Medieval english village10/6/2023 ![]() The main transportation options for travel by road are: Bear in mind, too, that you might have to pay a toll to cross. In hillier or highland areas bridges are few and far between. Some of the old bridges are so rickety that you might find the ford preferable, even if it means that you get wet. While on the highways most rivers are spanned by smooth stone structures, when you get off the main road your options were usually either a wooden bridge or the old ford. Moreover, if you encounter a river, there’s no guarantee of a bridge to cross it easily. In bad weather, they might be flooded with water – or farmyard debris let out of a latrine pit. In more remote areas, the roads were less well-kept. Some of the most popular destinations in medieval England – the university town of Oxford, the rich market town of Coventry, or the entire country of Cornwall – are not on the Roman network. In many places the old roads are now bumpy and uneven – in which case, we advise you take the smoother medieval road that might run alongside it. While in some places the ancient stones were still in place, in others they have been taken away for use in new buildings. However, don’t imagine the smooth and straight roads of the Roman era. Roman Roads in Britain around 150 AD, many of which remained in use in the 14th century. The main highways are usually kept in good repair, especially when the King travels along them. Travel by road in the 13th century continued along the great roads established by the Ancient Romans, including Fosse Way, Ermine Street, Watling Street, and Icknield Way. The two major ways to travel are by road or by sea, each of which has a number of drawbacks. Next, you would need to think about what mode of transportation you might take. ![]() ![]() From thence shall ye have but four miles unto your lodging. On the right hand, when ye come to a bridge, so go there over ye shall find a little way on the left hand which shall bring you in a country where you shall see upon a church two high steeples. Directions are usually given as an itinerary, such as: You’ll find that the locals have a good memory for places, landmarks, and routes. The best way to find your way would have been to ask for directions. You certainly wouldn’t have been able to toss one in your bag to consult on the way! While there were maps in the Middle Ages, these were reference works for use in libraries and households, made of heavy parchment. This was made more difficult by the fact that you wouldn’t have had a map. Firstly, you would have had to work out what route to take. Getting from place to place (for instance, to use Mortimer’s example, from London to Chester) in medieval England posed a number of difficulties. A (roughly) contemporary image of the Peasant’s Revolt of 1381. Travellers with a particular interest in the Middle Ages might be interested in our previous articles on the topic: Village Life in Medieval Britain and Understanding British Churches. This is part of our collection of England-related articles that we share as backgrounders before you go on a England tour with us, or to simply help you as you firm up your travel plans. We have drawn information from Ian Mortimer’s vivid history of 14th century England, The Time Traveller’s Guide to Medieval England. In this article, we use the format of one of our travel guides in order to immerse the reader in the experience of travelling in the Middle Ages. What route should I take? Where should I stay? What difficulties might I encounter on the way? Whether your purpose was business or trade, or you were making a religious pilgrimage, you would probably have a number of questions. Imagine that you were planning to travel in Medieval England. Much like travel today, travel in the Middle Ages came with a number of difficulties: unreliable modes of transport, uncomfortable accommodation, and the dangers posed by bandits and other criminals. People travelled around England and sometimes went abroad for a number of reasons: trade, shopping, religious pilgrimages, and war. In reality, this was far from true – travel was an important part of daily life in medieval England. A myth commonly repeated about the medieval world is that ordinary people never travelled more than five or six miles from their home.
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