Guest Author - Helen B. Wharton
In the Medieval Period society was divided into two classes, the nobles and the common folk. Common people depended on the nobility for protection; from invaders, acts of God and starvation. But life for the nobles was also dependent on the work of the serfs, peasants and laborers.
In this article we'll take a look at some of the jobs performed by the less privileged class.
Farmer
Most people, even if they also performed other jobs, were farmers. In a time before grocery stores, if you wanted to eat, you had to provide food for yourself and your family. Most land was owned by a lord and each manor was planned with land set aside for farming and the raising of animals. Each family living on a manor had their assigned plot of land to raise their own crops and was required to work cooperatively with others to raise crops that were intended to go directly to the lord of the manor.
In addition to raising their own food many people also had other jobs necessary to the smooth running of the manor.
Blacksmith
Anything fashioned from metal required the talents of the local blacksmith, or smith. The armor, for men and horses, the swords, axes and other weapons were all provided by a blacksmith, as well as all the farm tools. But that's not all. Pots and pans, metal kitchen utensils, the hooks that suspended a cooking pot over the fire, goblets and trays, door hinges and even some jewelry were all produced by smiths.
Carter
Once a site was chosen for a castle, cathedral or a simpler merchants home the materials needed to build it were brought to the site by a carter. When you look at pictures of Medieval castles and cathedrals and think about the amount of stone, wood and glass used as well as metal to make the construction tools used, you get an idea of how much work went into getting the raw materials to the building site.
this work was accomplished with wagons pulled by heavy draft horses or more commonly with oxen.
Scullion
A scullion, or scullery maid, was the lowest level of worker in the castle kitchen. She was the one who peeled the vegetables, kept the kitchen clean, scrubbed the pots and did all the "dirty" work. This position might be filled by a girl and as she got older she might work her way up and learn to cook and bake.
Some other basic jobs during the Medieval Period included candle and soap making, weaver, spinster, carpenter, barber, clerk and ditch digger.
