Daily Life in the Medieval World

      The Medieval times were very different from today in more ways than you would think. One of the main differences is the health. Much of the Middle Age's population was decreased from not war, but illness. It was extremely difficult to find cures for so many, because the amount of cures that actually cured were very little. They did have doctors, physicians, surgeons, and most of all, medicines, but nothing could realy keep the people healthy. There were also many diseases that we do not normally see today in America. One of the worst and most feared was leprosy. Leprosy was uncurable, and was scary to the people. Even though Leprosy was scary to the people of the Middle Ages, there was a sickness that was feared even more. That illness, was the bubonic plague. The Plague, also known as "The Black Death," was spread by fleas via rats, which came on cargo ships across the sea. 80-95% of the population was stricken by the Plague. The first and overall symptom of the Plague was recognized by swollen lymph nodes. The lymph nodes were dark, swollen, and very painful. The swelling was sometimes as big as an egg, maybe even the size of an apple. Normally, as soon as you started spotting swollen lymph nodes, you were likely going to die in the next 48 hours.

         Social conditions could have had a strong effect on the particular household goods that people owned. Some people for instance, were hunter-gatherers, who moved from place to place, and knew exactly where to go for the ripest fruits and the freshest eggs. Some of them even knew where to go to obtain water during a drought, or how to escape a wildfire. There were also those, who lived in little towns and villages, and went a nearby market to get their food. The rich would most likely have decent food supply and household furniture and goods, while the poor probably would have had less elegant household items, and lesser amounts of food and supplies.

This picture shows that the outside of a Medieval building may look luxurious, but inside could be less ecsquisite.

          One now may look at the inside of an old Medieval home and immediately think that the family that was living there must have been poor. In many other time periods, this may be true. In the Middle Ages though, it was actually fairly common to see a very beautifly architectured building on the outside, have a less magnificent affect on people from the inside. Most people living in the Medievsl times thought about and respected their family, instead of superior and elegant goods. The children were taught from the minute they could understand words that your family is very important, and you must respect your own family, as well as other families. In the Medieval times, respect was a big expectation of you from everyone.