What are the origins of this fun-filled festive custom?
In 1359, there were reports from Florence, Italy, that “the snow rose to an extraordinary height; so, to lighten up the roofs, the snow was thrown into the streets, and some of the towns were blocked so the inhabitants were trapped for several days in their homes.”
Most of the prep for surviving the winter started months in advance. One of the main concerns was food, as agriculture slowed down. It had come time to slaughter some of the farm animals so their meat could be preserved.
These animals, such as cows and pigs, would be fed and fattened in November before the chill set in. Only the ones that became sufficiently chubby would be chosen to feed the family.
This glorious era of relative warmth made it all the more devastating when the “Little Ice Age” of the 14th century struck. It started in the mid-1300s and carried on until the 19th century. It was characterized by a general drop in temperatures as well as an increase in extreme weather events such as storms and heavy snowfall.
While fur wasn’t as easily accessible to the peasant class as it was to the rich, it’s believed that they lined their winter clothing with whatever pelts they could get their hands on, such as rabbit or lamb.
We have a surprising amount of information about the weather of the past, thanks to written accounts from the time and the analysis of ice cores and tree rings.
Countries that were used to lots of snow, like those in Northern Europe, had many ways of getting around during the winter months. They used skiing for both transport and hunting. This allowed them to continue sourcing food through the winter.
In 1389, the Lozère region in southern France was hit with unprecedented snowfall. A local scribe described the fallout: “In January, February and March, the snowfalls in Lozère were so great that they destroyed many farmsteads and that many people died, because their houses fell down on them. Other people died of cold, others of hunger, because snowfalls had lasted so much longer than usual that people had run out of provisions.”
Agriculture was the main source of livelihood and sustenance for the average person in medieval times, but it ground to a halt during the coldest months. This meant that they had to be extremely prepared to stay fed through the winter, and God help them if they’d had a poor harvest that year.
By January, the majority of these farming activities had been completed and there was a definite sense of things slowing down. This was the time of the year the ground was most likely covered in snow, making it impossible to do much more than rest by the fire.
In Western Europe, however, snowfall wasn’t as common until the “Little Ice Age” occurred, and they were woefully unprepared. Harsh winters that lasted much longer than normal left communities stranded as they ran out of provisions and had no way to travel to further-away towns.
In addition to the butchering of livestock, the month before Christmas was also busy with the planting of winter crops. In Britain, the main crop was wheat, but some would also sow barley.
In the 13th century, an English Franciscan monk called Bartholomew wrote a sort of encyclopedia called ‘On the Properties of Things,’ described today as the “Wikipedia of the Middle Ages.” He describes his distaste for winter at length, stating that it “is all contrary to Summer. Therefore, all things that lived and sprang by the benefit of Summer, fade and die by the hard cruelness of Winter.”
Sometimes one fire wasn’t enough to heat the home. Small portable braziers would be filled with burning coals and placed around the house to provide extra warmth, but they were a major safety risk. House fires were commonplace during this period.
So, how did the average person living in a simple wattle and daub house get by during these difficult times?
Medieval homes were dreadfully drafty, whether they were peasants' cottages or royal castles. Cold air would slip through the uninsulated cracks or even open windows. Glass windows were rare to find, so homes that had windows would cover them with mortar or paper and seal themselves in for the winter.
Families would often huddle together in the same bed to share warmth. In many cases, the farm animals would be invited inside, too! It was safer for them inside than out in the cold, and this way their body heat also helped the family stay warm.
Fire was the main source of heat in the medieval home. They would usually have enormous fireplaces, and some homes even had a fire pit set up in the center of the room to heat as much of the space as possible. The smoke would escape through a hole in the roof similar to a chimney.
The Middle Ages, also known as the medieval period, lasted from around 500 CE to 1500 CE. This era in history included the Dark Ages, and dark they were.
Later in the Middle Ages, winter became symbolic of aging, poverty, and death. It was a somewhat on-the-nose metaphor, as these were all quite literal facts of life during wintertime in Western Europe.
During the High Middle Ages (roughly 900–1300 CE), Western Europe experienced a long period of favorable weather conditions. It was known as the “medieval warm period.” The mild temperatures allowed the population to spread and expand into new fertile lands suited to growing crops.
Spring was a time of rebirth and renewal; a return to warmth, comfort, and prosperity. Seeing the daffodils pop up and the lambs being born was also a sign that you’d survived another punishing winter! It’s not hard to understand Bartholomew’s harsh comparison between spring and winter.
The winters were less punishing during this period, and agriculture flourished in places it never had before. For example, grapes grew in England at altitudes significantly higher than they grow today.
Slaughtering the pigs was an activity usually carried out in December. This complex process took many hands to complete. Once the pig had been killed and every part of it sectioned off and saved, the main chunks of meat would be salted to preserve them. Cured meats like salted ham were a major part of the medieval diet.
Even the blood and entrails would be turned into food. Blood sausage, known in the UK as black pudding, is still a popular delicacy today and an essential part of the full English breakfast.
The seeds would be sown in early winter and would hopefully germinate through the cold months, bursting into healthy crops by the time spring came around.
The purpose of the old-fashioned nightcap is clear under these conditions! People would wrap themselves up in their warmest clothing indoors and stay close to the fire as much as possible. They wore woolen coats, scarves, mittens, and hats while going about their daily lives around the house.
In these more primitive times, our ancestors tended towards a more cyclical way of life that revolved around nature. They would hibernate through the coldest months of the winter and burst into action as soon as the warm weather came around again. That is, if they survived the sometimes unpredictable harshness of winter.
Sources: (Medievalists.net) (Ancestry)
See also: What was the average diet like in medieval Europe?
Since they didn’t have any such thing as a rubber hot water bottle at the time, they would heat bricks or large stones in the fireplace and then wrap them in fabric. They would be carefully placed at the bottom of the bed to heat it up.
But imagine what it was like living through the winter in medieval times. Stone or wood houses with no insulation, limited fabrics to make warm clothes from, and days of hard labor out in the elements. Not only does that sound majorly unpleasant, it’s genuinely dangerous!
Click through this gallery to find out how the average person survived winter hundreds of years ago, long before any of the amenities we have today existed.
How did normal people survive winter in the Middle Ages?
It wasn't easy to get by without central heating and cars with snow tires!
LIFESTYLE History
We have so many things to keep ourselves warm these days. Puffer jackets, thermal undies, central heating, space heaters, and home insulation are just a few of the things that keep us toasty throughout the winter. When it hits those minus temperatures, we can whip out our polar fleece blankets and blast the heat while drinking hot chocolate in front of the TV. Not so bad, eh?
But imagine what it was like living through the winter in medieval times. Stone or wood houses with no insulation, limited fabrics to make warm clothes from, and days of hard labor out in the elements. Not only does that sound majorly unpleasant, it’s genuinely dangerous!
Click through this gallery to find out how the average person survived winter hundreds of years ago, long before any of the amenities we have today existed.