Living Conditions in the Middle Ages

Living conditions
in medieval cities
& towns
• Town centres were dirty and
smelly, chamber pots were
tossed out of windows, animals
roamed the streets and rodents
and other vermin thrived.
• Roads and streets were bare
earth and were covered in
animal entrails, food scraps
human waste.
 Living conditions for the poor
The poor lived in 1-2
bedroom multi-story buildings
clustered around a market
area. What does this
source reveal about
Bathing was not seen the living conditions
as essential and too much was of the
poor in medieval
considered bad for your health! towns?

Floors were covered in rotting

food, bodily wastes and grease.
Living conditions of the rich
• Living conditions were very harsh, a population boom in the 11th
century led to a surge of people living in towns and cities.
• The wealthy lived in castles or manors on the outskirts of town.

What does this source reveal about the

living conditions of the wealthy in
medieval towns?
Living conditions in the country
• Houses were small with floors covered in straw.
• Dirty, smelly and dark living conditions were often shared with
animals.
• The toilets were holes in the ground outside.
• Peasants who farmed the land were malnourished which made them
susceptible to disease.
Life expectancy
Infant mortality was high compared to modern times

Males lived to be about 35 years old – many males died before the
age of 10.
Females lives to be about 31 years old – many died in childbirth.

Life expectancy became worse in 1300 because of famine and

dirty living conditions.
 How could these conditions have
contributed to the spread of the black
death?