In 2013, a medieval reenactment group set out to see what it would be like to survive a Russian winter in the Middle Ages. They selected one of their members, Pavel Sapozhnikov, to live on a farmstead with only ninth-century tools, clothing, and shelter for six months as part of a project entitled Alone in the Past.
Once a day, Pavel would speak for half an hour into a camera to recount his day and share his experiences. The rest of the time, he was completely alone, with a monthly check-in to ensure he was still alive.
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His experiment provided a first-hand glimpse of the struggles people faced surviving the winter in the Middle Ages. We can also glean bits of information from manuscripts, court records, and coroner’s rolls about how people lived and died during the harshest time of the year.
How did people stay warm? What did they eat? What did they do? No indoor heating, no double-glazed windows, no Netflix, no down jacket—certainly none of the modern-day luxuries we consider “necessities.”
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Winter: A Time of Fear and Survival
Winter was a frightening time for many people. If there was a poor harvest, you could starve to death, and illnesses like pneumonia were ever-present threats.
Adding to the challenge was the onset of the Little Ice Age in the Later Middle Ages, which brought colder winters across Europe. Winter was the most dangerous time of the medieval calendar year. So, how did medieval people cope?
Preserving Food for the Long Winter
Winter set in just after Michaelmas (September 29) and lasted until Candlemas (February 2), when it became warm enough to till the land again. That’s a long time to survive, so villagers spent autumn preparing and preserving the harvest for the hard months ahead.
For the average person, pottage (a stew made up of boiled vegetables and grains) was a staple during the cold winter months. Everything went into the pot, including fruit if they had any, since it was considered unhealthy to eat the fruit raw. Common foods in a villager’s diet included onions, peas, colewort (arugula or roquette), beans, lentils, and herbs, such as parsley. For protein: cheese, eggs, and some meat when they could get it, such as fatty bacon or salted pork, would be added to the pottage.
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Pavel Sapozhnikov cooking food as it would have been made in the ninth century. Photo courtesy of Alone in the Past.
For the well-to-do, meals were more elaborate. Meat like mutton and pigeon, along with butter, figs, cheese, grapes, and red wine, were believed to counter the “phlegmy” effects of winter.
Dressing for Warmth
How did people stay warm in the dead of winter? Like us, they wore cloaks, scarves, boots, and gloves (not the five-fingered kind we know, but a more mitten-like style).
Homes were often smoky from a stone hearth fire that was ventilated by a hole in the roof. This provided some warmth but not nearly enough for the harsh cold. Indoor heating was far from effective, so many people wore their outer garments inside to stay warm. In other cold and draughty places, like churches, villagers often brought their own hand warmers to Mass: hollow metal spheres that held hot coals.
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Wool was the favoured fabric for clothing, but it was extremely itchy, so linen was worn underneath. Sweating would reduce the warmth of wool, so medieval people often removed layers when they perspired and then reapplied them when they cooled down.
Entertainment in a Grim Season
Even though winter was grim, it didn’t mean medieval people couldn’t have a little fun. Outdoors, they played in the snow, enjoyed sledding, and ice skated on pieces of polished wood or horse shin bones.
medieval snowball fight
Indoors, popular pastimes included games like chess and backgammon. Nobles might enjoy more adventurous pursuits, such as boar hunting. These activities provided a welcome respite from back-breaking labour and cold winter nights.
Celebrating the Christmas Season
“Every man’s house, as also their parish churches, was decked with holly, ivy, bay, and whatsoever the season of the year afforded to be green” ~ 12th-century London, Life in a Medieval Village
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Christmas was the longest holiday of the year, spanning twelve days from Christmas Eve to Epiphany (January 6). During this time, no one worked at all. The lord would sometimes invite his villeins to dine in his hall for the Christmas meal. In some cases, a lucky peasant might be selected to invite two friends to join him to eat and drink as much as they wanted, and whatever they wanted, for the duration of two burning candles (one after another). Other peasants were allowed to carry away as much as they could in their clothes.
Despite the festivities, peasants still had obligations. They often paid extra rent to the lord’s table, usually in the form of eggs, hens, and bread. There was also general repair work to be done around the home, including mending fences, tools, and animal pens.
The full documentary, Alone in the Past, was released in 2016. Watch it below:
Top Image: Pavel Sapozhnikov and his goat, Glasha, surviving a harsh Russian winter living as people did in the ninth century. Photo courtesy of Alone in the Past.
By Sandra Alvarez
In 2013, a medieval reenactment group set out to see what it would be like to survive a Russian winter in the Middle Ages. They selected one of their members, Pavel Sapozhnikov, to live on a farmstead with only ninth-century tools, clothing, and shelter for six months as part of a project entitled Alone in the Past.
Once a day, Pavel would speak for half an hour into a camera to recount his day and share his experiences. The rest of the time, he was completely alone, with a monthly check-in to ensure he was still alive.
His experiment provided a first-hand glimpse of the struggles people faced surviving the winter in the Middle Ages. We can also glean bits of information from manuscripts, court records, and coroner’s rolls about how people lived and died during the harshest time of the year.
How did people stay warm? What did they eat? What did they do? No indoor heating, no double-glazed windows, no Netflix, no down jacket—certainly none of the modern-day luxuries we consider “necessities.”
Winter: A Time of Fear and Survival
Winter was a frightening time for many people. If there was a poor harvest, you could starve to death, and illnesses like pneumonia were ever-present threats.
Adding to the challenge was the onset of the Little Ice Age in the Later Middle Ages, which brought colder winters across Europe. Winter was the most dangerous time of the medieval calendar year. So, how did medieval people cope?
Preserving Food for the Long Winter
Winter set in just after Michaelmas (September 29) and lasted until Candlemas (February 2), when it became warm enough to till the land again. That’s a long time to survive, so villagers spent autumn preparing and preserving the harvest for the hard months ahead.
For the average person, pottage (a stew made up of boiled vegetables and grains) was a staple during the cold winter months. Everything went into the pot, including fruit if they had any, since it was considered unhealthy to eat the fruit raw. Common foods in a villager’s diet included onions, peas, colewort (arugula or roquette), beans, lentils, and herbs, such as parsley. For protein: cheese, eggs, and some meat when they could get it, such as fatty bacon or salted pork, would be added to the pottage.
For the well-to-do, meals were more elaborate. Meat like mutton and pigeon, along with butter, figs, cheese, grapes, and red wine, were believed to counter the “phlegmy” effects of winter.
Dressing for Warmth
How did people stay warm in the dead of winter? Like us, they wore cloaks, scarves, boots, and gloves (not the five-fingered kind we know, but a more mitten-like style).
Homes were often smoky from a stone hearth fire that was ventilated by a hole in the roof. This provided some warmth but not nearly enough for the harsh cold. Indoor heating was far from effective, so many people wore their outer garments inside to stay warm. In other cold and draughty places, like churches, villagers often brought their own hand warmers to Mass: hollow metal spheres that held hot coals.
Wool was the favoured fabric for clothing, but it was extremely itchy, so linen was worn underneath. Sweating would reduce the warmth of wool, so medieval people often removed layers when they perspired and then reapplied them when they cooled down.
Entertainment in a Grim Season
Even though winter was grim, it didn’t mean medieval people couldn’t have a little fun. Outdoors, they played in the snow, enjoyed sledding, and ice skated on pieces of polished wood or horse shin bones.
Indoors, popular pastimes included games like chess and backgammon. Nobles might enjoy more adventurous pursuits, such as boar hunting. These activities provided a welcome respite from back-breaking labour and cold winter nights.
Celebrating the Christmas Season
“Every man’s house, as also their parish churches, was decked with holly, ivy, bay, and whatsoever the season of the year afforded to be green” ~ 12th-century London, Life in a Medieval Village
Christmas was the longest holiday of the year, spanning twelve days from Christmas Eve to Epiphany (January 6). During this time, no one worked at all. The lord would sometimes invite his villeins to dine in his hall for the Christmas meal. In some cases, a lucky peasant might be selected to invite two friends to join him to eat and drink as much as they wanted, and whatever they wanted, for the duration of two burning candles (one after another). Other peasants were allowed to carry away as much as they could in their clothes.
Despite the festivities, peasants still had obligations. They often paid extra rent to the lord’s table, usually in the form of eggs, hens, and bread. There was also general repair work to be done around the home, including mending fences, tools, and animal pens.
The full documentary, Alone in the Past, was released in 2016. Watch it below:
Further Readings:
Surviving the Winter: Medieval-Style – from the British Library Medieval Manuscripts Blog
How did medieval people keep warm? – by Sarah Woodbury
Medieval Winter – from Hortus Noster
Top Image: Pavel Sapozhnikov and his goat, Glasha, surviving a harsh Russian winter living as people did in the ninth century. Photo courtesy of Alone in the Past.
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