Medieval lives in Material Culture

History

Which sources reveal the most about medieval peasants?

Building your own reconstruction of past buildings using authentic materials

Examining the objects and buildings of past communities

Searching through records for written descriptions of daily lives

Visiting an historical site and comparing it to a modern map

Which of these best described the study of material culture?

It is in London, so university historians can visit it easily with their students

It was a totally unique village, unlike any other in England. This makes it very interesting.

It was a very large town, so has lots of examples of ordinary lives

It was deserted in the sixteenth century, meaning it has been preserved.

Wharram Percy is an excellent option for studying material culture because...

It had been built to be as strong as possible, and the patches were added by the original maker.

It was a valuable item, and the poor family that owned it needed to keep repairing it.

The child who owned it did not like it's patchy appearance, and threw it away in the pond.

The child's leather shoe discovered in a pond had several leather patches. Which of these conclusions did Christopher Dyer reach?

Medieval peasants believed painting fire on the wall would keep the building warm.

Peasants, who read the Bible often, believed it was their duty to paint these pictures.

They were used to scare away peasants from the building.

They were used to teach peasants, who often could not read, about heaven and hell.

Why were doom paintings often found in churches?

Domesday Book, because the book is decorated with illustrations of daily life.

Domesday Book, because we can see how common these items were across the country.

The Luttrell Psalter, because the book contains lots of written information about daily life.

The Luttrell Psalter, because we might find a peasant holding a similar tool.

Let's say we found an unknown object at Wharram Percy, and it looked slightly like a handheld tool. Which source would be more helpful for providing an answer for what it is?

To design a book that could be copied and distributed across the country.

To give Geoffrey Luttrell favour with the king, after donating it to him as a present.

To make Geoffrey Luttrell a lot of money when he sold it to a collector.

To show that Geoffrey Luttrell was a powerful and wealthy landowner.

What is the most likely reason why the Luttrell Psalter was created?

Divide all jobs between men and women and never work with each other.

Make the men perform all the work while women raised children.

Share jobs between men and women, sometimes working together if need be.

According to the Luttrell Psalter, medieval peasants would...

Five different artists were involved in making the psalter, and therefore they cannot be trusted.

The drawings are not very good quality, because Sir Geoffrey did not pay for the finest artists.

The drawings may have been designed to please Sir Geoffrey, not present the difficulties of real life.

There are not very many drawings in the psalter, meaning we still do not know much about peasants.

Why is it difficult to know how realistic the Luttrell Psalter is?

Both Domesday Book and the Luttrell Psalter have things they don't reveal, so cannot be seen as useful sources.

Both Domesday Book and the Luttrell Psalter reveal different things, and are therefore both useful sources.

Domesday Book tells us nothing about villages, so the Luttrell Psalter is automatically better.

The Luttrell Psalter tells us nothing about England as a whole, so Domesday Book is automatically better.

Which is the most accurate statement about Domesday Book and the Luttrell Psalter?

Starter Quiz