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The quality of people’s living conditions depended on where they lived. Generally, living in the countryside was better for people’s health as the water and waste were less hazardous. However, there were still numerous dangers to health.

Food

Food was a vital product in medieval Britain. People’s health and livelihoods depended on it.

Health benefits

• Most people had a healthy diet. They grew their own fruit and vegetables. They had access to honey, eggs and dairy products.
• Smoke from an open fire could preserve meat (for those who could afford it).
• People caught fish and eels. These were commonly eaten on Fridays, as the Church said no meat should be eaten on that day.

Dangers to health

• Poorer villeins had a limited diet. They mainly ate bread and pottage, a thick vegetable soup.
• The poor often used a grain called rye to make bread. However, a fungus grew on rye when it was damp. It could lead to ergotism (also known as St Anthony’s fire), which caused skin pustules and hallucinations.
• A bad harvest could lead to hunger and famine. Around 10 per cent of the population of Europe died in the Great Famine of 1315-1317.

Water

The people’s health has always been dependent on the cleanliness of the water available to them.

Health benefits

• Every village was located near a stream or river, meaning everyone had access to water.
• Springs would also usually feed a well in the village. Animals wouldn’t drink from the wells, so this water was probably cleaner.
• Ale was popular. Boiling the brew killed off germs, although this was not understood at the time.

Dangers to health

• The springs also provided water for animals, meaning their waste could enter the water supply and contaminate it.
• Fulling - cleaning newly woven cloth with a mixture including urine - also polluted many springs.

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Houses ranged from simple mud-and-stick huts to large, timber-framed houses. However, all homes had just one or two rooms.

Health benefits

Hygiene was basic but people did pay attention to it:

• Floors were covered with straw and regularly swept.
• People washed their hands before eating a meal.
• People covered the table with linen or canvas before eating.

Dangers to health

• People shared their living spaces with animals, which was unhygienic. Geese and hens often wandered inside. Cows were brought inside at night to keep them safe and the people warm.
• There was usually a wood fire, which was always burning between autumn and spring. It burned on a central hearth but had no chimney, just a small hole in the roof. This meant there was lots of smoke and it could be dark and difficult to breathe.

Waste

How people disposed of their waste - particularly waste from human bodies - had a big impact on health. Waste was more easily handled in the countryside than in the towns. However, it could still be problematic in the countryside.

Health benefits

• Each garden had a midden, where people could deposit floor sweepings, cooking waste, animal droppings and possibly human waste.
• The midden waste was used as fertiliser in the fields.
• Some houses had their own cesspit.

Dangers to health

• Not all human waste was properly disposed of.
• In many cases, people would just use shallow holes in their gardens, covering the waste with ash from the fire.
• This wasn’t always an effective or safe way of preventing waste from contaminating food or water.