Family Life in The Medieval Period

1. Family Life in The Medieval Period By Sara Gray

2. A few facts • We know little about the family life and economics of medieval times • Women were not very important • They valued childhood in some cases, but in others they saw children as adults from the time they were very small • Men were seen as head of the household, strict, and hard-working

3. Babies • Many mothers did not make it through childbirth, a priest would come and they would have to do everything a dying man would do, just incase they died • A baby would be baptized 8 days after it was born, but if the baby died it would not be discussed and be thrown into a ditch in the corner of a church yard. • A midwife would usually baptize the child

4. Children • Children were mostly treated as if they were adults by the time they could walk. • The boys would grow up to learn there fathers business • The average father would spend more time scolding his children than showing affection for them • For the most part, there are no children's songs, pictures of children, or writings of how wonderful children were to have around

5. Children • For a child's past times many sports would be played, such as tennis, chess, and wrestling • Teenagers who liked to show their rebellious sides would often gamble • Many teenagers were married very young, there are even some cases of twelve and thirteen year olds being married and living on their own

6. Marriage • Women had no choice in who they married • Who you married determined how well you would live the rest of your life by how much money, cattle, and land your husband had • Usually a whole town, even the lords would help the parents decide a good match for their daughter

7. Marriage • Very rarely the men were able to choose there brides • Most couples were generally strangers until the parents introduced them • A notice was posted on the church door to notify when the wedding would be • Girls were usually 12 and the boy was usually 17 when they were told they would be married

8. Marriage • When the marriage notice was posted people from the town would come forward and tell the family if there were any reasons they should not be married • One major reason was that the couple was to closely related • If a person knew that one of them was a rapist, committed adultery, or was a thief they would come forward and tell

9. A Peasants House • Mostly made from oak • A house was one story high, with a loft or attic above • A fire burned at almost all times in the house • There was a hole in the ceiling called a louvre that let smoke out • Thieves often broke into the house by cutting a hole in the wall because it was much quieter than breaking the lock on the front door

10. Different Kinds of Houses A lords house A middle class citizens house A peasants house

11. Works Citied • Stuard, Susan. "Women in Medieval Society." 1993 1. 02 18 2008 <http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=24951717>. • "Love, Marriage, Romance & Women...." 1998 02 18 2008 <http://www.dfwx.com/medieval_cult.html>. • Gies, Frances. "The Medieval Child, Part 1." 197. 02 18 2008 <http://historymedren.about.com/library/weekly/aa100500a.htm>.