Broadwater School History Department Digging Deep Who can tell us most about medieval peasants? Archaeologist: a person who studies the past by digging up objects from the ground. Artefact: something made or used by a person. Historian:someone who uses all sorts of evidence to study the past. Lord of the Manor: The Lord who owned a Manor. Manor: an area or village controlled by a Knight. Peasant: a poor farm worker. Psalter: a medieval prayer book Reconstruction: a building or drawing made by using evidence from the past. Villein: a peasant who had to work on the Lord’s land in return for renting land from the Lord of the Manor.

Broadwater School History Department Step One – The Skeletons Many of the skeletons were those of children. This tells me that … The skeletons of the adults were about six centimetres shorter than people are today. This tells me that … Many of the bone joints were worn and deformed. This tells me that … The skeletons did not have tooth decay, but their teeth were quite worn. This tells me that … Digging Deep Who can tell us most about medieval peasants?

Broadwater School History Department Step One – The Skeletons Many of the skeletons were those of children. This tells me that living conditions must have been hard and that there was not enough food and effective medicines. The skeletons of the adults were about six centimetres shorter than people are today. This tells me that the diet of medieval people was not as good as that eaten by modern people. Many of the bone joints were worn and deformed. This tells me that the medieval villagers must have worked very hard. The skeletons did not have tooth decay, but their teeth were quite worn. This tells me that medieval people did not eat many sweet foods as a part of their diet. Their food must have been less processed than today’s foodstuffs. Digging Deep Who can tell us most about medieval peasants?

Broadwater School History Department Step One – Aerial Photograph The aerial photograph tells me quite a lot about Wharram Percy. In the photograph I can see the …. Step One – Digs of the Peasant Houses The digs of peasant houses recovered some interesting artefacts. These are …… These artefacts have made it possible for an artist to produce a reconstruction. The house had … Digging Deep Who can tell us most about medieval peasants?

Broadwater School History Department Step One – Aerial Photograph The aerial photograph tells me quite a lot about Wharram Percy. In the photograph I can see the outlines of the peasant’s houses as well as the edges of the fields and where there were roads. Step One – Digs of Peasant Houses The digs of peasant houses recovered some interesting artefacts. These are clay pots, a needle and a comb made out of bone as well as a metal clasp and the blade of a sickle. These tell me that … These artefacts have made it possible for an artist to produce a reconstruction. The house had a cruck roof, wattle and daub walls, a floor of beaten earth and a central fire place. There was very little furniture and in the winter the animals shared it with the people. This tells me that … Digging Deep Who can tell us most about medieval peasants?

Broadwater School History Department Digging Deep Who can tell us most about medieval peasants? Step Two – The Luttrell Psalter Different Jobs In the pictures from the Luttrell Psalter I can see peasants …. Tools and Equipment In the pictures from the Luttrell Psalter I can see peasants using …. Men’s work and Women’s work In the pictures from the Luttrell Psalter I can see men …. and I can see women ….

Broadwater School History Department Step Two – The Luttrell Psalter Different Jobs In the pictures from the Luttrell Psalter I can see peasants breaking up stones, cutting, threshing and milling corn. Tools and Equipment In the pictures from the Luttrell Psalter I can see peasants using sledge hammers, sickles, flails and a windmill. Men’s work and Women’s work In the pictures from the Luttrell Psalter I can see men working with sledge hammers, flails and in a mill. Men did the jobs that were… I can see women harvesting corn and a woman begging. Some jobs were shared by men and women, for instance … Digging Deep Who can tell us most about medieval peasants?

Broadwater School History Department Digging Deep Who can tell us most about medieval peasants? Step Three – The Chatteris Court Rolls Freemen and Villeins Freemen and Villeins were forced to attend the manorial court. The records kept in the manor of Chatteris tell us a lot about the control the Lord had of the peasants. They could not …. and they had to ask permission … Manorial Courts Manorial courts were used by the Lord of the Manor to keep the peasants under control. The types of things that they did wrong were How the Abbess of Chatteris controlled her Peasants The Abbess used fines to control her peasants. Some examples of these are...

Broadwater School History Department Digging Deep Who can tell us most about medieval peasants? Step Three – The Chatteris Court Rolls Freemen and Villeins Freemen and Villeins were forced to attend the manorial court. The records kept in the manor of Chatteris tell us a lot about the control the Lord had of the peasants. They could not leave the village without the Lord’s consent and they had to ask permission from the Lord to get married. Manorial Courts Manorial courts were used by the Lord of the Manor to keep the peasants under control. The types of things that they did wrong were to make and sell ale, plough up a footpath, set fish traps in private waters and refuse to thresh the Lord’s corn. How the Abbess of Chatteris controlled her Peasants The Abbess used fines to control her peasants. Some examples of these are 6d for brewing beer, 4d for becoming a priest without permission, 2d for illegally setting fish traps and 3 for careless driving. The largest fines were for crimes that were …