How Medieval Peasants Spent Their Free Time
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- čas přidán 9. 06. 2024
- Life for peasants in the Middle Ages was difficult, to say the least - Medieval peasant jobs could often involve long hours of back-breaking labor in less than sanitary conditions - but it wasn’t all bad. Peasants actually had a lot more free time than you might expect. They got every Sunday off, as well as special holidays mandated by the church, not to mention weeks off here and there for special events like weddings and births when they spent a lot of time getting drunk. One estimate is that during the 1300s, peasants might only have worked 150 days a year.
#MedievalEra #MedievalPeasants #WeirdHistory - Zábava
"Medieval peasents have more off time than most Americans do" pretty much summarizes how it feels like to be an employee in America
"Sad, but true." --Metallica
Correct
Sounds nice... But it's not true. Unless "free time" includes building your own houses and barns, cleaning out outhouses, tending to animals, making your own clothes, ECT ect. Those things weren't considered "work"
And who the heck came up with a 40 hour work week? Dumbest thing I've ever heard and seen!
@@davidgoodman6924 You mean better work 96 hour work weeks which is the norm back then?
"You might be poor, your shoes might be broken, but your mind is a palace"
- Frank McCourt
well spoken words
Great book. You read his biography?
The brain is inefficient without proper nutrition, sleep and hydration. The mind is just the nickname for the brain
I remember this quote - Angela's Ashes right?
Until you come down with fleas and TB.
"Injuries and death were routine. So, naturally, it was extremely popular" if that doesn't sum up our species I don't know what does
Right!
Yeah, we are such a strange species!
The days when people created their own kind of fun from whatever that was handy. Interesting how three activities ended up in some kind of jousting.
I still create my own fun with what's handy 🙂
@@funonvancouverisland bet you do, bet you do ... ;) :) :)
@@madeinbanat3534 bahaha didn't even think of that! Good one 😅
@@funonvancouverisland sorry mate, had to be done haha ;)
We did growing up and are teaching are great-grandchildren now. That's up to you if you want to use your imagination.
Not gonna lie…I’d pay good money to watch a game of mob soccer
fknay
Watch literally any children's soccer game
Still exists! Played in one English or Scottish town still. Look it up on youtube. Its wild.
@@extragoogleaccount6061 The Atherstone Ball Game. Fights, blood and smashed up shops every year.
The Atherstone Ball Game. CZcams it.
Sounds more fun than my current pastime of binging CZcams videos.
Think about what they would have done if they had our lives. They'd probably become proficient chefs very quickly and probably not be very concerned with much else.
Dats funny!
The algorithm feels so good
Yeah but that involves like, going outside and stuff.
😂😂😂😂🎉
Pretty crazy that peasants worked less than we do now. Big corpo sure does love to raise us thinking that being workaholics is the only way to go.
What is the solution
Maybe worked less for their lord and master but they still had to tend their own gardens especially if they wanted to eat over the winter,cut and bring home wood usually by a self pulled sled or cart. Mandatory archery or military training I wouldn’t call time off.
That's industrialisation. Much more is produced, and this isn't a bad thing. But it also means that people work more. They say that using clocks at works spaces changed everything. Before that, is simply doing what you need to do and see how much the day gives you. Specific work hours don't exist. With a clock however, the lord or rather industry baron at that time can implement deadlines, and work hours.
That's actually inaccurate. They all had to build their own homes, make their own clothes, hand wash their clothes and other fabrics, grow their own food and/hunt their own meat, the list goes on but I'm sure you get the point. So it makes sense that they worked less in terms of a job. But their entire existence was non stop work with little off time.
Welcome to capitalism baby!!!
I wonder if that is where the saying," He/She is the apple of my eye." 🤔
Dana I believe you are on to something.
Maybe lol
it's from the idea that the pupil was thought to be like an apple (in germany we still say Augapfel [Eyeapple]) and because it's precious because you need it to see, people use it to tell when someone is really important to them.
@@jcherry875 his theory is better shut up
🤔
Peasants would spend their free time thinking, "Boy, I am sure glad I'm not a serf, as my life would really suck."
Among Polish peasants nearly all of them were serfs! Imagine that.
Like my high school history teacher always told us.. "Names, dates, and places change, but the concept always stays the same" 🤷🏼♂️
Very true
@@jasonwilder6871 ? Im not sure I recognize you. I heard it from my teacher Mr. Mac at Fairfield High
My fav quote now!
Nothing new under the sun
Suggestion: The difference between the lives of noble/royal women and peasant women.
I want to see that
Ngl I'm interested
Peasant women gave birth without an audience, while noble/royal women did. The likelihood of dying during or after childbirth was roughly the same. Men used to run through two or three wives while now women mostly outlive men. Thank goodness for germ theory and modern medical practices.
One sucked...the other sucked less.
@@beeragainsthumanity1420
Depends on what you mean by sucked. Sure it wasn't what it is today, but for their time they lived pretty decent lives. Most women were free from war and allowed to live with far less labor than men (obviously).
Women in history wasn't nearly as"stay home, get beaten and rap'd, and bear my children" as people today tend to think.
Lotteries were already around in ancient Rome. Some rulers went pretty nuts with the prizes you could win. (from Villas to dead dogs or even bees)
Imagine winning the lottery thinking you'll get a villa but got offered dead dogs instead lmaooo
@@notagain9023 or you open the chest you won and a swarm of angry bees attacks you^^
Dead dogs?
@@itrthho om nom nom
You forgot slaves
2:08
"You see that ludicrous display last night?"
"The thing with Arsenal is, they always try to walk it in!"
What was Wenger thinking sending Walcott on that early?
They're having a laugh today!
Obviously talking about soccer. Try a mans sport for once
@@2ndCovey It’s an IT crowd reference not a football reference. Assuming you’re American? Barging in with no clue what’s actually being talked about
@@videoaddict961 Big facts from my guy right here
People back in the old days used to walk around saying “man, this is a long time ago” 😮
changing my boxers, now....
Uphill both ways
I do that now for the sake of future people.
True fact, this
@@johnedward8352 in the snow
I was surprised to learn that they actually HAD any free time!
Same here
All peasants weren't slaves. Only the serfs were. Most were somewhat autominous. Why wouldn't they have relaxation time?
Slave and pesant are 2 different things. Peasant had to work certain number of days for the lord and in their "free time" they worked their land (rented one, paid rent in products) to feed their family. So they did not have more free time than Americans. They had more church holidays but of course worked 6 days a week from dawn to dusk all year round. Yes, in winter too, indoors if outside conditions were bad.
“More free time them most Americans” never have I been so offended by something I 100% agree with
Here, here.
I think America, Japan and Korea work the hardest and longest hours. I’m not sure about Canada.
@@fourfurrypotatoes China/Bengali in Dubai got them all beat.
@@fourfurrypotatoes Canada has far more free time and more money earnt for the buck, depends on province though. I do know a lot of western Canada earns what they need though and can live relatively well.
BS , ignorant remark. They didn't have free time apart from Sundays and some religious holidays. Those '150 days' were unpaid.
I love how so many of these include numerous people dying, and yet they still continued, many of them to modern times.
The old version of football would still be pretty fun. Imagine a bunch of kids from different streets competing to get it back to their street
Honestly, it never occurred to me that Medieval peasants had down time. I just thought they worked in the fields all day and then went to sleep when it got dark.
Fun fact:
Peasants actually lived a healthier life than nobility.
Really!?? Do you have any sources?
@@mitonaarea5856 Nobles ate meat. Peasants ate bread and vegetables. You make up your mind.
@@mitonaarea5856
I'm not allowed to post links for fear of violating user agreements and getting ban.
But yes, SOME did eat better than nobility.
Multi grain bread was for the poor.
White bread is less healthy do to processing strips it of nutrients, the royalty wanted it because it took longer and more expensive to make.
Wheat bread was peasant food, but turns out to be more healthy.
Early colony days, the homeless were fed crabs and lobsters because they were so plentiful at the time...the rich would not sink so low to eat such foods.
Vikings ate very healthy as well.
In Romania their is cheap land and houses. Away from the stressfull cities. Btw also we recreate folklore and medieval events. Even today, im not joking.
All of this is true
Do one on the mini ice age. Fascinating information on that subject.
Agree
I heard from the late Terry Jones from his "Medieval Lives" Series that Medieval Peasants had more days off than the workers of today.
This is true. Yes peasants in the Middle Ages performed backbreaking labor, but their schedule was based on seasonal harvests, and they all had downtime during the winter which accounted for 1/4 of their year. Today’s workers are mostly indoors and lucky to get 2-4 weeks in vacation a year.
Thats only in the US.Over here in Europe most people get 4 to 6 weeks vacation plus some 15 to 20 "holydays".
And most work 5 days a week.
Well, considering that their lifespans were about 35 years, I hope they enjoyed all that free time.
@@davidsigalow7349 The lifespans were on average 35 only because of children dying early. The median was higher. If you survived childhood you would likely live until about 50 or 60.
@@CloroxBleachCompany I work outdoors all year 50 to 70 hrs a week and get 1 week off.
I've actually always wondered about this. Stories of peasant classes are rarely told. We usually learn about broader royalty politics. I figured it was because the scribes at the times did not care to document peasant stories since they were at the servitude of the royalty. Thanks for this!
Suggestion: The Life Of Lee Harvey Oswald
Factoid 7 will blow your mind! Literally.
you wanna know the habits of your future killer eh
thought they did that already?
He was a commie.
@Do you turn it off and on again? Lee Harvey Oswald killed JFK, John Wilkes Boothe killed Lincoln
Reason #431 why history is important to study. We have no idea how good we have it in 2021
Football in the medages: yeah you get hurt you might die
Football now: lemme fall over cause I got a pat on the back
The thing that stood out to me is that Peasants own their own land. Today 78% of Americans live in apartments especially in the coastal areas because it so damn expansive to buy a house. I wish I was just a measly peasant back then.
You would still have to work farmland.
The Amish have more modern farm tools because they used Post 1600-1700s technology.
In the Middle Ages all Agriculture knowledge was passed down orally and technology changed slowly.
That is absolutely not a true number or statement. Lmao 78% apartments. What is this soviet Russia?
Sorry guy. 65% of people in the US own their homes in 2020.
@@fkgjr - Just don't refi on a whim.... If you refi, all the interest you're paying the bank for all those years is lost. You are starting over, with a new 30 or whatever length years mortgage.
@@fkgjr own? Or pay a mortgage? Big difference without even looking into the statistics, which are simply that, statistics.
"How do you know he's a king?"
--"Because he doesn't have shit all over him"
I love anything medieval. So interesting.
the good old days...
if you lived to a ripe old age, you just fell over dead one day.
65
its more true nowadays. "died suddenly and expected"
Could you cover - Witches and healthcare in the middle ages. Gotta love the plague doctors :)
Definitely would love to see even more of these "how they spent their free time" videos.
It would also kinda be cool to see a video on what some Asian countries did for fun around the same time period! Maybe Japan or Korea?
what people around the world were doing in the year ______
Nah European history is far more interesting
@@donHooligan I just picked a random area but I like your idea better!
@@Kitty666EmoGoth
your comment inspired the idea.
as far as i know...it didn't exist before reading your comment.
@@specter1549 depends on who you ask
Given the plagues, the wars & the entertainment we've had since ages, I'm truly amazed that mankind survives to this day.
More luck than judgement
Breeding also known as families
Life uh finds a way
The players would put on ludicrous displays most nights because they didn't know what Wenger was thinking putting on Walcott that early.
Ya know that's the problem with Arsenal! They always try to walk it in!
I know my fellow deathlings (Ask a Mortician fans) have sung “The Middle Ages were magic” at least once in this video.
Yeesss, Lol..😁
Lol yep
Love you.
Yup 😆😆
Oh yes!
My family and I created a game we called "crohocker". Instead of kicking a ball, we used crochet sticks to knock a kick ball around.
It was so fun! I sure do Miss those days.
Colf would be a great modern day sport ⛳️
Suggestion:The tendency to mix in a little aggression (jousting) to everything sounds like pent up frustration about their station. But is also related to BEER. The women were the first great Beermeisters, peasant women could make a living with zymurgy the art of making beer. I would prefer to make beer over becoming a nun or prostitute that was the spectrum of work oppurtunities for poor women. Can you please do a video about the women of Zymurgy? Medicinal herbs were also mixed into beer since ancient times. You just had to hope a nosey neighbor didn't claim you were a witch.
Or hope that a random papal or royal Inquisitor doesn't go to your area
Monks had the best brew.
@@dr.floridaman4805 they also had syphilis. :D
@@MagMaybe siphilis was a new world disease brought back by Columbus.
You fail
@@dr.floridaman4805 They still had it. Fair trade for giving pox to New World.
I'd love a video on medieval travel and in particular the use of taverns.
First time viewer. And I laughed. A lot. So, well done and thank you. I love history and appreciate a good chuckle. Done and done. 😁😁😁 Seriously though, great content and narration. Thank you🦄
All the other youth with the shoes upon thee
Thou'd better flee, better flee, from my archery.
Lol see what you did there
Wow. That last one!! To even gain enough skill to skate on animal bones is just next level types of diffulty!! And than to add jousting? Props
The humor you instill in and throughout all your videos. It's brilliant and clever!!
Am I the only one who would love to hear an extended version of the little music piece played at the “Archery Was Incredibly Important”? It sounds so relaxing and soothing
Yes! (As in I would like to hear it too)
Honestly I always thought being a peasant meant working in the fields and randomly going to fight in a war with a pitchfork
I'm from Tennessee and you said "ya'll " ... I'll be watching your channel from now on😎
I just recently purchased my first home and it has me wondering how home ownership worked in medieval times. Were peasants allowed to purchase homes or was it a luxury exclusively for Nobles. Is there a different between owning a home in a city vs the country in those times. Did they have to go to a bank and ask for a loan? Did medieval realtors exist?
I'm not an expert on the subject, but it could have been like this: you could either buy someone else's house that they are selling, or you could build your own. I don't think medieval realtor existed, and banks worked very differently back then. Loans were not a thing, and banks were mostly for nobles. peasants Would usually build their own house, and medieval apartments were actually a thing, believe it or not. Apartments go VERY far back.
@@NachoDaMan i imagine they would need appporval from the local lord. But how does one prove ownership?
@@urielsanchez767 Deeds did exist in medieval times.
Keep in mind that when it came to knights jousting it was very expensive. The knight had to pay for their horses, armor, and other parts of their equipment as well as maintaining a crew of squires to get them prepped. For this reason only the upper classes could joust (at least not on the water.)
You can joust without any of that equipment, running at each other would do. Or maybe on a donkey or a some other animal
Perfect, now I know what to do when I'm bored today
'Applebobbing? Eeeeh! When will those humans sease?' - Beldar Conehead
Medieval commoners playing CeeLo 🤣
😂😂😂
I was just thinkin this shit nbs😭
I really hope the winner of Skittles have to shout "Taste the rainbow!", or they lose all their points.
Be the rainbow...
Destroy the rainbow!!
Injuries and death were routine, so naturally the game was popular.
God, I love this channel.
God isn't real
7:00 my grandparents immigrated from Sicily settling in East Boston, MA , the only other Italian neighborhood besides the North End in Boston. My grandfather and all the old timers always played a bowling game brought to America called Bocce . They said that We've been playing it for every generation going back to ancient Roman times and probably farther back than that. It's a game that everyone gambles on. Probably the reason why it lasted for over 2000 years.
Italians were also in the West End of Boston, which was demolished in the 50s, ruining a large but close-knit community. It was shared with Jews and Irish.
I'd love to see several of these make a comeback
8:25 just skips over the fact they basically invented hockey
Suggestion: What was siege of castle or town like? What weapons/engines and tactics were used in siege?
BTW really good and informative video! I love your videos about medieval times! ⚔️
I recommend you check out lindybeige
Absolutely love the narration;
it has that feel of those classic Goofy "how-to" cartoons.
Omg yes!!!!
They still have water jousting matches in Bamberg Germany dure their summer festival. Loved watching it.
It’s from this idea and image of farming is what everybody dreaded farming and devalue farming altogether
You should do a video on the history of Britain's tea time...
Man i love this channel. And this narrator is awesome😁
Thanks for the greater insight into the possible origins of soccer hooligans. Very funny and informative video. Extremely well made.
One of the best voices on CZcams
You should make a video of how the most popular sports got started...like you did here with golf (colf), ice-skating (on bones), but a little more indepth.😀👍
Love the IT Crowd reference ! "Did you see that ludicrous display last night ?" 😁
😂😂
Suggestion: Do a video on when the Scandinavian countries were forced to convert to Christianity (by penalty of death). You cAn talk about how paganism survived the outlawing in secret as well. Love the videos!
*Catholocism, many Christans were persecuted by Catholics as well for not being Catholic. Death and torture was always the consequence
@@summitgoons2744 oppressed people dont care what denomination their oppressors tout
@@greenkoopa I won't deny that, but it's really not a denomination. It's a whole different religion in all honesty. A denomination would be considered a sub-group in my opinion. Catholicism isn't actually Christianity because it deletes the Christian aspect and adds in paganism. No disrespect to any Catholic but it's the truth. Sorry for getting political
Another video has already been made on the conversion of Scandinavians to Christianity on another channel: czcams.com/video/10lUYwfPG_k/video.html
You’re kind of exaggerating the forced conversions on the pain of death. Forced conversions on the pain of death were limited to Norway during the rule of Olaf Tryggvason whose reign only lasted for 5 years but he was overthrown and religious tolerance seems to have been restored. That was the only time in Scandinavian history where conversions where carried out with force.
Also paganism definitely did not survive. It gradually faded away. Any leftover paganism within catholicism would have completely disappeared with the Protestant reformation in Scandinavia, which was hostile to the more pagan practises within Catholicism like the worship of saints.
@@summitgoons2744 Catholicism is the oldest Christian church, not some Baptist church founded by pastor Billy Bob in Alabama.
The 'Football' game, as you describe was, in fact called 'Camping' , in England.
look up the origins of Lacrosse
Please could you do a video on the Medici Family😊
2:08 That IT Crowd reference was just... 😘
Medieval soccer sounds so fun. I wish adults could enjoy themselves like that in this day and age.
Nowadays they don't want to do that because "wE ArE cIvIliZeD iNdIviDUalS"
I never knew Yahtzee sold so much per year
Weird history will always be your Future's mystery.
Loved that "ludicrous display" IT crowd reference 👌👌
Wow this is definitely one of my favourite channels
What did it mean for the relationship if she's able to eat the entire apple underwater?
Makes me think of Aaron from the office "I did it I ate two whole apples"
A long relationship, with few children
The dude probably has to eat her peach entirely under water 😂
@@noahnuccioguitarworks7552 😂😂😂
I was still hoping that Timeline would be back with 98. I like those videos. Although, I do like the normal content too.
Love this channel
Nice!! I loved the ludicrous display line.
Amazing how and when some of the sport games got there start long ago and have changed into what they are today.
Thank you for very interesting video 😊 I would like to hear about medieval medicine
"Skater's Waltz" playing in the background. Nice touch.
Nice production as usual !
What about some videos about frontier children’s toys; or toys from other eras, like the Great Depression; WW2 , etc. mainly western and when people had little; would be interesting to see what they used to do toy wise!
Sheer dread that I've been going around saying Golf first started in Scotland... XD
Delightful and OMG, Stuff you already knew and stuff you didn't presented in a factual but light-hearted ( some what , tongue in cheek manner 👍obscenely outrageous! I like these Doc's so much.. You learn, you freak out. laugh, cringe.. It's all there!
That was fun! Thank you.
You should do a collab with Jon Townsend, that would be something worth watching.
Yes the history of nutmeg😂😂😂
they definitely didn’t go on vacation to the islands
Phenomenal video and content!
Medieval peasant: Hmm, this new thing is pretty great, but is there any way we can incorporate jousting into it, or maybe bears?
Some Florida Man level thinking going on back then.
Yo I’m not gonna lie that initial game of soccer sounds hella fun 😂😂
Football
@@jamiecullum5567 imagine, being so douchey you lecture people on the industrial revolution but also can’t stand to see someone swap out a term for two separate sports that is widely known across the globe… irony 101.
@@menotyou9836 there was no such thing as soccer in medival times, they called it football
@@jamiecullum5567 they actually didn’t call it football at all. I’d love for evidence to back that claim up. I also noticed you didn’t address the previous point 🤔 maybe don’t talk out your ass mate.
Edit: Tsu’Chu is the original name for this :)
@@menotyou9836 The earliest known reference to football that was written in English is a 1409 proclamation issued by King Henry IV. It imposed a ban on the levying of money for "foteball". It was specific to London, but it is not clear if payments had been claimed from players or spectators or both.
I’d like to hear about medieval medical practices.
Skittles are still popular in the UK today. Young teenagers can get a job before 16 as a “sticker-up” picking up skittles for local clubs.
Many of those sound dangerous enough to not try, but archery and shooting dice sounds fun. 9 Pin sounds fun too. Thank you for the video.
as always all of these games were even more fun due to the fact that everyone was drunk all the time cause the water wasn't safe to drink
Actually it was safe to drink water. They had clean water.
Medieval times, aka “The Great Preset”
"What medieval pastimes sound fun to you?"
All of them
I love this channel