Things to do in the Middle Ages

Some religious people in the Middle Ages did things that took time–a lot of time. One of them was writing out the Bible by hand. One letter after another, one word at a time.

The Middle Ages was anywhere from the 5th century to the 15th century. It covered 1000 years. 

Back then, no one read much. There weren’t many libraries, and you can forget about bookshops.

People didn’t read because they were too busy trying to stay alive. It was a hard life. Farmers worked by hand, growing food to eat. People made their clothes and wore them over and over without washing them.

Also, there were deadly diseases that people easily caught from one another.  

So, you can imagine if staying alive was more important, reading was a long way down your daily list of things to do.

Anyway, there was nothing to read. Except the Bible, or if you weren’t Christian, other holy books. Only rich people could read them because they cost heaps. Poor farmers couldn’t afford them. 

And something else–poor people couldn’t read. There were schools, but they were for boys only. Oh, and the school day lasted up to 13 hours. If you were a boy, it was one of the things to do in the Middle Ages.