overwhelming majority of medieval people lived it in the villages.In Europe, these settlements were, as it were formulaic and, if there were any differences between them (depending on the countries and cities), they were very small.Medieval village - a special reminder to historians, which allows to reconstruct the former way of life, traditions and peculiarities of the life of the then people.For now, we look at what elements and what it was characterized.
general description
plan medieval village always depended on the area in which it was located.If it plain with fertile land and spacious meadows, the number of peasant households could reach fifty.The less useful were the earth, the lower courts, there were in the village.Some of them consist of only some 10-15 units.In the mountains of the people in general are not settled in this way.We go there for 15-20 people, which formed the small hamlet where were its small economy, independent from the rest.A notable feature was that house in the Middle Ages was considered a property moving.It can be transported on a special wagon, for example, close to the church or does carry a different settlement.Because medieval village is constantly changing, a little moved in space, and therefore could not have a clear mapping plan, enshrined in the state, which owned.
cumulus village
This type of medieval settlement is (even for those times), a relic of the past, but this relic that has existed for a long time in the community.This village house, barns, land and peasant feudal manor were located "just be like."I mean, there was no center, no main streets, or individual zones.The medieval village of cumulus type composed of randomly arranged narrow streets, many of which ended in a dead end.Those who had continued, withdrawn in the field or forest.Type of farming in these settlements were, respectively, also erratic.
crosswise settlement
This type of medieval settlement consisted of two streets.They intersect each other at right angles, thereby forming a cross.At the intersection of the road has always been a major area that housed a small chapel (if the village has a large number of residents), or the estate of the feudal lord who owned all the peasants who live here.Medieval village cruciform type consisted of little houses that have been converted their facades to the street, where they were located.Due to this area looked very neat and beautiful, all the buildings were almost identical, and their background is allocated only one that was located in the central square.
village-road
This type of settlement in the Middle Ages was typical for areas where there are large river or mountain slopes.The bottom line was that all the houses inhabited by peasants and the feudal lord, gathered in one street.It stretches along the valley of the river or on the banks of which they were located.The road itself, from which it was, in general, the whole village could not be too direct, but it is exactly the same as those natural forms that surround it.The plan area of the medieval village of this type include, in addition to the peasant land, feudal home, which was located either in the beginning of the street, or in the center.He has been compared to other small houses is always the highest and chic.
Ray Village
This type of settlement was the most popular in all the cities of medieval Europe, because very often it is the plan used in the film and in modern novels of those times.So, in the center of the village was located the main square, which occupies a chapel, a small temple or other religious building.Near it was the house of the lord and the adjoining yards.From the central square of the streets dispersed to different parts of the settlement, as the rays of the sun, and between them have built houses for the peasants, which is attached to the land.In these villages lived the maximum number of people, they have been extended to the north and the south and west of Europe.Also, there was much more room for conducting various types of farms.
Urban situation
In medieval society began to form around the city in the 10th century, and this process is already completed in the 16th.During this time in Europe there were new urban settlements, but they did not change type, size only.Well, the medieval town and village had a lot in common.They had a similar structure, they are built up, so to speak, the typical houses, which were home to ordinary people.City distinguished by the fact that there was more than a village, it was often paved roads and in the center stood certainly very beautiful and big church (and not a small chapel).Such settlements, in turn, were divided into two types.Some have direct street layout that could, as it were inscribed in a square.This type of construction was borrowed from the Romans.Other cities differed radiotsentricheskim location of buildings.This type was characteristic of the barbarian tribes that inhabited Europe before the arrival of the Romans.
Conclusion We reviewed what had been a settlement in Europe in the darkest historical period.And to understand their essence was easier, the article has a map of the medieval village.Finally, it should be noted that each region has been characterized by its type of construction of houses.Somewhere used clay, somewhere - stone, in other places were built frame homes.Because of this, historians can identify what it is the people belonged to this or that settlement.
