MEDIEVAL BRITAIN 1250 - 1500 DEFINITIONS

definitions i should know and USE

black death

a deadly pandemic which arrived in 1348

cesspit

pit used for collecting human waste

conduit

a small water fountain/ water pipe

ergotism

a disease caused by fungus that grew on rye, which was a grain used to make bread for the poor

miasma

an invisible mist people believed caused disease. bad smells were a sign of miasma

midden

a dung hill or a pile of rubbish

monastery

a place where a community of monks (who lived under religious vows) lived

peasant

a labourer who worked in farming and was poor

pestilence

a disease - what medieval people called the black death

pottage

a thick vegetable soup that was eaten by peasants

norwich

waste dumpers were named and shamed

london

1415 mayor ordered rebuilding of latrines

1430s mayor organized extension of pipes

infirmary in monastery

fountains abbey

why did monks need clean water

• ceremonies such as baptism

• bathed 4-12 times yearly

• baths for the sick in infirmaries