Men, women, and children as well as their animals lived in castles. A castle had to be self-sufficient while under siege. So cooks, seamstresses, bakers, launderers, cleaners, and many other artisans worked hard to keep the residents fed, clothed, and as comfortable as possible. Even children worked as apprentices helping the adults.
Food and Lodging
Other than the lord of the castle and his wife, most people slept on straw mats on the floor as few beds or other furniture was available. For meals, they ate meat hunted outside the castle grounds such as wild boar, birds, rabbits, and their own livestock such as pigs, chickens, and beef. Bread baked in castle ovens served as plates and everyone used their hands rather than forks to feed themselves.
Because there rarely was enough food to keep all the livestock alive in winter, the herdsman would predict how many of the animals had to be slaughtered in the fall so that the remaining could be kept alive until spring. The cook preserved the meat by salting, smoking, or drying. Naturally, food spoiled easily without refrigeration, so herbs and spices helped cover up the smell and taste of spoiled meat.
Many Types of Work Kept People Busy
In addition to keeping the residents alive, the castle also needed millers to grind grains into flour; blacksmiths to produce weapons, armor, and cooking and farming utensils; tanners to make leather saddles, boots, and clothing; and woodworkers to make furniture, handles for weapons, and cooking utensils. Weavers, spinners, and seamstresses worked to construct clothing of linen, leather, or wool. The lord of the castle had an accountant to keep track of the inventory and pay the knights while several overseers made sure the people did their jobs well. All these people had to be fed and clothed and have places for shelter in bad weather.
Castle Entertainment
Although the peasants always had work to do, the knights enjoyed more free time so the lord often arranged tournaments or jousts to keep the knights entertained as well as in top condition for potential battles. Other entertainment centered around musicians, jesters, poets, and other entertainers who sometimes lived in the castles or traveled from one place to another.
Threats to Life
Not everyone could fit inside the walls of most castles so many lived and supported themselves in the countryside near the castle on farms or in towns. They exchanged a portion of their goods for the lord's protection. Being the most vulnerable to invasion from attackers, they experienced rape, enslavement, or death if they didn’t befriend the invaders or get to the castle before the invaders arrived.
A tower, called a donjon or keep, sheltered the people who lived within the walls of the castle. Soldiers or knights usually lived on one floor of the donjon, a kitchen usually took up another floor or was in a separate building to prevent fires from destroying the donjon, and the lord and his family lived on the top floor. Usually a well and storage rooms were located at the bottom in the cellar.
In spite of the romantic legends that evolved from the Middle Ages, prisoners rarely suffered in the cellar or dungeon as most prisoners were either enslaved or held under good conditions so that their captors could collect ransom.
Although life in the Middle Ages involved hard work and suffering, the people managed to survive and created techniques for living that continue to be used today.
Source: Gravett, Christopher. Eyewitness: Castle. London, DK Publishing, 2004.
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