How did people use water in the middle ages?

Answer 1

AnswerWater in the middle ages was used for different purposes. One was water was used to power the mills that were built at that time. Another was, of course, for drinking purposes, but there was no public water system. In result, a person couldn't take regular baths or couldn't easily have access to drinking water. A person would have to go to a near by water sourse and carry it to ones home. AnswerWater was used for washing, bathing, cooking and drinking just as it is today. They bathed regularly because they believed that a clean body was an indicator of a clean soul, and because they believed that diseases were spread by bad air, with bad odors. I have read that most large villages had public baths, and people without access to one would bathe in brooks, even in the winter.

People of the time may have known that water from rivers could not be trusted, but springs and wells were used commonly. London had an large number of wells and springs for public use in the Middle Ages, and both wells were dug throughout the time for manor houses. The artesian well, invented in 1126 by monks in Artois, France, was an improvement in which a hollow iron rod was driven into the ground until water was hit that had sufficient pressure to come to the surface on its own. Castles and other structures had cisterns that were kept full with rain water.

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Answer 2

What if the mother died in child birth, would the youngest child get the water because the older children are on the farm or something?

Answer 3

Yes, water wells were used in the middle ages. But people also got water from lakes and streams.

Answer 4

From the near by river. The women would fetch it in a bucket for the family.