Smiffys Medieval Maid Costume, Green with Dress & Headband, Historical Fancy Dress, Medieval Dress Up Costumes

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Cantor, Norman F. (1994). The Civilization of the Middle Ages. New York: Harper Perennial. ISBN 0-06-017033-6. Arabella in the 2006 children's novel Rebel's Daughter: The 1837 Rebellion Diary of Arabella Stevenson In some periods of history, the human obsession with classification by rank was applied even to servants themselves. They were often arranged into their own social hierarchies and assigned to tasks based on how closely they were allowed to work with the masters of the household. These stations were usually set in stone, and there was little opportunity for a maid to move up in the ranks once she was assigned a set of tasks.

Mrs. Beeton, The Book of Household Management, published 1861 [5] Additional duties [ edit ] Scullery maids cleaned metallic and earthenware kitchen utensils, but not fine china, stemware, crystal or plate silver.

Dustin - Old English for "dark stone" and German for "valiant fighter." It also means Thor’s stone.

Lady's maid: a senior servant who reported directly to the lady of the house, but ranked beneath the housekeeper, and accompanied her lady on travel. She took care of her mistress's clothes and hair, and sometimes served as confidante.

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This is by far the hardest blog I’ve had to write. Why? Because I simply haven’t been able to find as much information as I would have liked to. However, I will present to you what I’ve learned and hopefully it will enlighten you. If you have any additional information, please feel free to post it!

According to the accounts of Henry, son of Edward I, Henry’s head clerk’s daily wage was 4 ½ pence, while his robes were valued at 30 shillings and 8 pence – a significant expense indeed. The domestic officials who were of a lower rank than the clerks in Henry’s accounts, such as the cook and tailor, were paid 2 pence per day and their robes cost 9 shillings. It is evident that while the employees earned similar wages, the values of their robes varied greatly. It was the robes in this instance that demonstrated their difference in rank, rather than the money that they earned. Maids traditionally have a fixed position in the hierarchy of the large households, and although there is overlap between definitions (dependent on the size of the household) the positions themselves would typically be rigidly adhered to. The usual classifications of maid in a large household are: Towards the end of the Middle Ages, the functions and composition of households started to change. This was due primarily to two factors. First of all, the introduction of gunpowder to the field of warfare rendered the castle a less effective defence, and did away with the military function of the household. [48] The result was a household more focused on comfort and luxury, and with a significantly larger proportion of women. [49]

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Reuter, Timothy, ed. (2000). The New Cambridge Medieval History, Volume III c.900-c.1024. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p.47. ISBN 0-521-36447-7. As a result of the military nature of the medieval noble household, its composition was predominately male. Towards the end of the medieval period the ratio leveled out somewhat, but at an earlier date the feminine element of the household consisted only of the lady and her daughters, their attendants, and perhaps a few domestics to perform particular tasks such as washing. [5] Many of the male servants were purely military personnel; there would be a gatekeeper, as well as various numbers of knights and esquires to garrison the castle as a military unit. [6] [7] Yet many of these would also serve other functions, and there would be servants entirely devoted to domestic tasks. At the lower level, these were simply local men recruited from the localities. The higher level positions – in particular those attending on the lord – were often filled by men of rank: sons of the lord's relatives, or his retainers. [8] Sometimes the housemaid would even scrub the floors and walls with water and lye soap. (Lye soap is made from using the ashes of trees and shrubs, mixed with lard.) However this was only if they were made of stone or wood. If the wood happened to be covered over with plaster, she’d want to steer clear of using a water based cleaning method. Same goes for dirt floors. Davies, R.R. (2000). The First English Empire: Power and Identities in the British Isles 1093-1343. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 66–7. ISBN 0-19-820849-9. Abulafia, David, ed. (1999). The New Cambridge Medieval History, Volume V c.1198-c.1300. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p.408. ISBN 0-521-36289-X.

The practice of sending children away to act as servants was even more common in towns than in the countryside. [43] The inhabitants of towns largely made their livelihood as merchants or artisans, and this activity was strictly controlled by guilds. The members of these guilds would in turn employ young people – primarily boys – as apprentices, to learn the craft and later take a position as guild members themselves. [b] These apprentices made up part of the household – or "family" – as much as the children of the master. [47] Later perspectives [ edit ] Thomas More with his immediate family – painted by Holbein– presenting an ideal image of the early modern family man a b Valentine Low (3 April 2002). "Modern girl too 'soft' for 1900s life". Evening Standard . Retrieved 18 March 2017.The starting point of this beautiful fantasy outfit is our “Eleanor” dress, which we offer in a variety of different colors. In this green/white colour scheme, the combination with white accessories is eminently suitable because it looks very classy in itself. Victorian Servants Category". Victorian Life Style. Archived from the original on 2013-02-20 . Retrieved 2012-08-04.