medieval towns and countryside Flashcards
wattle and daub
a material formerly used in building walls, consisting of a network of interwoven twigs covered in mud
four humours
an ancient roman idea where illness was caused by having too much blood, black bile, yellow bile in the body and phelm
miasma
disease was spread by bad smells and bad air
harvest
the process or period of gathering crops
when did black death start in England
1348
3 different strains of the black death
bubonic, pneumonic, septicemic
why did the black death spread so quickly in towns
with how close proximity the houses were to each other
what did people think about doing when the black death arrived in their towns
move to the countryside for “purer air” which just made it spread quicker
how was water contaminated
people bathing themselves and their animals in it
what did people drink instead of water
small beer
why did they drink small beer
ale was stronger and tasted better than water
what is ergotism
poisoning produced by eating food affected by ergot
what was the results of ergotism
headaches, vomiting, diarrhoea, and gangrene of the fingers and toes
what did peasants eat
pottage
what is pottage
a meat stew or soup
what was fields and crops fertilised with
human and animal waste
where were pipes leading too in towns
to spring water being flowed in and out of conduit
what rules where supposed to be followed in towns
keep gutters clean and clear their drains and keep their own doorstep clean
why were rules not followed
their was no “police force” and there was no real punishment for not following them
what was a common problem in towns
drunkenness
what were rakers
men paid to take rubbish of the streets
where did they put the rubbish
they were meant to take it to the edge of town but many dumped it in the rivers
where was the carcass left in towns
on the streets
what did gongfermers do
when a latrine was full they would scoop out all the mess and take it away. their duties also included taking cart loads of waste out of towns
when were gongfermers allowed to cart the waste out of towns
only at night
why were gongfermers well paid
because no one else wanted to do the job
what would go in a midden
floor sweepings and animal dung
what were privies
a hole in the ground with a cesspit
why would animals be kept in the a countryside house
at night to keep them warm and safe since they were to valuable to loose
what would grow in damp conditions
a type of fungus would grow on rye which poor people used to make bread and also caused ergotism
