Life in Middle-Earth (17th century)

Life During The 17th century

Life for the average person in the present time is characterized by routine, and activities revolve around an agrarian calendar.

Most of the time is spent working the land, and trying to grow enough food to survive another year. Church feasts marks sowing and reaping days, and occasions when peasant and lord can rest from their labors.

Social activities is important, and every citizen in a town is be expected to attend. Fairs with troubadours and acrobats performing in the streets…merchants selling goods in the town square…games of chance held at the local tavern…tournaments featuring knights from near and abroad…these are just some of the ways peasants spent their leisure time. Weddings is cause for the entire town to celebrate.

Medieval superstitions holds sway over science and magic, but traveling merchants and returning crusaders tell of cultures in the far west and southern regions of the world that have advanced learning of the earth and the human body. The food gains new flavor courtesy of rare spices that are imported from the same foreign regions. Schools and universities are forming across countries or cities that invest in such matters that will help underdeveloped- Dark Age-like societies evolve on its way to a Renaissance of art and learning.





Middle-Earth Games and Recreation

Common societies indulge in a number of games and recreation, when the often harsh daily life permitts a break. Chess is widely popular and often a source of gambling entertainment; both in the traditional format and in a simpler version played with dice. Dice are easy to carry and is played in all ranks of society, even among the clergy. Dice is also big game in the more criminal parts of towns/cities.

Some games played, including bowling, prisoner's base, blind man's bluff (also called hoodman's blind), and simple "horseplay" are examples of them. Children wrestle, swim, fish and play games that is a cross between tennis and handball if required items are availible. knights incorporate training in recreation, performing gymnastics, running foot races or hold jousting tournaments, with both common folk and the nobility as spectators.

Spectators is often drawn to cockfights and bullbaiting. The preferred recreation for most adults is drinking in the local tavern. At harvest time, villagers bob for apples and go on hunts in the surrounding forests, if the castle lord permitts it. Hawks are trained to hunt game birds and nigh every castle has a falconer, assigned to train young birds for this sport.

Some winter games included "King of the Bean," where a small bean is baked inside bread or cake, and the one who found it in their portion is crowned king of the holiday feast.




Village Life

Villages consists of a population comprised mostly of farmers. Houses, barn sheds, and animal pens is clustered around the center of the village, which is surrounded by plowed fields and pastures. Societies depend on the village for protection, and a majority of people call a village their home. Most are born, toiled, married, have children and later die within the village, rarely venturing beyond its boundaries.

Common enterprise is the key to a village's survival. Some villages are temporary, and the society is forced to move on if the land prove infertile or weather make life too difficult. Other villages continue to exist for centuries. Every village usually have a lord, even if he didn't make it his permanent residence. After centuries castles often dot the village landscape. Medieval inhabitants may be unclear of their country's boundaries, but they know every stone, tree, road and stream of their village. Neighboring villages will usually parley to set boundaries that will later be set out in village charters.

Peasants are either classified as free men or as "villeins," those who owe heavy labor service to a lord, is bound to the land, and subject to feudal dues. Village life is busy for both classes, and for women as well as men. Much of this harsh life is lived outdoors, wearing simple dress and subsisting on a meager diet.

Village life would change from outside influences with market pressures and new landlords. As the centuries pass, more and more find themselves drawn to larger cities. Yet "modern" Middle-Earth owes much to these early medieval villages.






City Life

Viking invasions and crime has been a major factor in the development of many cities. These invaders often plundered more than they could carry, sold surplus goods to surrounding villages and created base camps to be used for trading. Robbers and other individuals took whatever they could find and suppressed the local commonfolk. To protect themselves, villages erected walls and fortified their positions. So far this has led to the great medieval walled cities found throughout Middle-earth.

Medieval city homes between the rich and poor usually differed little from the outside, each being made of the same stone brought in from nearby quarries or trade. But the inside accommodations is far more telling. A poor family might be cramped into one room, faring little better than peasants in the country, while rich families, wealthy merchants or aristocrats might occupy four floors, from cellar to attic, complete with servant quarters.

Comfort is not always easy to find, even in the wealthiest of households. Heating is always a problem with stone floors, ceiling and walls. Little light enter in from narrow windows, and oil and fat-based candles often produce a pungent aroma. Furniture consists of wooden benches, long tables, cupboards and pantries. Linen, when afforded, might be glued or nailed to benches to provide some comfort. Beds, though made of the softest materials, are often rife with bedbugs, lice and other biting insects. Some try to counter this by tucking in sheets at nighttime in hopes of smothering the pests, while others rub oily liniments on their skin before retiring. In the more wealthier parts of a city, households manage to keep beds free from pesky crawlers.