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Medieval Housewife

Decent Essays

Have you ever thought about how it would be to live in the medieval time period? The poor were living a humble life and the wealthy lived in sufficient, yet austere comfort for the period. There are several fascinating aspects of a burgher’s home. However, there are only a few core components that give a genuine glimpse into the life of a burgher. They are that burghers lived in splendid estates, the lifestyle of a medieval housewife and that women of the era had positions of power with in the church. But just like any story it is best to start at the beginning. And for a burgher his or her beginning or foundation is the house they share. During this period of time it was not uncommon for underprivileged people to share large …show more content…

The house had several oil based lamps, although they were rarely lit until total darkness. Instead the house primarily used fire to not only heat the house during the cold winters, but also supply the majority of the light for the house. This was because the windows were usually narrow and had an oiled parchment fitted to the outline of the window itself. This helped insulated the window, but its downfall was that it restricted the amount of light that came in. However, it is the tenants that make the house and at the epicenter of the home was the housewife. The life of the medieval housewife was one that was semi-restricted with the rules and accepted behavior of the day, yet they shared many freedoms and rights that their husband had. The only major right that was offered to males was in the realm of politics. There was a certain way that the lady of the house was supposed to act and both in the house and in public. A woman was a person of dignity and worth who was important to the life of the family and was to be respected throughout the …show more content…

This was during a time where cosmetics and devices to bind their breast together were looked down on. Another routine of a wife was to portray the model wife of the time. The idyllic woman for this era was one that was slender, had blond hair, and had light colored skin. So what some women would do in order to get a light complexion, they would use lotions to lighten the pigment in their skin. But looking the part was not the only nor the most important job a medieval housewife had. On of the first chores of the morning was to shop for food. This was a daily task due to the lack of refrigeration. They would wonder the busy streets looking for the perfect chicken, duck, founder and rabbits for the family to feast upon. However the price for this feast is not small. The price for chicken was about four denier and for a rabbit about five denier. In conjunction with finding good quality food it was also a housewife responsibility to lookout for poor or quality foods, wine, milk and

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