And make a lovely dwelling-place, whose health
And riches soon will fill it full of men…”
The health in the middle ages was not very good and the living conditions weren’t very healthy. The women died at childbirth, there were also many diseases that had spread such as rheumatism, arthritis and rickets. The Anglo-Saxon population could not have been particularly healthy.
Viking York was a densely populated town the streets were tightly packed and so were houses, so this caused disease to spread more easily. Also the fact that pigs, chickens and other animals roamed the streets freely didn’t help. Rubbish and dung was firstly put into a wicker lined pit but the city kept on growing and soon there was no control. Rotting fish bones, human faeces, animal dung and food waste mixed underfoot in the streets. All of this and more contamination made the diseases that were around spread among the hundreds of people that were living in York. They mainly got disease from drinking contaminated water and from rats and mice contaminating the food.
The life expectancy of rich in Anglo-Saxons times is as follows:
The average age at death of seventeen famous Anglo-Saxon church leaders – 72 years.
The average age of death of thirteen Anglo-Saxon Kings – 46 years.
Conditions in York became healthier in the late middle ages because in the houses the animals had their own barns instead of staying in the houses with the humans, the houses themselves were more spaced out, they had different rooms for everything, they removed the waste from the cesspits and didn’t just leave it there, and also they put bricks around them so they wouldn’t leak in to the river near by.
Around 1066 York had a population of around 9000, many whom suffered from the upheaval of the Norman Conquest. Most of the houses and buildings were destroyed to make way for the two new Norman Castles.
In 1069 there was even more destruction, but the destruction had some beneficial effects. From 1060s there were increasing numbers of stone houses in the city; this meant that houses were built on foundation witch made them a lot stronger; they also had fired clay roofing tiles instead of thatched. The improved harvests were helping to make York a healthier city. The Abbey of St. Mary’s also had a stone built sewer to make the water supply cleaner.
The diets in the middles ages grew to become a lot healthier with meat, fish, dairy produce, ale, pottage and bread all being part of an everyday diet for a normal person.
The life expectancy of people at this point in time is as follows:
“The average age at death of thirty two bishops and abbots who died between 1300 and 1500 – 68 years.
The average age at death of twenty five noblemen who died between the 1300 and 1500 – 61 years.
Average age at death of thirteen noblemen who died between 1300and 1500 – 62 years.
All these died of natural causes.
In conclusion, I think that the Romans were healthier and more organised that Viking York as the Roman created aqueducts sewers and baths,
Making living conditions healthier. When the Normans took over they changed Viking York into a healthier place.
By Abbie Edwards 10D
