In our journey through the medieval/renaissance period, I
thought I would describe live during the spring time. As always, I am giving a general account of
overall Europe. Each region was different, and as such had different customs, climate
or soil conditions. Consider the fact that spring arrived in Italy much sooner
than it does in Scandinavian countries.
So how was life in the spring in medieval times in Europe.
For the serf, spring time had different meanings. First,
since the weather was warmer, they no longer feared freezing to death, but it
also meant the hard work of farming began.
When I state hard work of farming, I do not mean that the
medieval farmer has little to do during the winter. They gathered willow rods known as ‘withies’,
they would take these withies and weave them to make their baskets. These baskets would be used throughout the
year, they would hold seed to sow the fields, used when gathering fruit or
vegetables, and to help with feeding of the animals. Not to mention the fact of
trying to stay alive.
Winter was also a time of repair. If the house, or tools,
needed repair it was done in winter. These
repairs insured that the inside of the house would be somewhat dry during the
spring rains. The tools themselves would
be ready for spring planting.
The first task in spring was that the fields had to be
plowed, and this was a long difficult process.
Before the horse collar arrived in Europe from China, around 920 AD.
Most of the plowing was done by hand or using oxen. Oxen are powerful animals,
but are also slow, this meant fields took a long time to plow for the spring
planting.
First tool used in plowing was the ard, this was basically a
wooden plough with part of the wood sticking into the ground. The next big
advancement is the mouldboard, this had a piece of steel or iron plowing into
the field. This was a mass improvement, because now ground high in clay could
be plowed, which was not possible with the ard.
The next big advancement with the plough was adding a wheel
to it. This kept the plough blade at a constant height not allowing it to be
dragged into the dirt and stopping.
The plough itself was communal, meaning every farmer in the
area used it. It was such an important part of a farmer’s trade that when not
in use sometimes it was kept inside the village church.
Seeds were sown by hand.
First a row was cut into the ground, then someone would walk next to the
row throwing seed into it. Once the seeds were sewn, they had to be covered by
dirt. To do this the farmers used a harrow.
This was a square frame with nails or spikes made of metal or wood that
would move and smooth the soil over the seeds.
Grains, barley and oats, a very important staple in medieval
were sown by the broadcast method, which was basically throwing it by hand.
Barley and oats were sometimes sown together in a mixture known as dredge.
Some plants such Peas and beans were painstakingly dibbled.
A small t-shaped stick with a point (known as a dibbler or dibbling stick) was
used to poke a hole in the ground where the seeds would be planted.
After the planting of the seed, birds had to be scared
away. This was a job for children who
would wander around the field all day yelling, or hitting drums or gongs.
Weeds in the field also had to be removed throughout the
entire faming season. This task was tedious and difficult for it was done by
hand by the entire family, they would use simple hoes or even stick to remove
these weeds.
Trimming of young fruit trees is another activity that had
to be done. This is a skilled craft: if you do too much trimming no fruit will
grow, if too little there may be more abundant, but smaller fruit. The resulting fruit of the trees were
important for the diet of medieval serfs. Older fruit trees would be trimmed in
the fall.
With the coming of spring meant a renewal of the seasons and
new life. For a commoner on a farm in medieval times, it was just another
period of hard work. This work was the
preparation for one task, giving the farmer another chance of surviving through
another year.
W.A. Rusho is a professional wrestler, actor and author.
Contact him via his website, or email.
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