MEDIEVAL PEASANTS : PAGE 2 : MEDIEVAL VILLAGE LIFE.Village life for Medieval Peasants, tended to be quite a thriving existance, everyone moving about enegetically, busily engaged in some activity or other.All this hustle and bustle was caused primarily with the close proximity of the buildings to each other.Their dwellings were built to house not only themselves, but their animals also. This was necessary during the middle ages, for wolfpacks were still plentiful and their forest habitats were still widespread across the whole of England. The loss of any animal could be a bit of a disaster to the already poor Medieval Peasants, but the loss of a larger animal would mean total ruin Wolves were certainly mentioned as roaming the countryside right into the reign of King Edward I, whose reign lasted from 1272 until 1307. In 1281, he ordered the total extermination of all the wolves in England.
ABOVE:AN ANGLO SAXON WOLF HUNT. ALTHOUGH THE ABOVE PICTURE DENOTES AN ANGLO SAXON WOLF HUNT, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE SAME THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE AGES Employing a man by the name of Peter Corbet, King Edward gave him the task to "take and destroy all the wolves he could find" in the counties of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire and Staffordshire. These were areas near the Welsh Marches where wolves were more common than in the southern areas of England. Wild animals of course, were not the only danger to threaten the peasants, for there were thieves in abundance roaming the countryside, keenly on the lookout for just such an opportunity to arise. There was, without any doubt, nowhere safe to keep their animals, other than right under their noses, where they could keep a watchful eye on them, throughout the night. As mentioned before, houses tended to be built close up tight against each other. The people and livestock, closely mixed together. Neighbours would be in and out of each others houses, to maybe borrow something they were short of, or just call in merely to pass the time of day and gossip. However, the sound of the childrens' laughter and crying, mingling with the clucking of the hens, crowing of the cocks, bleating of the sheep and the barking of the dogs, would make a conversation with the neighbours very difficult to hold. Competing with this cacophony of sound, would be the blacksmith or Smithy, as he worked in his forge, beating his metal into all kinds of practical and useful shapes. The sound of the peeling church bells, could either be ringing in order to summon the people to prayer, or be sounding an alarm of imminent danger approaching. So as you can see, village life for Medieval Peasants, was a world away from the warmth, cozyness and peaceful tranquility, that one expects to find there nowadays. For they are looked upon as a haven, a place of retreat, far away from the modern day stresses and strains that we modern day peasants (no offence intended) experience in our daily lives. Return To Previous Page - Medieval Peasants-Life Under The Feudal System-Page 1 Return from Medieval Peasants: Village Life To Medieval Times In London. Return To A-London-Tourist-Guide Home Page
|
