Transcript Digging Deep Who can tell us most about medieval peasants?

Digging Deep
Who can tell us most about medieval peasants?
Archaeologist:
a person who studies the past by digging up objects
from the ground.
Artefact:
something made or used by a person.
Historian:
someone who uses all sorts of evidence to study the past.
Lord of the Manor: The Lord who owned a Manor.
Manor:
an area or village controlled by a Knight.
Peasant:
a poor farm worker.
Psalter:
a medieval prayer book
Reconstruction:
a building or drawing made by using evidence
from the past.
Villein:
a peasant who had to work on the Lord’s land in return for
renting land from the Lord of the Manor.
Broadwater School
History Department
Digging Deep
Who can tell us most about medieval peasants?
Step One – The Skeletons
Many of the skeletons were those of children.
This tells me that …
The skeletons of the adults were about six centimetres
shorter than people are today. This tells me that …
Many of the bone joints were worn and deformed.
This tells me that …
The skeletons did not have tooth decay, but their teeth
were quite worn. This tells me that …
Broadwater School
History Department
Digging Deep
Who can tell us most about medieval peasants?
Step One – The Skeletons
Many of the skeletons were those of children.
This tells me that living conditions must have been hard and that there was not
enough food and effective medicines.
The skeletons of the adults were about six centimetres shorter than people are
today. This tells me that the diet of medieval people was not as good as that
eaten by modern people.
Many of the bone joints were worn and deformed. This tells me that the
medieval villagers must have worked very hard.
The skeletons did not have tooth decay, but their teeth were quite worn. This
tells me that medieval people did not eat many sweet foods as a part of their
diet. Their food must have been less processed than today’s foodstuffs.
Broadwater School
History Department
Digging Deep
Who can tell us most about medieval peasants?
Step One – Aerial Photograph
The aerial photograph tells me quite a lot about Wharram
Percy. In the photograph I can see the ….
Step One – Digs of the Peasant Houses
The digs of peasant houses recovered some interesting
artefacts. These are ……
These artefacts have made it possible for an artist to
produce a reconstruction. The house had …
Broadwater School
History Department
Digging Deep
Who can tell us most about medieval peasants?
Step One – Aerial Photograph
The aerial photograph tells me quite a lot about Wharram Percy. In the
photograph I can see the outlines of the peasant’s houses as well as the edges
of the fields and where there were roads.
Step One – Digs of Peasant Houses
The digs of peasant houses recovered some interesting
artefacts. These are clay pots, a needle and a comb made out of bone
as well as a metal clasp and the blade of a sickle. These tell me that …
These artefacts have made it possible for an artist to produce a
reconstruction. The house had a cruck roof, wattle and daub walls, a floor of
beaten earth and a central fire place. There was very little furniture and in the
winter the animals shared it with the people. This tells me that …
Broadwater School
History Department
Digging Deep
Who can tell us most about medieval peasants?
Step Two – The Luttrell Psalter
Different Jobs
In the pictures from the Luttrell Psalter I can see peasants ….
Tools and Equipment
In the pictures from the Luttrell Psalter I can see peasants using ….
Men’s work and Women’s work
In the pictures from the Luttrell Psalter I can see men …. and I can see
women ….
Broadwater School
History Department
Digging Deep
Who can tell us most about medieval peasants?
Step Two – The Luttrell Psalter
Different Jobs
In the pictures from the Luttrell Psalter I can see peasants breaking up
stones, cutting, threshing and milling corn.
Tools and Equipment
In the pictures from the Luttrell Psalter I can see peasants using sledge
hammers, sickles, flails and a windmill.
Men’s work and Women’s work
In the pictures from the Luttrell Psalter I can see men working with
sledge hammers, flails and in a mill. Men did the jobs that were…
I can see women harvesting corn and a woman begging. Some jobs
were shared by men and women, for instance …
Broadwater School
History Department
Digging Deep
Who can tell us most about medieval peasants?
Step Three – The Chatteris Court Rolls
Freemen and Villeins
Freemen and Villeins were forced to attend the manorial court. The records
kept in the manor of Chatteris tell us a lot about the control the Lord had of the
peasants. They could not …. and they had to ask permission …
Manorial Courts
Manorial courts were used by the Lord of the Manor to keep the peasants
under control. The types of things that they did wrong were
How the Abbess of Chatteris controlled her Peasants
The Abbess used fines to control her peasants. Some examples of these are ...
Broadwater School
History Department
Digging Deep
Who can tell us most about medieval peasants?
Step Three – The Chatteris Court Rolls
Freemen and Villeins
Freemen and Villeins were forced to attend the manorial court. The records
kept in the manor of Chatteris tell us a lot about the control the Lord had of the
peasants. They could not leave the village without the Lord’s consent and they
had to ask permission from the Lord to get married.
Manorial Courts
Manorial courts were used by the Lord of the Manor to keep the peasants
under control. The types of things that they did wrong were to make and sell
ale, plough up a footpath, set fish traps in private waters and refuse to
thresh the Lord’s corn.
How the Abbess of Chatteris controlled her Peasants
The Abbess used fines to control her peasants. Some examples of these are
6d for brewing beer, 4d for becoming a priest without permission, 2d for
illegally setting fish traps and 3 for careless driving. The largest fines were for
crimes that were …
Broadwater School
History Department