WEAPONS&WARFARE
Swords and Spears
Weapons were a sign of status from a knife or axe for every day use through to spears and bows for hunting. Only the richest could afford a sword.
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Shields and Defence
The shield was the main form of defense and often all you had. The wealthy could afford chainmail and a helmet.
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Battles
Battles were often bloody and brutal, to be avoided where possible. Massed ranks of warriors in close packed shield walls relying on their comrades to stay alive.
Photo by Tim Ball
CLOTHING
Colour
The wealth and status of a family defined what colours they would wear. Extravagant colours mean expensive dye which could not be afforded by all.
Material
Unable to import materials, people would have to spin wool from their sheep and dye it before they could make new clothing.
Footwear
Again, wealth would define whether a family could afford any shoes at all, and even if they could, they were very basic.
DAILY LIVING
Children
Unlike life today, boys and girls were educated very differently whilst growing up, in order to prepare them for the certain jobs each gender could do in adulthood.
Diet
With no way of keeping food fresh on boats from other countries, diet was very defined by availability of food in the area of each family home.
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Religion
Although not as many as today, there was still a range of religions practising in this period and religion was of great importance to many.
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Money
With most families not having cash as we do today, many would swap unwanted food items for what they did need. Any money that was used was very different to today.