what were houses like in medieval Europe?

Question

what were the houses that belonged to wealthy people like in medieval europe........same with the poor houses

Answer 1

The medieval era is a very long period in which housing have changed overtime, the geographic specificities must also be taken into account.

Generally, wealthy people who possessed land had the money construct castles or manors made of stone. The size and comfort of those vary greatly depending on the extent of the owners wealth. Kings could afford enormous castle, and constructed ramparts to surround the citu. Typically, the wealthy subjects had stone houses insides of those wall, and the poors and the peasants lived outside of the ramparts; and in case of war all would squeeze inside of the defending walls.

The interior of a rich house, beside of being made of stone, differs from a poor's housing mainly by the amount of furniture owned, its quality, and the presence of precious decorative objects. For example, a rich person would sleep in a bed with a mattress made of cotton or wool and have ornate tapestries hanging on the wall to isolate from the draft and preserve the heat from the hearth.

Illustration:
http://classes.bnf.fr/ema/audio/grands/c081.htm

In comparison a peasant's house is most likely constructed with wood, and the roof made of a conglomerate of straw and mud. The size of those more modest housing varied greatly too, from respectably sized habitation with attached commodities (silo, pen...), to the mere cabin in the wood. Interior of these housings were plain, with few furniture and likely no decoration. Typically, a peasant would sleep in a bed with a mattress filled with straw, could not always afford wood to burnt for heating, and would keep his animals (pigs, goats...) inside of his habitation during the winter to garner more heat.

Illustration:
http://classes.bnf.fr/ema/grands/831.htm

Answer 2

They varied from country to country and region to region because they were made with materials that were available in the locality.
Where I live in the U.K - the Cotswolds our houses, for rich and poor were made of stone, and the roofs tiled with the same because it can split into thin enough layers. Some places used brick, places with slate used that for roofs, or thatch.
Only the wealthy could afford glass at that time, and windows, even for the wealthy would have been small and many paned because they dudn't have the technology to produce large sheets of glass (a huge bubble was blown and then opened at the top and spun out and when it was cooled, then little rectangular panes were cut from the disc) really poor people wouldn't have had windows at all probably.
No nice toilets either, though I know some castles had a recess in the wall where you sat and did your business and it just dropped outside. The romans were much more civilised in this matter.
Rich people could afford to make their m
homes more comfortable/warmer/nicer by hanging tapestries on the walls and having carpets on the floor. Poor houses would have had dirt and straw floors.

Answer 3

the castles were very cold becuase the ceiling were so high, but it's kinda funny becuase the servants and maids had rooms with lower ceiling so they were warmer and got sick less, obviously back then they didn't know hot air rises. Anywayz the rooms in castles were big to say the least, they were also quite dirty, especailly the dining room, once the royal family finished their meal they would throw it on the ground...quite disgusting I know...then the maids would go around throwing flowers and spices on the rotting food, twice a year the royal family would leave their castle to go in a smaller one so the maids could do a full cleaning of the castle.
The poor people on the other hand, well I'm sure they had very small houses, if they had houses at all.

Answer 4

Well the wealthy had castles made of stone. Poor people either lived in communal houses, or had small houses (usually a room or two) made of stone or wood. They were cold because of the stone. And very uncomfortable... even for the rich people.

here's some sites about medieval housing
http://www.medieval-life.net/city_life_2.htm
http://www.teachnet.ie/mmorrin/norman/homes.htm
http://www.learner.org/interactives/middleages/homes.html

Answer 5

WEBSITES ON THE MIDDLE AGES/MEDIEVAL LIFE

http://www.cumbavac.org/Middle_Ages.htm

http://www.kyrene.k12.az.us/schools/brisas/sunda/ma/mahome.htm

http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/history/middleages/contents.html

http://elizabethan.org/compendium/home.html

http://www.william-shakespeare.info/site-map.htm

http://elizabethan.org/

http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/eliza.htm

http://www.elizabethi.org/

http://www.queen-elizabeth-i.com/Queen_Elizabeth_Facts.html

Answer 6

Same as today in rubble

Answer 7

Cold, drafty, damp and moldy.

Answer 8

dirty and cold.