Holidays in Medieval Worlds

[mhd]

Originally Posted by Rupert

Even so, there was generally a fairly solid limit on how long they could be called up for, after which they had to be paid.

Not everywhere. If I remember correctly, Britain was a bit on the leading edge here, but in continental Europe laws were rare and even then often without sanctions for the landholders (appealing to their good Christian nature instead).

[DeathDaisy]

my perspective is from studying historical farming and society in sweden, so dont take this as universal for everyone everywhere. farmers in sweden had a bit more agency than in many other places, including representation in the government etc. however, as I see it, and I think it holds true for many farmers thruout europe, talking of how they were on-the-clock and off-the-clock is an anachronism(good pun, Im here all week folks). when saying farmers worked six hours a day 150 days a year it doesnt mean they woke up at 7, got to work at 8, had 2 hrs of lunch at 12 and clocked out at 4 pm to drink with their mates. the concept of work time vs leisure time we got today didnt really exist until the industrial era.

they did stuff when there was stuff to do, except on holidays of course, which werent five weeks long since ppl werent idiots and knew the animals would die. they had a day here a day there. they worked from sunrise to sunset during season, and they were bored out of their skulls during summer and winter which explains why there are more holidays during those times and why everyone was an alcoholic. slouching is incredibly boring it turns out. there was always something to be done, but very little of it had to be done now this very instant. the crops didnt rot if you spent an hour or two talking with a friend or taking a nap.

I read lots of interesting but sad accounts of ppl from agrarian society beginning wage work. an interesting example of pre-industrial mentality I read a while ago:
this was in the late 19th, maybe early 20th century, so far from medieval, but it shows the difference between farm work and more modern on-the-clock work. if anything, ppl had more to do than in earlier times. sweden was incredibly late with the industrialization so the ppl that began working there were still farmers first and foremost.

anyway, a new textile factory had been opened by some ******* industrialist in western sweden, and he was visited by an english colleague for some reason or other, who of course came from a place where industrialism and wagers had been established for probably over 100 years. this bloke described his impressions from the swedish factory, and how the women "hooked arms and did a little dance when they met between the machines" and such things, but how theyd soon learn to stop wasting time with such nonsense. Im paraphrasing cuz I really cant remember the details, but anyway, ppl were a lot more chill when working, and the entrepreneurs had to threaten and beat it out of them.

anyway, tl;dr the middle ages sucked for a boatload of reasons but a free farmer ie most ppl probably werent stressed out about what time the clock was

[DanHoward]

Exactly. As already said, some days they would work dawn to dusk but on other days they would have nothing to do for most of the day. Holidays might add up to five weeks every year but they were spread out with more time off during slack periods.

The Industrial Revolution didn't make life easier for workers. It made life harder with more stress, lower life expectancy, and a longer work week. We've had to make advances in medicine and technology just to try and counter all the problems that the Industrial Revolution has caused. More than 60% of Americans are regularly taking at least one prescription drug. Most of these would be unnecessary if some simple lifestyle changes were made.

[Flyndaran]

I don't have to take hours to cook if I don't want to.
I don't have to take time mending my clothes if I don't want to.
I don't have to fix my apartment structure if I don't want to.
There are so many things we just replace cheaply or hire someone else to do that most medieval people just did themselves in their "free time".

[DanHoward]

And most of us have to spend so much time at work that we don't get to enjoy all the benefits that modern society gives us. We also conveniently forget that most of our cheap clothes and appliances come from exploiting cheaper workers from other countries and destroying their environment instead of our own.

The trick is to find a balance between work and leisure and most people don't have it. Personally I'd rather stay home and make a chair that will last several lifetimes instead of going to work to continuously pay for cheap replacements. I'll happily work long enough to get me some tools to make that chair but I'm not prepared to work just so I can buy new furniture every few years. Even less so if some of it was made by a child chained up in a plantation or workshop overseas.