the crossbow.Thiseasily learned weapon fires a short arrow withsufficient power to injure or kill a knight in

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Men-at-ArmsWhen a peasant family has too many sons to support, there is little choice for theuneducated boys but to seek service in the armed retinue of their lord or one of hislesser knights. The more adventurous might look to a mercenary life.

For men-at-arms,guarding castle wallsand gatehouse dutiesare tedious. Trudgingalong as protectiveescorts for an importantperson can be quitedifficult.

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plate armor at up to 200 yards. Crossbowsare easier to aim than longbows because thecrossbowman does not have to use a hand tohold the string back while aiming.

By contrast, learning to fire the longbowwith skill takes a long time, and manylongbowmen start their training asadolescents.The bow also takes greatstrength in the pulling arm to draw back thedrawstring.

However, the longbow, because of itsrapidity of fire, is a superior weapon to thecrossbow, the machine gun of its age.Anarcher can shoot 10–12 arrows a minuteacross a range of up to 200 yards. Comparedto this even the superior Genoese compositecrossbow—made of wood, horn, sinew, andglue—is no match for the English weapon.

In a battle, when massed archers fire, theirarrows fall from the sky with deadlyaccuracy like a hail storm, cutting down theenemy as a scythe reaps wheat.

Soldiers for hireWith the scutage tax (see page 41), Europeankings are relying more and more onmercenary corps to supply fighting men for


wars.The head of amercenary band is called acaptain, and it is his job torecruit skilled fighters, seekout contracts and levels ofpay, and make sure his menreceive their pay andagreed amounts of bootyafter a victory.

The majority ofmercenaries arecrossbowmen, althoughseveral gangs of Englishfreebooters rove aroundEurope selling their servicesto the highest bidder whodesires the power of thelongbow in his army. Thenumerous small southernGerman states are thesource of many mercenarybands, called landsknechts,and the same term isapplied to Europe’s mostfeared men-at-arms, theSwiss pikemen (seen below).

Switzerland’s mountainous terrainsupports fewer farms than anywhere else,which means the young men must moveaway as soldiers to earn a living.Theirferocious battles for freedom against theHabsburgs of Austria have taught the Swisssoldier all the skills needed to become themost professional mercenary in the businessof warfare.

French and Englishmen-at-arms clash inone of the many battlesof the Hundred YearsWar as France tries totake back land seizedby the English crown.

The knightly code of chivalry grewduring the 12th century, when knights

bearing the cross of Christ went to the HolyLand to protect pilgrims from the MuslimSaracens who attacked them. Chivalry, orchevalerie (which derives from cheval, theFrench word for horse) is the name given tothe idealized qualities of knighthood—religious devotion, honesty, courtesy, andimpeccable behavior toward women. Failureto adhere to the code can lead to publichumiliation and loss of social status.

However, many young, landless knights goon crusade in the East, which is consideredto be a holy undertaking. But in reality theyhope to grab land for themselves as a rewardfrom the prince in command and rapidlymake themselves a fortune—they do notalways stick to the code of chivalry.

Training for knighthoodIn a period when all education is run bypriests and monks of the Church, the sons ofknights are brought up according to thecode of chivalry.To qualify as a knight, a boyis sent at the age of seven to serve as a pagein a great lord’s household. His new masterbecomes his feudal superior.As well as actingas his lord’s servant, the page is put throughhis paces in swordsmanship and horse-riding.At the age of 14 he becomes a squire anddoes chores and runs errands for a particularknight in the lord’s retinue.

Since skill and prowess in battle is theultimate aim, in a well organized householdthe military training pages and squiresundergo is intensive.When there are nobattles to be fought, the jousting tournamentis a celebration and test of a knight’s skill (seepages 42–43).

Becoming a knightAt the age of about 21, a squire who hasshown his mettle may qualify as a knight andswears an oath of allegiance to his feudal lordand loyalty to the code of chivalry. His lordthen presents him with a knightly sword.

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The Road to ChivalryIn medieval society, the best way for a man to gainadvancement is to become a knight. It is not a way of life towhich many are suited—the training is long and hard, but thesuccessful attain high status, and possibly great wealth.

Right: A page spendsmost of his time ridinghorses andstrengthening his bodywith exercises andwrestling. He learnshow to fight with alance, mounted onhorseback, by “tilting”against a quintain. Thisis a heavy, human-shaped dummy with ashield hung on awooden beam, which isfree to swivel around avertical pole. The pageaims to hit the shield inits center. When hit, thequintain spins and agileriding is needed toavoid being struck bythe returning dummyand falling from thehorse.

Above: A knight is captured.Unlike men-at-arms, itis rare for knights to bekilled in battle—theyare worth more alive ascaptives, to beransomed by their lordor relatives in return fortheir freedom.

In return for his oath, the knight isguaranteed a secure place within the powerpyramid of the feudal system. If he proves hisprowess in battle, his lord might grant him afief. In this way a knight becomes a land-holder in his own right, and may pass theestate on to his elder son through inheritance.Younger sons either take service with otherknights of ranking or enter the Church—there is no option of going into a trade.

A knight’s military serviceHis military duties involve a certain periodof service each year, and a knight is expectedto be prepared to serve at all times.Thisinvolves attending his lord in person,equipped with a lavish kit of horse, armor,and weapons—although wealthier knightsare often required to bring a retinue of footsoldiers or cavalry as well.

Military duty is usually restricted to setperiods of six or eight weeks. If servicebeyond this is required, the knights are paidfor their time.A knight who owns land, serfs,and tenant peasants can avoid direct militaryduty.With sufficient revenues from his fiefs,he can pay a tax called scutage (from theLatin scutum, a shield).This money is used byhis overlord for the hire of experiencedmercenary knights and infantry.

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Pages and squires alsoreceive some education.The chaplain—or morelikely local monks—teach rudimentaryreading and writing,some Latin and French.It is the lady’sresponsibility to overseethe young men’seducation in the courtlyskills of manners anddancing, and how tobehave in the king’scourt.

For about seven yearsfrom the age of 14 asquire attends hisknight. His dutiesinclude dressing theknight in the morning,serving his meals,caring for the knight’shorse, and cleaning hisarmor andweapons.

The dubbing ceremonyOn the evening before the ceremony, the squire—let’s call himRolf—is ritually cleansed in a bath of rose water, and then stays allnight in prayer alone in the local church.At dawn the priest hearsthe squire’s confession before taking Mass.The ceremony takesplace in front of family, nobility, and a congregation of well-wishers.The priest consecrates the blade with which Rolf will bedubbed a knight. “Bless this sword, that thy servant mayhenceforward defend churches, widows,orphans, and all those who serve God,against the cruelty of heretics andinfidels….” Rolf then kneelsbefore his lord, who taps himlightly on each shoulderwith the sword andproclaims him a knightwith the words“Arise Sir Rolf.”In addition to hissword, Rolf ispresented withspurs, which areattached to his heels.With this, the newknight raises hissword toacknowledge thehonor beforereturning it toits scabbard.

In the past, tournaments were a bloodybusiness.The loss of life among the

participants was so great that the Churchforbade the burial of those killed intournaments, claiming that “Those who fallin tourneys will go to Hell.”

The first written rules governing the sportwere written in 1066 by a Frenchmannamed Geoffroi de Purelli (who was killedin the very first tournament held under hisrules). It is now customary for the knights touse blunted weapons and obey the stricterrules that were established in 1292, in thethree types of tournament.

The MêléeAlso called the “tourney proper,” this is theform of sport evolved from the brutal battlesof the early days. It involves several knightscontesting as every man for himself.At thesound of a trumpet call, they all charge intothe arena and attempt to unhorse each otheruntil the last mounted knight is declared thewinner. Cheating—where several knightsgang up on an individual—is common,although as soon as their victim is unhorsedthe survivors turn on each other again.

The JoustJousting is a contest between two individualsarmed with lances, who ride toward eachother on either side of a low, centralpartition.The rules are simple.A knightscores points for making a clean strike withhis lance on the center, or “boss,” of hisopponent’s shield. More points are scored ifthe opponent’s lance is shattered or if he isunhorsed by the strike.A combatant isautomatically disqualified if he strikes eitherhis opponent or his opponent’s horseanywhere on the body.

Although the lances are round-endedwooden weapons, injury to the jousters iscommon.The central divider is a measure toreduce injury to the horses—consideredmuch more valuable than the men.

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Jousting—the Sport of KnightsJousts are a great spectacle for everyone. They give superiors a chance to assessthe fitness and skills of knights, who sharpen their fighting abilities and show off their courage—especially to the admiring ladies.

The knight’s warhorseIn war and at the tournament, a knightrides a very powerful, highly spiritedwarhorse called a dextrarius or destrier.Thename comes from the way the knight’s

squire leads the horse—since he alwayswalks on the left side of the horse’s head,he holds the animal with his right hand,and dexter is the Latin for right.

Destriers are so expensive forknights to purchase that manylords offer them instead of pay.Their replacement cost is thereason they are protected fromharm during jousting contests.

When preparing for amounted charge in battle, the knight

rides to the front on a palfrey.This is alighter, short-legged, long-bodied horse thatwalks at a gentle amble and is also suitablefor women to ride. In this way, his destrieris allowed the maximum time to rest beforethe heavily armored knight mounts, readyfor the charge. In either case, the squire isresponsible for looking after the spare horsefor his master.

A European knightmounted on hisdestrier, or warhorse,goes into battle duringthe Crusades.

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The Practice tournamentRather more of a sideshow, there is littleceremony and there are few rules in aPractice tournament.The two main eventsare riding at a quintain (see page 40) or“riding at the rings,” in which the knightcharges at a ring suspended on a cord andattempts to carry it off on the tip of hislance.

The code of honorWinning knights are awarded customary“golden rings” along with kisses in a formaland elaborate prize-giving ceremony by theladies of the court, who are central to thewhole ideal of knighthood. Chivalrous andromantic conduct are important aspects ofthe tournament.

A combatant knight selects a beautifullady—preferably married to a husband ofhigher rank than his own, through which hemight gain a future advantage.The ladygives the knight her “honor,” a scarf perhaps,or maybe her handkerchief, for him to wearin the joust. If he fights successfully, theknight expects to receive his reward—acourtly kiss.

Center: A knightprepares for atournament andreceives his “insignia”from his lady love.

Above: Two combatantsin the joust meet on the“field of honor.”

Right: A medievalillustration showsknights ganging up in amêlée. The beautifulladies of the courtwatch and argue amongthemselves overwhether the knightcarrying their “honor”will win.

also grant God’sforgiveness orabsolution for sinscommitted. Priests maygive a final blessing tothe dying—this iscalled extreme unction.Priests are usuallyappointed by a bishopto care for a localcommunity called aparish. Beneath thepriest comes thedeacon, a cleric with aspecial responsibility forthe collection anddistribution of alms—

In many respects, the great churchmenwield as much power as any noble. Like

the feudal system, the Roman CatholicChurch has a complex hierarchy that ordersthe spiritual life of every person, and inmany cases their daily toil.

The pope is head of the Church, God’srepresentative on Earth.Among his manyfunctions, the pope has the power to make adeceased person whose virtue and holinesshas been proven into a saint, through the riteof canonization.

Beneath the pope, cardinals act as thepope’s advisors.They take their name fromcardo, the Latin for “hinge,” which explainstheir function, ensuring that the pope’swishes are communicated throughoutChristendom. It is from among the cardinalsthat a new pope is elected on the death ofthe previous one, and only cardinals mayvote in the ballot.

Next in the chain of command come thearchbisops, also known as metropolitans,archbishops are appointed by the pope tohave authority over a wide territory ofseveral dioceses—the territorialadministrative units of the Church, alsocalled sees or bishoprics.

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CHAPTER 3

The Power of the ChurchFather of the CommunityWhile the kings and powerful noblesmight control, or even own, the lives ofordinary folk, they have no hold over amedieval person’s soul—that is in thehands of the Church.

The major ordersadminister a part of thediocese for the bishop.In turn, an archdeaconis senior to the dean,the cleric who is put incharge of the care andrepair of a cathedral.

A priest is theordained minister of theChurch. He can give theHoly Sacrament to hiscongregation at mass,baptize newborninfants, marry people,hear confessions, andhand out punishmentscalled penances. He can

The bishop is thesenior minister of theChurch. He may ordainlesser ministers andconfirm people whohave been baptized bya priest. His area ofauthority is called adiocese. Bishops aregranted a cathedra orthrone to sit on, and sotheir church buildingsare called cathedrals.Bishops are supportedby one or morearchdeacons, whohave the authority to

Right: The Church’s power is symbolized in the actof coronation, a ceremony during which archbishopscrown a monarch, in this case King Henry II ofCastile, Spain in 1369.

Opposite: Despite ordering the lives of nobles andcommoners alike, there are times when peopleresent the Church’s power. This manuscriptillustration shows the pope, bishops, and clericsdefending their “fortress of faith” against hereticsand “unbelievers.”

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CHAPTER 3: THE POWER OF THE CHURCH

charity for the poor ofthe parish. Hisassistant is called asub-deacon, thelowest of the majororders and a steppingstone to promotionwithin the Churchhierarchy.

Highest of the minororders is that of theacolyte, who hasresponsibility for achurch or cathedral’scandles and assiststhe priest inpreparations for mass.

In the next rank,exorcists areresponsible for thecasting out of evil frompeople possessed bySatan and his demons.This exorcism, as it iscalled, uses prayer and

special incantations toexpel the spirits.

In the third rankcomes the reader, alsocalled the lector fromthe Latin word meaningto read. His principalresponsibility is to

conduct readings of theBible during services.The lowliest cleric is thedoorkeeper, whosefunctions are to headprocessions and lookafter the fabric of achurch’s building.

The minor orders

Even if a peasant were capable of readingthe Bible, he would not understand a

word of it, for it is written in Latin.While anoble lord might understand some of thespoken Latin, very few peasants can.Thismeans that senior priests and clerics are theonly interpreters of God’s word.

In the parish of Ludford, almost everyoneattends the Sunday services, and punishmentsare handed out to those who fail to showup, and to the “slug-a-beds” who arrive late.

As usual, the priest thunders from hispulpit, delivering a blistering sermon on thenature of mankind’s evil. Few of hisparishioners are in any doubt as to thedreadful fate that awaits them in the afterlifeif they sin (see page 57) because he explainsin graphic detail the horrors of Hell.

Everyone is a sinnerConfessing sins to a priest and makingatonement through a punishment, orpenance, is essential if the person is not toaccumulate so much evil that they will besent to Hell at the end of their lives. Sins aregraded in evilness and divided between twodifferent forms.

Mortal sins—those that directly offendGod—are hard to pardon, while venialsins—acts that offend against other people—are graded according to their severity.Thosewho die unrepentant of a mortal sin willcertainly go straight to Hell for all eternity,but the majority of venial sinners who diebefore paying for their sins are sent topurgatory, where they are cleansed throughsuffering before their admission to Heaven.

Sins also have a second form.A sin ofcommission is a wrong act and a sin ofomission is not doing something that shouldbe done. Even “wrong thoughts” areconsidered to be sinful. In return for thepriest offering God’s forgiveness throughabsolution, the sinner must accept apunishment or penance.

Punishment for sinningA penance might be as mild as being madeto help clean up the churchyard, but itcould be as severe as spending a wholeday going without food, painfully

46


The Abiding FaithEven among the aristocracy, few people are able to write or read. Only those whoenter the ministry of the Church receive any education. As a result, the monasteriesand great cathedrals are the main centers of learning.

Far left: Sundaysermons can carry ontoo long for simplepeasant folk, who soonlose track of what theirpriest is trying to tellthem.

kneeling or lying prostrate on the cold, hard,stone floor of a church in prayer.

Nobles, too, must do penance for theirsins, although to avoid the humiliation of apunishment witnessed by commoners, thewealthy lord is more likely to makeatonement by paying for a new chapel ormaking a grant of money to a religious order.

Pilgrims’ progressA popular form of penance is to go on apilgrimage to visit a holy shrine.The objectof the pilgrim’s veneration may be the tombof a saint, a place noted for miracles of healing,or a gem-studded box called a reliquary,containing a piece of the True Cross of Christ,or the bone or personal possession of a saint—a “relic.”Although simony, the trade inreligious artifacts, is outlawed, such is theirpower that it remains a big business, andobjects said to possess fabulous powers arebeing uncovered all over Europe.

For some, a pilgrimage might mean littlemore than a day’s walking to enjoy thecompany of others on an important day, butothers take the journey more seriously as aform of atonement for some terrible sin theycommitted. Still others make it a way of life,journeying from shrine to shrine in a way oflife similar to that of a monk or hermit.

There are many small holy shrines, but thethree great places of western Christianity areRome, Compostela, and Canterbury. InRome, pilgrims can visit many holy sitesincluding the burial places of the Apostlesand many other martyrs.A prayer offered toSt.Vitus will result in a third of a lifetime’ssins being pardoned, while the pilgrim wholooks on the handkerchief of St.Veronica—which bears the imprint of Christ’s face—can wipe out up to 3,000 years of purgatory.

The Church’s indulgenceThere is another way to cut down the time asoul might have to spend in purgatory, bybuying an “indulgence.”An indulgence offersthe recipient the extra chance to pay his debtwhile alive, usually in the form of giving apart of his wealth to the Church treasury.

Unfortunately, this has led to numerous“professional pardoners” selling indulgenceson a large scale for their own profit—apractice which will surely send themselvesinto the despair of purgatory one day.

Seeking sanctuaryThrough the rules of sanctuary, the RomanCatholic Church offers a safe refuge forthose fleeing from justice or persecution.Any who seek refuge within the precincts ofa church building designated as sanctuarymay remain there for 30 to 40 days.Whenthe time has expired, they are allowed to gointo exile without harm.Violation ofsanctuary is punishable by excommunication.

In some cases, there is a stone seat withina church, called the frith-stool, on which theseeker of sanctuary has to sit in order toestablish his claim to protection. Morecommonly, there is a large ring-knocker onthe church door, the grasping of which givesthe right of asylum.

47


Archbishop ofCanterbury, ThomasBecket, is assassinatedin the cathedral byknights of King Henry IIin 1170. Later made asaint, his tomb hasmade Canterbury one ofChristendom’s greatpilgrimage centers.

Below: Pilgrims on aroad in southern Europeare relieved to at lastsee the shrine that isthe object of their longand weary journey.

Thereare several

different orders ofmonastic houses, withvarying rules, but the basis of their way of lifefollows the ideals of St. Benedict. He foundedthe first western monastery at Cassino, Italy,in 529. Monks devote their whole life toGod and retire inside the monastery precinctsunder vows of poverty, chastity, andunquestioning obedience to a superior.

A monk’s dayLife in a monastery is organized around anunchanging cycle in which attending divineservice occupies at least five out of every 24hours.The bell rings out at midnight insummer, in some orders two hours laterduring the winter, summoning the monks toMatins (from the Latin word for morning).This service lasts about an hour, after whichthey can return to sleeping until 6 a.m.,when it is time to return to the church forthe half-hour service called Prime.

48


Prayer and Toil—the MonasteryAt its best, the monastery represents the core of medieval Christian culture. Places of prayer andreligious contemplation, monasteries are also farms, craft centers, libraries, colleges, and hospitals.

Above: Monks devotethemselves to a life ofreligious contemplation,but the hours spent inprayer after a long day’swork can send even themost devout to sleep inthe church pews.

Left: The contemplativelife in monasteries hasled to an outpouring ofreligious literary work.Books are painstakinglycopied out by hand.Here Eadwine theScribe works on apsalter (book of prayer).

49

A brief breakfast of homemade bread andale gives the sustenance needed for work orstudy. Many monks toil in the monasteryfields, often aided in heavier tasks by thevillage serfs offering work instead of theobligatory church tithe (see page 15). Somemonks, skilled in writing and art, copy outsacred texts in the library and illustrate them,while others tend to livestock, the cooking,and the sick and elderly infirm.

Work ceases at 9 a.m. for Mass, afterwhich matters of monastery business arediscussed in the monks’ chapter house beforea second Mass at 11 a.m.This is followed atmidday by the main meal of soup, bread,vegetables, fruit, and cheese taken in thedining room, called the refectory.


Cantor or precentordirects the monks in

their singing andreligious chanting

Refectorianin charge of the

dining room (called thefrater or refectory)

Kitchenerin charge of cooking for

monks, guests, andmonastery dependentssuch as sick villagers

Infirmarianlooks after sick monks;also responsible for thequarterly “bloodletting”

Almonerdistributes alms to the

poor and destitute,usually gifts of food

and drink

Novice masterresponsible for the

behavior and trainingof new monks, called

novices

Sub-cellarer Granatoriuskeeper of the

grain

Abbot Prior

Sacrist or sacristancares for the monastery’s

church and everythingnecessary for services

Cellarer or bursarresponsible for all

the monastery’s foodand drink

Subsacristsecretary

Matriculariusmaster of works

and repairs

Churchtreasurer

Revestiariuslooks after the choir’svestments, linen for

the altars, andchurch hangings

An ordered lifeThe superior of a monastery or an abbey iscalled the abbot.The abbot is supported byhis next in command, the prior. Below thesetwo are the “obedientaries,” monks withspecific duties.The most senior obedientariesare shown in this “family tree.”

Although meat is available, it is forbiddenon certain days of the year, called fast days,and since fasting days take up almost half ofthe year, meat is not often eaten.As they taketheir meals, the monks listen in silence toreadings from the Scriptures.

After the meal, rest is allowed until 2 p.m.,when the service of Nones (thecommencement of the ninth hour of theday) is held.This is followed by further workuntil 6 p.m.—broken by Vespers (from theLatin for evening) at 4 p.m.—when a lightsupper is served in the refectory, followed bythe day’s last service of Compline at 7 p.m.Shortly after its completion, the monks retireto their dormitory to sleep, still dressed intheir habits.

While peasants struggleto keep warm in theharsh winter, somemonks live a life ofcomparative comfort.

The churchgoer—which meanseveryone—learns daily of how Jesus

performed miracles of healing, and storiesabound of saints and their relics performingsimilar miracles. In its notion of Christ’sblood curing people’s sins, Christianity is a“healing” faith. So it is natural that monksshould adopt the role of healers andpharmacists.

St. Benedict, who founded theBenedictine Order of monks, advised hisbrothers “before all things and above allthings care is to be had of the sick…and letthe sick themselves remember that they areserved for the honor of God.”The monksbelieve that a healthy body means a healthysoul and that failing to take care of the soulis a sin against God.

To achieve a healthy body (and a healthysoul), the monastic healer has a variety ofmethods at his disposal.

The herb gardenIn their role as librarians, the monks haveaccess to numerous and often ancient worksof herbal medicine; the herb garden is animportant part of any monastery. Dependingon the region and the climate, as many as120 herbs are grown. Some of these haveknown medicinal properties, others arebelieved to have a magical effect (see “Wealthin horseradish”).

The common thistle and a large relative ofit called butterbur are commonly cultivatedin monasteries and, used in combination, arean effective remedy against the plague.Thereare herbs to heal just about every ailment,from bad dreams to insect stings, snakebitesto stomach complaints, from skin woundsand broken bones to mouth cancers. Garlic iscommonly added to other herbs since, inaddition to its healing properties, it wards offevil spirits, witches, vampires, and snakes.

Mixed with various types of oil, wax, andeven animal dung, herbs are taken orally orapplied as poultices to wounds.

Although herbs are gathered all throughthe year, harvest is the busiest time.Theplants are cut and tied in bunches to hang inthe herbarium to dry. It is a place thick withthe strong, aromatic smell of recently cutherbs.Although in many cases fresh herbs aremore effective, dried plants help to cure thesick right through a harsh winter.

BloodlettingIt has been known for centuries—even asfar back as the ancient Greeks—that aperson’s blood contains four elements, or“humors” (from the Latin umorem, meaningfluids).These are black bile, phlegm, blood,and yellow bile, and they are associatedwith the four elements that make upeverything in the universe—earth, water,fire, and air.

50


The Monastery as a SurgeryMedieval medicine is practiced by few people—for most commoners,their local barber is also the doctor-surgeon—but it is in themonastery that the most scientific care for the sick is found.

1. Abbey-church.

2. Gatehouse, mannedby a porter.

3. Monks’ dormitories.

4. Kitchens, with pantry,bottlery, and cellar.

5. Refectory (diningroom).

6. Abbot’s quarters.

7. Infirmary for care ofsick and elderly monks.

8. Herb garden withherbarium.

9. Fish ponds.

2

5

3

4

cloister

6

The four elements must remain in balancefor a person to be healthy, so any illness isblamed on an excess of one humor or another.For instance, a fever has hot, dry symptoms,due to an excess of yellow bile.The remedy isto drain the excess by bleeding the patient.Analternative might be to prescribe an icy bathwhich, being cold and wet, will stimulateyellow bile's opposite humor, phlegm.

There are three methods of bloodletting:leeching, venesection, and cupping. Leechinginvolves attaching to the patient a blood-sucking worm known as a leech (from laece,the Anglo-Saxon word for doctor).The leechdraws off a large quantity of blood, and inextreme cases several are attached to thepatient to speed up the process.

In venesection a vein is slit open and theblood allowed to flow into a bowl. Cupping

involves the application of heated glass cupsover the skin.They create vacuums that drawblood up through the skin.

Whichever method is used, the purpose isthe same: to reduce the excess blood in thebody and so restore balance and health. In amonastery, bloodletting is considerednecessary on a regular basis, at least four timea year, more frequently in times of general illhealth. Many communities even have aspecial building for bloodletting, which isoverseen by the infirmarian.

Once a monk has been bled, he is relievedof his labors for a period of time and is noteven expected to attend services.Themonastery’s infirmary beds are often filledwith monks recovering from the loss ofblood, happy in the knowledge that they arehealthier than before.

51


Wealth inhorseradishWhile horseradish isgood against a cough,fever, breathing difficulties, andstomach ailments, it is also believed that aperson who has a piece of horseradish intheir purse during New Year’s Eve will notrun out of money in the next year.

Fact BoxThe medievalnotion of“humors” stillremains in ourvocabulary todaywhen a happyperson is said tobe in “goodhumor” and abad-temperedperson is called“ill humored.”

7

9

8

1

Such is the frenzy of religious constructionthat a contemporary chronicler claims

the land “is clothed in a white robe ofchurches.” In the Middle Ages there are twoarchitectural styles of church building.Thefirst, used between 950 and the mid-11thcentury, is called Romanesque, because ofits adoption of Roman ideas like therounded arch, seen in the few remainingancient ruins.

The second—a development ofRomanesque—began with the building ofthe abbey church of St. Denis, Paris, in 1132and soon spread all over Europe.This iscalled Gothic (see pages 54–55).

Adoption of the Roman basilicaThe classic form of the large late-Romanchurch is the basilica, essentially a longrectangular building consisting of a centralnave, flanked by one or more aisles. In abasilican church the nave and the aisles areseparated by a row of large columns, whichsupport the roof over the nave.

If there are two aisles on either side of thenave, a secondary line of columns separatesthe flanking aisles. In most cases the aisles arecovered by a lower roof, while the nave’swalls soar above them and are pierced bywindows.This upper area, or clerestory, letslight into the building.

At the eastern end of the nave, a semi-circular area—the apse—houses the altar. Insome cases, the apse is distanced from thenave and the side aisles by a rectangular areacalled the transept, which runs at right anglesto the nave. In many later churches, thetransept exceeds the width of the mainbuilding to create a “cruciform” basilica—the shape of a cross.

Romanesque styleThe basic element of Romanesque is therounded arch (seen left), a style borrowedfrom the ancient Romans.These arches reston massive masonry piers.

The first Romanesque basilicas wereconstructed with an arcade of arches alongeither side of the nave and a flat or A-framewooden roof. Later examples have a tallernave under a “barrel vault.” In this case,transverse arches are built across the nave,supported on the columns of the side arcade.The gaps between are filled with wedge-shaped bricks to form the vault.

However, an arched roof creates its ownproblems.The nave walls must be immenselythick to support the lateral pressure of theroof, which is trying to push the wallsoutward, and ideally, there should be noclerestory windows to weaken the walls.

52


Building God’s HouseAll over Europe, the new wealth createdby the growth of towns is expressedthrough the building of cathedrals, greatabbeys, and churches.

A cruciform basilicaThis is the floor plan ofDurham Cathedral.

naveaisletranseptapse

west entrance Towersidechapels

this section of the nave is

called the“choir”stairs to clerestory

The rounded arch is thebasic element ofRomanesque style.

Above: This French churchhas a classic Romanesquebarrel-vault roof.

Churches built like this are usually verygloomy inside.

To get around this design fault, architectshave strengthened nave columns and thenlinked them by diagonal arches that run

along the vaulted nave like a series of ribs.This is called “groin vaulting,” and thesystem adds sufficient strength to thestructure that clerestory windows can beadded.This rib-vaulting is the basis of the

53


Above: The next step inRomanesque’sarchitecturaldevelopment is thevault, with roundeddiagonal ribs butpointed transversearches.

Above: The nave and roof of Ely Cathedral and,below, a simplified cutaway shows the basic

structure of a Romanesque basilica like Ely.

aisle

gallery

aisle

nave

clerestory

brick infill

transversearch

inner gallerywindows openonto the nave

glazedclerestorywindow

lead-covered wooden roofis supported on thetransverse arches

Freeing the formIn the next development, architects made allthe arches pointed so that nave and transversearches have become the same height,bringing back the clean lines of theRomanesque.This so-called Gothic style hasmany advantages over Romanesque.Theshape of the arches means that the strain onthe piers is transferred from the horizontalaxis to the vertical.This allows designers toreduce the size of the support columns whileraising the height of the vault.

It is important to provide extrareinforcement to the piers at the pointwhere they support the pointed ribs.Thefinal Gothic innovation is the flying buttress;a heavy stone pier built outside thecathedral.Arches spread from these, over thelow roofs of the cathedral aisles to reinforcethe piers of the nave at the maximum pointof stress. Secondary arches sometimessupport the walls of the aisles.

54


Gothic—Reaching for HeavenThe greatest monuments to Christendom in the Middle Ages are the soaringcathedrals and churches built in the Gothic style, which started in Paris in 1132,and whose spires now tower above every city and town.

The pointed archdefines the Gothic style.

Left: This cross sectionthrough the choir of aGothic cathedral builtbetween 1344 and1351 shows how aflying buttress supportsthe upper nave wall.

Right: The vault ofGloucester Cathedralshows how the additionof many pointed rib-arches can become amagnificent anddecorative fan ofumbrella-like spokes.

In a Romanesque church, with its boxes ofrounded arches, the walls bear much of the

weight-load of the vault and roof.The innovations of the Gothic style are

the ribbed vault and pointed arch. In aRomanesque church the vault is ribbed fromside to side, dividing the roof into a numberof regular bays.The addition of two diagonalribs make a sturdy framework that allows thetriangular sections between the ribs to bemade of lighter stonework.

However, because the diagonal ribs arelonger than the crossing (transverse) ribs butstill need to be a half-circle, their crossingpoint is higher than the top of the transverseand arcade arches.This spoils the clean linesof the Romanesque style because the centralroof line has to change heights to match thedifferent heights of the arches.The solution isto make the transverse arches pointed at thetop so that they are the same height as thetransverse ribs.

With the weight of the building restingon a highly engineered structure of ribs,piers, and buttresses, the walls no longerbear any load, so they can be pierced withmany windows.This has led to theintroduction of stained-glass windows,filling cathedrals with magnificently coloredlight. In some examples it seems as thoughthe very walls of the church are made ofglowing glass.

The result is a light, airy structure, filledwith a soaring sense of grace, wherespiritualism is allowed free rein.The sheerheight of the vault leads the worshippers’eyes toward Heaven, while the marchingarcade of tall arches running the long navefocuses attention on the apse and altar in thefar distance.

55


Above: LincolnCathedral, built between1192 and 1280,represents a perfectform of early Gothic.

The stonemasons’ artreaches its peak with astyle of Gothic calledPerpendicular becauseof the repetition ofvertical elements. Thestone tracery ofwindows is so delicateas to be breathtaking.This example is fromthe south transept ofGloucester Cathedral,c.1335.

Reports tell of the seamen all dyingwithin a week of their arrival. Days

later, and most of the population of Messinafell ill.Within months, the disease had spreadto Italy, and from there throughout thecountries of Europe.The French doctorSimon de Covino has said that it seems as ifone victim “could infect the whole world.”

The Black Death is bubonic plague, adisease spread from rats to humans byparasitic fleas. In a society where hygiene isan unknown word, the disease spreads withease.The initial symptoms are hightemperatures, aching limbs, and lymph nodeswellings or ‘buboes.’The plague attacks thelungs with effects similar to those ofpneumonia, and the disease is invariably fatal.Other symptoms include internal bleeding,boils, and fever.The victim feels a profounddepression, and death usually comes afterthree to five days.

Empty towns and villagesAlthough some towns and villages escape thedisease, the effects are dreadful. Even inlightly affected areas the mortality rate is15–20 percent, and in the worst hit regionswell over 50 percent have died—in all, about20 million people throughout Europe.

In towns, the aftereffects are causing acomplete collapse of the economy.As thedead become too numerous to be givenChristian burial, their corpses lie in thestreets, accelerating the spread of the disease.In the countryside, peasants drop dead in thefields and wayfarers at the roadside.

As usual in times of crisis, innocentscapegoats are held responsible for thecalamity, especially the Jewish communities.It is said that in German towns, the Jews arebeing massacred, even though they havesuffered from the Black Death as much aseveryone else.

56


Pestilence—the Black DeathThe Black Death has been the worst human disaster in Europe’s history. It began inthe fall of 1347, when seamen returning from Kaffa on the Black Sea arrived inSicily aboard Genoese ships suffering from a strange disease.

London

Paris

for unknownreasons, fourareas remainedplague-free

Nuremberg

E N G L A N D

F R A N C E

P O L A N D

L I T H U A N I A

U K R A I N E

H U N G A R Y

S C A N D I N A V I A R U S S I A

H O L Y

R O M A N

E M P I R E

S P A I N

Prague

Milan

Rome

Messina

Sicily

Sardinia

M E D I T E R R A N E A N S E A

BLACK SEA

N O R T H

S E A

Corsica

Toledo

Kaffa1346

1347

1347

mid-1348

end 1348

1349

1350

1351

I T A L Y

Spread of the Black Death

Above right: All acrossEurope the samescenes are repeated, astens of thousands fallvictim to the rat-borneplague. Soon, the burialgrounds are full andcivic authorities mustdig mass graves to takethe heavy loads of thetumbrel carts. Survivorsgrow used to the cry of“Bring out your dead!”

Right: A procession ofFlagellants.

Above:Rats and their parasiticfleas spread thedisease.

Left: Two sufferers ofthe bubonic plague,from the 15th-centuryToggenberg Bible.

57

The wrath of GodTo ordinary people, it is obvious that eitherGod has abandoned them or He has visitedHis anger on them for all their sins. Onegroup in particular has decided to take onthemselves the woes of the world and inflictself-punishment.They are called theFlagellants, and they wander from village totown, thrashing their almost naked bodieswith scourges and whips until their fleshbleeds.

Many other extremist groups have alsosprung up, but with the priesthooddecimated, there is little the Church can doto prevent them spreading their strangebeliefs among the weary survivors.

So severe is the population loss that thefields go untended, livestock is left to starve,and it seems as though it will take manyyears for the continent to recover from theBlack Death.

The small village of Ludford as seen onpages 16–17 has changed beyond

recognition. Much of the surrounding foresthas vanished, a stone bridge has replaced theford, and a large stone castle now stands inplace of the old wooden motte and bailey.

Many houses of various sizes surround thecastle and the chapel, which is now abishop’s cathedral. Due to the many wars ofthe earlier medieval period, the center ofLudford is protected by a defensive wall,although many houses and peasant hutshuddle outside. How did this transformationtake place?

Wool brings a new prosperityThere are several reasons for Ludford’sexpansion. Some growth had occurredduring the 12th and 13th centuries, but inpart the Black Death had a hand. In its wake,many survivors living in the depopulatedcountryside migrated to the nearest urbancenters for protection and to find work andfood.The great landowners have takenadvantage of the fall in rural population byenclosing great areas of arable fields topasture for cattle and sheep grazing.

Wool is in huge demand all over Europe,and fortunes are to be made from its sale,especially to the Flemish cloth-makers ofnorthern Belgium and France. In turn, thishas pushed even more peasants off their landsto find a living in the towns and cities.

With more people coming to live in thetown, like many others Ludford has had toexpand its accommodation and services,which means more bureaucrats to administercivil matters. In turn, the administrators wantservants, better houses, finer clothes, andmore furniture and luxuries to show offtheir status, which means more craftsmen tomake them.Artisans need bigger and better

equipped workshops andapprentices to help them.Theyare the town’s burghers, the start of anew middle class of citizens, owningproperty and ambitious to prosper further.

The cathedral, too, now requiresnumerous clerics to manage itsaffairs in the diocese and localparishes.These men must bewell educated, so thecathedral has added aschool and auniversity, which iswelcomed by thetown’s burghers.

Another class ofworker has sprungup.With its valuablewool trade, the riveris now busy withbarges transportingthe woolen balesdown river to themouth, where aport has been built.Ludford is growinglarger every day.

58

Life in a Medieval TownThe Growth of TownsBefore the Black Death, most towns had been little more thanmarketplaces for the selling of local produce. But a series ofsocial revolutions has changed all that.

1. The abbey.

2. Parish churches.

3. The cathedral.

4. The market hall inthe main square.

5. The Tabard, town inn.

6. The lord-knight’scastle.

11

7. Grammarschool.

8. Stone bridge andtoll gate.

9. Fairground.

10. Water mill.

11. Fish pond.

CHAPTER 4

1

2

34

6

5

7

8

9

102

60

Right: Yeomen enjoytheir newfound leisurein many pursuits, suchas a convivial eveningin the local inn. Thispicture by PieterBreughel is calledPeasant Wedding.

1

2

3

45

1. Cattle are kept in alarge open-sided barn,which also houses thefamily’s two horses.

2. The general utilityroom.

3. Part of the house hasa loft to provide drystorage space and anextra sleeping area.

4. A passagewaycrosses the building.

5. The living area isopen to the roof beams.

A yeoman’s farmsteadThis farm lies close to town, and its owner is doingwell. He has been able to buy more land from theprofits made by selling his produce at market. Soon,he plans to build an even larger house than thistraditional cottage.

After the Black Death, the countrysidehas emptied out—a consequence of

several famines and the ravages of the plagueitself. It might be thought that this hascaused hardship for the serfs shackled to theland. In fact, the opposite is the truth—thepeasants have never been so well off.

A labor marketBecause so many perished in the plague,there is now a serious shortage of field labor.As a result, in the 1370s living standards haverisen considerably as wages have gone upaccordingly. No longer are the peasants ofEurope prepared to endure the burdens theyonce suffered, they want freedom from theirtraditional feudal obligations.

With law and order broken down duringthe epidemic, many survivors were forced toleave the land on which their families hadlived and toiled for generations in search ofshelter and food in the small nearby towns.

This has given the post-plague peasant asense of mobility never before experienced.He also feels that there are means ofimproving his situation by the example ofthe freer citizens of the town, who hire outtheir services. In fact, this period is one inwhich the workforce has the upper hand.

Peasants become land ownersA second consequence of the Black Death isthe plentiful land that can be obtainedcheaply with the improved wages. For thefirst time, medieval peasants are becomingland-owners, or freeholders.

Naturally, this situation does not appeal tothe feudal overlords, who—already short ofvilleins—are losing tenant farmers to thefreedom of their own holdings.And thenobles are obliged to pay more in wages tokeep the few villeins they do still have.

A freeholder of land is called a yeoman, astatus well below that of the old landedgentry and nobles, but considerably abovethat of peasant.The “gentleman farmer” letshis land to tenant farmers rather than farmthe land himself, but the yeoman is happy towork his fields and livestock himself.However, the successful yeoman can alsoafford to dip into the labor market and hirepeasants to help him.

In this way, some yeomen, especially thosewith land close to a town and its market,have expanded by using their profits topurchase even more land.This gives ayeoman something the peasant never had, anopportunity for leisure time.

Learning to live with freedomWhile a yeoman is equally comfortableshovelling manure on his farm, he also useshis spare time to educate himself. He canafford to learn to write and read from books,or he can enjoy country sports such asshooting and hunting.

In the 14th century, some yeomen haveearned a status as leaders in their district—constables, sheriffs, justices of the peace, evenmayors.As a consequence, the yeoman hasquickly developed into a respectable andhonorable middle class of society.

CHAPTER 4: LIFE IN A MEDIEVAL TOWN

A New Middle Class—the YeomanIn the later Middle Ages, the role of the peasant has altered. There are still serfsand villeins on the larger estates of nobles, but the Black Death has had aprofoundly beneficial effect for many.

The fighting yeomanRetainers of a fairly high rank in noble householdsare also called yeomen, and the name is oftengiven to specific branches of the royal household,for instance Yeomen of the Guard.

The yeoman represents a status between thearistocratic knight and the lower-class man-at-arms and household servants. The famous English

longbowmen are mostly yeomen, usually mountedfor mobility but fighting on foot. In the countryside,yeomen are commonly organized into military units,who hire their services to the king when required.The yeoman foot soldiers of the Hundred Years War(1337–1453) being fought between England andFrance are the troops most personally in the serviceof the king.

62


A New Middle Class—the BurgherIn German, the word “burg” means a fortified place. Since most medieval towns areprotected by walled fortifications, those who live in them are called burghers.They are solid citizens of the merchant class, a dynamic force in medieval society.

It would be an error to think that townand country are separate entities; they rely

heavily on each other.Without a surplus offood produced in the surroundingcountryside, a town is unlikely to grow andprosper.The food markets of a small townalso provide a place where merchants can plytheir more specialist wares in sufficientquantity to bring down prices.

As a result, the peasants benefit from thecheaper costs of items such as cooking potsand clothing.And the shoppers, especiallythe yeomen who now have more income tospend, help to create a larger pool ofcraftsmen to supply their needs.

Bustling streetsEstablished towns act as magnets for thosepeasants who migrated after the Black Deathor who have been thrown off their land infavor of sheep-raising for the wool trade, andconsequently their populations increase.Compared to the country, the town is a

colorful, exciting place.All across Europetowns have developed almost independentlyof the nobility, and their inhabitants feel freerthan the feudal peasant.

The town’s merchant burghers are notforced to obey a distant lord, instead theyfollow the regulations of their elected mayorand other civic officers.They work tobenefit themselves and their families, not abaron, and they pay their taxes to the kingdirectly.And if it becomes necessary theyraise the money to pay mercenaries todefend their town.

The drive for educationThe proud burgher is a stalwart supporter ofgood civic administration—a well-run andorderly town is good for business. He is alsovery visible in doing “good works” for theChurch, and a regular giver of alms tosupport the poor and needy. In the wake ofthe Black Death, there are all too many whoare still destitute.

Below: The Bavariantown of Augsburg istypical of the new,wealthy centers of tradeand manufacture. Itscitizens are freer tomake their own lawsthan ever before. A newprosperity makes itpossible to pay forextensive defensivewalls to protect theinhabitants in times ofunrest or war.

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One aspect the burgher and the yeomanhas in common is a yearning for educationas a natural consequence of the greater timefor leisure pursuits. Education is animportant aspect in raising his children,especially the boys.This has led to a greatdemand for books written in the vernacular(local language) and not in traditional Latin,which few outside the Church any longerunderstand.

It has also sparked a spate of schoolbuildings to provide a basic education formiddle-class children. Unlike a noble, aburgher would never send his son away to bea page in a noble’s household. He keeps hisfamily together, and wants his sons to inheritthe business and expand it to support asmany sons as they might have.

A strictly formal education might lead ason to becoming a lawyer, possibly aclergyman, but for the burgher there is noshame in his son being apprenticed throughone of the trade guilds (see pages 68–69).

Status in color and qualityAlong with the increased social status of theburgher comes a desire for better housingand quality of clothing. One of thewealthiest trades is that of cloth-making, for

which the Flemish are renowned. But evenmore exotic, lighter weight fabrics havearrived from the Orient with soldiersreturning from the Crusades.

The burgher’s home may well be the placewhere he works, but it is also where heentertains other merchants, many of thembusiness contacts from foreign countries.Thegrowth in international trade created by thenew middle class merchants requires a bettermeans of payment than bartering, and so hasdriven the need for a greater use of coins (seepages 82–83). But above all, the burgher’shome is a place of ease and comfort, as unlikethe old serf ’s hut as chalk is from cheese.

Duke Philip of Burgundygreets a noble, whooffers him a translationof the Koran in front ofa monastic church anda town, with the largercity of Mussy-l’Evequein the distance. Thehouses of the town-dwelling burghers(bourgoisie in French)now look much morecomfortable than thedrafty halls of previousyears.

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2

3

4

5

56

7

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The design of most burghers’ homes isdetermined largely by lack of space in

the crowded streets.Town land is valuable,and the normal lot is long and narrow,running back from the street.

The usual house plan is rectangular, withthe gable end facing onto the street.Thefrontage on the lower floor is dividedbetween a shop and the main entrance tothe house. Behind this is the living hall, oftenrising to two stories. Screens or tapestryhangings divide the hall to form apassageway from the entrance door to thepantries and kitchen.

A centrally placed hearth allows for ablazing fire in the winter months. Smokeescapes through a hole in the roof which iscovered by a louvre. Several of the richerburghers are now building brick chimneysagainst an outer wall to provide larger andsafer fires, and the chimney also draws outthe smoke more efficiently.

On the upper floor there is room for oneor more bed chambers above the passage andshop, reached by narrow stairs to a balconyoverlooking the hall. Extra space is gained byextending the floor out over the street.

The ever-present risk of fireThe kitchen and scullery is sometimes adetached structure at the rear, separated fromthe main house by a courtyard, or it mightsit beneath an overhang of the mainbuilding. Further back is the counting house.Depending on space, a workshop andwarehouses might be attached to the house,or separated by the yard.

The better off might afford to build atleast the lower floor’s walls of stone or brick,but most burghers’ houses are timber-framedwith wattle walls.This means that they are afire risk, and the closeness of adjacentbuildings, with their overhanging upperfloors, greatly adds to the risk of firespreading.

Privies and privacyDespite its obvious comforts compared to apeasant’s hut, there is very little privacy, sinceeveryone congregates in the hall to keepwarm, enjoy recreation, eat, and even tosleep. If there is room for a second bedchamber on the upper floor, it is likely thatall the children will have to sleep together init.The one or two servants bunk down inthe scullery, while any apprentices make theirbeds in the master’s workshop.

There are no proper sanitation facilities.Water is brought daily by carriers from theriver or town well.The most that the familymight hope for is a very occasional tub ofheated water for a bath, taken in the hallbehind a temporary screen. However, somepersonal hygiene can be obtained at one ofthe town’s “stews,” or public baths.

Privies or garderobes are made in thethickness of the walls of larger houses, or asprojecting jetties in lesser ones.The privydischarges through pipes and gutters into acesspit at the rear of the house.These areregularly cleaned out in the “night cartage offilth” by “men of the night soil” trade.Atnight, chamber pots are commonly used,their noxious contents usually thrown out ofthe window into the street below.

Home comfortsEven in the wealthier homes, there is littlefurniture.Typical furnishings might include atable covered with a linen cloth, benches orforms, a chair, stools, chests and smallcupboards and shelves for cups, jugs, pewter,knives and spoons, bowls and plates.

The house is a drafty place, for thewindows generally have no glass in them andonly have shutters. Some merchants canafford to fill the spaces between the window“mullions” with thin-shaved horn, whichcuts down the drafts and still allows a littledaylight through. Only the very rich canafford the huge cost of glass.


A Burgher’s HouseA town house has many features in common with the rural manor house, althoughthe extent and complexity depends on the owner’s wealth.The medieval merchant’shouse combines several functions—home, workshop, office, and streetside store.

1. First floor shop, opento the street. Thepivoted shutters toclose it off at night arealso used as trestlecounters to displaywares for sale.

2. Front door leading topassage.

3. Two-storied livinghall, with central hearth.

4. Kitchen, pantry, andscullery area.

5. Upper floor bedchamber with simplefurnishings.

6. Primitive toilet whichis shared communallywith neighbors.

7. Backyard, withchickens and a pig.

Since the Crusades, the skills of orientalweavers and cloth-makers have been

imported to Europe with the returningcrusader knights. From Damascus comes theintricately pattered damask, from Mosul thediaphanous muslin, from Gaza gauze, andfrom Egypt bales of cotton.

These fabrics have transformed latemedieval costume from the drabness ofearlier years.The tired old grays and russet-browns are out. Latest fashions call forstrikingly colored doublets and hose,sweeping cloaks trimmed with ermin or sablecollars, and softly fashioned leathershoes.

Age of the dandyRural dress remains much as it had in theearlier Middle Ages, coarse sack cloth overwoolen undergarments, but in the towns“flamboyance” is the key word. Never beforehas fashion reached such extravagant heights.

Exotic dyes from the Orient permit lavishuse of color, with vivid stripes and largeharlequin checks very popular for men. Forthe younger man, extremely tight-fittinghose (stockings) in bright reds, greens, bluesand softer hues are fashionable.

Over the upper body, a tunic called adoublet is worn that flares out from the waistinto a short “skirt.”The doublet might alsobe body-fitting or loose and flowing, andpadded shoulders (mahoîtres) give the youngblade a dashing, powerful appearance.Garments are often decorated by“dagging”—purposely made slashes inornamental zigzags, often revealing a stronglycontrasting color underneath.

Feet a victim of fashionA wide range of shoes is available, but thetypical dandy likes ones with extremely longpointed toes. Some have such extendedpoints that the tips have to be chained upand fastened at the knee for the owner towalk safely.

Headwear matches the men’s clothing inits color, and the fashion-conscious man israrely seen bare headed.A popular style ofhat is the high Burgundian cap, but wider

and flatter broad-brimmed soft caps arecommon.These are often draped witha liripipe, a soft scarf that is finished by

being draped over the left shoulder.

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A Flowering of StylesTown dwellers have access to anincreasing range of cloth and luxuryfabrics for both men and women.

Top: Fashionableenvoys with theirpointed shoes, paddedshoulders and body-hugging doublets andhose greet the Frenchking.

Center: A lawcourtofficial in his grandcape carries anadditional soft cap andcape over his shoulder.


Hats like sailing shipsWomen are clothed in a fanciful array ofgarments. Low-cut dresses with long sleevescovering the hands are usually worn withvoluminous trains (a serving girl is anessential accessory to keep the train fromdragging in the muddy street). Dressesusually have a high, narrow waistline, securedby a wide belt.

The hat of choice is called a hennin.This isa tall conical headdress adorned withstarched linen wings like a butterfly, or with

Above: Ladies wearinghennin hats of butterflywings attend a baby’sbaptism.

Above: The fashion forever more pointedmen’s shoes becomesridiculous.

The sumptuary lawsThe Church and the nobles disapprove of the extravagance of modern fashionsamong commoners in their trimmed fursand glittering jewelry. In showing off theirfinery, the lower classes are thought to bethreatening the established feudal order.So many European countries have passed“sumptuary” laws to regulate what aperson may wear, so as not to competewith the vivid styles of the aristocracy.Where these laws are in force, merchantsare only allowed to wear long dark robesand a capuchon, the hat favored bycommoners rich and poor.This hood hasa short cape extending over the shoulders,but many merchants, like these belowgreedily counting their money, push thesumptuary laws to the limit by twistingthe cape up on their heads like a turban.

a long, flowing veil draped from the point ofthe cone and dropped over an arm.Reticulated (wire mesh) hats are also popularwith women, and some of these reachextraordinary proportions of complexity inshape, wide side horns being in fashion.

Nobles tend to follow the new burgherfashions, sometimes to extremes. For instance,the churchmen have issued edicts forbiddingyoung noblemen from wearing ultra-shorttunics that reveal more tightly-hosed legthan they consider proper.

Opposite: Isabella ofBourbon, wife ofCharles the Bold Dukeof Burgundy, poses in atall conical hennin.

The first merchant guilds were formedearly in the Middle Ages for mutual

protection of their horses, wagons, and goodswhen traveling. In the late 14th century,their originally modest aims have changedenormously.The merchant guilds have therecognition of the town’s government, whichis hardly surprising since the wealthiest andmost influential citizens are councilors.

Indeed, it is often one or other of themost powerful of the guilds that dictatespolicy to the town council. It is notuncommon to find that the councilmembers are entirely drawn from among theranks of the guildsmen.

The merchants’ guilds are intimatelyinvolved in regulating and protecting theirmembers’ interests, both in long-distancetrade and local town business. Each distinctguild in a town is in constant touch with itsfellow guilds in other towns and cities, andeven their foreign counterparts.

Guilds control the distribution and sale offood, cloth, and other staple goods, whichgives them a powerful monopoly, andtogether they form a network ofcommunication that exceeds that of manyEuropean rulers’ governments.The mostpowerful of the European guilds is theHanseatic League (see page 89), virtually anempire of its own.

Craft guildsThese were formed later than the merchantguilds, and at first were considered to be lessimportant. Craft guilds are associations of allthe artisans and craftsmen in a particularbranch of industry or commerce. Forexample, there are guilds of stonemasons,architects, weavers, dyers, embroiderers,bookbinders, painters, metalworkers, bakers,and leatherworkers.

The craft guilds are now as influential asthe merchant guilds, and demand a share ofthe civic leadership.As craftsmen travel agreat deal less than merchants, they have the

advantage of being nearby to make sure thetown is run how they like it.

In this way, the guilds can control manyaspects of town life, such as how manymasters may operate within a particular skill.As a group, the guildsmen regulatecompetition among themselves, setminimum quality standards, prevent price-cutting, and ensure their trade monopolywithin the town by forbidding outsideworkers from setting up business.

The skilled craftsmen in a town usuallyconsist of a number of family workshops inthe same neighborhood, with the mastersrelated to each other, often sharingapprentices between them. Members of thecraft guilds are divided into three skill andstatus levels—master, journeyman, andapprentice.

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Merchants Gang UpA medieval guild (also spelled “gild”) is an association formed for mutual aid andprotection, and to further the professional interests of its members. Medieval guildsare of two types, the merchant and craft guilds.

Members of a guildstand proudly beforethe steps and grandentranceway to theirguildhall. In somecases, the guildhall ofthe largest guilds, suchas the haberdashers,who make clothingaccessories, or mercers(cloth merchants), evenacts as the town hall,from which the towncouncil hands downlocal bylaws.

A long route to the topThe master—an experienced and expertcraftsman—owns his own home, workshop(often the same place), and the tools of histrade. Most importantly, the master is amember of his trade’s guild and is thereforeauthorized to take on apprentices fortraining and to help him in his work.

The apprentices he employs are usuallyadolescent boys (girls are not allowed to beapprenticed).Apprentices are provided withfood, clothing, shelter, and an education bythe master, in return for working withoutpay for a fixed term of service of about fiveto nine years.At the end of hisapprenticeship, the young man becomes ajourneyman, and may work for his oranother master and be paid modest wages forhis labor.

Many craftsmen remain at this level forthe rest of their working lives.To take thenext step up, the journeyman must providehis guild with proof of his technical andartistic skills by making a “masterpiece.”

If he is approved, the guild declares him amaster and full guild member. He can thenset up his own workshop, and hire and trainapprentices. However, even the most skilledartisan might have to wait for ages tobecome a master. Because the guild regulateshow many masters may operate at any onetime, promotion is often a matter of steppinginto a dead man’s shoes.

The guilds’ welfare stateBoth the merchant and craft guilds performsimilar additional services for their members.They provide funeral expenses for poorermembers and aid to widows and orphans,offer dowries for poorer families’ daughters,cover members’ health insurance, and makeprovision for care of the sick.

As worthy members of the holycongregation, the guilds build chapels,donate windows to local churches orcathedrals, and often help fund the expensiveenlargement of existing churches.They alsoact as guardians of the morals of theirmembers and other citizens.

Perhaps the guilds’ biggest contribution tomedieval society is to found and finance“grammar” schools for the education of theirmembers’ sons.

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Left: A masterapothecary (pharmacist)proudly shows off whathis seated apprenticehas already learned.

Right: Craftsmen,unlike merchants, aretied to their town. Theone exception is themason. Good masonsare in demand all overEurope to work oncastles, churches, andcathedrals. They workunder a lean-to sheltercalled a lodge. Becausethey are free to travel,they are referred to as“free masons.”

Children of the middleclass can now receive abasic education from aclergyman at one of thenew grammar schools.

Above: Among goodworks provided byburghers are foundling(orphans’) hospitals andinfirmaries for the poor,as well as their ownguild members.

Monasteries remain the oldest centers oflearning in Europe, but these are

places of piety rather than schools oftheology and philosophical debate. Such as itexists, education in a monastery is primarilyfor the monks and not children.

Cathedral schools in the larger cities,which grew up in the 12th and 13thcenturies, have a role similar to that of themonastic schools.They typically have fewerthan a hundred students and function asseminaries to train future priests.

Since many pupils will be moreadministrators than pastors, an emphasis isplaced on teaching the “liberal” arts,particularly philosophy and literary study.Some cathedral schools have grown beyondthe constraints of purely religious instructionand developed specialization in particularfields. For example, in France, Orléans isnoted for literary study and Paris forphilosophy and theology, while Bologna inItaly is famous for the study of Roman law(see pages 74–75) on which European justiceis based.These institutions have becomeuniversities.

Learning to read and writeIn the early Middle Ages, education forchildren was scarce, restricted to the religiousschooling of sons of the noble elite. But withthe growth of towns and the rise of themerchant middle class, new schools forchildren are springing up.

These “grammar” schools are usually runby clerics, but they are teaching the childrenof many townspeople to read, write, andcount, as well as giving religious instruction.The son of a merchant who does well herewill go on to further his education at one ofthe new universities.

Further educationA university is distinguished from any othertype of school by its official charter (grantedby a royal or ecclesiastical authority), called aset of statutes.This grants the university theright to govern itself.

Many universities have grown out of thecathedral schools, such as that at Paris, whichdeveloped after 1150 and received its statutesin 1215.The Sorbonne became associatedwith the university in 1257.The termuniversitas refers to the “entirety” (universality)of scholars, both faculty and students.

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The Rise of Education and UniversitiesFor hundreds of years, the only schools have been under theChurch’s control, but the rise of the burgher middle class hascreated a demand for more widespread education.

It is well known that thesun revolves around theearth, which is a flatdisk (above), but newphilosophers argue thatthe earth revolves aboutthe sun, which makesthem heretics to theRoman Catholic Church.

Stamping on the new learningBy their very nature, universities bringtogether masters and students from all overEurope and put them in close proximity.Thishas resulted in a boom in academic study,including philosophy, with its seductive newand revolutionary ideas.At the same time,such large bodies of energetic, free-thinkingyoung men, living in a self-governing body,get rowdy at the drop of a hat.

Massive drinking bouts lead to heateddebates and often fists and even blades.Thismay be enormous fun for the students, butwhen their fights spill over into the town

streets, it is miserable for the citizens. Such isthe state of tension between “gown andtown” in England’s famous OxfordUniversity that open warfare often existsbetween the townspeople and the studentbody.

While student horseplay is a natural wayfor boisterous youths to let off steam, whenthe pope bans the teaching of works by thelikes of Aristotle, violence erupts as the entirefaculty riots. In this way, Church leaders viewthe modern universities with deep suspicion,and several have even been shut down byChurch edict amid bitter street brawling.

Oxfordc.1170

Caen1432

Nantes 1460

FRANCE

IRELA

ND

P O L A N D

D E N M A R K

EN

GL

AN

D

B O H E M I A

H U N G A R Y

K I N G D O M

O F

S I C I L Y

H O L Y

R O M A N

E M P I R E

Poitiers1431

Bordeaux1441

Palencia1212

Valladolidc.1250

Salamancac.1220

Alcalà1499

Coimbra1308

Lisbon1290

Saragossa1474

Toulouse1229

Cahors1332

Huesca1359

Valencia1500

Angers 1229

Naples1224

Glasgow 1451

Aberdeen 1494

Cambridge c.1209

Orléans c.1230Basel 1459

Salerno 1231

Catania 1444

Padua 1222Ferrara 1391

Bologna c.1180Arezzo 1215Perugia 1308

Curia Romana 1244Stadium Urbis 1303

Besançon 1485Dôle

1422

Vercelli 1228Pavia 1361Piacenza 1248

Turin 1405Reggio 1188

Pisa 1343Florence 1349

Siena 1246

Grenoble 1339

Bourges1464

Siguenza1489

Barcelona1450

Perpignan 1349

Aix 1409

Avignon 1305

Orange1365

Valence1452

Montpellierc.1180

Lérida 1300

Palma1483

Seville 1254

Louvain1425 Trier

1454

Rostock 1419

Copenhagen 1478

Cologne 1388

Mainz 1476

Heidelberg 1389Würzburg 1402

Prague 1347

Leipzig 1409

Krakow 1397

Buda 1389Pozsony 1465

Vienna 1365Paris c.1150Sorbonne 1257

St. Andrews 1413

A faculty forphilosophyUniversities have four“faculties”—arts, law,medicine, andtheology. The artsfaculty is a foundationcourse to one of the“higher” faculties.Study of ancientphilosophy is a majorpart of the arts, butthe Church is unhappywith the teachings ofmany ancient thinkers,such as Aristotle(384–322 BC), whoplaces man above theneed for any god, andAristarchus (270 BC).Both these Greekthinkers were“heliocentrists,” menwho insist that theearth revolves aboutthe sun. This is incontradiction to theChurch’s “geocentric”view, that the sunrevolves about theearth, which isbelieved to be at thecenter of the solarsystem.

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The spread of universities from the 12th to the 15th centuries

In the early Middle Ages, hardly anyoneexcept churchmen could read, and

literature was almost exclusively of aChristian nature.The situation was madeworse because the printed words were all inLatin, the language of the Church and of lawbut not of the common people.

Throughout Europe, vernacular—the localnon-Latin language such as German, French,or Italian—was only spoken, rarely writtendown. England is an exception, since writtenEnglish has been in use for legal documentsand some poetry since the 9th century.

Woodblock printingAs a consequence of the newfoundprosperity and better education, people aredemanding the written word in their ownlanguages, and the production of books inthe vernacular is growing accordingly.TheBible, once the preserve of educatedchurchmen, is the most wanted book, but ademand for romantic poetry andentertaining prose is on the increase.

At one time, books were produced bymonks in their scriptoria, and the time

consuming job of copying texts by handmeant few books were ever produced.Woodblock printing changed that.Theprocess of carving large blocks of wood withletters and illustrations is still labor-intensiveand slow, but once finished, hundreds ofimprints can be taken from a single block.

A sheet of paper is laid over the inkedwoodblock and an impression taken byrubbing over the paper with a roller. Now aneven better system is revolutionizing bookprinting (see “Gutenberg’s press”).

Telling a good storyBooks popular among the burghers are oftenones with themes of derring-do andromance, the exploits of knights of old anddamsels in distress.The romantic verses of9th century Frankish historian Einhardtdescribing the life of Charlemagne the Greatand Geoffrey of Monmouth’s historyrewritten as the romantic Sir Gawain and theGreen Knight are both popular titles from anearlier age.

So too are the French Song of Roland andthe Spanish El Cid, although more modern

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Books and the New LiteratureGreater disposable income, increased time for leisure, and a desire for educationmeans that the new middle classes want to read—not only traditional Church texts,but also non-religious literature.

Right: Troubadors, orminstrels wander allover Europe. Thestorytellers of theMiddle Ages, theirromantic poems are thecontent for many newbooks.

Left: A 19th-centuryengraving depicts thedeath of Roland, abrave French knightwho fought in the Battleof Ronçesvalle againstthe Moors. The Song ofRoland is one of themost popular themes.

Below: A page fromChaucer’s highlypopular pilgrim stories,Canterbury Tales.

Gutenberg’s pressJohannes Gutenberg (c.1396–1468), aGerman goldsmith, is best known for theinnovative printing machine that usesmovable type. Instead of text cut into woodblocks as whole pages, in the Gutenbergsystem the text is split up into individualcomponents—lower and upper case lettersand punctuation marks.

Each character is cut into the end face ofa steel punch, resulting in a precise shape inreverse.Then the punch is hammered on arectangular block made of softer metal, suchas copper, to form a letter shape raisedabove the block level.

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The individual component blocks are thenarranged on a wooden form to makewords.The form has raised rails of lead tokeep the lines of text straight and evenlyspaced vertically.

When a page is fully composed, theform, with all its letters locked in place, isplaced on the press, inked, and impressedonto a sheet of prepared paper. Because themetal letters are harder wearing than theold woodblocks, a great many more pagescan be printed than previously. OnSeptember 30, 1452, Johannes Gutenberg’sBible was published, becoming the firstbook to be published in volume.

fictions such as the mythological TheNibelungenlied,Wolfram von Eschenbach’sParsival, and Narratives by the French writerChrétien de Troyes are showing bettersales.

A series of tall talesWithout doubt, the author whose work ismost on everyone’s lips these days is theEnglishman Geoffrey Chaucer(c.1345–1400), with his Canterbury Tales.

Chaucer’s life itself reads like a work ofromance. Born into a wealthy middle classLondon family, he has traveled widely inEurope, picking up French and Italianinfluences. He has been an internationaldiplomat, clerk of the king’s works, and his

patron is John of Gaunt, regent ofEngland.

The Canterbury Tales recounts the severalstories told by a group of pilgrims toentertain themselves as they make their wayto visit St. Becket’s shrine at CanterburyCathedral.Witty, exciting, and oftenshockingly vulgar, the different tales are ashowcase of the modern vernacular.

They also arouse the disapproval of theChurch. But the genie is out of the bottle—the more people read about life, begin tounderstand the written words of the Bible,come across the writings of ancient Romanand Greek philosophers, the more theybegin to question the Roman CatholicChurch’s interpretation of Christian belief.

Without law and order, a society finds ithard to progress, but most laws seem

to be for the benefit of the clergy and thenobility.Those in authority fear the poor,simply because there are so many more poorthan rich, and any revolt is potentiallydamaging.As a result, punishment isdesigned to deter wrongdoers and act as afrightening example to others to make thembehave properly.

Old laws still lingerAlthough the oldest form of medievalEuropean law is no longer recognized, itseffects can still be felt in unruly cities and inrural regions. It is based on the customs andtraditions of the German barbarians whoentered the Roman Empire toward its end.It follows the principle of “an eye for an

eye,” and depends on retribution for justice.If the member of one clan should harm

the member of another, in person or inproperty, the aggrieved person’s relatives seekretribution through a vendetta.

The obvious drawback is that if thedefending clan thinks the accusing clan isoverreaching themselves, they are likely toseek their own retribution. Games of tit fortat like this can go on for years, long afterthe original complaint has been forgotten.

The Barbarian CodesThe answer to the chaos caused by the lawsgoverning vendettas was to reduce thetraditions to a written form, the so-calledBarbarian Codes. Under this system,disputants looked to their tribal chieftains toact as arbitrators. However, any decision

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A Hodge-Podge of LawsMedieval law is in flux, with four overlapping and sometimesconflicting systems of trial and justice. Whichever law applies,for the common man the outcome is invariably harsh.

Above: A big trial findsa nobleman guilty of treason.

required establishing the facts of a case,which led to several means being developedthat still remain.

The first, and apparently the mostreasonable, is called “compurgation.”Thismeans that a person accused of a crime isrequired to swear an oath that he isinnocent. He might be required to persuadea number of the leading members of his

clan or family to swear the same oathalong with him. If it turns out that thedefendant is lying, he and all of hisconspirators are liable to suffer the samepunishment.

The second method is trial byordeal, in which the accused is forced toundergo one of several tests to prove his

innocence. In the trial of cold waterthe defendant is bound and throwninto a pond that has been blessed bya priest. Since the holy water willreject a liar, the guilty will float andthe innocent sink.

Trial by fire requires the accusedto walk three paces while holding a

red hot iron bar. His hand is thenbandaged and left for three days.Afterthis time, a healing wound provesinnocence while one that is notimproving indicates guilt.

The third method—trial bycombat—relies on the certainty thatGod will not allow the guilty toprosper.The plaintiff and defendantenter the field of combat, and fightuntil one is the clear victor or onelies dead. In many cases, especiallyamong the nobility, neither party

fights but chooses a champion todo battle in his place. Each

combatant swears by the right of thecause of the person they represent and,

in the ensuing combat, God willstrengthen the arm of the innocent.

Roman lawAt the University of Bologna in Italy,teachers recently discovered the 6th-centuryEmperor Justinian’s Codex.This had gatheredall Roman law from the earliest days andrationalized any contradictions so that allwould know what was expected of them. Itssophistication and emphasis on the

supremacy of state authority recommends itto monarchs, although it often leads toconflict with the Church.

Canon lawThe Church controls matters that involveoaths, the sacraments, testaments, marriageand divorce, and even many businesscontracts. It also handles all matters of heresyand cases involving clergymen.

The Church enforces its edicts throughwhat is called canon law, which is the bodyof laws and regulations made by or adoptedby ecclesiastical authority, for thegovernment of Christians everywhere.Thoseconvicted under canon law may faceexcommunication or being burnt alive.

Common lawThe differing needs of monarchy, Church,commoners, and particularly the emergingmiddle class is leading toward a reduction oflocal laws and customs to a set of generalprinciples.This is called common law.

But however sensible the attempts tomake a universal set of laws may be, theresult of a conviction for the guilty usuallymeans a horrible punishment, one designedto fit the crime.

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Far right: A lecturer inthe law sits at hislectern at the Universityof Bologna.

Above andbelow: Many accused aretempted to plead guiltyrather than face trial bycombat or being tossedbound into a pond.

There is no concept of rehabilitation forconvicts, and very few prisons exist

because they cost money to build andmanage. It is far cheaper to mutilatecriminals and then let them go, or executethem. In the Middle Ages, the idea ofpunishment is to inflict pain as a means ofsociety’s revenge for a crime, and even thesmallest offenses have serious punishments.

Thieves have their hands cut off.Womenconvicted of murder are strangled untilalmost dead and then burnt.Anyone caughtstealing is likely to have their ears cut off.Hanging by the neck until dead is thepunishment for armed robbery.

Making an example for othersFor high treason, the convict can lookforward to the gruesome punishment ofbeing hanged, drawn, and quartered.Afterbeing paraded through the streets and reviledby the towns’ folk, the convict is strung up

by the neck but taken down before he dies.Laid out on the ground, the executionerslices his belly open and “draws” out hisentrails.Then, barely alive, he is cut into four“quarters” by the executioner.

Execution by beheading with sword or axis reserved for members of the aristocracy,the severed head usually displayed on a pikestuck on the town wall or a bridge parapet.

Most towns have a gibbet just outside thewalls.After their execution, the bodies ofconvicts are suspended on the gibbet fromhooks and their bodies left to rot over theweeks as a warning to others.

However, the grisly example does notalways have the desired effect. In 1202, theEnglish city of Lincoln posted 114 murders,89 violent robberies, and 65 peoplewounded in fights, yet only two men wereexecuted. It seems that many in Lincoln getaway with their crimes.

A public ridiculeMinor first offenses—for instance,drunkenness in public, failing to pay rent, orshouting abuse at a civic dignitary—results ina spell in the stocks.Although painfulenough through discomfort, it is thehumiliation of being held in public that isthe punishment, as people throw rotten eggsand vegetables at the victim.

Scolds—wives who nag their husbands—are sentenced to the ducking stool or tospend a period of time strapped into a “scold’sbridle.” Both punishments are physicallydistressing, but also a public humiliation.

Women charged with witchcraft are dealtwith in the same way as heretics—those whopublicly oppose the teachings of the Church.Their fate is to be tied to a stake atop a pileof wooden tinder and then burned to deathwhile the public watches.

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Punishment Fits the Crime For the accused who survive trial by ordeal or combat, oranyone convicted by a court under “compurgation,” the futureis sure to be full of pain, humiliation, and likely very short.

The array ofpunishments in theMiddle Ages is great,and often the sufferingof the victims is asource of amusement tothe spectators.

Horrors of the torturerTorture is widely used, both as a means offorcing a confession and as a punishment.Few victims of the torturer’s art survive forlong, even if they are freed.The catalog ofdevices is long.

Wooden wedges forced underneath thetoenails, clamps to force the jaws apart andscissors to slice the tongue, a copper bootplaced around the victim’s foot filled to thebrim with molten lead.Thumbscrews,footpresses, and a chair of spikes are just a fewmore of the imaginative tools of the trade.

One of the commonest forms of torture iscalled pressing.The victim is made to lie onthe floor, face up, and a large board is placedon his chest. Onto this, the torturer placesheavy rocks, increasing the number as timegoes by. Gradually, the weight crushes thevictim, usually to death.


There but for the grace of GodWhatever punishment is handed out, thecommon element is the public nature of theevent.Whenever a hanging or burning isannounced, the townspeople flock to thesite, ready to enjoy one of the greatentertainments of their day. It may seemheartless to take pleasure from the cruelpunishment of others, but for many the joyis a simple one—it is not them to die.

Left: The pillory is ahumiliating experiencefor anyone convicted ofa minor crime. A similardevice is called thestocks, in which onlythe ankles areimprisoned.

Below left: For thehabitual nagger, thescold’s bridle is apunishment of greatdiscomfort.

Below right: Pressingis a form of torture thatinvariably leads to thevictim’s death.

Ludford’s main inn, the Tabard, is morethan a drinking shop. It serves as a center

of communication in many senses.Arrangedaround three sides of a large courtyard, theinn boasts stables with ostlers to look aftertravelers’ horses, a large hall for customers, awell-equipped kitchen, and severalguestrooms on the upper floor.

The inn also acts as a sort of post office, aspeople passing through leave verbal orwritten messages for other travelers or fortownspeople, which the innkeeper willpass on when they appear.

For the local merchants, craftsmen,and yeomen, the Tabard is a meetinghouse where news and gossip isexchanged in a less formalatmosphere than the guildhalls.Here, gentlemen can relax over apint of ale or a glass of wine, orperhaps a tasty meat stew, anddebate town politics, the antics ofthe royal court, complain aboutpoor town council decisions, andgenerally put the world to rights.

Slight slumber comfortsAlthough the upper floor only hassix bedrooms, on a busy night asmany as 20 or more guests might beaccommodated, piling them in fourto a room to squabble over thecramped beds and their strawmattresses.

Sleep is difficult because of theconstant roar of the inn’s customersbelow, who are generally only thrownout when the innkeeper has had enough.Below in the yard, the clatter of hoovesdisturbs the night as latecomers arrive orearly risers canter off to continue theirjourney.

However, a singular and welcome comfortis that for a small price, an overnight guestcan arrange for a tub of hot water to bebrought so that he might take a bath.

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The Town InnThe lowly village tavern, little more than a shack, is transformedin a large town into a magnificent center of middle classsociety—a place of companionship, gossip, and relaxation.

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Taking to the boardsEvery so often, the inn’s courtyard becomeshome to a troupe of traveling actors, who setup a shaky stage of wooden boards at oneend and charge an entry fee for theplaygoers. Since the innkeeper takes a heftycut of the “gate” and benefits from theincreased patronage the play brings in andtheir demands for liquid refreshment, actingcompanies are always welcomed.

The demon drinkDrinking, however, is the main activity at theTabard.The inn has its own ale brewery outat the back, beyond the kitchen, but such isthe quantity quaffed every day, that most ofthe ale is bought in.

Like every town, Ludford has brewers allup and down most streets. Many of these arewomen—brewing is one of the femalepopulation’s largest trades.Ale is as necessaryto life as bread, but where flour-grinding andbread-baking are strictly guarded monopolies,brewing is freely permitted everywhere.

Drinking bouts often end in unfortunateaccidents as a result of intoxication. So welearn that one gentleman coming home atabout midnight “drunk and disgustinglyover-fed,” fell and struck his head fatally on astone “breaking the whole of his head.” Oneman fell into a well in the marketplace andwas “drownded,” like another who, whilerelieving himself in a pond, fell in.

Men are not the only victims of theiroverindulgence, proved by the sad story ofthe mother whose child slipped from herdrunken hands into a pan of scalding hotmilk on the hearth.

On the other hand, an unknown monkhas this to say on the question of drink:“Hewho drinks ale sleeps well. He who sleepswell cannot sin. He who does not sin goes toHeaven.Amen.”


1. The main public roomfor drinking and eating.

2. The busy kitchen.

3. The inn’s brewery.

4. Courtyard.

5. Stables for travelers’horses.

6. Traveling actors getready to stage a play.

7. Guest rooms arecramped.

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Food, especially a common stew, is servedon a slab of stale bread called a trencher,from the French trencher, meaning “to cut.”When the meal is finished, the trencher canalso be eaten, if you are desperate, but thereare plenty of poor people outside who willwelcome the sauce-soaked chunk of bread.

Throughout the Middle Ages, monarchshave encouraged trade fairs, both to

foster trade and to profit from the tolls leviedon the goods the merchants bring in for sale.The Ludford annual fair takes place justoutside the town walls on a meadowspecially reserved for it and lasts for severaldays in the early summer.

Within hours of their arrival, the merchantshave set up a veritable town of tents and“streets,” and each day the townsfolk streamout to partake of the fun.The commerce ofthe fair takes place amid a carnivalatmosphere. Stilt-walkers tower over thecrowds, jugglers and acrobats show off theirskills, while musicians entertain the crowd byplaying their lutes and beating tabor drums.For the ordinary people, this folk music is anexciting change from the plain religious chantof the church and cathedral.

Bear-baiting and “monsters”There are many sideshows for which peoplepay a modest entry fee. Spectacles involvinganimals are the most popular, such as dog-and cockfights. But the largest ring is thebear-baiting “pit,” a circular structure ofwood with seating inside around the ring.

The bear is chained to a strong stake atthe center and a pack of dogs is released intothe pit. Dogs go flying from the bear’spowerful swipes, but some manage to inflictsavage bites. Inevitably the bear wins out,which is as well for the spectacle’s owner—dogs are cheap, bears are not.

Other stalls offer the amusement ofviewing “monsters,” unfortunate men andwomen with disfigurements, strongmenperforming amazing physical stunts, and thechance for young men to show off theirskills with the stave, or staff.

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All the Entertainment of the FairIn a life that consists mostly of toil, the annual eventof the trade fair is a welcome break, a chance toenjoy rare free time with family and neighbors and generally make merry.

Passion and mummeryThe annual fair is an opportunity to enjoy

several acting entertainments, whichare broadly divided into two types—

secular and religious.The actors,often disguised by masks or heavyface paint, act out plays based onthe themes of dual personalityand resurrection.Theseallegories, which have a paganfeel, generally involve a battlerepresenting good against evil.They usually feature a doctorwho has a magic potion which isable to bring a slain characterback to life. Some of the actorswear bells attached to their

legs and perform complexmovements called morris

dancing.

Keep your hand on your purseThe fair is rigidly controlled by patrols ofmounted guards, which is just as well,because the crowds attract every kind ofpetty thief, from “cutpurses” to “cony-catchers.” Cutpurses sometimes work alone,using a sharp knife to sever the thongsholding an unwary man’s money purse fromhis belt.

Sometimes they work in pairs, with oneperforming simple tricks with a dried peaand three thimbles to distract the victimwhile the other steals the purse. Cony-catchers are clever deceivers, conmen whocheat gullible gentlemen and ladies of theirmoney with false tales.

A brightly painted tent houses a specialfair court, known as peid-poudre (literally“dusty feet”), where disputes can besettled while those involved are still“dusty-footed.”

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Many of the older European coins thatwere used by the nobility remain in

circulation.These are made of gold or morecommonly silver, and since they are worththeir weight in the metal, it does not matterfrom which country they originate. Most ofthe silver for coinage comes from Saxony,where there are several rich mines.

The basic silver coin in circulation sinceCarolingian times is the denarius (originallythe basic unit of the Roman monetarysystem).Twelve denarii make a solidus, orshilling; and 20 soldii make a libra, or pound.More recently, the grossus denarius, or “groat”has been introduced, worth several pennies.In Germany, a silver mark is worth 13 soldiiand 4 denarii.

Regional and provincial currencies incirculation include the English pound

sterling and the French Paris pound,together with those of several otherFrench cities.There are some goldcoins as well—in Germany the augustale(see “Fact box”), in England the gold penny,and the most widely circulated of all, theflorin of Florence and Venice.

Urban growth fuels need for coinsThe growth of towns and their commercehas created a greater need for coinage ineveryday use.The profits from taxation andfeudal dues are increasingly paid in coins,and in turn, this has created a need forreliable financial institutions—banks tohandle the ever growing needs of merchants,lords, and the Church.

The Church condemns the practice ofusury (lending money and charging interest

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Coinage and BankingUntil the later Middle Ages, coins were rare, but the growth of towns and mercantile commerce has caused many more to be minted and put into circulation.

Fact boxThe gold Germancoin called theaugustale remainedin circulation forcenturies. In thevernacular Germanlanguage, its namebecame shortenedinto thaler, and fromthat the word“dollar” is derived.

Left:A merchant uses acounting board tocalculate how much heis worth at day’s end.

on the loan) among Christians, so at firstJews performed the valuable role of money-lenders to nobles and the crown, but manymassacres have all but wiped out Jews fromEuropean cities. Now, it is morecommon for currency exchange tobe dealt with by the religiouscrusader military orders of the

Templars and the Hospitallers.Given the military strength of these

orders, their buildings are relatively safe frombeing robbed, and the piety of the orders’members mean that their honesty issupposed to be above reproach.Throughtheir offices scattered across all of Europe, itis possible to pay large sums of money intoone estate, and have an equal sum issuedfrom a different estate in another kingdom.In this respect, they function as bankers,issuing letters of credit and supervisingdeposits, withdrawals, and cash transfers.

The problem with usuryThe Church prohibition of usury extends topayment of interest by a bank to clients whohave deposited money. Medieval bankers getaround this problem through an agreementknown as a commenda.This involves oneparty providing capital for a venture, whilethe other guarantees a return on theinvestment. By paying interest on aninvestment rather than on a deposit (whichthe Church regards as a loan), no religiousrules are broken.

Investment banking brings other benefitsto the merchant through other services thatthe bank offers, such as temporary loans inthe form of overdrafts and the ability totransfer funds from one place to anotherwithout the merchant needing to physicallyhandle any money.

Banks spring upEngland, separated from the Continent, isnot well placed to become a banking center.The biggest banks have developed in citiessited at the crossroads of Europe in northernItaly and Germany.A number of the largerItalian and Flemish banks maintainagreements with each other and withsubsidiary financial houses in France,England, and Germany, principally those ofthe Fugger family.

Now, investors in one country can supportventures in another and kings can borrowmoney from banks in other countries.Thegrowing complexity of internationalinvestment banking is making phenomenalwealth for banking families such as theMedicis of Florence and the GermanFuggers of Augsburg.

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Above: A French mintat work (left), whilemerchants of the towndiscuss business.

Below: The Germanbanker Jakob Fugger.

As we have seen, craftsmen in townsemploy one or more apprentices to help

them, and many are members of guilds,protective institutions that ensure the qualityof production within a town, regulate prices,and adjudicate in disputes betweenmerchants or customers. Products often gothrough several workshops beforecompletion, with each master workingwithin his particular skill.

Merchants, bankers, or guilds act as agents,taking orders, allocating production quotas tothe workshops, and then collecting thefinished product and shipping it for a fee.

Towns and the immediate regions aroundthem house a variety of craftsmen,apprentices, journeymen, and simple laborers.

Old craftsLeatherworking is one of the moreimportant trades. Leather is used for a widerange of products from armor to doorhinges, from buckets to fine bookbinding.

The processes of curing and tanning hidesis the “dirty” end of the business, employinglaborers for much of the stinky work, but

once cured, hides are moved into thecraftsmen’s specialist workshops, where theyare worked, fashioned, and decorated in manyways, depending on the finished product.

The best quality work may be found inhorse saddles, fashionable belts, beautifullytooled book covers, sword scabbards, and alldecorated with raised, stamped, or cutpatterns, applied gold or silver filigree (finewire) designs, and in many colors.

Metalworkers are always in demand,working in brass, bronze, iron, steel, andprecious metals like silver and gold.There arespecialists in armor and weaponry, horsebrasses, pewterers who make drinking vesselsand middle-class dining ware, silversmithsand goldsmiths who fashion fine jewelry,locksmiths, clock-makers for the churches(see “Marking time”), and bellfounders—church bells are in great demand.

Numerous smaller workshops make lessglamorous metal items, such as nails, gatehinges and door handles, shoe studs, andfarming implements.

Pottery workshops turn out vast quantitiesof domestic ware, from the cheapest to themost exquisite destined for the tables of therich and noble. Glassware is making acomeback, especially in drinking vessels forwealthy merchants and for house windows,but the elite glassmakers are those whocreate the panels of stained glass for churchesand cathedrals.

Other older crafts include hornworkers,plasterers, carpenters, sculptors in wood andstone, stonemasons, and textile spinners.However, in textiles cotton spinning hasundergone a revolution as hand spinning witha “distaff spindle” is replaced by the spinningwheel.With theaddition of a foottreadle for thespinner to powerthe wheel, cottonthread can be spunin a fraction of thetime it used to take.

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A Town’s Trade and CommerceIn Europe, there is nothing approaching industry on a large scale except mining,and in most cases the typical artisan’s workshop is a single small building.

Far left: Detail of asaint sculpted in goldand silver.

Left and above: Fromthe cover of a book ofprayer, a silver broochpin, and an earring withstones.

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Marking timeOnce, only monks—with a day strictlydivided between work and worship—needed to know the time. But a busytown finds commercial life hard toregulate properly if people turn up atdifferent times through not knowing whathour of the day it is. Clocks, then, are nolonger the preserve of monasteries. Manyguildhalls and town halls, as well as parishchurches, have installed the newmechanical clocks.With the clock, timebecomes divided into regulated units,instead of remaining dependent on eventsor the day.While before the clock, peopleworked, ate, and slept according to thepatterns of the sun and moon, now theday is presided over by a monitor from thetime of rising to the hour of rest. Life hasbecome a nine-to-five affair.

Above: Of all thedifferent types of metalworker, the blacksmithis the most importanttradesman, because ofthe number of items indaily use that need tobe of forged metal.

Right, top to bottom:A medieval palm cup ofcolored glass; a clearglass cone beaker; aFrench pottery jug(smaller versions areused for drinking).

Salisbury Cathedral’s clock is Europe’s oldest (c.1386). Weights turn the cogs;with no face the time is told by ringing bells.

Right and below: A beautiful woodcarving depicts theTwelve Apostles for achurch altar; a French

spinning wheel witha foot treadle.

Mining—craft become industryMining, once a craft practiced by smallfamily or cooperative units, is graduallybecoming industrialized. In addition to themining of iron ore, there has been anincrease in the mining of other materials,including silver, lead, copper, gold, andanthracite coal.

Because of the demand for more ore,particularly precious metals for coins, atransition is taking place from a craft-basedproduction to an expensive industry subjectto central management. Instead of selling theore to a forge, the miner is now typically anemployee of the state or its agents.

As ore close to the ground is worked out,the mines are getting deeper and moredifficult to work.The deepest mines tend tofill with water, which leads to the need for apumping system.A variety of pumps, bucketchains, and treadmill devices are used,sometimes in combination with awaterwheel.

Lime burningLime is another mineral resource that—oncedug in small amounts for use as a fertilizer—is now required in industrial quantities forthe building trades and in fulling (see page88). On the fields, lime improves soilstructure and neutralizes excessive soilacidity, leading to increased crop yields.

With churches, cathedrals, schools, andguildhalls spring up everywhere, the demandfor “quicklime,” which is an essentialingredient in making mortar, has grownenormously. Quicklime is made by burningbroken limestone in a lime-kiln.

Most lime-kilns are 10 or 12 feet indiameter, walled around to 3 or 4 feet high,with draft tunnels at the base. Inside the kilna fire of brushwood is made and brokenlimestone added in alternate layers heaped tothe top.The kiln is then covered with slabsof turf and left to burn for a week or two.

Inside, temperatures can reach as high as1700ºF. From time to time, the resultinglump lime is emptied from the bottom,which is a horrid job.The kilns radiate heatand fumes for yards around and lime burningis thirsty work. In addition, the dust ispungent to the nose and eyes, and injuriesthrough asphyxiation are common.A quartof ale was often part of the payment for thelime-burner.

To make the powder form necessary forspreading on fields or making into mortar,the burnt lime is “slaked” by adding water tothe still hot lumps.The reaction is extreme,and quicklime is a dangerous product. It cancause terrible burns on the skin andblindness if any fragment gets into the eyes.


Above: Mining deeprequires the removal ofwater that can floodthe tunnels.

Below right:A lime kiln.

A windmillLike the traditional watermill, these morerecently developed structures cleverly harnessa force of nature—in this case wind—tomake grinding corn an easier chore.

1. Sails turn the brakewheel (2). It turns thepinion (3), which turnsthe top millstone (4) togrind the corn.5. Ground flour iscollected in sacks.

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ApothecariesMost towns have several apothecaries, whooperate through a small retail shop at thefront of their homes.As a skilled practitionerof pharmacy, the apothecary studies theproperties of herbs and chemicals to makeup curative ointments and potions, known asmateria medica, which he dispenses to thepublic, doctors, and surgeons.

In addition to making medicines, theapothecary also offers general medical adviceand a range of services, such as simplesurgery and midwifery.

AlchemistsAlchemy is a relatively new “science” whichwas introduced into Europe at the time ofthe Crusades.The first alchemical texts weretranslated from Arabic into Latin.Thealchemist’s work is based on the four humors(see pages 50–51) derived from Aristotle’stheory of earth, air, fire, and water.Theseelements are associated with phlegm, blood,yellow bile, and black bile. Unlike theapothecary, the alchemist practices his artwith weirdly shaped instruments, magicalincantations, codified symbols, and symboliccolors.

Alchemy is a mysterious and terrifying artto those unfamiliar with it—and that isalmost everyone.The prime study of thealchemist is the search for moral perfection,which centers on discovering the legendarystone that can turn lead into pure gold.

In the eyes of the Church, this science issuspiciously heretical, since it appears todeny the power of God as the only beingcapable of creating moral perfection.Alchemists, therefore, are feared (eventhough people consult them when the needarises), and the writings of Aristotle havebeen banned by the pope.

A man of lettersIn many respects, one of the more usefulnew trades of the Middle Ages is that of theprofessional letter writer. For some failedclerical students, setting out a stall in themarket square and offering passersby theirlimited ability with words is the only hopeof earning a living.

Letters might be required to act as areference to a prospective employer, for anuneducated noble a romantic poem to hisbeloved, or for a dispossessed peasant a meansof writing home (the letter to be decipheredby another letter writer at the destination).

There is no formal postal system, butmany merchants or their junior staff arewilling to carry dispatches from one town toanother for a fee.

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Right: Alchemists—applying a mixture ofmysticism, theology,and ancient Greekphilosophy—seekperfection of form. Theirweird apparatusfrightens ordinary folk,who think they aremagicians.

Illiterate folk rely onletter writers to pen anymessages for them, andmerchants to delivertheir “post” abroad.

Below: An apothecary’sshop is open forbusiness, providingchemical and herbalmedicines to doctorsand the public.

Perched on thedamp northwestern

corner of Europe,England might be on theedge of the Continentaleconomy, but the climate isideal for rearing sheep. Over thepast two centuries, whole forests ofoak have been cleared by land-owningnobles for use in erecting the growingtowns and in ship-building. But there isanother motive for clearing forests: toincrease the available pasture for sheep.Woolis the essential commodity for making clothin Europe, and the principal source of woolis England.

Clearing the forestsThe heavy rainfall produces luxuriouspastures ideal for grazing sheep and soEngland is able to produce fine qualitywool in great quantity. However, the skilledcraftsmen to make high-quality cloth arefew and far between in England.These arefound in Flanders where, in the lower,water-sodden ground, sheep do notflourish.

As a result, the majority of English wool isexported to Flanders, and the finished clothimported as ready-made garments orblankets, or natural cloth ready for dyeingand making up. However, several merchantsresent paying Flemish weavers for their workand in England there is a growing number offactories handling all the stages of woolproduction.

This is one of the main reasons why somany peasants are moving into the newtowns springing up on wool-trade wealth,where they become a source of cheap labor

for burghers. Some peasants even find workin the wool trade, although in one of theleast pleasant jobs.

The fuller Cloth made from recently sheared sheep isnot fit to sell because of the grease andimpurities in it—first it must be fulled.Thisis done by placing the “tardage” of cloth intolarge vats filled with a noxious mixture ofstale urine, slaked lime, and “fullers’ earth”(aluminum oxide).

The fuller then follows the woolen balesinto the vat and stomps on them for hours.The stench is almost unbearable and the jobis mind-numbingly tedious. Even so, thefuller must not fail in concentration becausethe process also tightens the weave andthickens the cloth. If it is not treated evenlyfor exactly the right amount of time, thewhole bale might be ruined.

Once the cloth is ready, it is rinsed inclean water and stretched out to dry on a“tenterframe.” Some merchants are erectingfulling mills on riverbanks, benefiting bothfrom the plentiful supply of clean water,and also using its power to drive enginesthat do the stomping instead of peasantfullers.

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The International Wool TradeDespite the finer and more exotic fabrics coming in largerquantities from the East via Italy, the largest single trade inthe Middle Ages is the gathering and sale of wool.

England’s forests havebeen cleared to providepasture land for sheep,whose wool is in highdemand.

Below: The fuller’sdirty, tiring worktransforms woven rawwool into valuable cloththat will eventually besold all over Europe.

Power of the Hanseatic League.Although by no means heavily involved in the wool trade, theHanseatic League is one of the major players in the import andexport of European cloth.The Hanseatic League was originallyformed by the northern towns of Hamburg and Lübeck in the12th century.

The major source of Hansa income is derived from the vastdemand for fish, with is a large part of the Christian diet.As fishdoes not keep well, it needs to be salted. Lübeck has access toBaltic fish, but no salt, whereas Hamburg has no fish (the NorthSea being too difficult for industrial fishing), but plenty of salt fromthe massive salt mines at nearby Kiel.

From these beginnings, the Hanseatic League has spread toinclude most cities of northern Germany and the Baltic. It is not somuch a league of cities as it is an international guild of merchantassociations within the cities.As a consequence, the league’s fleet ofmercantile ships has expanded to be the largest in Europe.

The crowns of most northern European countries have grantedthe Hansa the right to send an agent to operate in their majorcities and ports.The agents’ power is considerable because theHansa have a virtual monopoly on the transport and sale of salt,herring, grain, timber, honey, amber, ships’ stores, and other bulkcommodities.Those operating in England, France, and Flandersalso play a large part in the lucrative wool trade, benefiting fromthe numerical superiority of Hansa ships and the superior qualityof the innovative ship, the Baltic cog (see page 93).

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HamburgBremen

Lübeck

Brunswick

CologneMagdeburg

Danzig

Stettin

London

Hull

Edinburgh

Bergen

Stockholm

Prague

Bruges

Kiel

Mainz

Riga

Christiania(Oslo)

King’sLynn

Königsberg

Everyone gets a cutThe state also demands its share of the wooltrade by imposing the “Staple,” a tax on allwoolen transactions. In order to ensure thatthe tax is collected, the king restricts woolexporting to a few Staple ports.The mostimportant on the English coast is Sandwich,and on the French coast Calais, which—because it is in English hands—means theking receives an export and an import tax oneach wool bale.

All across the south and center ofEngland, towns are expanding on the wealthof the wool trade.The churches grow evenricher on their increased tithes, and manysmall-town churches have been enlarged tosometimes cathedral-like proportions.

Travel in the Middle Ages is slow,uncomfortable, and usually

dangerous. Not many paved Romanroads remain in even poor condition,and most ways are mere dirt tracksthat turn into a river of mud whenit rains. Potholes, mud, andsubsidence restricts travel towalking, horses, and light two-wheeled carts, pulled by ox, horse,donkey, or most likely by hand.

When a journey has to bemade, most people walk. Horsesare very expensive and only therich can afford them. Even onhorseback, a rider can onlyexpect to travel about 20 milesin a long day, if the weather isfine and dry.

Stand and deliver!The open country between small villages andtowns may be infested by outlaws, escapedconvicted criminals operating alone or insmall bands, who pounce on the unwarytraveler, robbing and killing indiscriminately.

Therefore, it is hardly a surprise thatcommoners rarely move around,sometimes never traveling morethan a few miles from the placewhere they were born.

The most traffic on thedirt tracks consists of themore mobile nobility withtheir armed retinues, groupsof pilgrims in bands largeenough to deter robbers,and merchants, usually in amutually defensivecaravan. Even so,substantial journeys areusually made by river andsea to avoid long anddangerous overland routes.

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The Rigors of the JourneyAs villages grow into towns and towns into cities, trade—thelifeblood of the merchant burghers—needs goodcommunications, but roads of the Middle Ages are poor.

The cost of travelThe worsened condition of the roads andthe great danger of meeting robbers in thehalf-light discourages travel in the dark andrainy winter months. Similarly, only the mostdesperate or confidently well-armed willtake to the high roads at night.

Given the poor quality and endurance ofwheeled vehicles on the rutted roads, thetransportation of choice is the packhorse, ormule. Since a single animal can only carry arelatively low weight of goods, it is usual tosee several, tied together in a line, wendingtheir slow way along the roads.

Merchants try to avoid the better mainroads for the simple reason that every timethey encounter a bridge or a crossroads, thereis sure to be a local lord’s toll to pay, addingto the cost of the goods. On the other hand,lesser tracks may be overrun by bandits.

Separate tracks for the livestockAlong the ridges of the countryside thereexists an alternative road system, one that isnot much used for ordinary traveling fromone place to another.These are the “droveroads,” tracks made by tradition for drivinglivestock to market.

The routes generally keep to the crest ofhills, which gives the drovers a good clearview of where they are headed and alsokeeps the flocks and herds out of the morecrowded valleys. Drove roads have wide grassbanks, bordered by hedges, where the cattleor sheep can graze when they spend thenight on route.

Taking to the riversThe growth in international trade has led tothe building of new ports and enlargement ofolder ones. In most cases, these are sited atthe mouths of rivers, which give access to thehinterland by barges. River transportation ismore efficient than by road. Few men areneeded to man a barge capable of carrying20–30 times as much as a wagon or a packtrain.And the journey down to the sea isusually fast, aided by the current.

On arrival at the river’s estuary, it is asimple matter to maneuver the bargealongside an ocean-going ship ready to loadthe goods. No wonder the ports of Europeare becoming the powerhouses of trade, andshipping company owners, once mere saltysailors of a single vessel, are fast turning intoa new seafaring middle class of their own.

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Travelers follow thecourse of what wasonce a Roman road, ofwhich only scraps ofpaving are now visible(front left). They areheaded for the town inthe distance (right),beyond which the seacan be glimpsed. In thevalley below, river craftcarry goods toward aport for shippingabroad. On the crest ofthe hills (back left),cattle are driven to thetown’s market along a“drove road.”

Far left: An unlucky,lone traveler “chooses”to surrender his moneyrather than his life tothe highwaymen whohave pounced on him.

Ports are important centers for trade,commerce, the creation of money, and a

country’s military security.As a result, fewremain outside of royal control.

Granted a king’s charter, a port can expectto expand greatly, even influencing theregion immediately behind it, includingother towns and villages. In return, the port’sburghers must bear a large financial burdenin making sure its defenses are adequate inscale and properly manned.

The best harbors are those with a naturalbasin, with headlands protecting against bad

weather, or those sited within a riverestuary, such as London, Bristol, Rouen, LeHavre, and Hamburg.Whatever the site, thewooden jetties standing on their massivetimber piles are a constant hive of dailyactivity as ships’ masters wait to catch thenext tide to sail.

Finding the wayFew sea journeys are extended because theworld is flat and any sailor venturing too farout from land might sail straight over theedge into the endless void.

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The Medieval PortThe principal business of a port is given by its name, which derives from the Old French-Latin word, meaning doorway, or gateway. Through these portals flowsthe wealth of kings in taxes and merchants in profits.

Right: A mariner’sastrolabe is used tofigure out the latitude ofa ship at sea.

Above: Cogs beingunloaded in a busynorthern European port.Simple manpower isbacked by a treadwheelcrane, just one sign ofthe technologicaladvances being made inthe shipping trade.

Navigation in the Middle Ages is not veryadvanced and aside from a crude compassand perhaps an astrolabe, there are nonavigation aids. Consequently most sailing isdone in view of the coastline following theguide in the Book of the Sea, which givesdirections based on the silhouette ofheadlands and “soundings,” measurements ofthe depth at those points.

This means that northern European portsgenerally communicate with one another, asdo those of the Mediterranean, but there islittle sea trade between the two regions.Goods from Italy tend to be taken overland,where the roads are in a better state.

Nevertheless, merchants bring back manyluxuries from far off places. From Africa,slaves, sugar, gold, ivory, and precious stones;from Asia, silk, furs, carpets, and valuablespices such as pepper, cinnamon, andnutmeg.These exotics have traveled from theother end of the world along the fabled SilkRoad and the Spice Route to reach theports of the eastern Mediterranean.

Dominating eastern Mediterraneanmercantile trade, the Venetians and theirrivals the Genoese transport rice, cotton,perfume, mirrors, lemon, and melons. On theNorth Sea and Baltic fringes, the HanseaticLeague dominates with a large fleet ofinnovative cargo ships called cogs.

A bulk carrierThe Baltic cog is a highly specialized cargocarrier. Its predecessor, the Viking knorr,while highly seaworthy, could only carry alimited amount of cargo.A cog can carry upto 20 times as much cargo. It is “clinkerbuilt”—from a series of overlapping planksfastened to a series of cross-frames—with aflat bottom and a centrally mounted stern

rudder.This gives far more steering controlthan the traditional sweep oars of the knorr.

A cog can be fitted with a removable keeland hold one mast with a square rigged sail.With its flat bottom, the cog is well suited tosailing in shallow waters and can reach mostriverine ports with ease.

A great risk of lossMerchants and the seamen that sail theirships take great risks. Storms at sea are aconstant terror and the danger of piracy isvery real. Should sailors become shipwreckedon a coast, they have little hope of rescue.Most countries’ nautical laws state that allloot recovered from a shipwrecked vessel isthe property of the finders, unless there aresurvivors—so it is in the interests of thefinders to make sure there are none.

Because of the dangers involved withshipping cargoes, it is a common practice formerchants to form partnerships and have eachpartner buy a share of a cargo or a ship. Byspreading their investment over several cargoesand shipping them on several ships, the risk of acatastrophic loss is reduced. Meeting places forthese partnerships can be found at all the ports.

Toward a new horizon, new worldsDespite the dangers and expense of seatravel, some merchants, especially those ofSpain and Portugal, are eager for their ships’masters to take greater risks and sail furtherthan ever before.Those beginning to probesouthward along the West African coast arediscovering new markets, and discoveringmany extraordinary things.

They are opening the way for sailors ofthe future to venture beyond the edges ofthe world, to the Americas, and even as far aslegendary China and Japan.

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Angevin Dynasty from Anjou,southwestern France, also known asthe Plantagenets, whose Geoffrey IVconquered Normandy in 1144.

astrolabe A disc-shaped navigationaldevice, possibly invented in 2ndcentury BCE Greece. Its pointer isused to measure the angles of starsfrom a ship’s current position.Thevessel’s latitude and longitude canthen be calculated if the date andtime of day are known.

bailey A courtyard or enclosed areasurrounding a castle, defined by aditch and palisade.

ballista A large crossbow used toattack a castle.

Barbarian Codes Methods thatsettle feuds, which involve thedefendant convincing others to takeup his oath of innocence(compurgation), surviving a physicalordeal, or fighting his enemy.

boss The round- or cone-shapedmetal lump riveted to the center ofa shield, sometimes with decoration.

burgher A middle-class inhabitantof a town, who works as a merchantor businessman.

canonization The process where(usually) the pope makes someone asaint for their good work andholiness while they were alive.

chapter house The meeting roomof a monastery, church, or cathedral,sometimes a separate building.

chivalry Derived from “cheval,” theFrench word for “horse,” it is thecode of conduct the medieval knightis supposed to follow.

cog A style of ship with superiormaneuverability and cargo capacity,compared to the knorr type of vesselit replaced.

croft A small piece of land farmedby a villein, who rents it by workingfor his lord for part of the week.

Crusades From the French“croisade,” to mark with the Cross—a series of eight wars beginning in1096 where Christians of westernEuropeans went to reclaim Jerusalemand the Holy Land from Muslims,but also fought to gain territory inthe region.They deteriorated withthe Fourth Crusade, when Venicedirected the assault toward theByzantine capital of Constantinoplein 1204, and ended in 1291 withfailed attempts to regain Syria.

curtain walls Tall stone walls thatform the outer defense of a castle,with a number of taller, projectingmural towers from where they canbe defended.

destrier The warhorse of a knight,derived from the Latin “dexter,” orthe right, since the knight’s squire ledthe horse with his right hand.

diocese An administrative territoryof the Roman Catholic Church, alsocalled a bishopric or see.

donjon A defensive tower or keepat the center of a castle, from which“dungeon” is derived.

doublet A closely-fitted tunic witha skirt-like bottom, sometimeswithout sleeves and often incombination with hose (tights orstockings).

excommunication Exclusionfrom Christian society, although it ispossible for the offender to repentand be allowed back into thecommunity.

feudal system A system wherefealty—an oath of loyalty—is givento someone in return for property,such as a minor lord and his peasantsbeing given land to work on andpaying for the privilege by fightingon behalf of their superior lordwhen the need arises.

fief An estate or piece of land heldby someone in return for theirsupport of a superior person.

flax A type of herb. Its fibers areused to make cloth.

Franks The people of Germanywho spread through western Europefrom the 3rd century AD, leading tothe formation of the Holy RomanEmpire.The country of France andFranconia region of Germany taketheir names from the Franks whoonce dominated them.

fuller Someone who cleans andprepares wool or cloth before it ismade into a garment.

harrow A type of rake used tocover seeds with soil after land hasbeen plowed and planted.

hennin A tall, conical or heart-shaped hat worn by women, alsocalled a steeple headdress.

Holy Roman Empire The empireof the Franks, which began CE 800when the pope made Charlemagne,head of the Carolingian dynasty, a“Roman emperor.” Under theHabsburg dynasty of Austria, theHoly Roman Empire dominatedcentral Europe and Spain in the15th–18th centuries. EmperorFrancis II gave up the title in 1806under pressure from the conqueringNapoleon of France.

hundreds Groups of ten tithings—atotal of a hundred families—and theland they occupy.

Glossary

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indulgences People who makethese payments to the Church aredeemed free of sin, thus avoidingyears in purgatory when they die.

journeyman A qualified memberof a trade.The more skilled becomemasters, who can teach apprenticesand employ journeymen of theirown.

landsknecht A mercenary footsoldier from Germany, armed with apike or halberd (a pole with a metalblade/spike on the end).

Lombards Germanic people whoinvaded Italy in CE 568 and settledin a region that became thekingdom of Lombardy.When theLombards threatened Rome in the8th century, the pope summoned theFranks and Charlemagne (r.768–814)conquered Lombardy in 774.

machicolation A projecting gallerythat juts out at the top of a castlewall on supports called corbels.Holes allow objects to be droppedonto enemies scaling the wall.

medieval Something from theMiddle Ages period, generally CE800–1450.

Moors North African muslims whospread west and north to Spain andsouthern France.They clashed withnative Christians and were finallydefeated by Spain in 1492.

motte The raised mound on whicha keep or castle stands, surroundedby at least one bailey.

Normans “Northmen” or“Norsemen,”Vikings who raided thecoast of Europe in the 9th–10thcenturies CE and established theDuchy of Normandy, from wherethey settled in southern Italy andSicily and conquered England in1066.

ordination The ceremony where aman is made a priest.

palisade A wooden fencesurrounding a castle, usually on theembankment of earth made when adefensive ditch is dug around abailey. Later castles had curtain walls.

purgatory The place where adeceased person is believed to sufferto pay for the sins they committedwhile alive.When purged of sin theyare allowed into Heaven.

reeve The guardian or manager of alord’s manor or fief.

Renaissance “Rebirth,” the15–16th century period of Europeanhistory when art, culture, science,and banking developed, beginning inItaly and spreading across Europe.

Saxons Germans from Jutland whoraided the North Sea in the 3rd–4thcenturies CE.They settled in Gaul(France) but Franks drove them outin the 5th century. Some went toEngland and became the dominantrace, while others formed the Duchyof Saxony near their homeland andcontinued to fight the Franks.

scutage If a knight can afford topay scutage tax to his lord, he doesnot have to serve in his lord’s battles.

see Or episcopal see, it is a diocesebut can also refer to the office orposition held by a bishop.

serf A peasant of the feudal system,who must work on a particular fiefto earn shelter or to earn a knight’sprotection in times of war. Serfs areconsidered the property of theperson who owns the land.

shire A group of hundreds.The landthey occupy is equivalent to a fief.The person who looks after it is ashire reeve, or sheriff.

solar The room in a castle used as abedroom by the lord and lady.

squire A young noble who hasserved as a page to a lord and fromthe age of 14 assists a knight, in thehope of becoming one himself whenhe is 21.

sumptuary laws Restrictions onthe style of clothing a person maywear.

tithe A tax of about one tenth(tithe) of a peasant’s earnings to theirlocal church, in the form of grain,livestock, or farm produce.

tithing A group of ten localfamilies.

trebuchet A type of giant catapult,which uses a counterweight topower a slingshot arm.

vassal In the feudal system, someonewho has been granted a fief in returnfor loyalty to their overlord.

vernacular The native language ofa country or region.

villein From the French for “villagedweller,” a different word for serf.

wattle and daub A type ofconstruction where mud (daub) isplastered over a frame of sticks(wattle) to form a wall.

wimple A cloth or scarf that coversa woman’s head, its end gatheredaround her chin.

winnowing A harvest processwhere the light chaff or husks areallowed to blow away to separate itfrom the grain.

yeoman Someone who owns asmall farm, between a villein and aknight/noble in the class system. Inwar, yeomen fought as foot soldiers.

GLOSSARY

administration see governmentAfrica 93agriculture 8, 11, 16–21, 57–58, 61,

86alchemists 87Angevin dynasty 11Anglo-Saxons 11, 22apothecaries 87architecture 52–55, 68Aristarchus 71Aristotle 71, 87armies see knights, men-at-arms,

soldiersarts 71Asia 93astronomy 70–71Atlantic Ocean 8Augsburg 83Austria 39

Baltic Sea 8, 89, 93banking 82–84Barbarian Codes 74–75Bible 46, 72–73Black Death (bubonic plague) 56–58,

61–62Black Sea 56boats 58, 91; see also shipsBologna 70, 75books 61, 70, 72–73bowmen 38–39, 61Bristol 92building/architecture 32–33, 52–55,

68buildings: see castles, churches, homes,

monasteriesburghers 58, 62, 64–65, 67, 70Byzantine Empire 10–11

Calais 89Canterbury 47, 73careers 34–36, 68–69Carolingian dynasty 10, 15, 82Cassino 48castles 16, 26–35cathedrals 52–55, 58, 70Chaucer, Geoffrey 73children 16, 62, 65, 69–70Christ 47, 50, 81Christians 10, 47–50, 73, 82–83Church authorities see Roman

Catholic Churchchurches 17, 47, 52–55, 69class system 14–15, 61–63clergy 44–45, 62, 70, 72; see also

monasteries/monks, popes,priests

climate see weatherclocks 85cloth 58, 62, 68, 84, 88clothing 21, 62, 66–67coinage 62, 82Compostela 47Conisbrough Castle 28crafts 32, 58, 62, 68–69, 78, 84

crime and punishment 22–23, 74,76–77, 81, 90, 93

Crusades 28, 36, 40, 66, 83, 87

Damascus 66death 56, 69defenses 25, 28, 30–31; see also castlesde Troyes, Chrétian 73drink 21, 78–79dungeons 27

education 11, 16, 58, 61–62, 69–71Egypt 66Einhardt 72elements 50–51, 87England 8, 11, 26, 39, 61, 71–73, 76,

82–83, 88–89, 92entertainment 35, 62, 79–81execution 77

fair 80–81families 36–37farming see agriculturefeudal system 11, 14–15, 40–41, 67fishing 21Flagellants 57Flanders 88–89Florence 83food 19, 21, 37, 68, 78footwear 21, 66France 8, 10–11, 26, 36, 52, 61, 70,

82, 89, 92Franks 10–11Fugger dynasty 83furniture 65

Gaza 66Germany 8, 11, 39, 56, 74, 82–83, 89,

92Gothic architecture 53–55government 22–23, 58, 62, 68grain 8, 19–20Greece 11guilds 68–69, 78, 84Gutenburg, Johann 73

Habsburg dynasty 39Hamburg 93Hanseatic League 68, 89, 93harvesting 19–20, 50hats 66–67Heaven/Hell 23, 46Holy Roman Empire 10–11homes 17, 24–25, 62, 64–65horses 34, 42, 78, 84, 90–91humors 50–51, 87Hundred Years War 11, 61

inns 78–79insurance 69Italy 10–11, 26, 48, 56, 70, 75, 83, 93

jewelry 67Jews 56, 83jobs see careers, crafts

John of Gaunt 73jousting 42–43

Kaffa 56kings 14–15, 80, 83, 88;

Charlemagne 10, 72Edward I 29, 32Henry II 28Richard I 28

knights 14–15, 17, 38, 40–43, 61, 66, 83

land ownership 14–15, 61language 46, 62, 72–73Latin 46, 62, 72law 15, 61–62, 67, 70, 74–75leather 21, 68, 84leeches 51Le Havre 92livestock 16, 19–20, 58, 61–62, 91Lombards 10London 73lords 14–17, 22, 25, 36–37, 40, 62Ludford 16–17, 22, 46, 58–59, 78–80Ludlow Castle 29

manors 16–17markets 61–62marriage 36Medici dynasty 83medicine 50–51, 87Mediterranean Sea 8, 93men-at-arms 38–39, 61merchants see tradeMerovingian dynasty 10metals/metalworking 68, 82, 84, 86mining 86monasteries and monks 17, 48–51, 70money 69, 82–83Mosul 66mountain ranges 8music 80Muslims 10, 40

Normans 10–11, 22, 26, 29North Sea 93

Orient 62, 66Orléans 70Oxford 71

Paris 52, 70peasants 14–21, 23, 60, 62, 88penance 46–47philosophy 71pilgrimage 47plague 56–58, 61–62Plantagenet dynasty 11police 22popes 10–11, 44, 87ports 92Portugal 93postal service 78, 87pottery 65, 84priests 17, 23, 45–46printing 72–73

reeves 22religion 10, 46–47, 57, 70, 73, 81;

see also Christians, churches, Jews,Muslims, popes, priests, RomanCatholic Church

Renaissance 11roads 90–91Roman Catholic Church 10–11, 15,

18, 23, 44–47, 57, 62, 67, 71, 73,75, 82–83, 87

Roman Empire/influence 10–11, 14,16, 70, 74–75

Romanesque architecture 52, 54Rome 47

saints: Benedict 48, 50, Denis 52,Veronica 47,Vitus 47

Sandwich 89Saxony 82schools 62, 69–70scutage 39, 41Seine river 10serfs see peasantsservants 65ships 11, 89shoes 21, 66Sicily 56sieges 30–31sin 23, 46–47, 57soldiers 38–39, 41, 61; see also knightsSorbonne 70Spain 8, 10–11, 93Stokesay Castle 25sumptuary laws 67Switzerland 39

taverns 78–79taxes/tithes/tolls 15, 17, 20, 22, 39,

41, 49, 82, 88theater 79, 81torture 77Tower of London 29towns and cities 8, 11, 58, 61–63, 70, 88trade 8, 62, 68–69, 78, 80–81, 84,

88–93transport/travel 58, 68, 90–93

universities 11, 70–71

villages 8, 16–17villeins 14–15, 61von Eschenbach,Wolfram 73

Wales 29, 32war 14–15water supply 65weapons 30–31, 38–39, 42weather 8, 88William of Normandy, the

Conqueror 11, 29women 36, 43, 66wool 58, 62, 66, 88–89writing 62, 72–73, 87

yeomen 61–62, 78

96

Index

living in the middle ages (living in the ancient world)

Documents