So you want to write a novel set in the Middle Ages.  What details are essential for creating an authentic world?  What aspects of daily medieval life might make for interesting plot points or character development?  What would your characters do all day and what sorts of challenges might they face that would intrigue your readers?

 

In this  part class we will survey everyday life in the Middle Ages with the intent of finding inspiration for characters and situations to populate a medieval novel.  We will examine:

 

What medieval people ate, what they wore, and where they lived.  We’ll look at what the upper class did all day as well as how the peasant class and tradesman classes kept themselves busy and how life differed for men and women.  We’ll examine common-sense basics like hygiene, inheritance, and the yearly calendar.  And of course we’ll talk about sex in the Middle Ages.