Medieval life

Question 1

What religion was medieval Britain?

Answer 1

Christian

Question 1

Who held the most power in medieval society?

Answer 1

Monarch

Question 2

Name an unhelpful theory in the middle ages

Answer 2

Miasma, four humours

Question 3

When does the medieval period behind and end?

Answer 3

1250-1500

Question 4

Give one feature of countryside homes in the Middle Ages

Answer 4

Thatched rooves, wattle and daub, bad ventilation

Question 5

Give one feature of a medieval peasants diet

Answer 5

Pottage, vegetables

Question 6

What did medieval peasants drink?

Answer 6

Small beer, water

Question 7

Why were cesspits a risk to health in medieval countryside?

Answer 7

It leaked into water systems

Question 8

Give one feature of homes in medieval towns

Answer 8

Tightly packed together, drains to remove waste

Question 9

How did people get their food in medieval towns?

Answer 9

Drovers, butchers, markets

Question 10

Why were drovers a risk to health in medieval towns?

Answer 10

Brought in disease, sold bad meat, left carcasses on street

Question 11

Give one way medieval people got water in towns

Answer 11

Water conduits, water carriers

Question 12

What job did gongfermers do?

Answer 12

Cleared cesspits

Question 13

What job did rakers do?

Answer 13

Cleared streets

Question 14

What year did the Black Death hit England?

Answer 14

1348

Question 15

What percentage of the population were killed by the Black Death?

Answer 15

60%

Question 16

What caused the Black Death?

Answer 16

Fleas carried by rats

Question 17

Give one medieval belief about the cause of the Black Death?

Answer 17

Miasma, gods punishment, imbalanced humours, movement of the planets

Question 18

Give one unhelpful cure of the black death

Answer 18

Prayer, blood letting, chickens on buboes, camomile lotion

Question 19

Describe king Edward III’s response to the Black Death

Answer 19

He wrote a letter to the mayor, didn’t do anything else

Question 20

Why did monasteries need water

Answer 20

Holy water in mass

Question 21

How did monasteries improve public health?

Answer 21

Built water conduits

Question 22

Was the monasteries helping with the disease intended?

Answer 22

No, it was an unintended consequence

Question 23

Name three prevalent diseases in the medieval period

Answer 23

Bubonic plague, dysentery, flu, TB, childbed fever

Question 24

Name the three types of plague

Answer 24

Bubonic, pneumonic, septicemic

Question 25

Name two people responsible for public health in towns

Answer 25

Mayor and alderman

Question 26

Name one way London tried to improve public health after the plague

Answer 26

Food was inspected, warden ensured Londons streets were clean, closed public baths, jetty into the Thames

Question 27

What germ causes the Black Death ?

Answer 27

Yersnia pestis

Question 28

Where did Black Death start?

Answer 28

Asia

Question 29

Name the four humours

Answer 29

Black bile, yellow bile, blood, phlegm

Question 30

Why were health improvements limited after the Black Death?

Answer 30

King didn’t take responsibility, towns could not afford supplies, no one took responsibility for countryside

Question 31

What was the role of the king?

Answer 31

Defend nation, maintain order, encourage trade

Question 32

What is a guild

Answer 32

A body that controls price and quality of goods made in the town

Question 33

Name one type of machinery from the medieval period

Answer 33

Water mills, windmills, printing press, handmade blades

Question 34

What percentage of peasants lived in the countryside?

Answer 34

90%

Question 35

Average population of towns in medieval period?

Answer 35

10,000

Question 36

Who suffered in bad harvest?

Answer 36

Peasants

Question 37

What was the most common type of work?

Answer 37

Physical labour

Question 38

What did medieval people drink as a substitute for water?

Answer 38

Small beer

Question 39

What was waste from cesspits used for?

Answer 39

Fertilising crops

Question 40

What was a medieval toilet called?

Answer 40

Privvy or latrine

Question 41

How many people died from plague?

Answer 41

25 million

Question 42

What was the white book?

Answer 42

A book that had all the ancient rules written down

Question 43

Why was the white book created?

Answer 43

Because plague had killed many older officials

Question 44

What punishment did butchers face if they used a method of disposal other than the jetty?

Answer 44

Fine

Question 45

Who did London expel because they thought they caused plague?

Answer 45

Lepors and prostitutes

Question 46

Who tried to enforce laws to ensure streets stayed clean?

Answer 46

Mayor and alderman

Question 47

What were houses made of?

Answer 47

Wood frames, wattle and daub

Question 48

What did the king do to attempt to improve public health?

Answer 48

Write letters, punish mayors and councils

Question 49

Who did London employ to try and clean the streets?

Answer 49

Gongfermers and rakers