Uncovering the lives of the common folk throughout history is never easy. While we may never know what the common man and woman was thinking in the eighth century, we do have some little information about how they lived. We’ve looked at food and drink, and now let’s look at their home sweet homes.
First let’s get the obvious out of the way – they built with what was available, which meant wood, and wood doesn’t last long unless it is preserved under unusual natural circumstances. Add that fact to the lamentable dearth of documentation that refers, in any way, to the life of the masses, and you’re going to come up short of everything you might want to know. But there is enough to catch a glimpse of an early medieval village through the fog of an otherwise dark age…