Family Life

A family consisted of a married couple and their children, occasionally with other immediate relatives. Wives stayed at home and husbands worked, and children who were older often helped in the shop or fields. Because people married to have children, sex and procreation were important topics about which numerous manuals were written in the 15th century. With the advent of printing, these pamphlets spread throughout Europe. Those intended for the use of priests instructing betrothed couples were rather general; others were quite specific concerning sexual positions and activities. Although the husband had legal control over his wife, she could complain to the priest if he wanted to engage in “inappropriate” activities, meaning any

12.3 Venetian lacquered wood chest, c. 1580. Islamic influence can be seen in the lacquerwork and arabesque ornament. (Photograph courtesy of Sotheby’s Inc., © 2003)

Daily Life

Sexual act that could not result in pregnancy. Although women often had as many as 10 or 15 children, only two or three might survive to adulthood.

Couples enjoyed domestic pastimes, such as games and music, and small children played with pets, rolled hoops, and participated in ball games and similar activities involving simple, handmade toys such as stuffed dolls and hobbyhorses. Older children helped with the work or focused on their studies (see chapter 11, Education). Except for the upper classes, houses were quite small, often no more than two rooms with a low ceiling, and a family of four usually slept in one large bed. In winter houses in northern Europe were chilly, dark, and dank. Fireplaces were used for most domestic cooking and heating, meaning that the house could be smoky whenever the weather was warm and humid unless it had a metal stove. In summer houses in southern Europe were stifling in the daytime heat, so that meals and many other household activities occurred outside. A small loom, for example, might be set up on a terrace. Families regulated their life according to sunlight, rising with the Sun and going to bed not long after sunset. The day usually began and ended with the family’s kneeling in prayer. Outside cities people were relatively self-sufficient, making almost everything they needed. Until the consumer society of the latter 16th century, most families had simple needs: a couple of outfits and pair of shoes each; some kitchen utensils; a bed, chamberpot, table, bench, and chest, lamps; and tools for the farm or workshop.