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In a previous video we looked at medieval housing and realised that during the early

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medieval period housing was extremely primitive for the vast majority of peasant people. However

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the rich and wealthier tended to have rather nice houses and some even having lavish manors

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and castles. What was life like inside a medieval town though? Let's have a little look, to

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support our channel please make sure to subscribe.

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Early medieval towns were quite small and very limited in their numbers, but as time

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After they moved on throughout the later medieval period, the population within towns started

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to expand and increase.

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Medieval people moved into towns from the countryside, and the largest medieval town

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established in England would have been London.

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In 886 Alfred the Great re-established London, which was at the time in ruins as a walled

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Roman city, and transformed it into a fortified town or a burgh.

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At this time London's population was around 8000 and was classed as a town and not a city.

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People from the countryside would realise that the towns could be a place where they

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could sell their food, products or goods easier than the new medieval towns, and early entrepreneurs

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would take their goods to market to sell and make profit.

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Some of these people did so well that they could afford to rent a home inside the medieval

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town as well as have their own home in the village.

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Some of these entrepreneurs would move permanently into towns to trade or work for rich merchants.

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It was considered in the countryside that life was better in the towns due to the more

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available services, and also there were more varied jobs and entertainment was available.

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Initially medieval towns were created by wealthy barons or lords, who would own large plots

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of land.

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This land was usually gifted to them by the king, and the lord would provide services

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and money to the king in return.

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The lords would realise that establishing medieval towns was a very good money maker,

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and they could charge high rent for the properties they would own and build within the town.

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They could also impose a tax on people to collect a percentage of profits that were

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made from selling goods inside of the town.

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But how did these towns get their names?

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Many of them derived from the previous Roman names of the town, other towns were named

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after lords or barons who created them, or some were named after natural features nearby

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such as river crossings or so on. One important part of the town though was the rules and

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laws on how the town was governed and run. Each town created their own rules which sometimes

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was an issue as what was legal in one township wasn't always legal in another. They all

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tried to keep the town clean and tidy to attract visitors even if they did adhere to slightly

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different standards. The inhabitants of the town would get together and write out the

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rules and some would go even further. Some established guilds of tradesmen who would

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control the quality of goods and products produced. This ensured that different tradesmen

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who specialised in one area would all be producing high quality goods. This could then generate

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more money for the town. Bigger and more complex towns would also set up councils to help run

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the town and official positions such as the mayor were created during this time. Local

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medieval courts would also be established to deal with any crimes or disorder.

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Some medieval towns would even set up hospitals which were based upon charitable donations,

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these would then take care of the elderly and the sick.

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Also a town hall was usually present which was known as a guild hall.

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This would be an administrative base for the town where all the rules and regulations were

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made and upheld.

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Medieval shops were workshops open to the streets for customers with the craftsmen working

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in the house above. At this time very few people could read, so shop signs were usually

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a visual model of the craftsman's trade, so it was easy for people to understand what

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was being sold. People of the same trade often worked in the same street as well. The streets

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were rather narrow, busy and extremely loud too. The town crier would cry out, church

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bells would ring and traders would call out to attract custom.

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Interestingly in the streets you might also find some medieval style fast food sellers,

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which sold fast foods such as hot sheep's feet or beef ribs.

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Towns would be enclosed by protective walls, and access was regulated through gates.

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As the medieval period progressed in England, more and more market towns were established,

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with over 2000 appearing by the middle of the 14th century.

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These initially were located close to castles to enable them to be protected.

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Traders would also be a key source of importance inside the town's walls, as traders would

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travel to different townships to sell their wares to different people.

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Traders that were more professional often had stores set up outside a shop front, such

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as a bakery, however more casual traders would just set up a stall on the market day.

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The market was a very sociable place where people would interact with each other and

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spread local gossip and chat.

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Interestingly in England, many of these market towns still have specified market days.

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In these towns though, there was sometimes a rogue or criminal element to the society.

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Some people would enter towns wanting to make money quickly, and would sell dodgy or poorly

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made products, or would be dishonest with the selling of their goods.

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Criminals were usually put in the stocks or the pillory, these were wooden boards with

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holes for the feet, hands or head.

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People could humiliate them publicly by throwing stuff at them, however for more serious crime

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times, capital punishment did take place. Medieval punishments were very cruel and crimes

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such as theft, which was considered very serious, could lead to a person being sentenced to

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death by hanging. This would often take place in public too, with a crowd baying for the

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blood of the condemned. At dusk, curfews in some towns would be signalled by a bell ringing,

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and everyone at this time was supposed to be in their house with the door shut. The

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gates of the town would also be closed at this time, and a watch would patrol the streets

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looking for thieves.

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There was also an issue with overcrowding, as well as poor hygiene of the people living

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within the town's walls. Often there were no sewers, and as time went on I'm sure you're

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aware of the conditions people lived in by the time the Black Death came around. There

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was a real danger from fires, due to the fact that the town was mostly made from wood, and

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also from disease and violence, making life inside the town rather unpleasant for a few.

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During the 14th century, to help control the spread of the Black Death or the Plague, townspeople

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would try to tidy up the areas. They would attempt to keep the streets clean and improve

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hygiene mostly due to the miasma belief that bad air was one of the major factors in the

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spread of the disease. Areas like markets would be targeted for cleaning by special

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groups of workmen. In the later medieval times, in certain towns across Europe, different

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laws would be made, such as in Abbeville they banned public urination, and later in Rouen

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in France there would be a demand that every house must have their own toilet.

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It is also said that in towns you could have a plague industry, this was a group of people

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who were basically employed to deal with epidemics and outbreaks.

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These teams included people who would have to bury the dead, surgeons and physicians

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who were required to treat the sick were also part of this group.

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Surgeons would be used to apply their medieval treatments such as bleeding and purging,

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which was believed to treat the plague victims. Being a barber surgeon was a very dangerous job,

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and if one would die, towns would often have to pay more to hire a replacement.

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So the plague did bring in a strange sense of economic growth and employment

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to a small group of people living within the town.

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In England, with the Norman invasion and the introduction of the feudal system,

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this helped to create a better trading network within towns.

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The Norman rulers or barons would have good trading contacts throughout Europe,

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being able to import many different and luxury goods into England. So goods from all over Europe

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were now being sold in medieval towns, attracting more people to them. Craftsmen and merchants could

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also export their goods to other countries, allowing them to grow a larger customer base

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and subsequently get a lot richer. So although the common impression of the medieval period

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as it was extremely primitive, this really wasn't the case. By this time, towns had been created

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that were rather sophisticated and had rather complex rules and regulations within them,

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even if the conditions weren't as clean or as sanitary as they should have been.

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Once again thank you for watching.

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To support our channel, please make sure to subscribe.

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Thank you once again for watching.