Days of Knights and Damsels: An Activity Guide

Days of Knights and Damsels: An Activity Guide — page 3
stand each other's language If you traveled beyond three or four villages you probably wouldn't understand the lan guage People worked hard and many died from sickness At that time no one knew what made people sick They thought that illness was caused by smells or magic People then had very simple lives but they began reading and writing trading goods in markets and going to fairs where they saw new things such as spices silk fabric and perfumes as well as jugglers puppet shows and plays Religion was very important People went to the church or synagogue day and prayed before every they went to bed at night in the morning when they got up and before meals Some people devoted their lives to the church living together in monasteries as monks or nuns There they grew gardens wrote books and taught lessons to children They cared for orphans and the poor As protection against evil spells children wore pieces of coral on necklaces Children of ordinary families had to begin working as soon as they could walk They gathered sticks for firewood picked berries and collected the bits of wool that fell off of the sheep As they got older they were given jobs herding geese or pigs Girls were hired out as maids when they were six years old By the time children were 10 years old they were working like adults ChildhoodWhat Was It