What was the living conditions like in middle ages?

Answer 1

Living conditions for rich people changed through the Middle Ages as times changed.

In the Early Middle Ages, there was a lot of turmoil. Kings were trying to establish their kingdoms just at a time when other people, such as Vikings, were making things difficult. To be wealthy in such times, a person really had to be prepared to defend no only his own wealth, but the people, usually farmers, who worked for him, and the king or lord to whom he owed allegiance. Put simply, a person had to be a powerful soldier, living at a manor in the countryside.

Later on, a middle class rose from the younger sons of nobility, who did not inherit titles and land, and from the freed serfs. These people were able in many cases to put together wealth that was not dependent on military might, and whose homes could be more comfortable town houses rather than the country manors of the nobility.

Both the people of the middle class and the nobility were able to live much more comfortable lives, with such luxuries as silk clothing and spices for their foods. They often had educations and read books, as we know from historic records. They were clean and bathed often; if they were sufficiently wealthy, they even had their own bathtubs. The members of the nobility went hunting, as they always had. They went to entertainments such as plays, and though most of these were religious in the Early Middle Ages, with the passing of time they became secular. Wealthy people could afford music in their homes, and hired minstrels and such musicians for that purpose. They had servants to do most of the work, and that might have included book keeping, in cases where they could find a trustworthy steward.

In the 11th or 12th century, someone invented the chimney, which made the first real fireplaces possible, and then rich people were actually able to feel cozy.

Answer 2

in the middle ages, no one knew about cleanliness and hygiene, therefore no one took care in washing their hands or taking regular baths etc. people used to throw human waste out of the windows and onto the streets, causing outbreaks of disease and large numbers of rodents and other pests. living conditions weren't that great.