Medieval towns were typically fortified, crowded, and busy centers characterized by stone walls, narrow, winding streets, and a central marketplace. Key features included a parish church or cathedral, a timber-framed market hall, guildhalls, a, tavern/inn, and a nearby castle. Houses were often narrow, with shops on the ground floor.
Almost all medieval towns were protected by gated walls. Open squares in front of public buildings served as gathering places. Most streets were very narrow. Squares and streets were crowded with people, horses, and carts—as well as cats, dogs, and chickens.
A typical feature was the central market square, which was the economic and social center of the city. Markets were regularly held here, where traders and craftsmen offered their wares. The market square was often surrounded by important buildings such as the town hall, the church and the houses of wealthy citizens.
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.
They usually had a castle nearby. Towns had a list of rules called a town charter. They had high walls to defend against an attack. They had gates which were closed at sundown.
In a religious context, both Aldhelm and possibly these later Anglo-Saxon glossators seem to understand celibacy as akin to virginity in terms of sexual abstinence for either gender: a man or a woman can be described as celibate or as a virgin.
The typical town during the Middle Ages was a series of concentric circles that marked each stage of growth. In the center of the town was the market square, church or cathedral, clock, and town hall. The cobblestone streets were narrow and constructed for pedestrian use. They were likely to be higher than the houses.
How did people wipe their bottoms in medieval times?
In the Middle Ages, moss was the wiping material of choice for many people, and a brisk trade developed bringing moss from the countryside to towns for this purpose. Straw was also sometimes used as a (rather less comfortable) alternative.
This development raised the socially accepted first marriage age of women from puberty onset (12–14 years old) in the early Middle Ages up to their late teens and older by the late medieval period, and during the renaissance up to their middle twenties on average.
Furs and expensive fabrics, for example were sold in markets by merchants who moved from town to town. Fish was usually sold in markets, since it had to be transported from the coast. Smiths, weavers, butchers, bakers, carpenters, drapers (selling woollen cloth) and mercers (selling linen) had shops.
Towns did not have sewage systems or supplies of fresh water, and probably smelled quite awful as garbage and human waste were thrown into the streets. Houses were made of wattle and daub. and overhung the streets, cutting out light and air.
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Life was hard: if crops failed, peasants faced starvation. Towns and villages in the medieval period were unhygienic due to a lack of sanitation. Animals roamed the street and human waste and waste meat were commonly thrown into the street.
Europe is peppered with smaller medieval towns, too, from San Gimignano in Tuscany, little more than a village nowadays, albeit a dramatic-looking one, to the almost perfectly preserved Obidos, near Lisbon.
As one source notes, “a typical working day in the medieval period stretched from dawn to dusk, sixteen hours in summer and eight in winter.” Other historians suggest an average of between 8.6 and 9 hours of work per day, about comparable to the modern workday.
How did they check for virginity in medieval times?
This has traditionally been tested by the presence of an intact hymen, which was verified by either a physical examination (usually by a physician), who would provide a certificate of virginity or by a "proof of blood", which refers to vaginal bleeding that results from the tearing of the hymen.
What was an unmarried woman called in medieval times?
In law, a 'spinster' refers to an unmarried woman who had reached her majority. This was, in part, to reinforce the right to own property outside of marriage.
What was the average age of puberty 1400 years ago?
The adolescent growth spurt that signals the most obvious external physical changes occurred between 11-16 years, and menarche at 12-16 years, with the average age at 15 years. In medieval London, some girls were as old as 17 before they had a period.
The words 'gardy loo' would be shouted, accompanied by (if the person in the street were lucky) a pause of second or two, allowing them to take shelter against the wall of the building, before the filth was, ahem, defenestrated…
Homosexual subcultures did exist in the Middle Ages, although there are full records for none of them. The total number was small, and they were limited to certain areas. For most of the period there was only the most limited social organization for homosexuals.
Although there is no concrete proof, it is entirely possible that medieval women used moss-stuffed napkins as sanitary pads. We know that moss is very like a very fine sponge. It easily and quickly absorbs liquid and retains it. Water can be squeezed out and the moss does not collapse and is ready for reuse.
Nightguards used lanterns. Otherwise cities were dark! So important or rich people had servants to carry light in front of them (there is the nice german expression "heimleuchten" for that). Rooms were lit by wood shavings, candles or later oil lamps or by reflection from a fire.
