I’ve just got back from living as a medieval person, AMA

[TheCountessofFitzdotterel]

First time in my life I’ve ever done anything worthy of an AMA!

Another one, did anyone find themselves doing the mediaeval two sleeps a night ‘biphasic sleep’.

Thought it would involve more pain and suffering. Despite the cold weather and rain we were warm and not damp. I think it really really helped that we were a comfortably off household with loads of firewood.

We all helped out with general cleaning, tending the fire. I did a lot of washing up. I brewed ale, which was very exciting as I have only just learned and a lot of people I talked to before were sceptical over whether I would be able to get it to ferment (it did!) due to the cold.
I also did a lot of spinning (wool and flax) in spare moments.

I'd love to do something like this. I remember a series, it was in the 90s I think, where people had to live as a family in a particular era or decade. So there was 'the 1800s house', 'the 1900s house', the '1920s house' etc. I recall some people really struggled with it, especially when it came to things like washing their hair.

How did you feel at the end? Was there any sense of wishing to stay longer? Or were you keen to get home?

Edit: found it! https://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-1900-house and it's available to watch. not quite as I remembered but there were spin-offs, wiki says:

• The 1940s House – a family "living" through the Second World War.
• The Edwardian Country House
• Regency House Party
• Coal House – a 1920s Welsh mining community
• Coal House at war – a 1944 Welsh mining community
• Victorian Slum House – London slum life during Victorian era
• The 1900 Island – a 1900 fishing village in Anglesey[4]

What did you all do during the day, and the evenings? Were you given "jobs" and / or fun activities?

Straw palliasse with a thin flock (wool) mattress on top, about 5 blankets.
I slept better than camping, not as well as in a Premier Inn.
Two people had proper beds, sometimes shared with other people they weren’t even in a relationship with!

It’s such a great museum and lovely staff who are really imaginative and open to making the best of the buildings.

We would have taken modern medicine if needed, no question. If someone was properly ill they would not have compromised their health by staying in cold less than clean conditions.
That said, there are plenty of herbal remedies that can genuinely help for minor ailments. I have never found a better migraine cure than feverfew, which I was first given age 13 at a reenactment.

Was any poor soul having to do the peasant life?! Did you have tableware or did you eat off trenchers? How was it being around fire all the time? I've often wondered if my eyes or lungs would give up first 😂

Did you have to give up your phone completely for the whole time?

I think this is because it brings more people to the museum at an otherwise very quiet time

Yep. Just because we had a brilliant time doing this for a few days, like Marie Antoinette in her little dairy, doesn’t mean medieval life wasn’t grindingly hard in reality. I would like the best bits of both please, I don’t want to live medieval life for real.

Yes I wonder who was brave enough to go first 🤣

Did you have proper toilets?

Did you all smell?

😂

People are always interesting people in previous lives though so instead of living in obscurity in a small village in Sussex I would have to be on here claiming I was Elizabeth Woodville.

Did it teach you anything about your 'modern life' and inspire you to make changes to how you live in any way?

I would be very interested to know how you got into/get into re-enactments as I think one of my (adult) DS’s would be very interested.

I’m fairly close to Singleton but haven’t been since I was at school many, many years ago! Really should visit again.

Toothpaste- good point, we cheated on that. Maybe that’s something I should work on for next time.
Periods - wasn’t an issue. This is probably something it would be wiser to experiment with outside a reenactment setting though as it could be messy, and I am perimenopausal so might have missed the boat there.
See previous answers re washing and sleep.
The bread was fairly dense, brown, tasted nice. Some of it was baked in the museum’s big Tudor bread oven but we also had a little tabletop clay oven that looks like a big pile of earth.
Sugar - very little. A little bit of marchpane on Candlemas and some sugar plums made of dried fruit rolled in sugar.

Do you think there’s anything you’ll take away from it you’ll keep doing now? Has it changed you at all?

It’s going to be written up for an experimental archaeology journal.

Communication is an interesting question. It was certainly interesting living cheek by jowl with people to that degree, but we were such a specific group that I don’t think it would be safe to draw conclusions from how we got on.

This sounds absolutely fascinating and can I just thank you for doing an AMA where you actually quote the people that have asked you a question before typing your answer! They can be hard to read because so often people don't quote before they reply. So thank you.

Misses point of the thread entirely

Wow! So envious. I'd love to do something like that.

Did you have access to books and, if so, what? I'm guessing the answer is 'No', because as a servant you would probably have been illiterate!

What about church? Back then it was a huge part of life, so did you go to church? Was it required? Did you have to sit in a different area to the 'wealthier' people?

Boiling a load of water for brewing second time round after the wooden bucket split the first time.

I liked all the Candlemas rituals. Throwing all our candle stubs into the fire to get a massive flare up was fun.

Such a m interesting AMA. You've already answered quite a lot of my questions re sleep and cold.
What clothing did you sleep in? Did you spend much time outside in the daytime?