Topic > The Manor: A Day in the Life of a Medieval Servant

In the Middle Ages everything had an order to follow, a price to pay and a contract to respect. Each person had a rank, which decides your lifestyle and future for you and your descendants to come. At the base of the pyramid there was a servant, so they had to work from dawn to dusk. The lords and ladies lived accordingly in their glorious castle, which was inundated with servants. Obviously many things have changed, and this is one more reason to learn more about our history. The cold air breathed through the holes, the light came out of the house during the day, and the house stood quietly in the fields, this is what the servant called home. The houses are mostly made of wattle and mud. The wattle and mud are mainly willow or oak, which are then braided and covered with mud and clay. The floors are usually dirty, although some cover them with layers of reeds to cushion them. Also because the servants don't have stoves they added straw to insulate the wall. The roofs are thatched and the manure served to bind the entire mixture together. The servants' houses consisted of only two rooms, one with a hearth and the other containing the stove-oven. Also because the chimney had not yet been invented, they built it in a hole in the roof. Although the daily life of the servants begins with waking up at 3 in the morning. Afterwards they will have breakfast, which was usually soup. Work in the fields was their main job. This includes reaping, i.e. cutting crops for harvest, sowing, ploughing, haying, threshing, hedging and more. They farmed because they had to work his lord's land and paid the lord a certain fee in exchange for the use of the land. Payment can be in money, food, etc. Servants had to pay 3 days a week and if they did not work they were punished or resigned by a new owner. There are other jobs for servants such as craftsmen, bakers, farmers, and tax collectors. Women had to support the family and assist their husbands. Usually the servant can only be a maid, servant or nun.