History of England from the Tudors to the Stuarts

[Lex]

Actually I meant that I was joking when I said that it was anti british.

[Lady Mage]

The Land and It’s People in 1485- II

The population of England in 1485 was about 2.2 million, and that included the population of Wales. Considering there are about 50 million today, that isn’t very many people at all. Interestingly enough, the population was much larger previously- in 1300 there were 4-6 million people living in England. However, from about 1348 until about 1350 the Black Death swept into England carried on the saliva of fleas, that were in turn carried on the backs of rats, that were brought into England on boats from other countries. This was a painful death, and killed within days- if not hours. There was no remedy, and the result was a demographic disaster.

By 1400, the population of England had declined by ½, and continued to dwindle for about a century. Sweating Sickness, the Bloody Flux, the French Pox, and more continued to wipe out the English population. We have no idea now what these diseases really were- and this period is known affectionately (or unaffectionate) by some as the “Golden Age of Bacteria”.

Poor harvests had a lot to do with it- one of ever four harvests were poor, and one of ever six were so bad they brought famine on the land. Now, not many people starved to death, but as food supply fell and prices rose, resistance to diseases also fell as well. Clothing and housing were barely adequate as well. Most people had only one set of flea-ridden woolen clothes, and lived in flimsy huts made of mud and stone. Accidents happened all the time- fires got out of control, and children fell in rivers and drowned. Because of all these things, the average life expectancy was about 35 years. Infant mortality was 20% in the first year, and 10% by age 10. People were obsessed with death, and parents distanced themselves from their children until a certain age, and they knew they were going to live.

This demographic disaster also had economic consequences as well. Fewer laborers meant they could make more demands, one of which was to end serfdom. So serfdom disappeared , and wages doubled from 1385-1485 from 2p to 4p. Inflation was not active however. This was bad news for the landowners- who rented land out instead of selling crops.

Well, you might ask, “Where did people live?” The answer to that question would be, “Not in towns.” Actually, less than 10% of the population lived in towns. London had perhaps a population of 50,000, but was still “pretty small potatoes compared to Paris or Rome”. Below London were the provincial cities- such as Bristol, Norwich, and York. They had about 10,000 people. And below the provincial cities were the cathedral, county, and market towns, each with a hundred to several hundred people.

All the towns, especially the big ones, were dependent on the wool trade. This made the cities vulnerable in the 15th century when the market for raw wool collapsed, and the market for finished wool skyrocketed.

But, like I said, most people didn’t have to worry about that- they lived in small villages or hamlets. In the far North, in the West Country, and in East Anglia, people lived in forest clearings or on the sides of cliffs, surrounded by sheep. Eventually, southward, we run in to bigger settlements- castles, windmills, and loads of village churches. This tells us we’ve come to a manor.

A manor is run by the lord of the manor. He or she may or may not live there. If they do, they lived in a castle on a hill overlooking the town, or in a big house in the middle of the town. Every manor village had a church, and it was in this church that 40 different holidays (holy-days) were celebrated each year, and the additional weddings and funerals. The village church had no competition- the entire village showed up, and the homily in English was the only way to get religious instruction and news about what was happening in the outside world. The villager was illiterate, and the information he got was controlled by the manor lord and the king.

After church, the villager would follow the people out of the church and into the church courtyard for some gossip, perhaps followed by games on the village commons such as stoolball (a predecessor of soccer). The commons was also where wedding receptions and wakes were held.

So, the village church was not just the religious center of the village, but the social center as well. After socializing, the villager would go home to a small hut or shack made from wattle and daub (a fancy way of saying ‘made from anything that was available and would stick together- straw, mud, animal dung- whatever would stick together and hold for a while). These shacks were pretty flimsy, and had at most 2 rooms. The villagers slept on rushes or mattresses stuffed with straw. If the family was lucky, there was a second room, so the animals didn’t have to be kept in with them in the long winter.

Surrounding the village were the long strips of farmland where the villagers worked in the fields. They were in long strips so the villagers didn’t have to turn their oxen around. Big tasks in the field were organized communally, and everyone turned out to help, even the women and the children. Everybody worked sunup to sundown. In addition the women spun and wove- they needed to bring in extra money.

To these villagers, the manor and the village below was their entire world. Most of them never saw a city, never touched the ocean, and never passed beyond the border of their shire. Being in such a small place with so few people meant that everyone knew everyone, and everybody knew everybody’s business. They had to know if so-and-so’s business, because if the average lifespan was 35 years old, and chances were that the rest of the village would have to take care of so-and-so’s children. There was no privacy- to survive, they had to help and know.

The villagers of England at this time were also highly conscious of the fact that they were not masters of their own destiny. That was the landlord’s job. The landlord owned the mill and the oven, and the villagers were charged to use it. They could demand military service, and had complete control of the manor courts because they ran them. The landowners practically owned the lives of their tenants. Only a very small proportion of the population- less that ½ of 1%- formed the aristocratic gentry that owned 50% of all the land in England.

So why did they put up with it…?

[Lex]

Good addition, one edit I would make;

this period is known affectionately (or unaffectionatly)

[Lady Mage]

Hmm.. I see what you mean.

[Lex]

Good good, your doing excellent work here!

[Lady Mage]

Thank you!

[Lex]

Next part soon...?