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Life in a Medieval City
A look at life in the Middle Ages.
108 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1920
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September 3, 2021
Short, but packed with info about York on the verge of the Renaissance. Particularly captivating is the list of trades, which I wish could include (too lengthy).
Lots of Notes
——————
“In the forests there were villages each consisting of a few houses grouped together for common security, where lived minor officials and men working in the forest.”
“ In the 15th century the population of York, the greatest city of the north, was about 14,000.”
“Streets, as we use the word to-day, were quite few in number. They were usually called gates and were mostly continuations of the great high-roads that came into and through the city, after crossing the wild country that covered most of northern England… In the lofty and graceful open lantern-tower of All Saints Pavement, a lamp was hung to
guide belated travellers to the safety and hospitality that obtained within the city walls.”
“Besides the few hovels and huts there were hospitals for travellers. There were 4 hospitals for lepers, the most wretched of all the sufferers from mediaeval lack of cleanliness.”
“Most of the streets were mere alleys, passages between houses and groups of buildings… very narrow… often the sky could hardly be seen from them because of the overhanging upper stories of the buildings along each side.”
“ Carriages and wagons and carts were not very numerous and would have no need to proceed beyond the main streets and the open squares. If men must journey off their own feet, they rode pack-horses… to carry goods…”
“There was no adequate drainage ; in fact there was very little attempt at any beyond the provision of gutters down the middle or at the sides of the streets.”
“Streets led to the 2 open market-places of this mediaeval city… Some markets, such as the cattle market, were held in the streets.”
“… There was the common prison called the Kidcote, while above these were other prisons which continued round the back of the chapel.”
“ The use of half-timbering, when the face of a building consisted of woodwork and plaster, made houses and streets very picturesque.”
“The upper stories of two houses facing each other across a street were often very close…. no more than 3 stories. The roofs were very steep and covered generally with tiles, but in the case of the smaller dwellings with thatch.”
“Butchers' slaughter-houses were… private premises and right in the heart of the city.”
“It was the traditional practice to dump house and workshop refuse into the streets. Some of it was carried along by rainwater, but generally it remained…”
“The many visits of distinguished people and public processions always conferred an incidental boon on the city, for one of the essentials of preparation was giving the main streets a good cleaning.”
“The floors of ordinary houses, like those of churches, were covered with rushes and straw, among which it was the useful custom to scatter fragrant herbs. This rough carpet was pressed by the clogs of working people and the shoes of the fashionable…”
“York was advanced in table manners, for it is known that a fork was used in the house of a citizen family here in 1443.”
“ The richer members of the middle class owned a large number of silver tankards, goblets, mazer-bowls, salt-cellars and similar utensils and ornaments… for this was a common form in which they held their wealth.”
“Beer, which was largely brewed at home, was the general beverage, but French and other wines were plentiful.”
“Typical inn signs were The Bull in Coney Street, and The Dragon.”
“Near the castle there were the castle mills, where the machinery was driven by water-power.”
“Outside the walls there were… common lands. Some of the land immediately around the city was cultivated or used as pasture.”
“In the 15th century there were 45 churches and 10 chapels, so that there was always a place in church for every citizen.”
“The parish church was also the depot for the equipment of those members who became
soldiers. Moreover, fire-buckets (generally of leather) were often kept in the church, since, being of stone, it was perhaps the safest building… There were also long poles with hooks at the end used to pull thatch away from burning houses.”
“The sea-going boats were not large. They were usually one-masted sailing ships, built of wood.”
“… Some of the York merchants, for example the wealthy Howme family, had establishments in foreign ports.”
“… Constables served as policemen… and acted as the fire brigade. They looked after the parish-trained soldiers, acted as recruiters, and… distributed money among lame
soldiers, gathered trophy money, relieved cripples and passengers, but unfeelingly conveyed beggars and vagabonds to prison.”
“The King's official representative in the city was called the sheriff, whose office in York has been continuous down to the present day.”
“Sometimes the whole community of citizens met, when for the moment the government of the city became essentially and practically democratic. This was only done on important occasions to decide broad questions of policy, or when numbers were needed to enforce a decision.”
“… York owed the ghastly exhibition of heads and odd quarters of traitors… which usually consisted of ‘hanging, drawing and quartering,’ when the quarters and the head were sent to London and the principal towns of the kingdom to be exhibited on gateways,
towers, and bridges.”
“Condemned heretics were burned at Tyburn, the site of local executions…”
“ In 1539 Valentine Freez, a freeman, and his wife, were burnt at the stake on Knavesmire for heresy. Frederick Freez, Valentine's father, was a book- printer and a freema.”
“ … York was frequently visited by the King.”
“Compared with modern warfare, which is unabated scientific extermination, mediaeval warfare was often of the nature of a mild adventure. The size of the opposing forces was very small even compared with the scanty population…. the casualties were very few.”
“Galtres Forest and the Fish Pond, both royal property, helped to furnish the King’s table with food. From the royal larder at York such foodstuffs as venison, game, and fish were dispatched salted to wherever the King required them.”
“There were a few capitalist merchants, many traders, and thousands of employed workpeople, skilled and unskilled.”
“ The middle class arose through currency, the use of money to bring in more money by trading.”
“Memory of the Jews, the money-dealers of other times, survived if only from the harrowing stories of the various persecutions that had taken place all over England, and not least in York…. Their supplanters, the Italian bankers… soon acquired from their trading an unpopularity equal to that of the Jews as traders.”
“The rise of the middle class had coincided with the release of money in coin from the hoards of the Jews, and from the coffers of the Knights Templars, whose order was abolished in 1312.”
“The weavers were the largest and wealthiest body of traders.”
“… Serfdom, by which serfs were bound to a particular domain and owned by their
overlord, had not yet ceased. Nearly all the workmen of York, however, were freemen, i.e. they had full and complete citizenship.”
“When a workman became a skilled artisan he was called a journeyman, that is, a man who earned a full day's pay for his work. The legal hours of work were, from March to September, from 5 a.m. to 7.30 p.m., with half an hour for breakfast, and an hour and a half for dinner. Saturday was universally a half-holiday.”
“Brasses for grave-slabs were made bearing finely designed effigies.”
“… Butchers' shops kept open market every day.”
“ York had a large overseas trade, especially in wool and manufactured cloth. Some of its merchants owned property abroad. Some went abroad…”
“Foreign sailors were to be seen in the streets… foreign goods were handled in the city.”
“Of the current coins those in gold were called the angel, half-angel, the noble, half-noble, and quarter-noble…”
“The local branch of the royal mint was housed within the castle.”
“ The very days of relief from work were holy-days, feast days in the Church's calendar.”
“The ordinary length of a festival was 8 days…”
“A mediaeval crowd at fair time was entertained by mountebanks, tumblers, and similar
rough makers of unrefined mirth.”
.
Lots of Notes
——————
“In the forests there were villages each consisting of a few houses grouped together for common security, where lived minor officials and men working in the forest.”
“ In the 15th century the population of York, the greatest city of the north, was about 14,000.”
“Streets, as we use the word to-day, were quite few in number. They were usually called gates and were mostly continuations of the great high-roads that came into and through the city, after crossing the wild country that covered most of northern England… In the lofty and graceful open lantern-tower of All Saints Pavement, a lamp was hung to
guide belated travellers to the safety and hospitality that obtained within the city walls.”
“Besides the few hovels and huts there were hospitals for travellers. There were 4 hospitals for lepers, the most wretched of all the sufferers from mediaeval lack of cleanliness.”
“Most of the streets were mere alleys, passages between houses and groups of buildings… very narrow… often the sky could hardly be seen from them because of the overhanging upper stories of the buildings along each side.”
“ Carriages and wagons and carts were not very numerous and would have no need to proceed beyond the main streets and the open squares. If men must journey off their own feet, they rode pack-horses… to carry goods…”
“There was no adequate drainage ; in fact there was very little attempt at any beyond the provision of gutters down the middle or at the sides of the streets.”
“Streets led to the 2 open market-places of this mediaeval city… Some markets, such as the cattle market, were held in the streets.”
“… There was the common prison called the Kidcote, while above these were other prisons which continued round the back of the chapel.”
“ The use of half-timbering, when the face of a building consisted of woodwork and plaster, made houses and streets very picturesque.”
“The upper stories of two houses facing each other across a street were often very close…. no more than 3 stories. The roofs were very steep and covered generally with tiles, but in the case of the smaller dwellings with thatch.”
“Butchers' slaughter-houses were… private premises and right in the heart of the city.”
“It was the traditional practice to dump house and workshop refuse into the streets. Some of it was carried along by rainwater, but generally it remained…”
“The many visits of distinguished people and public processions always conferred an incidental boon on the city, for one of the essentials of preparation was giving the main streets a good cleaning.”
“The floors of ordinary houses, like those of churches, were covered with rushes and straw, among which it was the useful custom to scatter fragrant herbs. This rough carpet was pressed by the clogs of working people and the shoes of the fashionable…”
“York was advanced in table manners, for it is known that a fork was used in the house of a citizen family here in 1443.”
“ The richer members of the middle class owned a large number of silver tankards, goblets, mazer-bowls, salt-cellars and similar utensils and ornaments… for this was a common form in which they held their wealth.”
“Beer, which was largely brewed at home, was the general beverage, but French and other wines were plentiful.”
“Typical inn signs were The Bull in Coney Street, and The Dragon.”
“Near the castle there were the castle mills, where the machinery was driven by water-power.”
“Outside the walls there were… common lands. Some of the land immediately around the city was cultivated or used as pasture.”
“In the 15th century there were 45 churches and 10 chapels, so that there was always a place in church for every citizen.”
“The parish church was also the depot for the equipment of those members who became
soldiers. Moreover, fire-buckets (generally of leather) were often kept in the church, since, being of stone, it was perhaps the safest building… There were also long poles with hooks at the end used to pull thatch away from burning houses.”
“The sea-going boats were not large. They were usually one-masted sailing ships, built of wood.”
“… Some of the York merchants, for example the wealthy Howme family, had establishments in foreign ports.”
“… Constables served as policemen… and acted as the fire brigade. They looked after the parish-trained soldiers, acted as recruiters, and… distributed money among lame
soldiers, gathered trophy money, relieved cripples and passengers, but unfeelingly conveyed beggars and vagabonds to prison.”
“The King's official representative in the city was called the sheriff, whose office in York has been continuous down to the present day.”
“Sometimes the whole community of citizens met, when for the moment the government of the city became essentially and practically democratic. This was only done on important occasions to decide broad questions of policy, or when numbers were needed to enforce a decision.”
“… York owed the ghastly exhibition of heads and odd quarters of traitors… which usually consisted of ‘hanging, drawing and quartering,’ when the quarters and the head were sent to London and the principal towns of the kingdom to be exhibited on gateways,
towers, and bridges.”
“Condemned heretics were burned at Tyburn, the site of local executions…”
“ In 1539 Valentine Freez, a freeman, and his wife, were burnt at the stake on Knavesmire for heresy. Frederick Freez, Valentine's father, was a book- printer and a freema.”
“ … York was frequently visited by the King.”
“Compared with modern warfare, which is unabated scientific extermination, mediaeval warfare was often of the nature of a mild adventure. The size of the opposing forces was very small even compared with the scanty population…. the casualties were very few.”
“Galtres Forest and the Fish Pond, both royal property, helped to furnish the King’s table with food. From the royal larder at York such foodstuffs as venison, game, and fish were dispatched salted to wherever the King required them.”
“There were a few capitalist merchants, many traders, and thousands of employed workpeople, skilled and unskilled.”
“ The middle class arose through currency, the use of money to bring in more money by trading.”
“Memory of the Jews, the money-dealers of other times, survived if only from the harrowing stories of the various persecutions that had taken place all over England, and not least in York…. Their supplanters, the Italian bankers… soon acquired from their trading an unpopularity equal to that of the Jews as traders.”
“The rise of the middle class had coincided with the release of money in coin from the hoards of the Jews, and from the coffers of the Knights Templars, whose order was abolished in 1312.”
“The weavers were the largest and wealthiest body of traders.”
“… Serfdom, by which serfs were bound to a particular domain and owned by their
overlord, had not yet ceased. Nearly all the workmen of York, however, were freemen, i.e. they had full and complete citizenship.”
“When a workman became a skilled artisan he was called a journeyman, that is, a man who earned a full day's pay for his work. The legal hours of work were, from March to September, from 5 a.m. to 7.30 p.m., with half an hour for breakfast, and an hour and a half for dinner. Saturday was universally a half-holiday.”
“Brasses for grave-slabs were made bearing finely designed effigies.”
“… Butchers' shops kept open market every day.”
“ York had a large overseas trade, especially in wool and manufactured cloth. Some of its merchants owned property abroad. Some went abroad…”
“Foreign sailors were to be seen in the streets… foreign goods were handled in the city.”
“Of the current coins those in gold were called the angel, half-angel, the noble, half-noble, and quarter-noble…”
“The local branch of the royal mint was housed within the castle.”
“ The very days of relief from work were holy-days, feast days in the Church's calendar.”
“The ordinary length of a festival was 8 days…”
“A mediaeval crowd at fair time was entertained by mountebanks, tumblers, and similar
rough makers of unrefined mirth.”
.
February 11, 2018
I really enjoyed this. Not light reading, but having ploughed through much worse in the last few years in search of related information, it was a pleasure for me to have someone translate the pertinent records at least into modern spelling. It starts out almost like an architectural survey removed from life, politics, or religion, but the writer warms up to his subject--the city of York, the capital of the north--at the end of the centuries of rule by the Plantagenets and first years of the Tudor regime. Picked to add to my collection of books relating to writing and research on the life and times of Richard III and the Wars of the Roses.
The descriptions of the economic life of the city, its government, its streets, religious festivals, its relationship to the surrounding area and the rest of the country. The details of construction, housing, street cleaning and sanitation (and lack thereof) are worth the read alone.
I could nitpick with author over some of his sweeping assumptions which reveal prejudices of the period in which he wrote the book (published in 1920). He gets a bit tangled up in his anti-Catholic rhetoric and descriptions of the corruption and abuses within the church which held an enormous share of the country's wealth. (He might stop for a moment to wonder the connection between the economic/political and theological discussion here. Change was progressive and inevitable, but this did not make those who looked at those questions through a prism of their own spirituality and world view to be subjectively evil or insincere.)
He rants against the decline of true believers and wickedness in society as a whole at some points, saying there was no religious sentiment left, and then flip-flops over a few pages later to describe in detail the faith of deeply rooted within the population and the pervasive role of the church in their day-to-day life. But people should not have any huge problem reading over that and recognize the writer is a protestant apologist writing in a period when in Britain and the United States paranoiac anti-Catholicism was not particularly controversial. His research and his organization of the facts is worth the occasional polemic here and there.
It's not a perfect book, but still a terrific resource of information about city life in the mid-14th to early 15th century. York is a terrific city to use, with so many extant structures and walls from that period and its incredible York Minister cathedral, York Minster, one of the largest and most magnificent Medieval Gothic Cathedrals in the world. York also has a lot of city records which can be referenced. I found it a good read and will keep it on hand as a potential reference.
The descriptions of the economic life of the city, its government, its streets, religious festivals, its relationship to the surrounding area and the rest of the country. The details of construction, housing, street cleaning and sanitation (and lack thereof) are worth the read alone.
I could nitpick with author over some of his sweeping assumptions which reveal prejudices of the period in which he wrote the book (published in 1920). He gets a bit tangled up in his anti-Catholic rhetoric and descriptions of the corruption and abuses within the church which held an enormous share of the country's wealth. (He might stop for a moment to wonder the connection between the economic/political and theological discussion here. Change was progressive and inevitable, but this did not make those who looked at those questions through a prism of their own spirituality and world view to be subjectively evil or insincere.)
He rants against the decline of true believers and wickedness in society as a whole at some points, saying there was no religious sentiment left, and then flip-flops over a few pages later to describe in detail the faith of deeply rooted within the population and the pervasive role of the church in their day-to-day life. But people should not have any huge problem reading over that and recognize the writer is a protestant apologist writing in a period when in Britain and the United States paranoiac anti-Catholicism was not particularly controversial. His research and his organization of the facts is worth the occasional polemic here and there.
It's not a perfect book, but still a terrific resource of information about city life in the mid-14th to early 15th century. York is a terrific city to use, with so many extant structures and walls from that period and its incredible York Minister cathedral, York Minster, one of the largest and most magnificent Medieval Gothic Cathedrals in the world. York also has a lot of city records which can be referenced. I found it a good read and will keep it on hand as a potential reference.
Read
January 10, 2026Short and succinct study on York in the late middle ages. Quick read, only about 90 pages, found on internet archive :)
An overall bright perspective of the time!
Some of aspects which intrigued me most :
- the perfuming of houses with fragrant herbs
- religious life, the education thereof,
- architecture & how it was used for symbolism
- rising middleclass through freemen & guilds
- the mystery plays!!!! the three story stage with heaven, earth, hell, the planning of them, the allocation coming from different guilds
- roles and surnames
- linens, textiles, wools, trades, colorful fashion
An overall bright perspective of the time!
Some of aspects which intrigued me most :
- the perfuming of houses with fragrant herbs
- religious life, the education thereof,
- architecture & how it was used for symbolism
- rising middleclass through freemen & guilds
- the mystery plays!!!! the three story stage with heaven, earth, hell, the planning of them, the allocation coming from different guilds
- roles and surnames
- linens, textiles, wools, trades, colorful fashion
October 9, 2012
This is a short but surprisingly succinct and concise narrative of the city of York as it was in the Fifteenth Century at the close of the Middle Ages. Although the daily life was undoubtedly hard it was also surprisingly structured. This was a unique time for architecture and many of the structures are still standing today. The Catholic Church played a major role in this structured life and was responsible for both medical and administrative functions. Literacy was much higher than in the nineteenth century during the height of the industrial revolution. I have read other accounts of this time and nothing came as a new revelation but it painted a vivid picture that was easily grasped. The only really surprising aspect of this book is the amount of information presented in such a short work. It provides a good, short summery of a great city in a very turbulent time. I think all that are interested in that time would enjoy this book.
May 31, 2009
Originally published in 1920 and long out of print, this short but comprehensive overview of the various facets of 15th century life is deservedly available once more. Edwin Benson divided his work into five chapters: important historical factors, appearance of the town, civic and national life, business life, religious life, and education and entertainment. Each chapter is subdivided further into topics that include a description of streets and diverse buildings, York's status as a royal city, the function of guilds and the rise of the merchant middle class, food and clothing, pageants and holidays, and the treatment of lepers. The organization of the book makes it an interesting and accessible reference. Recommended for general readers interested in the late middle ages, or as an introduction to the study of medieval York.
March 21, 2021
Good overview of medieval life of in this case England, and York in particular. It describes architecture as well as city life, which makes this a worthwhile read as this is one of the few historiographical books that goes beyond battle victories and the personalities of heads of state. Though its scope is somewhat narrow, the treatment of the subject matter applies well to medieval cities in neighbouring countries.
August 14, 2011
A good audiobook find on Librivox (http://librivox.org/life-in-a-mediaev...). A short but remarkably detailed description of all aspects of medieval York. A few nuggets: if you were too busy to undertake a pilgrimage you could hire a professional pilgrim to go for you; people were very willing to throw all of their waste into the streets; and much of a family's wealth was invested in silverware.
March 23, 2011
A good overview of medieval life during the 15th century. A snapshot of life in the city of York during the middle ages. Anyone interested in getting a general feel for the time era would appreciate this book.
July 26, 2017
An objectively written overview of life in the city of York during the Middle Ages. In fact, I found the writing style a bit too passive that it felt like I was reading a textbook. A very good summary, nonetheless. Brief yet comprehensive.
February 20, 2020
A pretty good presentation of life in Mediaeval times. If this era in Western history is an interest of yours this book gives useful insight.
July 12, 2022
First published in 1920, this is short and concise account of life in fifteenth-century York.
Not a bad read, this, though at times it’s somewhat bland.
Not a bad read, this, though at times it’s somewhat bland.
July 25, 2025
"Life In A Mediaeval City" by Edwin Benson is exactly what its name suggests. It's a book on the Mediaeval times and what life was like at that point. How the people were,where they lived,their daily life and how they sustained it. Well,for a history nerd it can be a good pick,but for regular readers this may be a little too much theoretical. Maybe they'll find it boring somehow. But if you actually are interested in history and want to read just for knowledge,this may be a good pick. Try it out. Recommended.
October 20, 2022
This is a really interesting book, examining the town of York during the 14th century, from how the government was run to trade and guilds. It is a short read coming in at only about 100 pages, and is merely a detailed snapshot into the life of those living in Medieval England during this time. It is important to note that it focuses near the end of the Middle Ages, as a book focusing on even four centuries before would be totally different. I enjoyed it.
May 23, 2025
Purely informative, this book scratches the itch to look at the Medieval period in its richness and liveliness. Makes me wanting for more, to dive deeper into the source materials, the manuscripts, the illustrations, the writings from that time period, all of which are not mentioned in this book. But without the time to do such thing, this short and precise work provides a valuable starting point.
June 5, 2020
I think this short book fulfills its promise perfectly.
November 2, 2021
Not bad, actually
April 25, 2022
Very short but also very interesting.
January 19, 2023
Very interesting and thorough look at medieval Yorkshire of the 15th century. Definitely read if you are interested in the topic of medieval life and architecture, great place to start.
February 29, 2024
3.5 - bedtime listening.
March 14, 2017
The book discusses life in the city of York toward the end of the Late Middle Ages, immediately before the beginning of the Renaissance. Interestingly, many of the popular conceptions of Medieval Europe are true.
October 29, 2021
Short but interesting. Does a great job at briefly detailing guilds. Good book for someone getting in to the topic. Focused on York, beginning might mislead the reader with it's highly specific architecture details. After the first chapter book stays loyal to the subject.
June 4, 2012
the edition i read was 1920
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews