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Faith, Power, and Survival: What Ruled Life in Early-Medieval England

David mitchell considers the less-than-illustrious origins of the english crown.

For me, the misty, dark, unknowable aura of fifth-, sixth- and seventh-century Britain is an enormous draw. Murkiness with a fleeting glimpse of gold. A crown, a sword, a hoard of Roman coins buried by a rich Romano-Briton fleeing his villa in panic…

What was that movement in the fog? A dragon, a dinosaur, a galley full of legionaries hurrying away? The sense of mystery and loss is overwhelming, long before anyone thought of inventing King Arthur.

Hwaer cwom mearg? Hwaer cwom mago?

That’s the Anglo-Saxon language, also known as Old English. It contains hardly any words inherited from Brittonic, which suggests there was eerily little cordial interaction between the Anglo-Saxons and the people they displaced. It’s a snippet from a poem called “The Wanderer” that’s preserved in a tenth-century manuscript but is believed to have been written much earlier. It’s from a bit that translates as this:

Where is that horse now? Where the rider? Where is the hoard-sharer?

Where is the house of the feast? Where is the hall’s uproar?

There’s a powerful sense of missing something, which is a strangely sophisticated emotion to have been preserved for us from what, in our terms, seems like such a primitive and poorly documented culture. Longing and bereavement are surprisingly high in the mix, compared to, say, glory or sex or anger. From our perspective, this little medieval society is barely getting started and yet it’s already steeped in as much moist-eyed nostalgia as last orders at a British Legion club on the anniversary of VE Day.

“The work of giants is decaying,” laments another poem, “The Ruin.” It’s reflecting on some crumbling Roman buildings, probably those in Bath. “Bright were the castle buildings, many the bathing-halls, / high the abundance of gables, great the noise of the multitude, / many a meadhall full of festivity, / until Fate the mighty changed that.”

“A meadhall full of festivity” sounds a bit downmarket for a Roman night out, and the reference to “castle buildings” is poignant. Magnificent though they are, the buildings aren’t fortified. They didn’t need to be for most of Roman rule. The Romans established reliable public order, a feat not achieved again in Britain for well over a thousand years. This was a luxury the Anglo-Saxons couldn’t imagine.

Still, the point is well made. I suppose it’s hard to live amid so much decaying infrastructure without feeling a bit glum.

The good news

Some people managed it, though. King Ceolwulf of Northumbria, for example, and his favorite historian, the Venerable Bede. They lived in the late seventh and early eighth centuries and they’re quite upbeat about life. Plus they definitely existed. You can take that as read from now on. The mists of time have lifted considerably.

Bede is one of the main mist-lifters. He was a monk in the abbey of Jarrow in Northumbria and his Ecclesiastical History of the English People was the most famous thing to come out of Jarrow until a march protesting against unemployment in 1936. Bede’s book predates the march by a cool 1,205 years and is one of the main reasons we know anything at all about Dark Age England. He dedicated it to the King of Northumbria at the time, Ceolwulf.

Bede and Ceolwulf are also both saints. I don’t disapprove of Ceolwulf ’s kingly sainthood as much as Edward the Confessor’s, because he abdicated in 737 and lived as a monk for the rest of his life, so he put the hours in sanctity-wise. As did Bede, though the soubriquet Venerable seems to have stuck to him despite achieving higher-ranking saintly status. These things happen. People never really said “Admiral Kirk.”

I have genuinely literally read Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People . So you don’t have to. I’d take me up on that if I were you—it may be important but it’s boring. It was written in Latin but an English translation was on the reading list I was given before going to university, so I gave it a go.

In my nineteen-year-old arrogance, what I felt was silly about Bede was that he characterized an age of comparative barbarism and misery as one in which humanity had advanced. He only did this, ridiculously it seemed to me then, because it was a good period for the church, an institution with which he was obsessed. In England, for the hundred years or so before he wrote his history, Christianity had been on the march. That’s why Bede didn’t see the situation in the same bleak terms as whoever wrote “The Wanderer” and “The Ruin.” I felt he was just plain wrong.

Looking back, I realize I was a bit hard on him. Religion both bored and unsettled me, and yet my history teachers were constantly exhorting me not to ignore it. In an A-Level history essay, I was taught, there should always be at least one paragraph on the church. I would dutifully stick one in but I didn’t really get it. I was an agnostic who didn’t like thinking about religion because I hoped there was a God but didn’t have the confidence to commit. Plus the trappings of religion felt a bit embarrassing and weird, like properly putting on a French accent when saying things in French.

My religious views haven’t significantly moved on, but what I am slightly more capable of understanding is that, the existence or non-existence of God notwithstanding, religion is real and powerful and not just something from the olden days. Moreover, in the olden days, it was, in pretty much every society, a bigger deal than we can possibly imagine.

Christianity, for Bede, wasn’t merely something he was massively into, or he solemnly exhorted other people to adhere to, it was everything . It was the real underlying truth of existence, like science is today. It was very much not like religion is today, even for those who are very religious. If we don’t accept that, we can’t begin to understand the times he lived in and the attitude he took.

So, for him, a history of England that wasn’t entirely focused on the spread of the Christian faith would be pointless, because nothing else mattered. This was a prevalent view at the time and one that gave a brutal existence meaning, purpose and hope. I’m thirty years nearer the grave than when I first read Bede and much less confident in rejecting this worldview.

The bad news

The Romans had been Christian by the end. Originally they’d been polytheistic and inclined to use Christians as lion food, but in 313 the Emperor Constantine put a stop to all that and declared he was a Christian himself. Soon Christianity was the empire’s dominant religion, which meant that the Romano-British were Christian—hence King Arthur was Christian, even though he didn’t exist. Over on the continent, Roman rule may not have survived but Roman religion did. Tribes like the Goths and the Franks were content to live in Roman cities and were soon worshipping the Romans’ lovely big single God. Despite repeatedly sacking Rome itself, these upwardly mobile barbarians were keen to live an increasingly Roman life. It was as if they were collectively willing into existence the expression “When in Rome.”

It was different in Britain. The invading Anglo-Saxons weren’t interested in Jesus or a free limoncello . The Britons were driven west, some remaining Christian and some reverting to a sort of iron age paganism, cities were abandoned and the newcomers settled down to a rural existence throughout the south-east of the island, hurling the occasional Roman brick at one another.

The Anglo-Saxons stuck with the form of paganism they’d brought over from the continent, which was a nice little bunch of gods who, as a helpful mnemonic, the days of the week are named after. There’s Woden, king of the gods and god of wisdom—beardy guy with a cloak—after whom Wednesday is named. Then Thunor, their version of Thor, who you might know from the Marvel Universe. He’s god of thunder, which feels like a comparatively small brief, and the etymological root of Thursday.

Then it’s Frigg. I don’t know if the 1970s expression for wanking derives from this goddess’s name—though it seems unlikely as her portfolio includes marriage and childbirth—but the word Friday definitely does and I think we can all agree that the end of the working week is a lovely time for a jolly good frigg. The god of war, Tiw, accounts for Tuesday. Sunday and Monday are the sun and the moon and, weirdly, Saturday is named after the Roman god Saturn, which feels incongruous—a bit like having a parish church called St Mohammed’s.

Back to the mortals: whatever the actual names of those early Anglo-Saxon big shots, it seems unlikely that any of them were kings in the sense we understand the word. What probably happened is that the new settlers appropriated areas of land and then, people being reliably unpleasant, some of those settlers would start pushing others around, demanding “tribute” and offering “protection.” Gradually, by the same method used by drug gangs to divide up LA, a system of government emerged.

The local hard guy had to stay in with the provincial hard guy who had to curry favor with the regional hard guy. It was out of this unjust and lawless maelstrom of violence that the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms coalesced. The kingly legitimacy affected by the relatively settled handful of rulers and regimes that were in existence by Bede’s day is no more respectable than a mafia boss adopting the title “Don.”

It’s just dressing up a system based on violence in order to economize on violence. If you can get people to start calling you “sire” and obeying you because they think that’s the way of the world, or somehow right and proper and endorsed by God or the gods, then you don’t have to raise so many bands of heavies or armies and incur all the risks and costs involved in asserting your supposed royalty at the point of a sword or knuckle.

In case this isn’t sounding grim enough, in the 530s–550s there was a period of extreme cold weather, famine and plague. A series of volcanic eruptions in (what is now) Iceland threw up dust clouds that blocked the sun and made the crops fail all over Europe. Outbreaks of plague followed, probably because everyone who hadn’t starved to death was hungry and cold and sad. All this suffering must have hastened the process by which power was consolidated into fewer and nastier hands. Many desperate people will have accepted the protection offered by anyone tough with a bit of spare food.

The true roots of English kingship are therefore so far away from the Arthurian ideal it’s actually funny. The notion that pious legitimacy was the foundation of the institution is totally false. Everything those early kings possessed they, or their ancestors, had either stolen or demanded with menaces.

The veneer of legitimacy was retrospectively applied in order to keep hold of all the power and wealth.

By the late sixth century and early seventh, pretending to be a king was all the rage. The vague regions of strongman influence started to coalesce into kingdoms and the idea of a bretwalda emerged. The bretwalda, which literally means either “wide-ruler” or “Britain-ruler,” was supposedly the dominant Anglo-Saxon king at any given time. We don’t know if the term was used contemporaneously—it may be a ninth-century invention—but the notion of being a dominant ruler must have been understood. It would have been the gold medal in the Olympics of unpleasantness that these violent men were competing in.

Rulers’ status was all about power deriving from violence, combined with a growing sense that a bit of regal showiness helped keep inferiors in their place and intimidate rival kings. So they energetically asserted their importance in other ways. That’s what the elaborate burial at Sutton Hoo was all about. They also built huge wooden halls, full of booze and smoke and warriors. As you can imagine, they burned down, or were burned down, with tedious regularity, but they were major symbols of the new kings’ power.

A king could put a roof over your head, at least for a few hours, and keep you warm and fill your stomach. In those bleak days, that was all it took. Rather poignantly, the modern English word “lord” derives from the Old English hlaford meaning “bread-giver.” In Roman times, there’d been circuses too.

__________________________________

Excerpted from Unruly: The Ridiculous History of England’s Kings and Queens by David   Mitchell . Copyright © 2023 . Published in the United States by Crown, an imprint of Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved.

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Medieval History Collections

Find out more about the extensive Medieval History Collections in the IHR Wohl Library. We collect historical sources, reference works and guides to finding and using sources. This page shows examples from the collections.

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Introduction

The collections on medieval history are one of the strengths of the IHR library. The collections focus on editions of primary sources, alongside complementary aids to study such as reference works, guides and historiography. 

There are sections on medieval history across the library. Collections are both geographically-arranged (for example within the French collection, works on Medieval France are at classmark EF.2) and thematically-arranged (for example Medieval Military history at W.41). The local and regional history sections (e.g., ENL Low Countries, ESR Spain) also contain particularly rich sources on medieval history. Material is collected both in language of origin and translations, and language dictionaries and guides are available. Online resources are included within the relevant sections of this guide and as a separate section at the end. 

For the purposes of this guide, we are using an end date of around 1500 varying from region to region based on political changes and dynasties. There is a complementary guide covering Early modern history [to link here]. This guide is arranged in three sections: Primary sources with subsections on types of source, Selected themes such as Medieval Women and Travel writing and Secondary Works including bibliographies, guides and historiography.  

The collections are complemented by material at Senate House Library and the Warburg Institute Library . For the very early middle ages readers will also find useful material in the  Institute of Classical Studies Library which covers late antiquity. 

Image credit: "a miniature depicting a family by the Seder table with the master of the house placing the basket of unleavened bread on the head of one of his children", from British Library Additional 14761 f. 28v , Spain c. 1340.

Finding within the Library

Collection arrangement.

Collections within the library each have a letter, followed by a numerical sequence (decimal numbers are used, arranged as if after a decimal point, so for example ER.53 comes after ER.504). Each national collection has a sequence of local and regional material following the general sequence. The main areas with medieval sections and the corresponding classmarks are as follows: 

• Austria  (to 1556): EA.291
• Britain and England : General sections with medieval material: B.0 Bibliographies/guides, B.2 Biography, B.3-4 Law and Parliament, B.5 England to 1485, BC English local history 
• Byzantium : EV 
• Crusades : EU 
• France ( to 1483): EF.2
• General history : E.1 Historiography and Methodology, E.2 Reference works, E.41-46 Carolingian and Holy Roman Empire, E.6 Sources and Secondary works Medieval 
• Germany  to 1517: EG.2  
• Italy  to c. 1494: EI.2
• Ireland to 1540: BI.4  
• Jewish history : EY.092 and EY.2 
• Low Countries to 1555 : EN.31-37  
• Mediterranean world : EM 
• Military : W.41 History of Naval and Military operations Ancient and Medieval
• Portugal to 1580: EP.2
• Religious history : ER. Includes sections on Patristics ER.2, Saints and Hagiography ER.4, Theology ER.4, Papacy: ER.5, Medieval Papacy ER.504, Papal Letter and Registers ER.53, Monasticism ER.6-7, Aspects of Religious life: liturgy, pilgrimage, Heresy and the Inquisition ER.8. Source material on religious establishments is also found in the relevant national collections. 
• Scandinavia : ED arranged by country 
• Scotland : BS.2 to 1542 
• Spain to 1516: ES.2 
• Wales to 1536: BW.2

Further Help

Contact us  if you would like help on finding or using our collections, or if you have any comments or suggestions about the content of this guide. We are happy to help.

You can also join the library and book a  help session .

Highlights from the Collections: Primary Sources

General collections of sources.

Included here are some freely available online collections as well as print editions. Examples are:

• English Historical Documents
• Oxford Medieval Texts
• British History Online  (mostly free and access to subscription content within library)
• Internet medieval sourcebook  (online)
• EuroDocs: Online Sources for European History  (online)
• Monumenta Germaniae Historica shelved at classmark EGM, organized by series. Further information can be found on the MGH guide .
• Collection de documents inédits sur l’histoire de France.
• Deutsches Archiv für Geschichte des Mittelalters
• Fonti per la storia d’italia
• Regesta Imperii and online version
• Recueil des historiens des Gaules et de la France
• Rerum Italicarum scriptores
• Colección de documentos inéditos para la historia de España
• Textos medievales

Church Records

Examples are:

• Patrologia Latina print and electronic  
• Acta Sanctorum print and electronic
• Corpus Christianorum  
• Regesta pontificum Romanorum  
• Papal Letters, various editions including  Ut per litteras apostolicas
• English episcopal acta
• Papsturkunden in Frankreich : Neue Folge 
• York's Archbishops Registers Revealed  (online) Free access to over 20,000 images of Registers produced by the Archbishops of York, 1225-1650
• Rolls Series Rerum Britannicarum Medii Aevi Scriptores  
• Annals of Ulster  
• Chroniken der deutschen städte vom 14. bis in's 16. Jahrhundert  
• Les grandes chroniques de France  
• Collection de chroniques belges inédites  
• Colección de crónicas españolas  

British and Irish Law and Government

• Statutes of the Realm
• Parliament Rolls of Medieval England
• Inquisitions post mortem
• Calendar of the charter rolls . Further information
• Calendar of Close Rolls . Further information
• Calendar of the Patent Rolls . Further information: National Archives website ; IHR blog post
• Calendar of the Fine Rolls and Henry III Fine Rolls Project
• Selden Society Publications
• Curia Regis rolls
• The acts of Welsh rulers 1120-1283
• Regesta Regum Scottorum
• Register of Edward, the Black Prince
• Giraldi Cambrensis Opera
• English Medieval Legal Documents Database  (online)

Charters and other Landholding Sources

Some examples:

• Domesday: Various editions including  Alecto edition of Domesday book  and  Exon: The Domesday Survey of South-West England  (online)
• Anglo Saxon charters
• Early Yorkshire charters
• The Electronic Sawyer: Online catalogue of Anglo-Saxon charters  (online)
• Scripta: Database of Norman Medieval documents "a large corpus of medieval norman charters dating from the 10th to the 13th Century" (online)
• El llibre de privilegis de Castelló de la Plana, 1245-1470
• Diplomatarium islandicum
• Urkunden und Regesten zur Geschichte des Templerordens im Bereich des Bistums Cammin und der Kirchenprovinz Gnesen

The collections include editions of letters, both of individuals and compilations. There are also some secondary works about medieval letter-writing. Examples include:

• Letters of medieval Jewish traders  
• Lost letters of medieval life : English society, 1200-1250  
• Christ church letters : A volume of mediaeval letters relating to the affairs of the priory of Christ church Canterbury  
• Calendar of the letters of Arnaud Aubert, Camerarius Apostolicus 1361-1371 
• Calendar of letters from the Mayor and Corporation of the City of London, circa A.D.1350-1370 
• The Cely letters, 1472-1488  
• Epistolari de la València medieval  
• The letter collections of Nicholas of Clairvaux  
• The letters of the queens of England, 1066-1547  
• The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres  
• The letters of Catherine of Siena  
• Letters of Margaret of Anjou  
• Merovingian letters and letter writers  
• Paston letters and papers of the fifteenth century  
• The Plumpton letters and papers  
• The letters of the Rožmberk sisters : noblewomen in fifteenth-century Bohemia  
• Epistolae: Medieval Women's Letters  (online)

Local and Regional History

These are a rich source of medieval history. Examples include:

• Business contracts of medieval Provence : selected notulae from the cartulary of Giraud Amalric of Marseilles, 1248  
• Medieval Bruges, c. 850-1550  
• De Oorkonden van de Sint-Baafsabdij te Gent (819-1321)  
• Zwolse regesten 
• De heren van de kerk : de kanunniken van Oudmunster te Utrecht in de late middeleeuwen 
• Victoria County History . Full text of many of the volumes available on British History Online . 
• The court rolls of the Manor of Wakefield : from September 1348 to September 1350
• Calendar of Antrobus deeds before 1625  
• Surveys of the estates of Glastonbury Abbey, c. 1135-1201  

Place-names

The library collections include place name reference works which document place-names and allow their origins to be traced. Some examples:

• English Place-Name Society volumes
• Key to English Place-Names (online)
• Toponymie générale de la France : etymologie de 35,000 noms de lieux
• Diccionario de topónimos españoles y sus gentilicios
• De Vlaamse waternamen : verklarend en geïllustreerd woordenboek

Military History

This includes items in the main miltary section W.41 and also in the crusades section EU 

• Medieval warfare sourcebook  
• Encyclopedia of the hundred years war  
• Records of the medieval sword  
• Anglo Norman warfare  
• The Battle of Hastings : sources and interpretations  
• Alfred's wars : sources and interpretations of Anglo-Saxon warfare in the Viking age  
• Baldric of Bourgueil 'History of the Jerusalemites' : a translation of the 'Historia Ierosolimitana'  
• Bayeux Tapestry (online)

Highlights from the Collection: Secondary Works

Bibliographies, catalogues, guides.

Ranging from general to subject specific they are a good way of locating publications and learning more about how to use sources. Each section of the library has sections for bibliographies and guides to sources near the beginning. 

• International Medieval Bibliography  
• Bibliography of British and Irish History
• Medieval Cartularies of Great Britain and Ireland  
• Makers and users of medieval books : essays in honour of A. S. G. Edwards  
• Literature of the crusades
• Corpus catalogorum Belgii : the medieval booklists of the southern Low Countries  
• Understanding medieval primary sources : using historical sources to discover medieval Europe  
• Introduction aux sources de l'histoire médiévale
• Ruling the script in the middle ages : formal apsects of written communication (books, charters, and inscriptions) 
• Le catalogue médiéval de l'abbaye cistercienne de Clairmarais et les manuscrits conservés 
• A critical companion to English 'Mappae Mundi' of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries
• L'atelier du médiéviste
• Archives Portal Europe (online) 

Biographical Works

Most of the library’s sections include biographical listings, both general resources such as National Biographical dictionaries, and themed listings such as by trade, religious office holders or listings of aristocratic households. Examples are: 

• Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (both print and online ) 
• Dictionary of Welsh Biography (online)
• Dizionario biografico degli Italiani  
• Neue Deutsche Biographie
• Who's who in the Middle Ages
• Extraordinary women of the medieval and Renaissance world : a biographical dictionary  
• An annotated index of medieval women 
• History of Parliament 1386-1421  and online  
• Religious office holders, e.g. Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae , The heads of religious houses, England and Wales  
• Registers of students within histories of universities, see Culture and Learning section . 
• Dictionnaire des sculpteurs français du Moyen Age  
• The Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England (online) 
• England’s Immigrants 1330-1550 (online) 
• A handlist of the Latin writers of Great Britain and Ireland before 1540 

The collections also include some biographies of individuals e.g. B.58 British collection

Dictionaries and Reference Works

Within the library, dictionaries are available at the beginning of the general and other sections. Online versions of medieval language dictionaries are also listed below. 

• Logeion Includes The Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources  
• Anglo-Norman Dictionary
• Bosworth-Toller Anglo-Saxon Dictionary
• Middle English Compendium

Reference works and encyclopedias

• Dictionary of the Middle Ages
• Lexikon des Mittelalters print and online
• The new Cambridge medieval history
• A dictionary of medieval terms and phrases
• Medieval France : an encyclopedia
• The encyclopedia of the medieval chronicle
• Encyclopedia of the hundred years war
• Encyclopedia of medieval pilgrimage
• Medieval Ireland : an encyclopedia
• Medieval Iberia : an encyclopedia
• Medieval Jewish civilization : an encyclopedia
• Trade, travel and exploration in the middle ages : an encyclopedia
• The Blackwell encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England

Historiography and Methodology

There are general works at classmark E.1 and subject-specific works within other collections. They range from historiography, methodology, works about individual historians, medievalism and the interpretation of medieval history. Examples are:

• What is medieval history?
• Writing medieval history
• Medievalisms in the postcolonial world : the idea of the "Middle Ages" outside Europe
• The Vikings reimagined : reception, recovery, engagement (on order)
• Chronicling history : chroniclers and historians in medieval and Renaissance Italy
• In their own words : practices of quotation in early medieval history-writing
• Arabische Historiographie der Gegenwart
• Universal chronicles in the high middle ages
• Bede's Historiae : genre, rhetoric and the construction of Anglo-Saxon church history
• A woman in history : Eileen Power, 1889-1940
• Anna Komnene : the life and work of a medieval historian

Secondary Texts

The library doesn’t generally collect secondary material but some works are held where they are considered useful guides to the sources or have source-based appendices. We actively collect Festschriften. A few examples:

• The medieval world / edited by Peter Linehan and Janet L. Nelson
• Freedom of movement in the middle ages : proceedings of the 2003 Harlaxton Symposium
• The Cambridge history of medieval political thought c. 350-c. 1450
• Domesday : book of judgement
• Writing medieval biography, 750-1250 : essays in honour of Professor Frank Barlow
• Album Helen Maud Cam

Periodicals

The most recent years of most of our journals are on open shelves in the Current Periodicals room. Earlier issues can be ordered from the stack. Many are also available online within the building via the links on the catalogue. Bibliography of British and Irish History and JSTOR are examples of the online databases that can be used to locate journal articles. Examples of medieval history periodicals are listed below, but articles will be found across periodicals on many subjects:

• Anglo Norman studies
• Cambrian medieval celtic studies
• Anglo-Saxon England
• Early medieval Europe
• Journal of medieval history
• The journal of medieval military history
• Journal of the Haskins Society : studies in medieval history
• Medieval prosopography
• Fourteenth century England  

Selected Themes

Medieval women.

Insights about the lives of medieval women are found within many primary sources across the collections. There are also compilations of sources on the subject, and some secondary works. Finding items in sources require some digging and knowledge of the likely places. Secondary works and collections of sources on the subject can be found using subject and keyword searches on the catalogue. Some examples: 

Collections of writings

• The writings of medieval women : an anthology  
• Women's lives in medieval Europe : a sourcebook
• Medieval writings on secular women  
• The letters of the queens of England, 1066-1547

Individual women or families

• Letters of Margaret of Anjou
• The Paston women : selected letters  
• A companion to The book of Margery Kempe  

Women and religion

• Guidance for women in twelfth-century convents  
• Women's Books of hours in medieval England  
• Saints Edith and Æthelthryth : princesses, miracle workers, and their late medieval audience : the Wilton Chronicle and the Wilton Life of St Æthelthryth  
• The white nuns : Cistercian abbeys for women in medieval France
• Religious women in medieval East Anglia : history and archaeology c1100-1540  

Spaces and objects

• Gender in medieval places, spaces and thresholds  (open access) 
• Medieval women and their objects  
• Dress accessories c.1150 - c.1450
• "For the salvation of my soul": women and wills in medieval and early modern France  (online)
• Frauenstimmen in der spätmittelalterlichen Stadt? : Testamente von Frauen aus Lüneburg, Hamburg und Wien als soziale Kommunikation
• The will of Aethelgifu : a tenth century Anglo-Saxon manuscript

Secondary works

• Ale, beer and brewsters in England : women's work in a changing world, 1300-1600  
• Motherhood, religion, and society in medieval Europe, 400-1400 : essays presented to Henrietta Leyser  
• Popular memory and gender in medieval England : men, women and testimony in the church courts, c.1200-1500  
• Medieval Italy, medieval and early modern women : essays in honour of Christine Meek  
• Medieval women : texts and contexts in late medieval Britain : essays for Felicity Riddy
• The Welsh law of women : studies presented to Professor Daniel A. Binchy on his eightieth birthday, 3 June 1980
• Queen Emma and Queen Edith : queenship and women's power in eleventh-century England  
• Women in the medieval English countryside : gender and household in Brigstock before the plague  

Travel Writing

These can be found both within the general travel and exploration sections (classmark C) and within the collections for the place being described. They include textual sources, maps and other trade and travel sources. Examples include: 

• A traveller in thirteenth-century Arabia : Ibn al-Mujāwir's Tārīkh al-mustabṣir  
• Mandeville’s travels (several editions) 
• The voyages of the Venetian brothers, Nicolò & Antonio Zeno, to the northern seas in the XIVth century  
• Quellen zur Geschichte des Reisens im Spätmittelalter  
• Marco Polo’s Le devisement du monde: Edition and Simon Gaunt’s Marco Polo's Le devisement du monde : narrative voice, language and diversity  
• The travels of Ibn Jubayr : a medieval journey from Cordoba to Jerusalem  
• Pilgrimage in the Middle Ages : a reader   
• Cathay and the way thither : being a collection of medieval notices of China  
• Trade, travel and exploration in the middle ages : an encyclopedia  
• Historical atlas of the Islamic world
• A critical companion to English 'Mappae Mundi' of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries  
• Local maps and plans from medieval England  

Clothing and Textiles

Examples include sources on clothing, laws on clothing and the textile trade, archaeological sources and secondary works. There will also be many examples within more general sources. See also the Fashion history guide .

• The medieval clothier  
• The right to dress : sumptuary laws in a global perspective, c. 1200-1800  
• Cloth and clothing in medieval Europe : essays in memory of Professor E.M. Carus-Wilson  
• Advance contracts for the sale of wool, c. 1200-c. 1327  
• The Merchant Taylors of York : a history of the crafts and company from the fourteenth to the twentieth century  
• Registre des délibérations et ordonnances des marchands merciers de Paris, 1596-1696  
• Statuti dell'Arte dei rigattieri e linaioli di Firenze (1296-1340)  
• Fleming, R, Acquiring, flaunting and destroying silk in late Anglo-Saxon England in Early Medieval Europe (2007)

Examples of descriptions from within sources:

• Descriptions of the prescribed apparel for Servants, Esquires and Gentlemen, Merchants, Knights, the Clergy and Ploughmen in Statutes of the Realm , 37 Edward III c.8-15 1363
• "A statute was approved during the parliament to prohibit the export of wool, while seeking to encourage the manufacture of cloth in England... No one was to use foreign made cloth, except the king, queen and their children" ( Parliament Rolls of Medieval England , 1337 March, Vol. 4 p.230)

Building and Households

The collection includes both primary sources such as estate and building records and secondary works. See also the separate Architectural History collections guide . Examples are:

Primary sources

• The building accounts of Tattershall castle : 1434-1472
• Building accounts of King Henry III
• Building accounts of All Souls College Oxford, 1438-1443
• London plotted : plans of London buildings c.1450-1720
• The Plan of St. Gall : a study of the architecture & economy of & life in a paradigmatic Carolingian monastery
• The medieval household : daily living c.1150-c.1450
• Norwich households : the medieval and post-medieval finds from Norwich Survey excavations, 1971-1978
• Household accounts from medieval England. Part 1, Introduction, Glossary, Diet Accounts

Reference and secondary works

• The Pevsner Buildings of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales series
• English mediaeval architects : a biographical dictionary down to 1550
• The elite household in England, 1100-1550 : proceedings of the 2016 Harlaxton Symposium
• Anglo-Saxon architecture
• A gazetteer of medieval houses in Kent
• The medieval peasant house in Midland England
• Scottish abbeys : an introduction to the mediaeval abbeys and priories of Scotland
• Jewish heritage in England : an architectural guide
• The English Mediaeval House
• Greater medieval houses of England and Wales 1300-1500
• The early Norman castles of the British Isles
• Arts of the medieval cathedrals : studies on architecture, stained glass and sculpture in honor of Anne Prache  
• Mainz and the middle Rhine Valley : medieval art, architecture and archaeology

Education and Learning

There are sections within individual areas on this theme, also a large collection on the history of universities (including biographical listings) and, within the Religious history collection , works on monasticism and religious orders. 

Examples of Histories of universities and alumni listings 

• Die Matrikel der Universität Wien  
• Die Matrikel der Universität Köln  
• Die Matrikel der Universität Heidelberg von 1386 bis 1870  
• A biographical register of the University of Oxford to A.D. 1500  
• History of the University of Oxford  
• A history of the University of Cambridge  
• Alumni cantabrigienses: a biographical list of all known students, graduates and holders of office at the University of Cambridge, from the earliest times to 1900 print and online version . 

Examples of other works:

• University records and life in the Middle Ages 
• The universities of Europe in the Middle Ages  
• English schools in the Middle Ages  
• Teaching and learning in medieval Europe : essays in honour of Gernot R. Wieland  
• The church and learning in later medieval society : essays in honour of R.B. Dobson  
• Writing history in the Anglo-Norman world : manuscripts, makers and readers, c. 1066-c. 1250  
• Medieval libraries of Great Britain : a list of surviving books  
• The Cambridge history of libraries in Britain and Ireland  

Food and Drink

There are references to food in many of the primary sources in the collections. Listed below are some examples of secondary works on the subject. See also the Guide to Food History Collections

• Food and eating in medieval Europe  
• Food, craft, and status in medieval Winchester : the plant and animal remains from the suburbs and city defences  
• The book of Sent Soví : medieval recipes from Catalonia 
• Medieval cookery : recipes and history  
• A medieval capital and its grain supply : agrarian production and distribution in the London region c.1300  
• Medieval masterchef : archaeological and historical perspectives on eastern cuisine and western foodways  
• Agrarian history of England and Wales

Online Resources

Subscription online resources  are available within the building. See also the medieval section in  Open and Free Access Materials for Research . Free online resources are also included in the relevant sections above.

A few examples: 

• International Medieval Bibliography
• Acta Sanctorum
• British History Online
• Gatehouse: A comprehensive gazetteer and bibliography of the medieval castles, fortifications and palaces of England, Wales and the Islands
• The Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Stone Sculpture  
• Historic England Archive
• Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources
• The Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England
• England’s Immigrants 1330-1550
• Logeion  includes The Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources  
• English place-names
• English medieval coins
• Portable Antiquities Scheme database

Other Collections

• ​​​​​​British Library
• National Library of Scotland
• National Library of Wales
• National Archives
• Bodleian Libraries
• Warburg Institute
• Senate House Library
• Institute of Classical Studies

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In This Article Expand or collapse the "in this article" section English Kings and Monarchy, 1066-1485

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• Early Narrative Histories and Essay Collections
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• Reference Works
• Bibliographies and Handbooks
• Major Primary Source Collections in the Original Languages
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• Constitutional and Administrative History
• William I “The Conqueror”
• William II “Rufus”
• Richard I “Coeur de Leon”
• John “Lackland” or “Softsword”
• Edward I “Longshanks”
• Richard III

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• Pope Innocent III

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English Kings and Monarchy, 1066-1485 by Douglas Biggs LAST REVIEWED: 28 January 2013 LAST MODIFIED: 28 January 2013 DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195396584-0114

The king was the most important component in medieval political society. With him lay the right to rule, and all power flowed from him out to his subjects through a complex array of nobles, churchmen, gentry, and the machinery of government. Without the person of the monarch, governance was all but impossible. Across the roughly four centuries that separate the Norman Conquest from the accession of the Tudors in 1485, English kingship underwent a number of significant changes in response to various constitutional crises and transformations of government, but the core of who and what the king was remained constant. Historians have focused on kings and their power for centuries, and their work on so large a subject is both broad and varied. Significant debates as to the nature of kingship and the application of royal power and a plethora of studies of individual kings and how they shaped the office have led to different understandings of monarchy in this period. This bibliography does not try to provide the reader with an exhaustive list of articles and books on so broad a topic as kingship and monarchy. Rather, it tries to provide only the major works for any particular reign that will probably be found in a college or university library. This bibliography draws attention to works such as Stephenson and Marcham 1937 (cited under Source Collections in Translation ), or Bryce Dale Lyon’s history of administration ( Lyon 1980 , cited under Constitutional and Administrative History ) that might be lingering in dusty retirement on their shelves.

General Overviews

A topic as broad as monarchy and kingship has spawned a great many general overviews and studies. The late 19th century was a period of great narrative histories, when historians covered several reigns in multivolume sets (e.g., Norgate 1887 , Ramsay 1892 , Ramsay 1913 , and Hunt and Poole 1905–1910 ). Both Cambridge University and Oxford University produced multivolume sets of their own, while individuals have also produced single-volume studies.

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Reading and Writing in Medieval England: Essays in Honor of Mary C. Erler, ed. Martin Chase and Maryanne Kowaleski

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Jane Bliss, Reading and Writing in Medieval England: Essays in Honor of Mary C. Erler, ed. Martin Chase and Maryanne Kowaleski, The English Historical Review , Volume 135, Issue 575, August 2020, Pages 1007–1009, https://doi.org/10.1093/ehr/ceaa131

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This volume on the medieval book, its owners, and its readers begins with an Introduction by the editors, Martin Chase and Maryanne Kowaleski, which acts as a useful guide to the contributions. The essays consider a range of readers and practices of reading, from the literary and intratextual to the historical Londoners whose traces can be found in the archives.

Joyce Coleman’s opening essay revisits Troilus and Criseyde (book ii) in detail. She explores the irony of a situation in which women read about a city under siege, being under siege themselves. In this scene Pandarus pulls Criseyde away from her reading; later, Criseyde will be pulled away from the doomed city. According to Coleman, Chaucer’s portrait of the reading circle may have been inspired by his own youthful service at the court of Elizabeth de Burgh.

Caroline M. Barron considers Beatrice Melreth, a ‘London Gentlewoman’. She argues that something of Beatrice’s life may be glimpsed by examining the books she owned and the will she drew up; her reading was that of a devout and moderately learned laywoman without evidence of ‘affective piety’ (p. 54). She shared her literary culture with her sister, to whom she left the books. Similar questions underpin Sheila Lindenbaum’s study of fifteenth-century Londoners. She examines the interaction between London’s ‘middling sorts’ and educated clergy, and what they read. She challenges Sylvia Thrupp’s notion that Londoners lacked intellectual curiosity; what can look like anti-intellectualism may instead have been a reaction against dangerous religious controversy. Lindenbaum asserts that their participation in ‘classicizing civic rituals’ (p. 79) is evidence of learned culture.

Memory is another key theme in the history of engagement with books. Joel T. Rosenthal examines fifteenth-century proofs of age. This is a study of those moments when the books or documents in which events were recorded were not available at the time those events needed to be recalled. He suggests the rich insights to be gained from bringing together the concerns of his own work with the gendered insights of Erler’s scholarship, in particular since proofs of age tend to reflect a female domain of birth and baptism; meanwhile, he says, proper examination of women’s role in the context of ‘proofs of age’ awaits further inquiry (p. 98).

The collection then turns to the act of reading and intertextuality within texts themselves. Kathryn A. Smith considers the Old Testament in the Queen Mary Psalter (the text in question is the Preface to the Psalter). After interrogating the book’s production and reception, Smith discusses examples of the way Old Testament narratives are influenced by chivalric romance when recounted in the Preface of this exceptional and beautifully produced book. It is not so much that the artists were familiar with, or drew on, romance texts: the illustrations resemble those in romance manuscripts, thus creating ‘intervisual’ references (p. 113). The essay is lavishly illustrated. This kind of multi-layered involvement with the book is also explored by Michael G. Sargent, with regard to Walter Hilton’s Scale of Perfection at Syon Abbey. However, Sargent argues for a form of reading and engagement that is specific to the Bridgettine nuns and distinct from wider clerical or lay literacy. He develops a comparison between Hilton’s book and The Mirror of Our Lady , and traces layers of non-linear reading that includes rubrics (annotations, incipits), English and Latin.

Beyond the text, scholars are increasingly turning to the materiality of books. Such a perspective is adopted here, by Heather Blatt. Strikingly, this allows her to demonstrate an important difference between men’s reading and women’s: the men are more likely to go to the book, which is supported by a lectern of some sort, to read according to the liturgy and the order of service. On the other hand, the book goes to and with the nun: she takes it away and sits in a corner to read it supported on her lap. The ‘bookmarker’ (an anchor or pin holding textile strands to mark places in the book) is crucial to this process.

The essays focus on English material with one exception. Martin Chase’s essay, ‘ Enska Vísan : Sir Orfeo in Iceland?’, nowhere identifies this Icelandic poem as a romance, in spite of points of comparison with the Middle English romance of Sir Orfeo . The ‘English Verse’ of the title is here edited, with a table of resemblances and a discussion of its affinities with other genres. At the end of the narrative, the lady is left with the ‘peaceful man’ Sunday, rather than being brought home; the protagonist journeys back into the world so that he can tell of his adventure, thus providing a record for transmission to posterity.

Reading is shown throughout the essays to have been both bound up in notions of textual community, and also highly personal. This is particularly apparent in Allison Adair Alberts’ study of John Foxe’s Book of Martyrs . The female ‘martyrs’ of the book are presented as sympathetic, rather than idealised as they were in the Catholic canon. Women reading these lives can map their own concerns with (for example) nurturing their family onto the predicaments in which Foxe’s women find themselves. Hitherto, hagiography had separated the roles of saint and mother (p. 232). Instead of an emphasis on abandoning the world and the family, domestic struggles are shown by Foxe as part of the female saint’s journey to martyrdom.

There follows a bibliography of the scholarship of Mary Carpenter Erler. All the essays in the volume speak to Erler’s ‘passion for exploring lives’ (p. 7) through the books that people owned or read. It provides a rich and varied tribute to a great scholar of the history of the book.

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What was life like in medieval society?

Part of History Medieval society, life and religion

• Most people in medieval society lived in villages, there were few large towns.
• The majority of people were peasants, who worked on the land.
• There were a range of jobs and trades in towns and villages, some quite similar to those people might have today.

Video about life in medieval England

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Video transcript video transcript.

Narrator: Most people in medieval England were farming peasants who lived in villages in the countryside. They had a hard life working all day on farms owned by nobles. By the 12th century this was changing. New towns developed around religious buildings, castles or trade routes. These towns were crowded, noisy and smelly. At dawn, a bell would ring to begin the day. Townspeople would attend their first religious mass of the day.

Towns were not healthy places to live. Although housing did improve during the period, there was no sewage system. So people discarded their waste in the streets or local rivers. People often shared their homes with their livestock, but none of these animals were house-trained. The town was run by powerful people such as merchants and lords, while the crafts workers and traders made their living in the bustling markets.

Crime was common in towns. If someone was accused of a crime such as stealing, one of the ways they might have to prove their innocence was through a trial by boiling water. The accused would have to pick up a stone from a pot of boiling water and people believed that if the person was innocent, God would heal the wounds within three days. If not, the person was guilty. The city gates were shut at dusk and the bell was rung for curfew. A night watchman would patrol the streets to look out for criminals or wild animals to keep townspeople safe.

Life in medieval villages

In medieval society, most people lived in villages and most of the population were peasants.

Villeins close villeins Peasants who were at the bottom of the feudal system. They worked and lived in land owned by a lord and were not allowed to leave without the lord’s permission. were peasants who were legally tied to land owned by a local lord. If they wanted to move, or even get married, they needed the permission of the lord first. In return for being allowed to farm the land they lived on, villeins had to give some of the food they grew each year to the lord. Villeins worked on strips of land, spread out in different fields across the village. Life could be hard; if crops failed to produce enough food, people faced starvation.

Some peasants were called freemen close freemen Freemen were a minority of peasants who had the right to move around the country and work on different pieces of land. . These peasants were able to move round from one village to another and did not have the same restrictions on them as villeins did.

Peasants' everyday life

Peasant homes were small, often just made up of one room. A peasant's hut was made of wattle close wattle A framework for a wall or fence made from woven twigs. and daub close daub Plaster, clay, or another substance used for coating a surface, especially when mixed with straw. , with a thatch close thatch A roof covering made of straw. roof but no windows. Inside the hut, a third of the area was penned off for the animals, which lived in the hut with the family. A fire burned in a hearth in the centre of the hut, so the air was permanently eye-wateringly smoky. Furniture was maybe a couple of stools, a trunk for bedding, and a few cooking pots.

Women in peasant families learnt to spin wool from an early age, using wooden wheels to make clothes.

Children spent most of their time helping their parents with day-to-day activities. Rather than going to school, they worked on jobs in the house, looked after animals and helped grow food.

Peasants also had to pay a tithe close tithe Peasants had to give 10 per cent of what they produced on their land to the church. to the Church. A tithe was 10% of what they produced on their land. The Church was central to medieval life. People would attend services there every Sunday, and it would host marriages, christenings and funerals.

What challenges did a peasant face?

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Peasants in medieval England were incredibly poor. Their main aim was to grow enough food to survive. This meant they often had to work long hours and their lives could depend on whether or not they grew enough food.

A peasant’s year would be based around farming and the seasons. In spring they would plough the land and sow seeds followed by tending to crops in the summer and harvesting them in the autumn.

Food supplies would be at their lowest in spring, as the stocks from the autumn harvest would start to run out.

Life in medieval towns

There were not many towns in medieval England, and those that existed were small by modern standards. London was the largest with a population of 10,000 and Winchester the second largest with 6,000 people. The Domesday Book close Domesday Book The Domesday Book was a survey of England to establish what every person owned. This helped William establish control over England and raise taxes. gives some idea about what life in towns was like .

There were many skilled craftsmen working in towns, such as carpenters, blacksmiths and tailors. Trade was a key part of town life, with goods such as iron, wool, salt and agricultural products being commonly bought and sold. Coastal towns would trade with other countries.

Some women were able to work as shopkeepers, cloth-sellers or run pubs, but these opportunities were very limited. Similar to villages, women were also expected to work in the home, cleaning and looking after their family.

Towns were often unhygienic because of the larger populations and the lack of proper sanitation close sanitation Accessibility of clean drinking water and hygienic waste disposal. . Modern toilets and plumbing were a long way in the future and waste was thrown into the streets. Animals such as pigs and sheep roamed and butchers often threw waste meat into the street or river. These unsanitary conditions contributed to the spread of diseases, such as the Black Death.

Activity - Put these groups of people into the right order

Law and order in medieval society.

In the medieval period, there was no organised police force and most law enforcement was organised by local people. In some areas, every male over the age of 12 had to join a group called a tithing close tithing A group of 10 people who were expected to maintain law and order within their group. , and they had to make sure no one else in the group committed a crime. If someone was the victim of a crime, they had to raise the ‘hue and cry’, meaning other villagers had to come to help find the criminal.

Some areas had watchmen or constables who would patrol the area to prevent crimes. Most minor crimes were dealt with by the local lord. A judge, who was appointed by the king, travelled to each county to deal with serious crimes.

If a jury couldn't decide if a person was innocent or guilty, there was the option of trial by ordeal . This is where people were subjected to painful tasks, such as:

• Walking on hot coals
• Putting your hand in boiling water to retrieve a stone
• Holding a red-hot iron

If your wounds healed cleanly after three days, then you were considered to be innocent in the eyes of God. If not, you were considered guilty and would be punished accordingly. Punishments included being put in the stocks, fines, or even death for more serious crimes.

Education in medieval society

Some children went to school to learn to read and write, but most didn't. Schools were expensive and usually located in towns. Children from wealthy families may have had a tutor or attended a grammar school, but the cost of schooling meant that most children could not afford to go. There were also schools in monasteries close monastery Buildings lived in by a community of monks who live under religious vows. , but places often went to children who were to become monks.

Instead of formal schooling, many medieval children learned how to farm, grow food and tend to animals. Some also learned a trade and perhaps became an apprentice to a local craftsperson like a carpenter or a tailor.

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The Church's role in medieval life in England

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Life and Culture in Medieval England

Welcome to a journey through time to explore the fascinating world of medieval England . This period in history stretches from the 5th century to the end of the 15th century, marked by incredible changes in society, economy , culture, religion , and politics.

As we delve deeper into the life and culture of medieval England , we’ll discover the rich tapestry of events and characters that shaped this incredible era. From the Norman Conquest to the rise of feudalism , from chivalry and knights to the role of medicine and healthcare , we’ll explore every aspect of medieval life.

Join us on this exciting journey through time to discover the wonders of medieval England .

Key Takeaways

• Medieval England was a period in history that spanned from the 5th to the 15th century.
• During this time, the country witnessed significant changes in society, economy , culture, religion , and politics.
• The Norman Conquest and the rise of feudalism were two crucial events that shaped the medieval period in England.
• Other key areas of interest include the role of religion , art , architecture , education , healthcare , literature , and entertainment .

The Rise of Medieval England

In 1066, the Norman Conquest transformed England into a powerful nation that would have significant impact on the course of history . William the Conqueror’s victory over King Harold Godwinson marked the beginning of medieval England, a period of great cultural and social change. The Norman Conquest brought sweeping changes to the country’s political, economic, and social landscape. The events that followed over the next few centuries would shape the nation and lay a foundation for modern England .

The Norman Conquest brought about the introduction of Norman-French language and culture, which had a significant impact on English society. The new ruling class established a feudal system that granted land ownership and control to a small group of elite nobles. The role of the king was greatly expanded under the Norman monarchs , and a powerful central government was established. This period also saw the emergence of chivalry and the rise of knights as key figures in society.

The medieval period in England was marked by constant warfare, both domestic and foreign. The country experienced multiple invasions, including those by the Vikings and the Normans. The resulting conflicts and battles shaped the country’s culture and politics in profound ways. The Hundred Years’ War between England and France , which began in 1337, was one of the most significant events of the medieval period. This prolonged conflict had a profound impact on the country’s political and economic systems, and ultimately led to the downfall of the Plantagenet dynasty.

The Norman Conquest

In 1066, William the Conqueror led the Norman invasion of England, defeating King Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings. The Norman Conquest marked a turning point in English history, bringing about significant changes in the country’s political, social, and economic systems.

The Normans introduced a feudal system, which divided society into distinct classes based on land ownership and labor. The king held ultimate power and granted land to barons and nobles in exchange for military service. The peasants who lived and worked on the land were subject to their lords and had little freedom or autonomy.

The Norman Conquest also had a significant impact on the English language. French became the language of the ruling class, and many French words and phrases were incorporated into English. This period saw the development of Middle English, a linguistic evolution that had a profound impact on the language and literature of England and beyond.

Social Structure and Daily Life

Medieval England was highly stratified, with a rigid social hierarchy that determined people’s roles, rights, and obligations. At the top of the pyramid were the nobility, who owned vast estates, held political power, and enjoyed exclusive privileges. Below them were the clergy, who provided spiritual guidance and administered religious institutions. The vast majority of the population, however, belonged to the peasantry, who worked the land, paid taxes, and provided military service to their lords.

Daily life in medieval England was hard, demanding, and often unpredictable. The vast majority of people lived in rural areas, where they depended on agriculture for their survival. They worked long hours in the fields, tended to their cattle, and engaged in various crafts and trades to supplement their income. Many people lacked basic necessities such as clean water, sanitation, and healthcare , which made them vulnerable to diseases and epidemics.

However, despite the challenges, medieval life was not without its pleasures. People enjoyed communal activities such as festivals, fairs, and sports, where they could socialize, dance, and watch performances. They also participated in religious rituals and celebrations, which provided a sense of community and belonging.

In terms of gender roles, women in medieval England had limited opportunities for education , employment, and political participation. Their main role was to serve as wives, mothers, and caregivers, and to manage household activities such as cooking, sewing, and cleaning. Men, on the other hand, were expected to fulfill their duties as laborers, soldiers, and protectors of their families. They also had more opportunities for education and occupational mobility than women.

Overall, medieval England was a complex and diverse society, with various cultural, religious, political, and economic factors shaping people’s lives. Although the social structure was hierarchical and unequal, everyday people found ways to make sense of their world and create meaningful connections with others.

Religion and Beliefs

The role of religion in medieval England cannot be overstated. During this time, the Catholic Church held immense power and influence, shaping the beliefs and practices of society.

The Catholic Church was the dominant religious institution, and its officials held a position of great authority. The Pope, based in Rome, was considered the supreme leader of the Church, while local bishops oversaw the religious affairs of their respective regions.

The Church played a central role in the lives of medieval people, serving as a source of guidance and comfort. It offered a sense of community and belonging, as well as a promise of salvation in the afterlife.

Medieval people were deeply religious, and their beliefs informed every aspect of their lives. They believed in a strict moral code, guided by the Ten Commandments, and sought to lead virtuous lives. They also believed in the concept of sin and the importance of confession and forgiveness.

One notable feature of medieval religion was the prevalence of pilgrimage. Many people embarked on long journeys to visit holy sites, believing that doing so would bring them closer to God and offer them spiritual renewal.

Despite the influence of the Catholic Church, there were also dissenting voices and alternative belief systems. The rise of heresy and the emergence of groups such as the Lollards challenged the authority of the Church and highlighted the diversity of religious thought during this era.

The Role of the Church in Society

The Church played a crucial role in shaping medieval society. It provided education and healthcare, as well as a system of justice. It also owned vast amounts of land and was heavily involved in political affairs, often exerting significant influence over monarchs and governments.

The Church was responsible for the creation of magnificent structures such as cathedrals and monasteries, which served as symbols of its wealth and power. These buildings also showcased the artistic achievements of the period, featuring intricate carvings, stained glass windows, and elaborate sculptures.

The influence of the Church extended beyond religion and culture. Its teachings and beliefs informed the social and political structures of medieval England, shaping the behavior and expectations of its people.

The End of Medieval Religion

The Reformation of the sixteenth century marked a turning point in the history of religion in England. The rise of Protestantism challenged the authority of the Catholic Church and led to a period of religious turmoil.

The Tudor monarchs, particularly Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, played a significant role in shaping the religious landscape of England. Under their reigns, the Church of England was established, and the country’s religious identity shifted away from Catholicism.

Despite these changes, the legacy of medieval religion can still be seen today. Its influence is evident in the art and architecture , literature , and social and political structures of modern England.

Medieval Art and Architecture

The art and architecture of medieval England reflects the distinctive style and techniques that emerged during this era. From grand churches to humble homes, the medieval period left an indelible mark on the country’s visual landscape.

Medieval art was heavily influenced by the Catholic Church, which commissioned many of the era’s most significant works. Religious imagery, including depictions of saints and biblical scenes, dominated the art of the time. These works were often created using a labor-intensive process that involved painting on wooden panels or preparing pigments from scratch.

The illuminated manuscript was another significant art form of the medieval period. These hand-written and illustrated books were often produced in monasteries and were prized for their beauty and historical significance.

Architecture

Medieval architecture is characterized by its ornate design and use of decorative detail. Religious buildings were among the most significant works of architecture during this time, with grand cathedrals and churches dotting the English countryside.

The Norman Conquest had a significant impact on the architecture of medieval England, introducing a range of new styles and materials. The sturdy stone structures of the Normans replaced the earlier wooden buildings of the Anglo-Saxons, giving rise to a new era of grand stone castles and fortified walls.

The medieval period was also marked by the development of new construction techniques, including the flying buttress and the use of gargoyles as decorative features. These innovations helped to create some of the most impressive architectural works of the time.

Drawing on a rich tradition of art and architecture, medieval England left a lasting legacy that continues to inspire and captivate visitors to this day.

Education and Learning

During medieval times, education was primarily the domain of the Church and the wealthy nobility. As a result, most people in medieval England were illiterate, and education was generally reserved for the privileged few.

The early Middle Ages saw the establishment of monastic schools, where young boys were taught basic literacy and religious doctrine. Over time, these schools evolved into more sophisticated centers of learning , where subjects such as mathematics, astronomy, and medicine were also taught. In the 12th century, the first universities were established in England, starting with Oxford and Cambridge. These institutions provided higher education for the growing merchant class and the sons of nobility.

The Role of Monasteries

In addition to providing basic education, monasteries played a significant role in preserving knowledge and literature during the medieval period. Monks would copy important texts by hand, ensuring their survival over time. The most famous example of this is the illuminated manuscripts, which were lavishly illustrated and decorated copies of the Bible and other religious texts.

The Church also played a vital role in the development of medieval education. In addition to founding schools and universities, it also established a system of cathedral schools, which provided education to boys who would go on to serve in the Church.

The Development of Universities

The establishment of universities in the 12th century marked a significant milestone in the history of medieval education. These institutions provided higher education in a wide range of disciplines, including theology, law, medicine , and the liberal arts.

At first, universities were primarily attended by the sons of the nobility. However, as the demand for educated professionals grew, more and more people from all walks of life began to attend university. By the end of the medieval period, universities had become important centers of learning and innovation, and had played a significant role in shaping modern western civilization.

Feudalism and the Manorial System

In medieval England, feudalism and the manorial system were the predominant social and economic systems. Feudalism was a hierarchical system in which land was granted in exchange for military or other services, and the manorial system was a way of organizing labor and land ownership.

The feudal system in England began with the Norman Conquest in 1066. William the Conqueror granted land to his supporters, who in turn granted land to their own followers. This created a pyramid-like structure in which the king was at the top, followed by the nobility, knights , and peasants.

Nobles were responsible for managing their own lands and providing military service to the king. Knights, who were members of the nobility, were granted land in exchange for military service to their lords. Peasants, who made up the majority of the population, were bound to the land and were obligated to provide labor and other services to their lords.

The Manorial System

The manorial system was a way of organizing labor and land ownership. The lord of the manor owned the land and was responsible for providing protection and justice to the peasants who worked the land. In exchange for the use of the land, peasants were required to provide labor and services to the lord, such as plowing fields, harvesting crops, and repairing buildings.

The manorial system was a self-sufficient system in which peasants lived and worked on the manor without much contact with the outside world. They produced food and goods for the lord and for themselves, and were provided with basic necessities such as housing and clothing in return.

Feudalism and the manorial system played a significant role in shaping medieval England, influencing everything from the social structure to the economy . Understanding these systems is key to understanding life and culture during this fascinating period in history.

Medicine and Healthcare in Medieval England

Medical practices in medieval England were vastly different from today’s modern methods. Physicians were not as prevalent, and instead, people relied on apothecaries and herbal remedies to treat illnesses and injuries. The healthcare system was rudimentary, and diseases were a significant threat to the population.

Physicians were the most highly trained medical professionals in medieval England. They were predominantly educated in universities and were highly regarded by the wealthy. However, their services were expensive, and the vast majority of the population could not afford them. Most people relied on self-treatment or visited apothecaries.

Apothecaries

Apothecaries were the primary source of medicine for most people. They sold various herbs and remedies to treat common ailments like colds, aches, and pains. They also created potions, powders, and ointments for external use. However, their knowledge was limited, and their remedies were often ineffective.

Herbal Remedies

Herbs were the most commonly used remedies in medieval England. Many of them were gathered from the countryside and used for their medicinal properties. Some of the most popular herbs included chamomile for its calming effects, lavender for its antiseptic qualities, and peppermint for its digestive benefits.

Diseases were a significant concern in medieval England. The population was susceptible to outbreaks of diseases like the bubonic plague, smallpox, and typhoid fever. There were no antibiotics or immunizations, so diseases had devastating consequences.

The healthcare system in medieval England was rudimentary, and medical practices were often ineffective. Still, the people of the time relied on them to maintain their health and well-being.

Chivalry and Knights

In medieval England, chivalry was not just a concept, but a way of life. The knights were the embodiment of chivalry, and their code of conduct was one of honor, loyalty, bravery, and virtuous behavior. They were trained in martial arts, and their bravery and skill in battle were highly prized.

Chivalry was not just about fighting skills, however. Knights were expected to exhibit courtesy and good manners, and to respect women and the poor. They were also expected to be pious Christians and to attend mass regularly.

The Role of Knights

Knights played an important role in medieval society. They were often the leaders of the feudal armies, and their military prowess gave them great power and influence. They were also called upon to settle disputes and protect their lord’s interests. In return for their services, they were given land and wealth.

Knights were seen as defenders of the weak and oppressed, and many tales of chivalry and heroism have been passed down through the ages. One such tale is that of King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table, who set out to right wrongs and protect the innocent.

The Decline of Chivalry

By the end of the medieval period, the concept of chivalry and the role of knights had begun to decline. As warfare changed and became more complex, the need for knights on the battlefield diminished. The rise of the mercantile class also meant that wealth and power were no longer solely in the hands of the feudal lords.

In spite of this, the legacy of chivalry and the knights remains an enduring one. Their code of conduct and their deeds of bravery continue to inspire and capture the imagination.

Trade and Economy

Trade and economy played a critical role in shaping medieval England. During this era, Europe experienced a gradual shift from a barter economy to a monetary system, which led to the growth of trade and commerce. As a result, towns and cities emerged as thriving centers of economic activity.

As trade and commerce grew, specialized industries began to emerge, such as the wool trade in England. The growth of these industries led to the development of guilds, which were organizations of merchants and craftsmen that regulated trade and set standards for quality.

Overall, the trade and economy of medieval England was characterized by a complex system of trade routes, the manorial system, and the impact of significant events such as the Black Death . These factors played a critical role in shaping the economic landscape of medieval England and paved the way for the growth and development of modern trade and commerce.

Literature and Entertainment

Medieval England was a time of vibrant creativity and intellectual activity, and literature and entertainment played an essential role in society.

Literature: During this era, literature was mainly written in Latin, and the works were primarily religious or historical in nature. However, vernacular literature also gained popularity, with the development of Middle English. This period saw the emergence of iconic literary works such as Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and the epic poem Beowulf.

Storytelling was a significant form of entertainment during medieval times. Bards and minstrels would travel from town to town, entertaining people with tales of romance and heroism. These stories often had a moral lesson and were an essential means of spreading cultural and religious knowledge.

Entertainment: Music and dance were also popular forms of entertainment. Medieval music was primarily vocal, consisting of religious hymns and secular ballads. The violin and the lute were among the most popular musical instruments during this era.

Theatre was also an essential part of medieval entertainment. Plays were usually performed in outdoor spaces such as courtyards or marketplaces and were often related to religious themes. The mystery and miracle plays were prevalent during this era and are considered the precursors of modern theatre.

In conclusion , the medieval period in England was a time of significant change and development. From the Norman Conquest to the rise of the manorial system and the growth of trade and commerce, medieval England saw a range of social, economic, and cultural shifts that continue to shape the country today. Through exploring the social structure , daily life , religion, art and architecture, education, medicine, chivalry, trade, and literature of medieval England, we can gain a deeper appreciation for the rich history and culture that has shaped the country over centuries. By learning about the lives and experiences of people during this time, we can also gain insights into our own society and the challenges that we face today. Overall, the medieval times in England have left a lasting legacy that continues to fascinate and inspire people around the world.

Q: What is the focus of this article?

A: This article explores the life and culture in medieval England, providing insights into various aspects such as social structure, religion, art, education, and more.

Q: How many sections are there in this article?

A: There are a total of 12 sections in this article.

Q: What will I learn about in the section “The Rise of Medieval England”?

A: In this section, you will learn about the historical background of medieval England, with a focus on the Norman Conquest and its impact on the country.

Q: What topics are covered in the section “Social Structure and Daily Life”?

A: The section “Social Structure and Daily Life” delves into the social structure of medieval England, explores the roles of different classes, and provides insights into the daily life of people during that time.

Q: What will I learn about in the section “Religion and Beliefs”?

A: In the section “Religion and Beliefs,” you will explore the religious practices and beliefs in medieval England, including the influence of the Catholic Church and the role of religion in shaping society.

Q: What topics are covered in the section “Medieval Art and Architecture”?

A: The section “Medieval Art and Architecture” focuses on the distinctive styles and techniques that emerged during this era, showcasing the art and architecture of medieval England.

Q: What will I learn about in the section “Education and Learning”?

A: In the section “Education and Learning,” you will discover the education system in medieval England, including the role of monasteries and the development of universities.

Q: What topics are covered in the section “Feudalism and the Manorial System”?

A: The section “Feudalism and the Manorial System” examines the feudal system and the manorial system, explaining how land ownership and labor were organized during medieval times.

Q: What will I learn about in the section “Medicine and Healthcare”?

A: In the section “Medicine and Healthcare,” you will explore the medical practices and healthcare system in medieval England, including the role of physicians, herbal remedies, and the impact of diseases.

Q: What topics are covered in the section “Chivalry and Knights”?

A: The section “Chivalry and Knights” delves into the concept of chivalry and the role of knights in medieval England, including their code of conduct and significance in society.

Q: What will I learn about in the section “Trade and Economy”?

A: In the section “Trade and Economy,” you will learn about medieval trade routes, economic activities, and the growth of towns and cities as centers of commerce.

Q: What topics are covered in the section “Literature and Entertainment”?

A: The section “Literature and Entertainment” explores the literary works and forms of entertainment that were popular in medieval England, including storytelling, music, and theater.

Q: What will I find in the “Conclusion” section?

A: The “Conclusion” section summarizes the key points discussed throughout the article and provides a concluding perspective on medieval England.

The English castle: dominating the landscape

Goodrich Castle, view of the courtyard from the keep

The traditional view of a medieval English castle is that it was designed for warfare, suggesting that medieval lords were perpetually either at war or preparing for it. Until recently castles were mostly studied by military men or at least by men with a military background who had fought in one of the two world wars. Their work on castles extended their interest in warfare back to an earlier period and into an area which had been little studied in comparison with religious architecture. For these men, castles were defined as strongly fortified residences, and both elements, fortification and accommodation, must be present if a building is to be a castle. More recently many scholars have argued that castles had more to do with factors other than warfare, such as dominating the landscape, and that they are best seen as an architectural expression of the social status of their owners.

It is accepted by the archaeologists who have excavated them that castles were introduced to England by the Normans (who came from Normandy in Northern France, and conquered England in 1066). The typical form was a wooden keep (a fortified tower) built on top of a motte (a mound of earth), the whole surrounded by a ditch.

Mountfitchet Castle, Essex (photo: Ron Baxter, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

A reconstruction of a Castle has been created at Stansted Mountfitchet (in Essex), by building a fence made of chestnut wood palings around the top of a motte which dates to the time of the Normans, and calling it a “Medieval Experience.” Only a few Norman mottes ever became fully fledged stone castles (the earliest Norman castles were built of timber and earth).

Distribution of Norman mottes – each dot is a motte

A glance at the distribution map shows that there was a heavy concentration of mottes along the borders between England and Wales and Scotland, but otherwise they were evenly spread across populated areas. Apart from the strategic border castles that were genuinely intended either to guard against invaders or to act as garrisons for raids into Wales, mottes were built in cities, boroughs and practically every town of any size. It was not that the Normans were expecting attacks from the townspeople or even those of the neighboring town. Rather they were building physical statements of their dominance. These mottes are not very high as a rule, and they didn’t need to be to tower over a cluster of surrounding buildings that were little more than huts made of wattle and mud.

Hedingham Castle keep from the Southwest (photo: Ron Baxter, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

Hedingham Castle

Hedingham Castle in Essex is one of the strongest and most impressive castles in Eastern England, and it was built by one of the richest and most powerful families, the de Veres, Earls of Oxford, most probably in the 1140s. It was an expensive project: there is no suitable local stone, and the high-quality limestone used to build it had to be carted eighty miles from the quarries at Barnack in Northamptonshire. Its tall keep rises to a height of almost 100 feet and dominates the flat surrounding landscape for miles in every direction. This business of height is important. The taller a building, the less stable it is. A genuinely defensive building should be low and squat. But at Hedingham visual prominence is the important factor.

A close examination of the keep shows that a lot of the height is fake.

Hedingham Castle keep showing floor levels

There is an undercroft (a lower hall at the level of the main doorway), and a double-height upper hall with two rows of windows, and that is all. The row of windows at the top were originally above the roof so that this whole upper storey was open to the sky. It was later roofed in and called the dormitory, but the roof is modern, and the inner walls were never plastered because they were outside.

Hedingham Castle top floor (photo: Ron Baxter, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

The false upper storey was not unusual in the Norman period—the White Tower , William the Conqueror’s keep at the Tower of London, was just the same.

This is not the whole story, of course. Castles were luxurious residences too. The luxury is not usually obvious because most castles are ruined nowadays, but the evidence is there to be found. At Hedingham there are richly chevron-decorated arches, fireplaces with carved capitals. and plastered walls, sometimes with traces of painted decoration still surviving.

Hedingham Castle, upper hall (photo: Ron Baxter, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

Rochester Castle

Castles could also be genuinely defensible, but not without preparation and a special effort. During the Barons’ War against King John in the early thirteenth century Rochester Castle in Kent was held by a large garrison of about 100 of the barons’ men.

Rochester Castle keep with the cathedral in the background (photo: Ron Baxter, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

Portcullis slots at Corfe Castle, Dorset (photo: Ron Baxter, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

Rochester Castle was reputed to be the strongest castle in the kingdom—a coastal castle genuinely built for defense. It was besieged by the king for almost fifty days by a large force with engines, battering rams and crossbows, but held out.

Eventually the king employed miners with picks to dig underneath the foundations, propping up the tunnels with timbers, and then setting fire to them using pig-fat to feed the flames. The tunnels collapsed and the tower above them fell, but the defenders continued to hold out in the ruin until they were starved out. Later, however, the barons called on the help of Prince Louis of France, who landed in Kent and proceeded to take all the chief castles of south-east England in rapid succession: Berkhamsted, Cambridge, Colchester, Hertford, Norwich, Orford, Winchester, Hedingham and Pleshey.

This suggests that castles could resist a siege, but only under special circumstances, and those include siting—Rochester is at the mouth of the River Medway, which limits the attackers’ means of approach—and it had a large garrison as well as defensive architectural features. These features could include ditches or moats crossed by bridges with removable central sections, or gatehouses with drawbridges and portcullises , battlements with walkways and machicolations (an opening  through which stones or burning objects could be dropped on attackers), and plans designed to make would-be invaders into sitting targets by ensuring that the only access route to the castle was exposed to archers on the battlements. This could be done by building the castle on a man-made or natural hill, and using a moat to slow their progress.

Fortification and Residence

As explained above, the traditional definition of a castle is that it is a fortified residence, and both elements—fortification and residence—are essential before something can be called a castle. The work of recent writers like Robert Liddiard, Oliver Creighton, and Matthew Johnson presents a very different and more complex idea of how castles worked. First there has been a tendency to downplay the military aspect, not least by pointing out that most castles were never under siege. The rules of medieval warfare were designed to avoid genuine sieges. A full-scale siege required enormous resources of men and horses, siege engines had to be constructed and dragged into position, and men committed for weeks or months to operating them and finding suitable ammunition. If the defenders surrendered, they should be allowed to march away unharmed, while the attackers gained only a ruined castle. In practice a siege was usually unnecessary because castles could simply be bypassed by invading forces wishing to advance.

John Goodall has suggested a new definition of a castle as “the residence of a lord made imposing through the architectural trappings of fortification, be they functional or decorative” (Goodall, 2011, p.6). This introduces the idea of fortification as an architectural style, which has much to commend it.

Goodrich Castle

Goodrich Castle in Herefordshire is strategically placed on a sandstone outcrop overlooking the river Wye, near the border between England and Wales. Goodrich reached its full medieval development in the fifteenth century. It was never under siege or serious attack until the English Civil War of the seventeenth century.

To properly understand the way castles worked it is important to try to see them as their users saw them, which can be difficult because there are always additions and losses and, most importantly, there are no longer any inhabitants.

Plan, Goodrich Castle

A knight visits the castle

Let’s try to put ourselves in the position of a medieval visitor of high status — a knight in the fifteenth century.

View #1:   the approach to Goodrich Castle (photo: Ron Baxter, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

Goodrich: the approach to the castle

As usual there is just one main approach road. The lower orders might do something slightly different, but our knight simply follows the road and is led by the clues it gives. He approaches from the south with his retinue and gains his first view of the castle. In the center he sees a big square building (the keep), obviously older than the rest, which tells him that the castle is ancient—he is visiting a venerable family (in fact the Talbot Earls of Shrewsbury).

View #2: Goodrich Castle, east side (photo: Ron Baxter, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) ( Google street view )

The knight follows the road to the right, around the south-east tower, and sees the east side of the castle, originally reflected in the water of the moat, doubling its size. It has an impressive curtain wall with battlements and arrow slots. Immediately beyond the round corner tower, he sees a newly installed three-seater garderobe or privy — the last word in late-medieval plumbing. Imagine the sight and the smell as he rounds that corner and sees the human waste staining the walls as it drops into the moat. Matthew Johnson has argued that this was an important part of the castle experience, and that all that shit and food waste would have impressed the visitor with the wealth of the occupants and the lavishness of their table. Throughout the ride along the east side, our knight is separated from the castle by a deep moat, but he is observed by watchers on the battlements who will give warning of his approach. An attacking force would be most vulnerable at this stage.

View #3: the approach to Goodrich Castle from the Barbican (photo: Ron Baxter, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) ( Google street view )

The knight rides on and reaches the barbican—a fortified outwork where he sees the gateway ahead and must dismount. No horses were allowed inside the castle. Retainers dressed in the Talbot family livery take his horse to the stables. All the servants wear the badge of the Lord so our knight can never forget whose roof he is under. To the left of the gateway he sees a chapel — recognizable by its traceried window.

He walks under the gateway and sees murder holes overhead. Perhaps he looks upwards and feels nervous as he sees the portcullis and the murder holes, through which molten lead could be poured on invaders.

Goodrich Castle gateway with murder holes overhead (photo: Ron Baxter, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

These so-called defensive features were not designed to deter a large force (which would probably bombard the walls rather than using the gatehouse), but to impress a single man or a small group.

View #4: Goodrich Castle: the courtyard seen from the gatehouse (photo: Ron Baxter, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) ( Google street view )

The knight emerges into the central courtyard and immediately knows where he is — even if he has never been here before— because the elements of a castle were the same everywhere. The building on the right is the Great Hall , with the dining hall in the centre, the Lord’s lodgings at this end, the high end, and the kitchen at the far end.

As a visitor our knight will use the entrance at the low end, between the kitchen and the hall itself, but he cannot simply walk in. There is a lobby area with benches for visitors to wait until the Lord is ready to receive them.

Goodrich Castle: lobby at the low end of the Great Hall (Great Hall on right, kitchens on left) (photo: Ron Baxter, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

Courtly life was ritualized in this period. The retainers wore their costumes, and the Lord had his part to play like anyone else. A castle was the stage on which social relations were played out, and it was important that all the actors knew their moves and their lines. The similarities between castles were vital to the maintenance of correct social relations, which is why the component parts of a castle were designed to be easily recognizable: the tall window recesses in the Great Hall gave away its function from the exterior, as did the elaboration of the Lord’s private quarters and the traceried windows of the chapel.

Great Hall, Goodrich Castle (photo: Ron Baxter, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

Traceried window, Chapel, Goodrich Castle (photo: Ron Baxter, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

A castle visit can be a haunting experience; the crumbling walls evoking thoughts of medieval warfare and lost grandeur. But also, for historians who can read their messages, castles provide valuable evidence of the way life was lived in the Middle Ages. The problem is how to interpret what we see. Churches and cathedrals still operate today; we know what they do and how the various parts fit together as a setting for the liturgy. Even a ruined monastery is not such a puzzle that we cannot work it out. But castles like those I have looked at here function today as tourist destinations and occasionally as wedding venues. They can be settings for pleasure, ritual, and feasting, but not as they were originally conceived. Their value for the historian is that they provide the physical setting for social life in the Middle Ages, and the effort made to interpret them is generously repaid by the understanding these ruins provide.

Additional resources

Reconstructed aerial view of Goodrich Castle from Historic England

Plan of Goodrich Castle from Historic England

R. Allen Brown, English Medieval Castles (London 1954 & later editions).

O.H. Creighton, Castles and Landscapes: Power, Community and Fortification in Medieval England (University of Michigan, 2002).

John Goodall, The English Castle 1066-1650  (New Haven and London: Paul Mellon Center, 2011).

M. Johnson, Behind the Castle Gate: from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance  (London: Routledge: 2002).

R. Liddiard, Castles in Context: Power, Symbolism and Landscape, 1066 to 1500 (Macclesfield 2005).

M. W. Thompson, The Rise of the Castle  (Cambridge University Press, 1991).

M. W. Thompson, The Decline of the Castle (Cambridge University Press, 1987).

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Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Concepts of childhood
• The upbringing of children
• The culture of children
• Work and adolescence
• Recommended reading

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Concepts of childhood Toys give us a positive view of medieval childhood. Demography, the study of births and deaths, shows more of its darker side. The death rate among medieval children was high by modern standards. It has been suggested that 25% of them may have died in their first year, half as many (12.5%) between one and four, and a quarter as many (6%) between five and nine. There is no evidence that these deaths lessened parental affection and care for children, however, and the interest of adults in children can be traced throughout the middle ages. Medieval people inherited ideas about human life from the classical world. They thought they knew how infants grew in the womb and developed and matured after they were born. Life was viewed as a sequence of stages—“the ages of man.” Infancy up to the age of 7 was viewed as a time of growth, childhood from 7 to 14 as one of play, and adolescence from 14 onwards as one of physical, intellectual, and sexual development.

Little survives about adult attitudes to children during the Anglo-Saxon period from 500 to 1066, although burials show that children were often buried with grave-goods, like adults, and that children with deformities were cared for and enabled to grow up. Information about adult attitudes grows in the twelfth century, an age of law-making in both the Church and in lay society. Making laws involved arrangements for children, because they could not be expected to bear the same responsibilities and penalties as adults. Medieval law-makers tended to place the boundary between childhood and adulthood at puberty, coventionally 12 for girls and 14 for boys. The Church led the way in making distinctions between childhood and adulthood. It came to regard children under the age of puberty as too immature to commit sins or to understand adult concepts and duties. On these grounds they were forbidden to marry, excused from confessing to a priest, and excluded from sharing in the sacrament of the eucharist. Secular justice developed a similar concept of an age of legal responsibility beginning at about puberty, although there are rare references to children receiving adult punishments.

By the thirteenth century scholars based in France, such as Bartholomew Glanville, Giles of Rome, and Vincent of Beauvais, were discussing childhood and children’s education in learned writings, and by the fourteenth century children were portrayed in art—especially in scenes of everyday life in illuminated manuscripts. Children seldom feature in literature from England before 1400, although some romances describe how their heroes and heroines were born and brought up. After that date, however, children’s literature begins to survive on a significant scale in the English language. It includes works of instruction, including short works on table manners, moral precepts, and hunting, and a few stories, notably a comic tale in verse called The Friar and the Boy . There is also evidence that adolescent children read adult fiction, such as romances, the works of Chaucer, and ballads of Robin Hood.

The upbringing of children Well-established customs existed for bringing up children. Birth took place in a private chamber, where the mother was attended only by other women. This was followed by baptism, which in the early middle ages was encouraged to take place on the two great Christian festivals of Easter and Pentecost (Whitsuntide). Gradually, however, fears about the salvation of unbaptised children led to the practice of baptising children on the day that they were born, and this was the dominant custom by the twelfth century. At baptism a child was made a member of the Church, given a forename, and provided with three godparents to assist the parents in its upbringing. Forenames were sometimes chosen by parents, reflecting family traditions, but it was common for the chief godparent, who had the same gender as the child, to give it his or her own forename. As a result more than one child in a family might share the same forename.

Babies were breast-fed until they were two or more, usually by their mothers except in noble families where wet nurses were employed. Gradually they were weaned on soft foods. Parents provided care and training, and records of fatal accidents to small children suggest that boys and girls soon became aware of their gender and followed their gender parent in daily tasks. Accidents to small girls often took place around firesides or wells, and those to small boys in the father’s working space. Fatal accidents were taken seriously by the authorities, and involved a coroner’s inquest, like sudden deaths of adults. Corporal punishment was in use throughout society and probably also in homes, although social commentators criticised parents for indulgence towards children rather than for harsh discipline. Children were given tasks in keeping with their ages. For younger children this meant looking after their smaller siblings, or running errands. As they grew older they might be allocated lighter domestic or agricultural duties, but they were not capable of doing serious work until about the age of puberty when they began to acquire strength of an adult kind.

Growing up involved acquaintance with religion, but there was little structured education of children in this respect until the Reformation. Parents and godparents were expected to teach them basic prayers in Latin (Lord’s Prayer, Apostles’ Creed, and later Hail Mary), and how to behave in church. Church law after the twelfth century asked little of children in terms of duties. Only when they reached puberty did they acquire the adult obligations of confessing to a priest at least once a year, receiving the eucharist at Easter, attending church, and paying church dues.

The culture of children Childhood required special clothes, from infant wrappings to miniature versions of adult dress. In wealthier families there were cradles, walking frames, and specially made toys. The metal toys already mentioned were only a small part of the stock of toys in use. Dolls, known as “poppets,” must have been widespread, but they have not survived since they were made of cloth or wood. Children are mentioned making their own toys: boats from pieces of bread, spears from sticks, and small houses from stones. Many games were played, from games of skill with cherry stones or tops to activities such as archery, football, and dancing. The oral culture of children is not recorded until the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, when scraps of verse and songs are noted in books, especially school notebooks. These point to the existence of nursery rhymes similar to (but not identical with) those of later times, as well as to children knowing and sharing in the songs and phrases of adults. Education The education of children in England can be traced from the seventh century. Initially it centred on the training of boys as monks, girls as nuns, and other boys as “secular clergy”—those clergy who lived in the everyday world and eventually ministered in parish churches. This education was based on the learning of Latin and was usually provided in monasteries and nunneries. Education spread to some of the laity as early as the seventh century, and by the end of the ninth century it often took the form of learning to read and write in English rather than Latin. Schools of a modern kind, free-standing and open to the public, first appear in records in the 1070s and became very numerous thereafter, although monasteries and nunneries continued to do some educational work. Boys were usually sent to school, while girls were taught at home. We cannot say how many children were educated, but the number was substantial and probably grew considerably after about 1200. Education began by learning the Latin alphabet, and many boys and girls proceeded no further, using the skill chiefly to read in their own language, either English or, between the twelfth and the fifteenth centuries, French. Only a minority of boys went on to learn Latin grammar and to become proficient in the language. Women (even nuns) rarely learnt Latin grammar after 1200, and their abilities in the language were chiefly restricted to being able to pronounce texts from Latin prayer-books in a devout manner, without a full understanding of the meaning.

Work and adolescence Most children began to do serious work once they reached puberty, at around 12-14. Sometimes this was done at home, assisting in agricultural work or a craft, but it was common to send children away from home at about the age of puberty to be servants to other people. This was reckoned to train and discipline them, give them patrons who could assist their careers, and relieve their parents of expense. Places as servants varied widely, from working on farms or in domestic service to apprenticeships in which one learnt a skilled craft or trade. Apprenticeship tended to exclude the very poor. Boys of the wealthier classes often continued their schooling during their adolescence, especially if they were envisaged as having careers in the Church, law, or administration. Other boys were employed in churches as choristers or clerks. The wealthiest children of all—those of the nobility and more important gentry—were often received into the great households of other nobility or leading churchmen, where they acted as pages or retainers, learnt aristocratic manners, and in some cases underwent training in military skills. Although some aristocracy married in the teens, the population as a whole did not do so until the mid twenties. Entry to Church careers also tended to be late, ranging from the mid teens in some religious houses up to twenty-four, the age of ordination as a priest. It followed that from puberty until the mid twenties there was a long period in which children were partly yet not fully independent, away from home but not in households of their own. Like modern adolescents they bonded with others of their own gender, leading in towns to the formation of gangs of youths, and gradually made links with the opposite sex.

Medieval childhood was a rich and varied state, since children varied from one another as much as adults did. It differed chiefly from modern western society in its mortality and in the fact that many young people started serious work at an earlier age. Most of what we associate with childhood, however, existed for children in the middle ages: upbringing at home, play, special treatment according to age, and training for adult life and work. The concentration of historians on adults in the middle ages does insufficient justice to the fact that about one third of the population was usually under the age of 14.

Recommended reading Adams, Gillian. “Medieval Children’s Literature: Its Possibility and Actuality.” Children’s Literature . Vol. 26 (1998): 1-24.

Crawford, Sally. Childhood in Anglo-Saxon England . Stroud, UK: Alan Sutton, 1999.

Hanawalt, Barbara. Growing Up in Medieval London . New York & Oxford: Oxford UP, 1993. ---. The Ties that Bound: Peasant Families in Medieval England . New York & Oxford: Oxford UP, 1986. Orme, Nicholas. Medieval Children . New Haven & London: Yale UP, 2001. ---. Medieval Schools . New Haven and London: Yale UP, 2006.

English History

Medieval Knights and Knighthood

Knights in the Middle Ages were mounted soldiers who held land in exchange for military service.

Originally, the title of knight could only be obtained through military achievements, and some knights came from the lower classes of mediaeval society. However, knights would eventually become only male descendants of knighted men, while knightly families were regarded as nobles . Regardless, the title of knight could not be inherited, and each noble had to go through a lengthy process before becoming a knight.

The process of becoming a knight began in early childhood, typically around the age of 7 or 8 years, when a boy was sent to his lord’s household to begin his training to become a knight. From the age of 7 to 14, the boy worked as a page, a type of waiter, and a personal servant to his elders. A page was also taught knightly virtues and behaviour, as well as battle tactics. When a page reached the age of 14, he or she became a squire, the knight’s personal servant, and when old enough, he or she joined the knight in battle. Some squires were knighted for outstanding battlefield performances, but they were usually knighted by their lord when the latter considered the training to be completed, which was usually at the age of 21.

Knighthood was formally conferred through a ceremony known as the accolade, which was performed by the king or overlord with a stroke with the flat of the sword on the future knight’s neck or shoulder. After the 12th century, acclaim was usually preceded by a religious ceremony that included praying, fasting, blessing the weapons, bad of purification, and keeping vigil.

After being formally knighted, knights either served or were hired by the mightier lords. Some knights possessed land and castles , while others were landless and belonged to various military orders. However, rules were frequently broken, and some knights even became involved in organised crime. Aside from the so-called robber knights or robber barons, some knights refused to swear allegiance to a liege lord or a military order. They were known as knights-errants because they roamed the land looking for adventures to prove their worth as knights.

The knights played a crucial role in mediaeval warfare and were frequently decisive in the outcome of mediaeval battles. They were usually part of the heavy cavalry, which evolved into the elite warrior caste of the Medieval Times. The knights had to respond to their overlord’s or king’s call to go to war at any time, which required them to regularly maintain their military equipment. The knights could sometimes avoid going to war by paying a scutage, but every knight was eventually forced to participate in a military campaign. In that case, the knight was usually escorted by an armed escort made up of his vassals, personal attendants (squires and pages), and servants. The knight could either lead his troops under his own banner or join troops under the banner of another. A knight fighting under his own banner was known as the knight banneret or simply banneret, whereas a knight fighting under the banner of another was known as the knight bachelor.

For a variety of reasons, the importance of knights as a professional fighting class began to wane by the end of the Middle Ages. The feudal lords began to regard knighthood’s duties as onerous, while the monarchs began to prefer standing armies led by officers over knights. As a result of this development, the mediaeval institution of knighthood was further disintegrated by the implementation of a regular payment of scutage, a monetary payment instead of active military service.

Chivalry is more or less associated with the mediaeval institution of knighthood and was renowned for its dominance on the battlefields as early as the Middle Ages. After the 9th century, cavalries or knights were regarded as special elite forces made up of wealthy knights and noblemen who could afford expensive armour, horses, and weapons.

The term chivalry comes from the French word chevalier, which means “one who rides and fights on a horse.” In the Middle Ages, the term also referred to a set of ethnical ideals associated with knightly virtues, conduct, and courtly love. Today, the terms chivalry and chivalrous are frequently used to describe men’s behaviour toward women.

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Home — Essay Samples — History — Middle Ages — Life in the Medieval Times

Life in The Medieval Times

• Categories: Middle Ages Society

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Words: 965 |

Published: Jun 6, 2019

Words: 965 | Pages: 2 | 5 min read

Works Cited:

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• Yang, G. (2019). Political implications of internet censorship: A comparative study of China, Singapore, and South Korea. Journal of Information Technology & Politics, 16(2), 129-142.

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