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What was life like in a medieval town? A historical A-Z

Medieval punishments, Toulouse, 14th century. (Photo by Photo12/UIG via Getty Images)

How bloody was medieval life?

Michael Wood on amazing insights into medieval daily life

An illustrated drawing shows 3 peasants, dressed in yellow, green and orange, exchanging goods including corn and chicken. A pink pig is in the foreground

Live locally, live sustainably, live medieval

A medieval knight in a suit of armour fighting with a monk.

Why reporting a murder in medieval England could destroy your life

This 19th-century chromolithograph depicts flagellants in Tournai in 1349, publicly scourging themselves in response to the Black Death. Known as the Brothers of the Cross, such groups believed self-punishment could help cleanse society of divine wrath.

It felt like the end of the world, but this medieval ‘apocalypse’ left a legacy no one saw coming

In pictures: medieval life

An illustration of a woman in a gold and red dress walking on a tightrope while balancing a pair of scales on her head. The scales hold an angel on one side and a devil on the other. Behind her on the tightrope, there is a cat. Below her, there is a town and a factory, with some houses submerged in water

Michael Wood on lessons on good government from medieval Siena

A close up image of the eye of a black horse

Medieval warhorses: 5 moments horsepower changed the course of history

The effigy of Eleanor of Castile on her tomb

The love lives of medieval queens

This illustration from the Codex Manesse (c.1300) shows Konrad von Altstetten, a Swiss ministerial, reclining with his beloved after a hunt. The lavish manuscript, compiled in Heidelberg, preserves the courtly poetry and romantic ideals of the German medieval nobility. (Photo by Getty Images)

Wandering womanisers? These charismatic bards took the medieval world (and its women) by storm

This illustrated map traces the route of Venetian merchant Marco Polo along the Silk Road to China in the 13th century. His travels opened up new vistas of Asia to Europe and became one of the most influential accounts of the medieval world.

Step onto the medieval Silk Road and you'll witness its intense wonders – and its hidden horror

Medieval podcast episodes

Illustration of soldiers in medieval armour killing peasant women

Why it was more dangerous to steal a loaf of bread than commit murder in medieval England

Kingdom Come Deliverance: Two medieval soldiers figthing

Best medieval videogames for history enthusiasts in 2025

This 13th-century illustration from the Chronique d’Outremer shows the departure of the Templars. While rooted in the eastern Crusades, such imagery also echoed in the Northern Crusades, where the Teutonic Knights led campaigns to Christianise the pagan Baltic. expanding the crusading ideal far beyond Jerusalem.

The clever medieval trick that destroyed the last stand of stubborn paganism in Europe

Late-medieval England course: week two quiz

Late-medieval England courseWeek one quiz

Woodcut of a woman who may be stoking a furnace or baking bread, printed in the 15th century. (SSPL/Getty Images)

What was life like for a medieval housewife?

This scene depicts Clovis I, founder of the Merovingian dynasty, executing a soldier who defied him over the famed Vase of Soissons around AD 480. The story, preserved by Gregory of Tours, became a legendary example of royal authority and vengeance in early medieval France.

This dynasty of medieval kings had a secret weapon – and you probably have it too

Court proceedings presided by the king ordering an arrest © Alamy

King's justice: raising a grievance in medieval England

Hand-coloured engraving of someone being tortured on the wheel.

Stretched, crushed and impaled10 shocking torture methods from medieval history

An illumination depicts medieval women embroidering

Medieval misconceptions: 12 myths about life in the Middle Ages – busted

Christine de Pizan, pictured speaking to a trio of inspirational women in an illustration in her Book of the City of Ladies, written around the turn of the 15th century (Photo by Album/Alamy Stock Photo)

Medieval influencers: 4 women who brought change to the Middle Ages

Detail of a snowball fight in a medieval fresco (c1400) from a series of frescos depicting the Cycle of the Months in the Torre dell'Aquila (Eagle Tower) in Buonconsiglio Castle, Trento, Italy. (Image by Alamy)

The winter storms that rocked medieval Europe

Medieval dinner scene.

Medieval manners and etiquette: dos and don’ts of the Middle Ages

Child-killing "demon-hosts": pigs in the medieval city

This 19th-century facsimile shows the Duke of Salisbury, John Montacute, arriving at Conwy Castle from Ireland — a scene from Le Prinse et mort du Roy Richart. Just a year later, in 1400, Owain Glyndŵr would launch his rebellion, with castles like Conwy becoming key flashpoints in the Welsh fight against English rule.

It’s one of the most famous revolts in medieval history – but has the Glyndŵr rebellion been misnamed?

Madonna of Humility, 1544. The nursing Virgin Mary is based on a Byzantine icon, but also on the direct observance of a mother with her baby. Everyday intimacy is coupled with Christian symbolism. (Image from TopFoto)

An act of love: breastfeeding in the medieval period

A farmer in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2.

10 things you need to know about medieval Bohemia before you play Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2