Food preservation and textile production as to prepare ahead of time, sure. But I think that during the winter, the struggle must've been to keep up stocks of fuel. Anyone who has ever gone through a rough winter relying solely on firewood might have a rough idea of what they went through, but then you have to consider that most peasants couldn't fell timber for cord wood. I bet most of the winter was first and foremost a miserable frigid scramble to gather sticks and twigs.
@@420JackG Nice observations! With local nobles restricting use of forests in many areas, gathering firewood during medieval times would have been a difficult task.
One thing I would mention is that often houses wouldn't even have chimneys. Cottages would often be a single room with an unvented fire pit in the center. The smoke was allowed to just slowly seep out through the thatched roofs. They did this because chimneys lose a lot of heat, which means more wood which the peasants didn't have to spare. How did people not just choke to death from the smoke? While indoors, when the fire was going, they would simply lay close to the ground. Just like they train you for escaping a house fire, the smoke mostly stays in the top half of a room. So they would mostly just lay on the ground or on low stools that kept them below most of the smoke. This is mentioned in the book "Irish Country Furniture" by Kinmonth. There were whole types of special extremely low-to-the-ground chairs and stools purpose built for such a setup. So if you really want to consider what the space in a medieval serf's cottage would be like, just imagine a setting like this. Just imagine maintaining an open fire in an unventilated room. Think what that would involve. Just imagine dwelling there all winter, crawling on your hands and legs to keep below the smoke. Sitting on stools and chairs raised inches above the cold ground. Your choices are either go outside into the cold, stand up and breath in the smoke, or crawl around below the smoke cloud. That's how many of our ancestors got through the winter. Modern wood-burning furnaces use wood a lot more efficiently than a Medieval fireplace. But then? Most of your heat went right up the chimney. That means more labor to harvest wood, more calories to support that labor, and more needed access to the limited available woodlands. If your lord gives your village a fixed ration of wood you can harvest from the lord's woodlands, then that's all the fuel you're going to get. You need to make the most out of every bit of it. Today, we would do that using a highly efficient, precision-designed wood burning stove. Back then? It meant just having an open unvented fire right in the middle of your living space.
It always amazes me how people lived in the cold in these times. We are so fortunate and spoiled! Even now it saddens me the situation with the homeless.
Amy J, that is a great view on our modern comforts vs. what medieval people had to struggle through to survive in winter, and unfortunately some still have to endure. Appreciate your thoughtful perspective!
Growing up in a village im communist Romania was basically living in medieval times, except for the glass windows. We had no electricity most of the winter, we had wool clothes that the women of the house made from our sheep. We slaughtered our own animals, we had oil lamps and candles for light, we grinded our grains by hand. Chopped our firewood. The chores were enough to keep us warm during the day, and we had a nice fireplace, and spent time together during the evening. Funny thing is that people were healthier back then.
I grew up in a house that was heated by a monster of a furnace burning anthracite coal, and one central register (a round, iron grate) in the living room floor to heat the three floors. We would get three or four feet of snow, and the wind would blow the drifts up against the doors, making it impossible to get out of the house that way. But that's the height of luxury compared with your life!
The reference to negative associations made to winter made me think of the term " old man winter" as a possible negative term carried over from long ago?
Various researchers indicate the term is derived from Ancient Greek mythology and Old World pagan belief systems which evolved over time. Great question!
Truly, we are a spoiled, non appreciative society! These were real hardened people and it must have been a real hardship of a nightmare if your house -- your shelter-- burned down in the cold, freezing winter.
@victorcontreras3368, Yes, we are so fortunate today with our modern conveniences and shelters to survive a chilling winter! Appreciate your thoughtful comment. Cheers.
I doubt that the peasants used paper to cover windows. Paper was rare and expensive and the only people who would want access to it were people who were literate. The peasants were illiterate. They would more likely use bark or animal skins, or both, to keep the draughts out and the heat in. Paper would not compare with bark, skins in terms of durability so I imagine the rich/literate would not have used it either.
@margaretvanson3601, We appreciate your thoughtful commentary and good points! Yes, paper would not have been the first choice to cover windows in medieval times because of its scarcity and high expense. Though the desperation one would have to keep their windows covered and a lack of means to do so through more practical ways meant a valuable item like paper, if nothing else was available, and one had it on hand for whatever reason would be less prized than using it to keep essential heat inside the home. Though the odds of this happening of course would be quite rare. Cheers.
What do think was the most important activity to survive a medieval winter?
I'd say food preservation and proper layers. Not one or the other but both.
@@angiekalas-caldwell8825 Both are great choices! Appreciate your response.
Food preservation and textile production as to prepare ahead of time, sure. But I think that during the winter, the struggle must've been to keep up stocks of fuel. Anyone who has ever gone through a rough winter relying solely on firewood might have a rough idea of what they went through, but then you have to consider that most peasants couldn't fell timber for cord wood. I bet most of the winter was first and foremost a miserable frigid scramble to gather sticks and twigs.
@@420JackG Nice observations! With local nobles restricting use of forests in many areas, gathering firewood during medieval times would have been a difficult task.
One thing I would mention is that often houses wouldn't even have chimneys. Cottages would often be a single room with an unvented fire pit in the center. The smoke was allowed to just slowly seep out through the thatched roofs. They did this because chimneys lose a lot of heat, which means more wood which the peasants didn't have to spare. How did people not just choke to death from the smoke? While indoors, when the fire was going, they would simply lay close to the ground. Just like they train you for escaping a house fire, the smoke mostly stays in the top half of a room. So they would mostly just lay on the ground or on low stools that kept them below most of the smoke. This is mentioned in the book "Irish Country Furniture" by Kinmonth. There were whole types of special extremely low-to-the-ground chairs and stools purpose built for such a setup.
So if you really want to consider what the space in a medieval serf's cottage would be like, just imagine a setting like this. Just imagine maintaining an open fire in an unventilated room. Think what that would involve. Just imagine dwelling there all winter, crawling on your hands and legs to keep below the smoke. Sitting on stools and chairs raised inches above the cold ground. Your choices are either go outside into the cold, stand up and breath in the smoke, or crawl around below the smoke cloud. That's how many of our ancestors got through the winter.
Modern wood-burning furnaces use wood a lot more efficiently than a Medieval fireplace. But then? Most of your heat went right up the chimney. That means more labor to harvest wood, more calories to support that labor, and more needed access to the limited available woodlands. If your lord gives your village a fixed ration of wood you can harvest from the lord's woodlands, then that's all the fuel you're going to get. You need to make the most out of every bit of it. Today, we would do that using a highly efficient, precision-designed wood burning stove. Back then? It meant just having an open unvented fire right in the middle of your living space.
It always amazes me how people lived in the cold in these times. We are so fortunate and spoiled! Even now it saddens me the situation with the homeless.
Amy J, that is a great view on our modern comforts vs. what medieval people had to struggle through to survive in winter, and unfortunately some still have to endure. Appreciate your thoughtful perspective!
Growing up in a village im communist Romania was basically living in medieval times, except for the glass windows.
We had no electricity most of the winter, we had wool clothes that the women of the house made from our sheep.
We slaughtered our own animals, we had oil lamps and candles for light, we grinded our grains by hand. Chopped our firewood.
The chores were enough to keep us warm during the day, and we had a nice fireplace, and spent time together during the evening.
Funny thing is that people were healthier back then.
I grew up in a house that was heated by a monster of a furnace burning anthracite coal, and one central register (a round, iron grate) in the living room floor to heat the three floors. We would get three or four feet of snow, and the wind would blow the drifts up against the doors, making it impossible to get out of the house that way. But that's the height of luxury compared with your life!
@scratchy996, Thank you for sharing your descriptive story! Cheers.
Love these...so interesting...love from Singapore!
@berenicehickey9755, Thank you for your kind words and compliment on our episode!
Love these pithy units of info on medieval life...
Thank you Cate Stoker for the appreciative comment! MedievaltoModern will continue to find engaging topics to entertain and inform our viewers.
The reference to negative associations made to winter made me think of the term " old man winter" as a possible negative term carried over from long ago?
Various researchers indicate the term is derived from Ancient Greek mythology and Old World pagan belief systems which evolved over time. Great question!
Truly, we are a spoiled, non appreciative society! These were real hardened people and it must have been a real hardship of a nightmare if your house -- your shelter-- burned down in the cold, freezing winter.
@victorcontreras3368, Yes, we are so fortunate today with our modern conveniences and shelters to survive a chilling winter! Appreciate your thoughtful comment. Cheers.
Thank you that was an awesome video.
God Bless and much love to everyone.
Thank you Anedia Reese! Comments like yours inspire our work and are appreciated.
I doubt that the peasants used paper to cover windows. Paper was rare and expensive and the only people who would want access to it were people who were literate. The peasants were illiterate. They would more likely use bark or animal skins, or both, to keep the draughts out and the heat in. Paper would not compare with bark, skins in terms of durability so I imagine the rich/literate would not have used it either.
@margaretvanson3601, We appreciate your thoughtful commentary and good points! Yes, paper would not have been the first choice to cover windows in medieval times because of its scarcity and high expense. Though the desperation one would have to keep their windows covered and a lack of means to do so through more practical ways meant a valuable item like paper, if nothing else was available, and one had it on hand for whatever reason would be less prized than using it to keep essential heat inside the home. Though the odds of this happening of course would be quite rare. Cheers.
It must of been a horrible time to live
@melissa0386, Yes, it would have been a challenging time and season for daily living. Appreciate your comment!
Living with livestock hanging around the house? "The noise and smell would be minor inconveniences." Oh well, everything is relative.