English Wayfaring Life in the Middle Ages (xivth Century)
1889
Translated by Lucy Toulmin Smith
We know more about a Roman soldier's breakfast than about the merchant who passed through your village in 1350. Jusserand's landmark 1889 study asks a simple, devastating question: why do we have the complete life stories of pharaohs, while the ordinary people who built medieval England have vanished? This is not a book about kings and battles. It is an act of historical resurrection. Jusserand constructs the daily existence of medieval England's invisible majority through merchant records, court rolls, guild documents, and ecclesiastical accounts. He traces the pilgrim walking to Canterbury with scallop shell and staff, the pedlar carrying tinware across the Fens, the friar moving between manor houses, the minstrel whose songs are now silent. We learn how they dressed, what they ate, where they slept, what they feared, and how they spoke to strangers by the roadside. The fourteenth century was an era of upheaval - plague, peasant revolt, shifting power - and these wayfarers carried news, goods, and culture through every corner of the kingdom.
About English Wayfaring Life in the Middle Ages (xivth Century)
Chapter Summaries
- Introduction
- Jusserand introduces his methodology of using official records rather than literary sources alone to reconstruct medieval life. He explains how wayfarers served as vital links between isolated communities, spreading news and ideas across 14th-century England during a crucial period of national formation.
- I.1
- Examines the construction and maintenance of medieval infrastructure, from Roman roads still in use to new bridges built by religious orders. The chapter details the financial and legal obligations for road maintenance, the role of the Church in infrastructure projects, and the constant struggle against decay and neglect.
- I.2
- Describes the various modes of medieval travel, from royal progresses with their elaborate carriages to common carts and horseback riding. The chapter explores the experiences of different social classes on the road, accommodation in monasteries and inns, and the daily realities of medieval travel.
Key Themes
- Social Mobility and Class Structure
- The book explores how travel both reinforced and challenged medieval social hierarchies. While nobles traveled in luxury and comfort, common people faced exploitation and danger, yet the roads also provided opportunities for social advancement through trade and pilgrimage.
- Religious Devotion vs. Commercial Exploitation
- A central tension between genuine piety and the commercialization of religion. Pilgrims sought spiritual salvation while pardoners and false hermits exploited their faith for profit, revealing the corruption within medieval religious institutions.
- Authority and Corruption
- The abuse of power by royal officials, church authorities, and local administrators who exploited travelers. The book demonstrates how those entrusted with public service often prioritized personal gain over their duties to society.
Characters
- J. J. Jusserand(protagonist)
- French scholar and author who wrote this comprehensive study of medieval English travel and wayfaring life. He served as a diplomat and academic, bringing scholarly rigor to the examination of 14th-century English society.
- Lucy Toulmin Smith(major)
- The learned translator who converted Jusserand's French text into English. She was herself qualified to write such a work, demonstrating the scholarly collaboration between French and English academics.
- Geoffrey Chaucer(major)
- The great English poet whose Canterbury Tales provides literary evidence for medieval travel customs. Though not physically present, his works serve as a primary source throughout the study.
- William Langland(major)
- Author of 'Piers Plowman' and keen observer of medieval social conditions. His satirical works provide insight into the corruption and social changes of 14th-century England.
- Edward III(major)
- King of England whose reign exemplified the mobile medieval court. His constant travels and need for provisions illustrate the burden placed on common people by royal progresses.
- Richard II(major)
- English king whose deposition is depicted in contemporary manuscripts. His reign represents the political instability that affected travel and commerce in medieval England.
