Why did people travel in the middle ages?

Answer 1

People traveled for several reasons in the Middle Ages. Some traveled for reasons of state, and these included everything from envoys and ambassadors to spies and young princesses on their ways to marry some king.

Many people, millions, went on Crusades. These were men and women, young and old, and many did not go on one of the nine major and several minor crusades to the Holy Land but on other crusades to other places.

Many people went on pilgrimages. A lovely picture of one such group is the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, which is especially interesting because it was a contemporary description of pilgrims traveling along the roads and taking meals and sleeping in the inns of southern England.

A lot of people who traveled were merchants, without whom the Middle Ages would not have progressed as they did (and without whom the Black Death would not have spread the way it did.)

Students had to travel to go to any of the more than seventy universities that sprang up at the time.

There were classes of people whose lives revolved around travel. Tinkers were one group. There were itinerant cobblers, and other craftsmen. Also, there were musicians of various types and other performers, who most commonly travelled, unless they were able to get posts at some court. Yet another group was the Romani, who arrived in Europe during the Middle Ages. All of these groups are referred to as travelers or Gypsies (though the later term is mostly applied to the Romani, who, by the way, were related to neither the Romans nor the Romanians, nor to the Egyptians, after whom they were being called).

Answer 2

People traveled for several reasons in the Middle Ages. Some traveled for reasons of state, and these included everything from envoys and ambassadors to spies and young princesses on their ways to marry some king.

Many people, millions, went on Crusades. These were men and women, young and old, and many did not go on one of the nine major and several minor crusades to the Holy Land but on other crusades to other places.

Many people went on pilgrimages. A lovely picture of one such group is the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, which is especially interesting because it was a contemporary description of pilgrims traveling along the roads and taking meals and sleeping in the inns of southern England.

A lot of people who traveled were merchants, without whom the Middle Ages would not have progressed as they did (and without whom the Black Death would not have spread the way it did.)

Students had to travel to go to any of the more than seventy universities that sprang up at the time.

There were classes of people whose lives revolved around travel. Tinkers were one group. There were itinerant cobblers, and other craftsmen. Also, there were musicians of various types and other performers, who most commonly travelled, unless they were able to get posts at some court. Yet another group was the Romani, who arrived in Europe during the Middle Ages. All of these groups are referred to as travelers or Gypsies (though the later term is mostly applied to the Romani, who, by the way, were related to neither the Romans nor the Romanians, nor to the Egyptians, after whom they were being called).

Answer 3

It was hard to go anywhere. You walked, went by horse, took a boat, or rode in a wagon. Most people walked. The roads were bad or didn't exist and were dangerous. Since there were no lights to move around after dark was dangerous. You could die if you didn't know the road because you wouldn't know the turns, bridges, or rough spots or you could be robbed. We are very use to getting about any time any day and getting there fast. To travel 30 miles by horse would take you two days and walking would take you longer. So, if you left your house to go to a city 30 miles away it would take you two days to get there, another 3-4 days to do your business, and another 2 days back. That meant that you spent 2 weeks away and in the mean time your crops wouldn't be taken care of and your animals might be dead.

Answer 4

black death Plague caused people to fear of travel. It scared people thus.