Life as a medieval peasant wasn’t all toil and hardship – they knew how to have fun too. In this video, we explore the games, festivals, music, and simple pleasures that brought joy to everyday life ...

When people think of the European Middle Ages, it often brings to mind grinding poverty, superstition and darkness. But the reality of the 1,000-year period from 500 to 1500 was much more complex.

In medieval England, peasants on some estates were entitled to a range of sick, annual and bereavement leave that could rival those of many workers in the UK today. By comparison—as our new paper ...

This video explores the real diet of medieval peasants before the Black Death, from bread and pottage to ale, salted meat and ...

Many mainstream economic historians do believe the average number of working days for peasant laborers in England hovered around, and even sometimes below, 150 days per year for certain stretches of ...

When people think of the European Middle Ages, it often brings to mind grinding poverty, superstition and darkness. But the reality of the 1,000-year period from 500 to 1500 was much more complex.

Winter in a peasant village, painted by the Limbourg brothers and published in the medieval illuminated manuscript ‘Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry.’ Pierce Archive LLC/Buyenlarge via Getty Images ...