Some notion of the extreme poverty of the common people of Europe in the Middle Ages may be obtained from a treatise written by Sir John Fortescue.
Though written (in Latin) in the latter part of the fifteenth century, his description would have served equally well in the preceding three or four hundred years.
He says, in part, to quote from a translation made in the following century, that the French common people
“be so impoverishid and distroyyd, that they may unneth lyve (barely live). Thay drink water, thay eate apples, with bred right brown made of rye. Thay eate no fleshe, but if it be a litill larde, or of the entrails or heds of bests sclayne for the nobles and merchants of the land. They weryn no wollyn, but if it be a pore cote under their uttermost garment, made of grete convass, and cal it a frok. Their hosyn be of like canvas, and passen not their knee, wherfor they be gartrid and their thyghs bare. Their wifs and children gone bare fote.”
Under conditions such as these the common people, little better than beasts, were reduced to treachery, thievery, and every sort of rascality. Footpads abounded.
The readiest victims were wayfarers, especially such as traveled with few or no servants in inclement weather. The servants were usually dispersed easily by a gang of footpads, and it took but a quick hand to throw the traveler’s cloak over his head and thus blindfold him.
Lucky the traveler who was able to slip out of his cloak, or cape, and take to his heels (see ESCAPE). But the victim’s cloak was almost as greatly prized as his purse, for it provided protection and warmth.
It was through this latter association, of the cloak with the robber, that the cloak came to be called a robe, the thing “robbed.”
Related Posts
-
What does the word “gauntlet” mean and Where does the word gauntlet come from?
During the Thirty Years' War, which lasted from 1618 to 1648, the English forces observed a form of disciplinary punishment used among their German allies. It looked highly effective, so it was not…
-
What does the word incubus (succubus) mean and Where does the word “incubus” come from?
In the Middle Ages any woman who gave birth to a witch or sorceress was supposed to have been visited, in her sleep, by a male demon or evil spirit. The name given…
-
Where does the word “Toilet” come from and What does the word Toilet mean in French?
The word "toilet" has had a rather curious development in the little more than four hundred years it has been in the language. Its origin was the French toilette, the diminutive of wile,…
-
What Does the Word Scapegoat Mean and Where Did the Word Scapegoat Come From?
A Scapegoat is a member of a group singled out for undeserved blame or negative treatment. The word "scapegoat" is a mistranslation of the word Azazel. An early Greek translation of the Old…
-
What Does the Word “Clock” Mean in French and Where Did the Word For a Large Timepiece Come From?
Like cloche in French, the word clock literally means bell. When the large mechanical clock was invented in the fourteenth century it didn't tell time with a face and hands, but rather by…
-
What Does the Word “Gimmick” Mean and Where Did the Word Gimmick Come From?
Gimmick or gimac, either way it's spelled, a gimmick is a gadget or idea that gives you an advantage. The second spelling is an anagram of magic. The word comes from the language…
