My real interest is the bubonic plague! dont miss the next page...
Hear some midieval music!
to hear these, you must be able to play midi files.
fairhaired child hornpipe -a traditional irish tune
John Bowe's Favorite - a traditional Irish tune
Bransle - a French country dance
Saltarello - an Italian dance
Trotto - An Italian dance
The Middle Ages, or medieval times began around the 5th century. People at that time lived in small communities known as manors. These manors consisted of the castle, church,village and surrounding farmlands. The king gave land to his most important nobles, barons and bishops in exchange for soldiers for his armies. These men then became lords of their respective manors. The lord would have peasants working his land, and he would give them his protection in exchange.
Houses in medieval towns were built with 2 or more stories, with the top stories jetting out above the bottom floor. This created more floor space on the top floors, but made the streets dark and airless. Individual plots were often long and narrow, with a long back garden or yard. The kitchen was often built in the backyard to prevent fires. Kitchen materials would include: a pestle and mortar for grinding, bunches of twigs tied together for whisking, and lots of scouring sand for scrubbing. Frying was less popular than boiling, since animal fat was scarce and most often used for soap, candles and axle grease. (yes, they DID bathe in medieval times!!) Not all cooking was done at home, because few homes had ovens. Servants often took ingredients to a specialist for baking. A servant might take pie ingredients to a pie maker, for instance.
Only the wealthy had bathrooms in their homes. Most people would have a hole dug either in their yard or in the cellar. To bathe, people would go to the bath houses for a communal bath. These bath houses were usually large pools with heated water. Later, bathers would enjoy food and drink, as well as entertainment as they bathed. Bathing money was a regular part of a worker's salary. Unfortunately, these houses turned in to brothels toward the end of medieval times.
Enforcing the law in a medieval town was the task of the town courts. Some punnishments were as severe as hanging, but most were just different ways to make the offender humiliated. A public drunk might be put in the stocks and have rotten fruit thrown at him. Whores were whipped in public. A public gossip might have had to wear a bridle whose bit would hold her tongue still. A dishonest brewer might be made to drink his own brew and the rest dumped over him. It is true that a theif might get his hand cut off, but only after several offences.
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