Archers, Alchemists, and 98 Other Medieval Jobs You Might Have Loved Or LoathedThis book allows us to explore a popular fantasy. If we could go back in time to the Middle Ages, what would we want to be? A knight in shining armor? A princess in a silken gown? Most people's lives were far less glamorous but just as fascinating. Barbers cut off beards ... and sickly limbs; gong farmers cleaned out latrines ... and sorted through the excrement for dropped buttons or pennies. This fascinating and original guide presents 100 careers, described with historical accuracy and the author's renowned wit! Sidebars expound on intriguing elements of medieval life, including the Bayeux Tapestry, Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, medieval cosmetics, and torture techniques! The art provides the reader with further opportunities to have fun and learn. |
Contents
Introduction | 6 |
What Happened When? | 7 |
How Many People Lived There? | 10 |
How Was Life Different Then? | 11 |
Everybody in Their Place | 12 |
Oath of Homagr and Fealty | 15 |
Women in the Middle Ages | 16 |
Never an Idle Moment | 17 |
Castle Jobs | 40 |
Wonder Workers Jobs | 54 |
Life and Death Jobs | 60 |
SitDown Jobs | 66 |
Artistic Jobs | 72 |
Dirty Jobs | 78 |
Law and Order Jobs | 82 |
Traveling Jobs | 89 |
Choosing a Medieval career | 19 |
Bread and Butter Jobs | 20 |
Religious Jobs | 33 |
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Common terms and phrases
abbey abbot alchemists apprentice Arabic archers armor arrows artists babies bailiff battle Bayeux Tapestry Black Death bread brigand Canterbury Tales career castle cathedral chain-mail CHAPTER Chartres Cathedral Chaucer Christian Church clergy clothes court craft Crusade dirty doctor ducking stool England Europe everything FALCONRY feast fight Geoffrey Chaucer gold goldsmiths gong farmer guilds homage and fealty horses household huge important Islamic keep kilograms kind king knight lady land Latin leather lepers leprosy lived London lord lord's Magna Carta manor married master medieval merchants Middle Ages monks never Newbery Medal noble family nuns outlaws peasants perhaps person plague plow poor pope pull rich salt sell shoes sick sometimes stone tournaments town traveled trebuchet urine usually vellum village wear weavers wife William of Normandy winter women writing yarn