A season stretching from the beginning of December to mid-March, winter is still associated, in the Northern Hemisphere, with cold temperatures and precipitations. “Winter is cold and moist,” astutely wrote Bartholomew the Englishman in his thirteenth-century encyclopedia, The Proprieties of Things. “But in winter, coldness has more mastery than moisture, for then is great binding and freezing of air and of water, for the great fairness of the sun; of which fairness comes great coldness in Winter time.” Bartholomew the Englishman continued: “And so Winter is all contrary to Summer. Therefore, all things that lived and sprang by the benefit of Summer, fade and die by the hard cruelness of Winter.”
In the later Middle Ages, winter was symbolically associated with old age, poverty and death. These negative connotations had roots in the natural phenomenon that occurred during winter; they also served to enhance the symbolism of spring, a time of rebirth and renewal. For medieval peasants, winter was a time of slowing-down of agricultural labour. Cold weather and snowfalls made work more difficult and posed numerous challenges to those whose houses were poorly heated. What medieval peasants did in winter times and how they coped with cold temperatures and snow are the main topics this article covers. Stay warm and keep your mittens on!
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Medieval Winters and Climate
Knowledge of medieval weather and climate comes from a great variety of sources, from written records informing on the day-to-day weather in given communities, to the analysis of ice cores or tree rings, which sheds light on long-term climatic trends. In the High Middle Ages, for instance, Western Europe experienced a “climatic optimum” sometimes dubbed the “medieval warm period” (c. 900–1300). Warmer temperatures and mild weather participated in the great medieval expansion by enabling the settling and development of new arable lands. The medieval climatic optimum corresponds to the settlement of Greenland by Icelandic explorers. Across Western Europe, agriculture was possible at higher latitudes and elevations than before. In England, for instance, grapes grew hundreds of kilometres north of their current range. During that period, winters were less severe, with fewer and lighter snowfalls.
By the early fourteenth century, however, the first signs of the “Little Ice Age,” an era of cooling, were perceptible on the continent. The Little Ice Age stretched to the early nineteenth century, with a peak in cold temperatures around c. 1550–1700. The Little Ice Age was not characterized by unremitting cold weather (as, today, global warming does not mean a linear increase of temperatures). Atmospheric cooling—like atmospheric warming—manifested itself through weather anomalies and extreme events, such as sudden floods, hail and snowstorms, temperature fluctuations, intense precipitations during summer and colder-than-usual winters. In sum, while temperatures did decrease during the Little Ice Age, extraordinary weather phenomena were its most striking features.
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The winter of 1363–1364, for instance, was extremely cold in mainland Europe. Several chronicles concur to state that the major lakes and rivers were frozen at some point between December and March. Near Mainz, in Germany, the Rhine river was icebound for no less than 70 days. The Rhine was so deeply frozen that the people of Cologne, downstream, held a market on the ice! That winter, snow-covered the Belgian town of Fosses for one hundred days. Today, the town only receives ephemeral snowfalls. In Southern Europe, during the same winter, the shores of the Atlantic ocean, near Bordeaux, France, as well as the Venetian lagoon and the Rhône’s estuary were frozen. The most telling sources on the impact of the Little Ice Age in Europe are Mediterranean chronicles, documents written in regions usually typified by their warmer—yet often humid—winters.
During the Little Ice Age, southern chronicles often reported on heavy and unusual snowfalls. In February 1352, for instance, several intense snowfalls were reported in the Florence area, in Italy, where the snow cover persisted for the whole month. Another Italian chronicle reports that, in 1359 and across central Italy, “the snow rose to an extraordinary height; so, to lighten up the roofs, the snow was thrown into the streets, and some of the towns were blocked so the inhabitants were trapped for several days in their homes.” In Bologna, 18 feet of snow had reportedly fallen, and even more snow covered the city of Modena. In stark contrast with these catastrophic snowfalls, late medieval illuminated calendars yield beautiful depictions of winter landscapes, some peaceful, some joyful.
Snowy Landscapes and Farm Work
But immaculate landscapes only emerged as a staple representation of winter scenes in fifteenth-century calendars. Earlier instances are rare and often connect to scientific manuscripts rather than calendars. This change was connected to the intensification of cooler temperatures across Europe, a result of the Little Ice Age. In calendars, snow was preferably associated with the month of January. Except for a few calendars, such as London Rothschild Hours (c. 1500, see here), the December countryside looked barren. Naked trees and cold brown tones dominated most of the December pages, where peasants were busy slaughtering, butchering and cooking the pigs that had been feeding on acorns on the November page. Now fattened, the animals were ready to be killed and processed to sustain the family for the cold months to come. Only the pigs that had gained sufficient weight were slaughtered in the winter.
As calendars illustrate, slaughtering and processing the pigs was a collective work that required a lot of different tasks and steps, from collecting the pig’s blood to processing the entrails and carcass. Then, it was time to salt and cure the meat for preservation. Charcuterie and cured meats, such as salted ham, were staple foods in the medieval diet. Blood sausage or black pudding, made from pig blood, were poor people’s food, fairly common for the medieval peasants. Besides butchery, winter was synonymous with farm work for medieval peasants. The beginning of winter up to Christmas corresponded to the planting of winter crops in the fields that had laid fallow the previous season. In England, winter crops were usually wheat, although some sowed barley. In the manor of Cuxham, half of the lands were sowed with wheat at the beginning of the winter season. The crops germinated before the cold set in, and would, hopefully, swiftly grow once spring came.
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In January, however, calendar landscapes were covered with snow and painted on a backdrop of clear blue skies. January conveyed the impression of coldness, stillness and a slowing down of activities. The usually busy peasants of the calendars warmed their feet by the fire, sharing a meal inside, enjoying some rest. Come February, they were back to work. February was snowless, with the exception of Isabella of Castile’s breviary, where peasants chopped wood, their feet in the snow. While winter was a time for rest, farms still required work. Peasants spread manure to fertilize their fields; they harvested cabbages and leaks; they planted new vines and pruned their older ones; they cut and pruned their trees. Repair work on the buildings, fences and tools, as well as harvesting firewood punctuated the daily life of peasants. Moreover, those who had cows, pigs, sheep and other animals still had to feed and care for them.
Some illuminators took a different route and represented playful winter scenes. The c. 1460 Hours of the duch*ess of Burgundy features a lovely snowball fight set in a city, where grown-ups and children are hard at play. Looking at the illumination, one immediately realizes that none of the players are wearing weather-appropriate apparel. This is a testimony to the idealistic nature of such representations. Regardless, snowball fights were common enough in the later Middle Ages to appear on a number of illuminated manuscripts and frescos, from the late fourteenth century onwards. Other winter pleasures and leisures depicted in manuscripts include ice skating on bone or, later, iron skates. Ice skating was extremely common in Scandinavia, but less developed in Western Europe, where it was first mentioned in a twelfth-century English manuscript. Northern Europeans were more accustomed than Western Europeans to snow and cold temperatures. Obviously, for medieval peasants living in England or France, winter was probably much more challenging than fun.
Keeping Warm
Unlike today, when we can control the temperature in our homes, medieval people could not. Medieval houses were poorly insulated and subject to constant cold drafts. The fireplace did not always suffice to heat peasant houses. Some were equipped with portable braziers. These were quite the safety hazard and were involved in a number of house fires and disastrous incidents. The problem of cold temperatures was acute, especially in stone buildings and spacious elite dwellings where few rooms had their own fireplace. At that time, windows were rarely equipped with glass. On the island of Maguelone, southern France, the windows of the cathedral buildings were sealed with mortar during winter, to reduce drafts and coldness. Most people “sealed” their walls’ openings with paper; only a few could afford expensive glass windows. In the 1230s, for instance, some windows in the Palace of Westminster in London were glazed, “so that the chamber may not be so windy as it used to be.” Glass windows did not really protect from the cold, but they drastically reduced the issue of air drafts.
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No surprise then that medieval peasants slept with a nightcap! They also heated stones or bricks in the fireplace, then carried them carefully, wrapped in fabric, to their beds to warm the sheets. People wore extra-warm clothes inside and, when possible, stayed by the fire. Woollen coats, scarves and mittens were common. Some lined their winter clothes with fur. Although fur is often associated with luxury clothing, peasants are believed to have lined their winter clothes with rabbit and lamb. Peasants could collect the pelts of the small game their lord allowed them to catch and process them to make warmer clothes. Sumptuary laws, however, were very clear on who could wear what according to their social standing. The 1363 English Sumptuary law, for instance, only allowed lamb, rabbit, cat and fox furs for the wives and daughters of craftspeople and land-owning peasants.
Heavy snows and cold temperatures were sometimes deadly. During the 1389 winter, the chronicle of the Mediterranean city of Montpellier reports dramatic snowfalls in the region of Lozère, where occasional snowfall were and still are relatively common. “That year,” wrote the scribe, “in January, February and March, the snowfalls in Lozère were so great that they destroyed many farmsteads and that many people died, because their houses fell down on them. Other people died of cold, others of hunger, because snowfalls had lasted so much longer than usual that people had run out of provisions. And there are people of the country whose memories date back 80 years, who say that they had never seen such great snowfalls.”
This example shows that, in Western Europe, heavy snow often brought travel and communication to a halt. If Scandinavians and Russians had mastered the art of skiing, Western Europeans largely ignored it until the early modern era. Northern Europeans had skied as a mode of transportation and for hunting purposes since the Mesolithic era. Their skis came in different forms and lengths, depending on their usage, enabling them to operate when snow fell. Outside of Scandinavia, medieval peasants relied on their boots and horse-dragged sleighs, which did not enable cross-country travel during bad weather. Isolated hamlets, especially in more mountainous areas such as Lozère, paid a heavy toll to the Little Ice Age when terribly snowy winters came.
The higher frequency of snowfalls at the time probably influenced the representations of winter in manuscripts and on the late medieval calendar pages. In fact, the period during which winters were becoming snowier coincides with the rise of snowy landscapes in art. While variations in manuscripts might correlate with regional differences and climates, we should keep in mind that the sensation of cold is subjective. A fourteenth-century Scandinavian may have found the Italian winters rather mild, despite their occasional snows. But for a native Italian, used to warmer temperatures and hot summers, the difference was huge. In parallel, Northern Europeans had more experience in coping with cold and snowy winters with their skis, compact houses and pelts. Keeping warm and surviving winter was a challenge for most mainland and Western European peasants.
While winter was a time for rest, farms still required work. Peasants spread manure to fertilize their fields; they harvested cabbages and leaks; they planted new vines and pruned their older ones; they cut and pruned their trees.
For the average person, pottage (a stew made up of boiled vegetables and grains) was a staple during the cold winter months. Everything went into the pot, including fruit if they had any, since it was considered unhealthy to eat the fruit raw.
Peasant men wore stockings or tunics, while women wore long gowns with sleeveless tunics and wimples to cover their hair.Sheepskin cloaks and woolen hats and mittens were worn in winter for protection from the cold and rain. Leather boots were covered with wooden patens to keep the feet dry.
Peasants of theses ages normally used a fire pit in the middle of the room to keep warm. Smoke would blow out of a hole in the middle of the roof. The home was usually quite smoky, but that was a small price to pay to keep their families warm. Other than having a fire, people had animal heat to depend on.
They hibernated, according to fossil experts. Evidence from bones found at one of the world's most important fossil sites suggests that our hominid predecessors may have dealt with extreme cold hundreds of thousands of years ago by sleeping through the winter.
During medieval times, men, especially outlaws, would keep warm in the winter by wearing a linen shirt with underclothes, mittens made of wool or leather and woolen coats with a hood over a tight cap called a coif. Even if the men lived outside and it rained, they would wear their wet woolen clothing to stay cozy.
For the special meals of the holiday peasants ate that rare delicacy of – usually boiled – meat, treated themselves to cheese and eggs, ate cakes and drank ale. Of the latter there was certainly lots, the brew typically made by peasant women.
What did ancient and prehistoric humans eat during winter? prehistoric humans hunted and trapped meat during winter. Sometimes they stored fall hunt meat by smoking, making pemmican, or letting it freeze. Most likely they hunted large (VERY Large) game.
Salting was the most common way to preserve virtually any type of meat or fish, as it drew out the moisture and killed the bacteria. Vegetables might be preserved with dry salt, as well, though pickling was more common. Salt was also used in conjunction with other methods of preservation, such as drying and smoking.
It's entirely nonsense of course: Plowing and harvesting were backbreaking toil, but the peasant enjoyed anywhere from eight weeks to half the year off. The Church, mindful of how to keep a population from rebelling, enforced frequent mandatory holidays.
After seeing a matinee play full of farts, peasants would revel in the opulent bounty of the countryside, hunting, fishing, and swimming. Many of them also took advantage of seasonal gifts, such as gardening in the spring and eating fruits in the summer.
Nearly everyone wore a cap or kerchief to bed to keep their heads warm. Women would braid their hair and tie it up to keep it from tangling. Most Medieval pictures show people sleeping in the nude, but there is evidence that by the 16th century, night shirts and night gowns were common.
According to new research, medieval English peasants ate a lot of meat stews, leafy greens and cheese – and their diet was healthier than the modern one. “The medieval peasant had a healthy diet and wasn't lacking in anything major!” Dr. Julie Dunne of the University of Bristol told the Daily Mail.
Surprisingly, well-fed monks did not necessarily live as long as some peasants. Peasants in the English manor of Halesowen might hope to reach the age of 50, but by contrast poor tenants in same manor could hope to live only about 40 years. Those of even lower status (cottagers) could live a mere 30 years.
Global temperature records taken from ice cores, tree rings, and lake deposits have shown that the Earth may have been slightly cooler globally (by 0.03 °C) than in the early and the mid-20th century.
According to historian Graham Robb French, peasants in those days essentially hibernated between fall and spring. They settled down indoors with their cows and pigs and slept most of the time.
The lowest temperature that the human body can survive is 96 degrees Fahrenheit. This is the temperature where the body continues to function normally. Any temperature below 96 degrees Fahrenheit interferes with normal organ functions and can lead to hypothermia, shivering, and pale skin.
When the first humans migrated to northern climates about 45,000 years ago, they devised rudimentary clothing to protect themselves from the cold. They draped themselves with loose-fitting hides that doubled as sleeping bags, baby carriers and hand protection for chiseling stone.
Castles weren't always cold and dark places to live.
But, in reality, the great hall of castle had a large open hearth to provide heat and light (at least until the late 12th century) and later it had wall fireplace. The hall would also have had tapestries which would have insulated the room against too much cold.
People made walls out of mud, straw, rocks, or bricks. These thick walls would protect the house from heat in the day and would provide warmth at a steady rate after the sun went down. In places that had extreme seasonal changes, homes would have overhangs.
Body temperature is one of the most well known and important factors involved in lifespan; increased body temperature has been shown to negatively associate with longevity (i.e. earlier death) and conversely, lower body temperature is associated with increased longevity and reduced aging.
Pizza has an ancient history that originates on the coasts of the placid Mediterranean Sea. Originally, pizza was considered peasant food and was only topped with cheese and basil. Over time, pizza became very popular in the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea.
In 1289, peasants working as carters on Ferring Manor in Sussex had a breakfast of rye bread with ale & cheese. In 1512, clerks and yeomen in the Northumberland Household received for breakfast on meat days a loaf of household bread, a bottle of beer and a piece of boiled beef.
It is likely, however, that wild greens, roots, tubers, seeds, nuts, and fruits were eaten. The specific plants would have varied from season to season and from region to region. And so, people of this period had to travel widely not only in pursuit of game but also to collect their fruits and vegetables.
Various means of preserving meat and fish by drying, salting, pickling, or smoking are common among many ethnic groups. Smoking meat and fish gave rise to outbuildings designed to protect the food and contain the smoke.
According to studies, people do eat more during the winter months, and there are a few potential factors that may contribute to this increased hunger. Most people would agree that winter is the season for rich, hearty foods.
Root cellar: A root cellar is like a man made cave. Pioneers would dig into the side of a hill, and place some foods like root vegetables, underground. Root vegetables are foods where people eat the part that grows under the ground such as potatoes, carrots, beets, and onions.
Colonists could also supplement with fresh meat, which could be kept cold by hanging in their unheated attics or by putting the meat on ice for the short-term. Another process used to preserve meet was known as salting.
Ice houses were very common by the 1800s. This is also when ice delivery became commonplace. Businesses specialized in delivering blocks of ice to fill ice pits during the summer months. At the end of the 19th century, many people kept their food fresh in iceboxes made of wood.
90% of the European population remained rural peasants gathered into small communities of manors or villages. Towns grew up around castles and were often fortified by walls in response to disorder and raids. Daily life for peasants consisted of working the land. Life was harsh, with a limited diet and little comfort.
But despite his reputation as a miserable wretch, you might envy him one thing: his vacations. Plowing and harvesting were backbreaking toil, but the peasant enjoyed anywhere from eight weeks to half the year off. The Church, mindful of how to keep a population from rebelling, enforced frequent mandatory holidays.
The largest class of the medieval caste system was the lower class, which consisted of peasants or serfs. These serfs were at the bottom of feudal society, working on the manor of whatever king or noble they served.
Peasant women had many domestic responsibilities, including caring for children, preparing food, and tending livestock. During the busiest times of the year, such as the harvest, women often joined their husbands in the field to bring in the crops.
The average peasant's diet in Medieval times consisted largely of barley. They used barley to make a variety of different dishes, from coarse, dark breads to pancakes, porridge and soups. After a poor harvest, when grain was in short supply, people were forced to include beans, peas and even acorns in their bread.
The responsibility of peasants was to farm the land and provide food supplies to the whole kingdom. In return of land they were either required to serve the knight or pay rent for the land. They had no rights and they were also not allowed to marry without the permission of their Lords.
People would first sleep between around 9pm and 11pm, lying on rudimentary mattresses generally filled with straw or rags, unless they were particularly wealthy and could afford feathers. People normally shared beds, alongside family members, friends and, if travelling, even strangers.
By this time peasants were sleeping in a little more comfort, and were more likely to be raised off the floor. One mid-15th century inventory of a smallholder's possessions shows that he had "three boards for a bed", a sheet and pillows, as well as some worn coverlets and canvas covers.
And yes, they used soap—in fact, soap was often made at home and widely available as a trade good as early as the 9th century in Europe. It was made of animal fat and wood ash, and sometimes scented with fresh herbs like sage and thyme.
Peasant foods range from plant-based and healthful dishes to hearty comfort foods that are minimally processed, nutritious and affordable. Some ingredients mirror those from the Mediterranean diet, incorporating seasonal fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains and legumes, and fish.
Peasants tend to be more conservative than urbanites, and are often very loyal to inherited power structures despite their low status within them. Peasant societies generally have very well developed social support networks.
People were healthier in the Early Middle Ages than in later centuries, study finds. The Early Middle Ages, from the 5th to the 10th centuries, is often derided as the 'Dark Ages'.
The peasants were angry about a range of issues, such as low pay and the introduction of a poll tax. They demanded changes were made. The revolt did not achieve all of the peasants' aims and the leader, Wat Tyler, was killed. In the longer term, there were some changes and improvements to peasants' rights.
With no machines, peasants had to do all farm jobs by hand using simple tools that they often made themselves. With a life of constant hard work and a poor diet, medieval European peasants rarely lived past their 40s.
The world average age of death is a few years lower at 70.6 years for men and 74.9 years for women. Within the European Union, these are 77.8 and 83.3 years respectively. Birth rate and death rate are given in births/deaths per 1,000 inhabitants within one year. The table shows the official data from the year 2020.
A national vital statistics report shows several reasons why living in colder climates may help you live longer, one is the refrigerator effect, basically cold temperatures do help to slow the aging process while also killing off dangerous insects and bacteria that might otherwise survive in locations closer to the ...
Brutal cold struck again during stretch of Earth's history known as the Cryogenian Period. At least twice between 750 and 600 million years ago, Earth fell into a deep freeze.
One of the warmest times was during the geologic period known as the Neoproterozoic, between 600 and 800 million years ago. Conditions were also frequently sweltering between 500 million and 250 million years ago.
The basic unit of agricultural society was the village, inhabited by peasants who performed the manifold seasonal tasks that made up agricultural production throughout the year – tilling the soil, sowing seeds, harvesting the crop when it was ripe.
Plowing and harvesting were backbreaking toil, but the peasant enjoyed anywhere from eight weeks to half the year off. The Church, mindful of how to keep a population from rebelling, enforced frequent mandatory holidays.
There were labor-free Sundays, and when the plowing and harvesting seasons were over, the peasant got time to rest, too. In fact, economist Juliet Shor found that during periods of particularly high wages, such as 14th-century England, peasants might put in no more than 150 days a year.
Peasants worked the land to yield food, fuel, wool and other resources. The countryside was divided into estates, run by a lord or an institution, such as a monastery or college. A social hierarchy divided the peasantry: at the bottom of the structure were the serfs, who were legally tied to the land they worked.
November: The pigs are turned into the woods to fatten up on acorns. The grain is threshed (beaten to separate the grain from stalks) in the barns. December: Most of the pigs and some of the other animals are butchered. There is a feast where the peasants eat fresh meat.
After seeing a matinee play full of farts, peasants would revel in the opulent bounty of the countryside, hunting, fishing, and swimming. Many of them also took advantage of seasonal gifts, such as gardening in the spring and eating fruits in the summer.
Surprisingly, well-fed monks did not necessarily live as long as some peasants. Peasants in the English manor of Halesowen might hope to reach the age of 50, but by contrast poor tenants in same manor could hope to live only about 40 years. Those of even lower status (cottagers) could live a mere 30 years.
Peasants worked hard every day except Sundays and holy days in blazing sun, rain, or snow. Most peasants lived in tiny one- or two-room thatched cottages with walls made of wattle and daub (woven strips of wood covered with a mixture of dung, straw, and clay). They owned nothing themselves.
But their war experiences could leave them with a very serious case of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to the researcher. During his studies of violence in the Middle Ages he came across a book written by a knight who lived in the first half of the 14th century.
Medieval folks loved a bath, though it was a little more work than it is today with the marvels of modern plumbing. Laborers, who made up most of the population, probably used ewers and shallow washbasins. Castle dwellers might have access to a wooden tub, with water heated by a fire.
Consider a typical working day in the medieval period. It stretched from dawn to dusk (sixteen hours in summer and eight in winter), but, as the Bishop Pilkington has noted, work was intermittent - called to a halt for breakfast, lunch, the customary afternoon nap, and dinner.
Peasants were also required to work for free on church land, which was highly inconvenient as the time could be better used working on their lord's property.
Most medieval peasants worked in the fields. They did farm-related jobs, such as plowing, sowing, reaping, or threshing. Some peasants worked in the lord's manor. They would have done household tasks such as cleaning, cooking, and laundry.
Hobby: Reading, Ice skating, Foraging, BASE jumping, Hiking, Skateboarding, Kayaking
Introduction: My name is Cheryll Lueilwitz, I am a sparkling, clean, super, lucky, joyous, outstanding, lucky person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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