Featured:
Allergies
Grilling Guide
eHow Now Blog

The Daily Life of Servants in Medieval Castles

The Daily Life of Servants in Medieval Castles thumbnail
Life in a medieval castle was based on a hierarchy.

Mention of the medieval times brings to mind images of fairy tale castles, knights and maidens. Yet life for servants, who made up the majority of those who lived in these castles, it was far from a fairy tale existence.

  1. Hierarchy

    • Life in medieval castles was based on a hierarchy, with the knight and his family at the top and servants and unpaid serfs at the bottom. Servants received very low pay for their work, but did benefit from the protection offered by the knight who owned the castle.

    Jobs

    • Servants performed all the menial tasks, from cleaning and repairing the castle to washing clothes, cooking and gathering food. They nearly always worked very long hours from sunrise to sunset.

    Desirable Roles

    • Some roles were more desirable than others. Jobs in the kitchen provided servants with the opportunity to supplement their diet with the knight's leftovers. Jobs directly serving the knight and his family were the most sought after, since they held the highest potential for preferential treatment.

Related Searches:

References

  • Photo Credit castle image by Krzysztof Gebarowski from Fotolia.com

Comments

You May Also Like

  • Facts About Castles in Medieval Times

    In addition to being hearth and home for kings, lords and other nobles, castles were also fortifications designed to defend. The medieval...

  • Parts of a Medieval Castle

    Medieval castles were elaborate structures geared for defense. They were fortresses, intended to be self-sufficient in times of siege and attack, but...

  • Medieval Cooking for Kids

    What better way to teach kids about history than to help them experience it through period costumes, re-enactments of historical events, or...

  • The Life of Peasants in Medieval Times

    Life wasn't kind to peasants during the Middle Ages. Famines were common and disease was rampant. Religion was key to life back...

  • Kitchens that are Usually Found in Medieval Castles

    Castles went through a series of transformations as the Middle Ages progressed, and their kitchens changed as well. Early castle kitchens were...

  • Medieval Jobs for Men

    Also known as the medieval period, the Middle Ages are often romanticized as the age of knights, damsels in distress and courtly...

  • Medieval Castle Hotels in Ireland

    Medieval Castle Hotels in Ireland. When visiting Ireland, it can be fun to stay in a medieval castle hotel. These hotels are...

  • How to Organize Your Life With a FREE Daily Planner

    At the end of the day, do you ever ask yourself: "What did I do today?" Do you ever feel overwhelmed with...

  • Fun Facts About Medieval Castles

    While the strong and massive castles of the medieval period stir up images of knights, drawbridges and moats, some interesting facts are...

  • Castles in History

    Kings and knights protected their families from the great turmoil of the Middle Ages by living in castles. The castle was a...

  • The Festivals of Medieval Times

    Festivals were part of the medieval culture and revolved around religious and pagan feast days, which in turn reflected several shifts in...

  • History of the Rothenburg Castle

    Rothenburg has been inhabited for over 2,500 years. It has survived wars, plagues, earthquakes, reformations and wars. This Bavarian Castle town has...

  • Medieval Time Facts

    As with most other aspects of life in the Middle Ages, people ate better according to their social class. Serfs ate barley...

  • Medieval Castles in Japan

    Medieval Castles in Japan. Medieval Japan, which lasted from 1185 to 1600, contained a period of civil war known as the "Sengoku...

  • Knights and Castles Activities

    Knights and Castles Activities. Knights and castles loom large in medieval history. Because of the vast historical distance between the medieval era...

  • How to Create a Medieval Castle

    Start saving your small cardboard boxes and cardboard tubes. This includes cereal boxes, tissue boxes, macaroni and cheese boxes, paper towel tubes...

  • Duties for Knights

    Knights played a vital role in the life of medieval Europe. They stood between the peasants and the ruling classes, the former...

  • Unmerciful Servant Children Activities

    The unmerciful servant is a parable about a man who owed his master a large debt. He could not repay the debt,...

  • Gender Roles During the Medieval Times

    Gender roles were clearly defined in Europe during the medieval period from the 5th century CE to the 15th century CE. For...

Related Ads

thumbnail
Featured