Medieval House

The Medieval house of the 14th century England was generally drawn with the gable end toward the street. The gables are usually decorated with richly carved bargeboards and crockets. The gable ends have sometimes corbie-steps, an ornament which was more prevalent in France, The Low Countries, and Germany than in England, examples of a latter date being present mostly in Scotland. Most of the Medieval houses in Flemish towns have the corbie-steps gables.

Corbie-Steps Decorating a Medieval House

The entrance of a Medieval house could be on the second floor, by an external stair, or on the ground floor, by a few steps with a wooden porch, highly ornamented and painted.

Generally, the Medieval house of the 14th century had its windows protected by external shutters, attached by hinges to the transoms. Sometimes, the windows had also porch-like constructions, to protect against the weather.

Viollet le Duc is stating that glass windows were used in France long before the 14th century. However, if we look at all Western Europe, it can be said that only by the end of the 15th century glass windows became common.

In terms of decorating the houses, it was the custom to paint the walls externally as well as internally.

In London, until the 14th century, the typical house was white. Mostly as a precaution against fire, it was mandatory that people whitewash their houses, even the thatches, when used for roofing. In the 14th century, coal replaced wood as main fuel, the white walls were affected and some citizens resorted to other colors to embellish the external look of their houses. Painting the walls in colors like blue, green, red or yellow was also common in the Low Countries, and even in Eastern Europe.

The half-timbered house of the Middle Ages had the timber painted in black, with the walls in lighter colors, resulting in a very picturesque effect. Wonderful examples are to be found all over Europe. In England, especially in Lancashire and Cheshire. In France, Dinan and Strasbourg are representative, as it is Rothenburg am der Tauber in Germany.

The interior decoration of the Medieval house consisted mainly in elaborated painted woodwork. In terms of content, Gothic furniture was prevalent, with the Medieval decor displaying common traits in castles and ordinary houses. The main furniture pieces were the same, with more luxury and a more elaborated execution in the castles, but also in the houses of the rich merchants.

Timbered Houses in Strasbourg

The construction of the Medieval house in towns (the town house) was chiefly determined by scarcity of space within the city walls, resulting in houses with many stores. As opposed to the castle, here the hall lost its importance. Towns were living mainly through commerce and trades, and convenience and sociability were of less importance when compared to the owner’s trade. Business had to be transacted in front of the house, where the open workshops were located, such as they could be looked into from the street.

In the Hanseatic League towns, the warehouse of the great merchants occupied nearly the entire house, and the living rooms were pushed into the rear, or high in the eaves. As the guilds were organized both politically and socially, hospitality was enjoyed in taverns or the lordly drinking-halls.

The houses of the town bourgeoisie began to compete with the castles by the end of the 14th and especially in the 15h century. The cities were powerful, the citizens wealthy. The rich merchants became more affluent than the landed gentry, and started to imitate the knightly style of living.

The merchant’s old Medieval house became a stately mansion, with spacious halls and wide-spread living-rooms, far more richly furnished than those of the feudal castles. And the very rich merchants built palaces, like Jacques Coeur Palace in Bruges, one of the finest examples of civil Gothic architecture.