HIST-102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 56: Socalled, Demesne, Mattress
14 Oct 2020
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The homes peasants lived in, for example, were small, dark, and filthy. A hole cut in the roof allowed the smoke that accumulated from the central hearth-fire to escape, but it also allowed rain and snow to come in. In wintertime the interior was made warmer, but smellier and filthier, by the presence of the peasant families" domestic animals chickens, goats, sheep, geese, and, if room existed, even cattle. Families slept together on a single pallet that usually had a simple mattress of stuffed straw. Little privacy existed and most natural functions, including sexual couplings, were performed in front of the whole family. Most villages had a church of some sort, even if there was not a priest in residence. These buildings, too, were modest, but they represented the symbolic heart of the community. They also provided the site for most village entertainments, where people drank and danced and tried to forget the difficulties of daily life.
