Medieval History
Research into the medieval women from a village in Yorkshire, England, has revealed that they were much stronger and bigger boned than their contemporaries in urban areas.
Dr. Simon Mays, a senior archaeologist with English Heritage, studied 120 sets of women's bones from Wharram Percy, a village on the Yorkshire Wolds abandoned during the Later Middle Ages.
"The differences are really quite pronounced," Mays said. "Women at Wharram were much more muscular and bigger boned than their city counterparts. Whilst they were still doing the domestic chores and looking after children, they clearly also mucked in with the hard labour in the fields, building up their arm strength.'
"This might seem obvious given that Wharram was a poor rural community," he adds, "but in fact only scanty documentary evidence exists describing the lives of medieval peasant women.
"The research underlines the way that the sexual division of labour was much less marked in rural areas than in the cities of the time. The evidence from the Wharram bones speaks volumes, and reinforces that notion that life in the village was far from a rural idyll."
Wharram Percy is perhaps the best-known deserted medieval village in England, after it was rediscovered in 1948 and saw extensive archaeological research over the next forty years. The village flourished between the 12th and 14th centuries, but during the 15th century it declined because of changing farming practices and economic reasons. By the early 16th century, the remaining homes were knocked down and the area was turned into pasture land for sheep.
The site is now run by English Heritage and is open to the public.
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Medieval History
Medieval women of Wharram Percy were stronger than city counterparts, scholar finds
Dr. Simon Mays, a senior archaeologist with English Heritage, studied 120 sets of women's bones from Wharram Percy, a village on the Yorkshire Wolds abandoned during the Later Middle Ages.
"The differences are really quite pronounced," Mays said. "Women at Wharram were much more muscular and bigger boned than their city counterparts. Whilst they were still doing the domestic chores and looking after children, they clearly also mucked in with the hard labour in the fields, building up their arm strength.'
"This might seem obvious given that Wharram was a poor rural community," he adds, "but in fact only scanty documentary evidence exists describing the lives of medieval peasant women.
"The research underlines the way that the sexual division of labour was much less marked in rural areas than in the cities of the time. The evidence from the Wharram bones speaks volumes, and reinforces that notion that life in the village was far from a rural idyll."
Wharram Percy is perhaps the best-known deserted medieval village in England, after it was rediscovered in 1948 and saw extensive archaeological research over the next forty years. The village flourished between the 12th and 14th centuries, but during the 15th century it declined because of changing farming practices and economic reasons. By the early 16th century, the remaining homes were knocked down and the area was turned into pasture land for sheep.
The site is now run by English Heritage and is open to the public.
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A medieval village, set in the Tuscan hills of Italy among castles and monasteries, can be yours for ?2.5 million. Pratariccia, which is situated about 25 miles east of Florence, has now been put on sale through ebay, the popular online shopping website....
- Archaeologists Work On Medieval Site In Yorkshire
A stone feature in a Yorkshire Dales village has been uncovered again to determine if it is perhaps a type of oven used in the Middle Ages. The stones were first discovered in 1896 on the village green at Hartlington near Burnsall and were originally...
- Conservation Plans Outlined To Save Deserted Medieval Village
Proposals to carry out much-needed conservation work to three structures at a deserted medieval village in Teesdale, County Durham, England were outlined last week at an event hosted by Natural England. Natural England has stepped in to offer help to...
- "girl Power": Study Shows How Changes To Marriage Patterns Changed Women's Lives In The Late Middle Ages
A new research article concludes that changes to marriage patterns in the Late Middle Ages, in particular in England and the Low Countries, had important consequences for the women and the economic success of those areas. "Girl power: the European marriage...
- Article Examines The Dress Accessories Of Medieval Peasants In England
A study on medieval peasants in England shows that what clothes and dress accessories were important to them and that were resisting attempts by the English elite to force them to dress in humble garments. Sally V. Smith's article, "Materializing...