Life in a Medieval Village in Western Europe

Overview

• Majority of people lived in rural villages
• Life varied by village and person
• Depended on class and role in society

Peasant Life

• Peasants: the lowest class, but majority of population
• Village was the center of their universe (birth, life, work, church, marriage, children, death)
• Medieval village forms varied:
  • Clustered houses
  • Scattered hamlets and farmsteads
• Most common: houses around a lord's manor

Serfs

• Lowest class of peasants
• Legally free but bound to the land
• Could not move away
• Paid rents and taxes to the lord
• Work: farming cereal crops (wheat, barley, rye)
• Fields worked in rotation, divided into strips
• Grazing animals: sheep for wool
• Woodlands for fuel, building materials, hunting (for privileged)

Daily Life

• Daily grind: difficult and backbreaking
• Threats: starvation, plague
• Village houses: low stone wall, thatched roof, timber, wattle, and daub
• Wake at sunrise, work from dawn to dusk
• Meals: bread, pottage, communal cows' milk, butter, cheese, rare meat
• Religion: highly religious, attended church daily

Seasonal Work

• Work varied by month:
  • Harvesting wheat in July
  • Slaughtering animals in November
• Time governed by the church: saints’ days, church bell for hours

Village Roles and Structure

• High-ranking village roles:
  • Steward (ran manor in lord’s absence)
  • Bailiff (supervised agricultural work)
• Trade workers: bakers, millers, blacksmiths
• Village priest: position of power and respect

Self-Sufficiency

• Villages were self-sufficient, strong community sense:
  • Made own clothes (leather, linen, wool)
  • Grew own food
  • Farm tools by blacksmith
  • Flour grinding at village mill
  • Communal bakers
• Self-governance: frank pledge law system

Impact of the Black Death

• Bubonic plague (Black Death) 1346-1353
• 30-60% population died
• Fewer villages to work the land
• Peasants demanded higher wages, better conditions, lower taxes
• Led to revolts and socioeconomic shifts
• Decline in population led to lower grain prices
• Many villages deserted by the 16th century

Conclusion

• Post-plague, village life changed significantly
• Social structure shifted, peasants in higher roles
• Medieval village life never the same