Articles on everyday life for royalty, tradesmen, and peasants in the Middle Ages (500-1500 AD)
Medieval Castle Defense and Assault Listen to the audio of this post here: "How to Build a 13th-Century Castle From Scratch" For the full "History Unplugged" podcast, click here! The feudal system depended on protecting farms and the countryside, and the key to a kingdom's defense was its castle. Likewise,…
Medieval castle of Bodiam; East Sussex England UK, by WyrdLight.com. The medieval castle was the foundation of military defense for nearly a millennium. Kingdoms were caught up in an arms race to build wood and stone structures that were most effective in halting armies on campaign. After their successful invasion…
Medieval farming could be summarized as endless work. For a serf on an estate, there was always something that needed doing. Sloth was not tolerated because if the harvest failed, the whole village could face starvation in the winter. That is not to say that the tasks were monotonous. Medieval…
Ightham Mote, a 14th-century moated medieval manor house in Kent, photo by Silver149 The parcel of land leased to a Baron by the King was known as a manor. Under the feudal system, the Baron had complete control of the running of the medieval manor provided he met certain obligations set…
The feudal system was introduced to England following the invasion and conquest of the country by William I, The Conqueror. The feudal system had been used in France by the Normans from the time they first settled there in about 900AD. It was a simple, but effective system, where all…
The best site for medieval towns or villages At the time the Domesday Book was compiled in 1087, there were only 18 towns in England with a population of over 2000. Many of these medieval towns were originally Roman towns. But what if you want to establish a new town or village. What…