Life of Peasant Women in Medieval Times

Peasant women in medieval times had arduous lives. They had to work hard and help provide for their family. But it wasn’t always bad.

Peasant women in medieval times did their cooking, cleaning, and child-rearing. They farmed, spun cloth, sewed clothing, raised little animals and gardens, had children, and many other things. Women were utterly indispensable. They also found ways to enjoy themselves. They led different lives than us, but life was sometimes kind to them.

How did the childhood of peasant women in medieval times look? What about their adulthood, daily duties, and pregnancies?

The Childhood of Peasant Women in Medieval Times

Peasant children spent the first months of their lives swaddled up. In that way, they didn’t hinder the work of their parents. Then they shadowed their parents. Eventually, boys joined their fathers, and girls remained with their mothers.

At a young age, they did chores and helped around the house. Every child had to help. It was a matter of survival. Much of a peasant girl’s education came from her own mother, who taught her how to cook, clean, raise small animals, and collect medicinal herbs.

Another essential skill was using a spindle and preparing wool to spin into cloth. They had to be able to spin their own fabric and sew their own clothes, but they got pretty good at it since they practiced their whole lives. Sometimes the Church provided schools.

After working, children could sometimes find time to enjoy themselves. It was harder to fit playtime in when the farm was busy, but not impossible. Parents loved their children and wanted them to enjoy themselves too.

Peasant girls played with little dolls called poppets, just like wealthy girls. The main difference was the kind of clothing the figurine would wear. Peasant dolls wore peasant clothing.

They also played group games like badminton, races, and skittles (a bowling game). Games drawn on the ground were free, so people did it. Make-believe was popular since it didn’t require supplies.

Adulthood and Marriage

Peasant women in medieval times reached the Age of Majority at age fourteen. The Age of Majority was the legal age of adulthood. Girls arrived at the Age of Consent, or the ability to marry, two years earlier when they were twelve.

Unlike wealthy women, poor girls didn’t get rushed into marriage as often. Peasant families, especially the poorer ones, needed all the help they could get on their farms. Young marriages deprived them of workers. Therefore, poor girls often waited until their twenties to marry.

Occasionally, girls married in their teenage years and child marriages did happen but were more rare. One similarity between wealthy and poor women was they all had to have their parents’ consent.

Daily Duties of Peasant Women in Medieval Times

Women had many household duties. First, they had to cook all the meals. They were responsible for the fire. They had to make sure that it was going all day during the winter, and have it ready for cooking.

Cleaning fell on her shoulders, along with her daughters and any girls they employed. Chores consisted of sweeping, making the beds, getting rid of flees, doing the dishes, tending the fire, feeding the animals, etc. Not all peasants were poor, and unmarried women could earn money by working in someone else’s home.

Another responsibility a peasant woman had was spinning cloth. They could carry a spindle or distaff to pick up in spare moments. What they didn’t need for their family, they could sell.

Since spinning was a domestic ability, it was socially acceptable if a woman sold cloth, drinks, like ale she brewed herself, and food. However, these things paid little. They also had to wash their clothing, using soap they often made themselves. They made soap out of lye (ashes and water mixed), quicklime, and animal fat. It smelled terrible compared to today’s soap.

Due to the scarcity of physicians, and the bad results they often received, women had to be able to doctor themselves, their children, their husbands, and sometimes others with herbs they grew and gathered themselves.

Their gardens would have food along with herbs, and they had to raise small animals like geese, ducks, goats, and sometimes cows. They had to milk the animals.

Raising children was the mother’s job. Their daughters learned from them. Peasant women worked the fields with their husbands and children, along with everything else. No one wanted to starve. Work hours would be longer in the summer when there was more daylight.

Adults and children liked dancing, playing games, and relaxing in their spare time.

Pregnancies and Birth

One of the duties of a married woman was having babies. Most kids didn’t survive childhood. Therefore, they tried to have a lot of kids to guarantee that at least one or two would survive into adulthood. Another womanly duty was assisting with the birth. Either midwives or just neighbors could help. Men, including doctors, could not attend a birth. Because of the high mortality rate for children, many women spent much of their lives pregnant.

Sadly, childbirth was one of the most dangerous parts of a woman’s life. About 20% of women died in childbirth, or just after, due to complications during the birth and other natural causes. Most people would know someone who had died giving birth, including someone’s mother, sister, or friend. If they survived, they were back to helping their families and working as fast as possible.

Foods a Peasant Woman in Medieval Times Likely Made

Peasant women in medieval times had to cook all of their food. Their diet was simple but doesn’t sound terrible, especially during good times.

One of the main foods was bread, which was baked at home. It was coarser than bread today, likely made of rye. Another food was homeade cheese. My family makes cheese, and I can testify that homemade cheese tastes delicious (when made correctly).

A third common food was pottage, a stew made out of grains and vegetables. During the growing and harvesting seasons, a variety of vegetables went onto the menu.

Fishing was a common sport, and it brought food to the table. The food didn’t always taste good; sometimes it had to be extended over multiple days.

Because they kept birds that laid eggs and other animals that gave milk, those were common ingredients, other than during the days of Lent and Advent (see my post about Lent and Easter here and my post about Christmas and advent here). Bees provided honey, although it may not have been common among the poorest people.

Peasants didn’t eat a ton of meat, since all of their animals were essential. When they went hunting or got meat some other way, salting it was a common way to preserve it.