14th Century England Facts: Find Out More About The Medieval Age

One of the most really interesting and intriguing times in the history of England has been the Middle Ages.

Medieval England seldom fails to amuse people because of all the changes that took place. However, medieval times were said to have been a bad period because of the large number of people that were killed throughout the world.

Looking back at the works of Geoffrey Chaucer, medieval England and even medieval Europe appear to be places that were in constant turmoil. It was definitely a time of power struggle when the king, as well as the feudal system, were hailed as the directors of the society.

Similarly, the church and Christianity as a whole mattered quite a bit to England's population during the Middle Ages.

Having said that, the era of the 14th century is often shrouded in mystery because of the constant deaths and what is often described as a weird belief in spirituality.

Hence, we came up with this interesting article to have a look at the history of medieval people. So, do keep reading to know more about the human history of this time.

If you enjoyed this article, why not also read about 18th century London facts and 17th-century facts here on Kidadl?

Fun Facts About 14th Century England

Here are some fun and cool facts about medieval England that would help you learn more about the time.

Playing football was actually banned in England, and it could have cost you heavily. Unlike modern-day football, the game popular at that time was called 'mob's football' and involved a lot of players running after a pig's bladder.

Because of its violent nature, King Edward II had to ban it in 1314. So, getting violent during sports isn't really a modern phenomenon!

According to the archery law set by King Edward III in 1363, it was compulsory for the male subjects to practice archery for two hours under the supervision of the local clergy every Sunday.

The Forme of Cury(e) or The Method of Cooking was a cooking guide pamphlet that was published in 1390, and it compiled some medieval English recipes. It was penned by a chef working in the court of King Edward II.

One recipe is porpoise haggis, which contains the blood of a porpoise mixed with oatmeal, pepper, and spices, with everything being stuffed inside the stomach of the porpoise before cooking.

On February 10, 1355, a dramatic fight took place between the students of Oxford University and local townsfolk due to some bad drinks being served in a tavern.

Sometime during the 1330s, a type of long-toed shoe known as the 'Cracow shoes' became popular in England, and the name originated from a place called Krakow in Poland. The toes of these shoes used to be quite long and oftentimes outrageous.

Historical Facts About 14th Century England

Let's start out by learning some of the historical facts of the 14th century that will help us understand more about the state of England present at that time. Do remember that this was considered to be the time of the early Renaissance in Europe, though the English Renaissance is said to have been in the 16th century.

The most well-known event in history that marks the start of the early medieval period is said to be the fall of Rome in 476 AD. The rising maritime power and trade were also behind the rise of the Middle Ages.

However, here we are focusing on the history of 14th century England that lasted from 1301-1400 AD.

During this time, the House of Plantagenet was ruling over England, and the first ruler of the century was Edward I.

His reign ended on July 7, 1307, after ruling for 34 years, and his son, Edward II, became the new ruler. During this time, the rule of primogeniture was followed in England, where the firstborn male child was to inherit the throne.

Sadly, King Edward II was murdered in 1327, only 19 years after being on the throne. Christopher Marlowe's play Edward II, written in 1592, was based on this English king who is said to have had a mysterious relationship with Piers Gaveston.

However, his son, Edward III, had a good long reign of 50 years until 1377 and had 14 children.

Next up in line was Richard II, the grandson of Edward III, who ruled till 1399 and died without leaving an heir.

Hence, there was a change in power, and the House of Lancaster, descending from John of Gaunt, the third son of Edward III, took the throne when Henry IV was placed on it in 1399. He reigned till the year 1413 in the 15th century.

In the 14th century, London lost almost half of its population during the Black Death. This is a pandemic that is said to have been one of the worst to affect medieval Europe, and it's said to have killed around 25 million people during the period of 1347-1351.

This time goes down as one of the harshest times in English history.

Scientists and historians believe that the reason behind the Black Death was Yersinia pestis, a bacterium known to cause plague and which is usually transmitted to humans by rodents. It's said to have entered England in 1348, probably through trade routes that led from China to Africa and the Mediterranean.

The time period from the 5th century to the 14th century in medieval Europe is said to be the Dark Ages, as many believe that there were little to no scientific or cultural advancements that took place during this period.

When it came to the political life of Europe or England during the Middle Ages, most of it was based on feudalism. So, under the monarchs, or the ruling heads, were the lords who used to control specific areas.

The local lords did hold a lot of power, and most of them lived in huge manors. Apart from the serfs, the lowest class of people in society would have been the slaves.

One of the most common conflicts during the Middle Ages was the dominance of the church over the state. Even though Catholicism was the leading force, the rulers also wanted to have a similar amount of power.

Economic Facts About 14th Century England

Without the economic significance of the Middle Ages, Europe, and even England, would not have been so powerful. However, times were tough due to the presence of the plague, and many people ended up dying.

When it came to the economic stratification of society, medieval England was divided into three classes: the clergy, who formed the head of the church; the knights, who were the power behind the wars; and peasants, those who mainly worked in trade or land.

There was turmoil in the economy during the 14th century due to the plague, and things did go bad as half the English population was wiped out due to the disease.

This changed the economy as a more modern style like cash rents for land replaced the old demesne system where a local lord would have power over the lands. Moreover, the English parliament tried to pass laws like the Ordinance of Labourers and the Statute of Labourers, which were meant to fix wages in the pre-plague situation.

Trade during the 14th century included things like spices, slaves, perfumes, gold, jewelry, leather items, animal skins, as well as luxury textiles such as silk.

But, in the 15th century, the trade within England, especially London, shifted more towards the cloth industry.

As the Hundred Years War began, it took a toll on the overall economy of England, which resulted in the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. On top of that, all peasants had to pay a 10% tax to the church, known as a tithe, based on the value of the land where they farmed.

Hence, you can imagine why serfdom came to a standstill by the end of the 14th century.

Many even had to give up the profitable area of mining due to the stunted growth of the economy. And, the country had to sustain the effects way into the 15th century before things started to look good.

Cultural Facts About 14th Century England

One of the key ways to learn what life in 14th century England was like is to learn more about its culture and society. Hence, here are some of the different aspects of what life was like for people in medieval England.

A significant change that took place during the medieval era was the growth of western Europe, and England occupied a huge part of it.

The English countryside grew smaller, giving way to bigger towns. Some people believe that all medieval folk would have been dirty, but that isn't true because religion played an important role in medieval life, and being clean was seen as a good thing.

Life did revolve around the Catholic Church, and the clergy often worked as advisors to the king.

The idea of religious pilgrimages also played an important role during medieval times, and people did try to go on more perilous journeys. 'The Canterbury Tales', written by Geoffrey Chaucer, is based on such a journey of pilgrims coming from all walks of life.

At the same time, traveling for long distances worked out well for the tradesmen, and they did have the habit of going quite far to secure a good deal.

Even though it's often portrayed that it was a medieval thing to burn witches at the stake, those beliefs actually emerged in the 16th century.

Similarly, the idea of gargoyles being protectors of churches from evil spirits is an equally wrong idea, as the sculptures were mainly installed to drive out rainwater without letting it seep into the main building. On top of that, pagan beliefs about ghosts and spirits were highly condemned as well as seen as sinful in front of the church.

However, education was still a distant dream, and most of society was illiterate.

If you belonged to the upper class, such as English barons or lords, life would have been good. Yet most common folk had a hard time dealing with the consequences of the bad times. Most were under the constant pressure of work and had to live a strict life under the church.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for 14th Century England Facts: Find Out More About The Medieval Age then why not take a look at 1920s facts, or 1925 facts?