This week we will be looking at life for ordinary people during the Middle Ages. In today’s lessons we will investigate life in a Medieval village. Our Objectives are: 1.Describe a medieval village 2.Describe the hierarchy in Medieval society 3.Identify problems for people in Medieval villages 4.Make a judgement on how easy/hard life was in Medieval villages

The middle Ages, or Medieval period, started just before the Norman Conquest of 1066, and lasted until around 1500 AD. The early years were known as the Dark Ages – because many good things the Romans gave us were destroyed and there were many battles around Europe.

PLOUGHING SEEDING WEEDING HARVESTING COLLECTING MILLING 6

1.I will tell you which number is to be the scribe 2.When I call the first number out – they will have one minute to study the picture 3.They then have to describe the picture in detail to their group so the scribe can recreate it on the paper I want you to think about your verbal communication in this activity – so you should not point and you should have your hands behind your back!

Who is the most important person in the village? Who is the least important? What is the tallest building in the village? Why do you think it is so big? Why do you think peasants would have a strip of land in more than one field?

This was introduced by William the Conqueror, as a way of keeping control of England, but remained throughout the Middle Ages! The peasants were sometimes called villeins or serfs.

"As I went on my way, I saw a poor man over the plough bending. His hood was full of holes, And his hair was sticking out, His shoes were patched. His toes peeped out as he the ground trod. His wife walked by him. In a skirt cut full and high. Wrapped in a sheet to keep her from the weather. Bare foot on the bare ice, So that the blood flowed. At the field’s end lay a little bowl, And in there lay a little child wrapped in rags. And two more of two years old upon another side. And all of them sang a song, That was sorrowful to hear. The all cried a cry, A sorrowful note. And the poor man sighed sore and said "Children be still."

Their house would have a small garden, where vegetables like carrots and cabbages could be grown. The peasants usually built their own house, and had very few possessions. They would have some animals like pigs, sheep, cows and chickens, but other than their day-to-day tools and equipment, they owned very little. Peasants lived on the manor in cruck-houses like this one.

This is what the inside of a peasant’s house would have looked like. What belongings can you spot? What do you think life would have been like in this house?

What would medieval peasants use these for? The woods, the river, the fields, the gardens

Crop Rotation. The peasants would rent strips of land from the Lord of the manor to farm on. They would have strips in different fields, so that each peasant would get a fair share of good and bad land. They used a system of crop rotation – they would rotate what crops were grown in each field and always leave one fallow (empty) to allow the soil to recover.

A peasant’s diet was very different to ours. It did not change very much year in, year out. Sometimes a peasant might have meat, usually bacon because pigs were easy to keep. There were no fridges, so meat was salted or smoked to keep it fresh. Poor families often went hungry. One child in every three would die before its first birthday, because there was not enough food to go around. Peasant’s Daily Diet: 6 a.m – Breakfast. Coarse black bread, with ale to drink. 10 a.m – Dinner. Coarse black bread, eggs and cheese, with ale to drink. 4 p.m – Supper. Coarse black bread, pottage (a thick soup of vegetables and sometimes meat), with ale to drink.

What were peasant houses called? What belongings might a peasant own? Can you explain what crop rotation is? Can you think of similarities and differences between a medieval diet and your own?

Peasant – a medieval farmer Feudal system – the hierarchy of Medieval society from top to bottom Villein – another worked for peasant Cruck-house – peasant’s house Crop-rotation – farming system used on the Manor Manor – area of land owned by the Lord Fallow– an empty field Pottage – a thick vegetable soup, sometimes with meat

I want you to imagine that your are a Medieval peasant. Write a diary entry to describe your life and explain why it is the way it is Think about:  Your place in the social hierarchy  What you would spend your day doing?  Is your life easy? Why/why not?  Where does your money go?  Where do you get food from? Use your glossary of key words to help you develop your descriptions.

One Medieval writer describes the life of the poor in the Middle Ages as “nasty, brutal and short”. Do you agree with this statement? Base your answer on what you have found out this lesson. I will give you some thinking time, and then you will share your thoughts with your partner (I will tell you who goes first)