Household officers often had an annual wage and some additional benefits, with wages paid in quarterly installments.
Most trades or trade guilds would maintain a lodge inside large cities. The compound often included a large meeting hall, one or more communal workshops, and a courtyard for events. It was not a residence.
“Normal” Wages for Skilled/Unskilled Labor* [About 30-40 percent of most cities would be laborers and poorer workmen.]
Paid labor often did not take place on religious holidays (feast days) or Sundays. So in places where the churches were strong, often only 250 to 260 work days per year were available for earning. Perhaps surprisingly, then, 4.5- to 5-day work weeks were common.
Over time, money fee payments and money wages were replacing labor service obligations.
Hired Workers (standard work day=~8 hours (morning+afternoon)
[“pressing the pace”=extra wages for longer hours]
[Builder (master architect) 3s/day+clothing and candles+bouche of court privileges (hall; food, drink)+tax exemptions+(sometimes) life allowance or manor fief]
Craftworker (master) 6p/day
Craftworker (skilled) 5p/day
Apprentice Room and board (~3p); pennies on festival days
Apprenticeship Entry Fee 1-2c; up to 8c in Khartras or Tricolles
Laborer (unskilled) 3p/day
Mason 5-6p/day [also worked as quarriers]
Bricklayer, Tilers 4p/day
Miners/Quarriers 4p/day
Stone-cutter 4p/day
Furnaceman 3p/day
Carpenter 4-4.5p/day
Plumber 4p/day
Thatcher 4p/day [or 3p+food/day]
Thatcher’s Assistant 2.25p/day
Ploughman (short-term) 6-8p/day (harvest)[~15-20s/year]; 3p to 4p/day (haymaking)
Ploughman (long-term) 2p/day? [~10s and 5 quarters of grain/year]; [1 or 2 shillings of other gifts; clothing or cloth, typically]
Threshing (often also ploughmen) 2p/day with food
Farm Laborer (Female) 2p/day
Wagon driver 5s/quarter+10p/week for board
Porters 2-3p/day
Salt-maker, salt boiler ~2 to 3.5p per day
Salt Porter/salt Carrier 1-1.25p per quarter to nearside or far side
Special refuse cleaner 2p/day
Weaver 5p/day
Sailor or seaman 3p/day
Ship master 9p-1s/day, depending on ship size
Bailiff, or Sergeant 30-60s/year, plus other perks
Annual Income Ranges [Household expenses consumed 40-60%]
Sovereign 25,000-50,000c+ [plus ‘state’ income]
High/Wealthiest Noble (Duke, Earl) 1,000-15,000c+
Noble/Clerical Officer 400-1,000c+ [typically 20+ manors/fiefs]
Wealthy Knight 100-200c+
Knight of modest means 25-50c
Esquire 20-30c
Artisan, Gentry, Yeoman 15-20c
Ploughman ~4c
Wet nurse 50s/year+room and board
100s/year if in personal home
Lady’s maid 30s/year+room and board
Other Prices
Food and Drink
Grains and Breads–Grain is cheaper in villages and more expensive in cities. But prices fluctuated based on harvest yield and availability. This variance will drive you insane if you let it. Most kingdoms tried to regulate prices, either by laws or by local decisions of the justice of the peace (Bread riots=no fun). So, of course, sometimes the legal price and the purchase price also were different.
Here is the key point to understand: you legally should always be able to buy a farthing (1/4 penny) loaf of bread, but the size of the loaf depends on the price of grain. So loaves literally can vary in size from as high as 5.6 troy (12-oz.) pounds to as low as 4 troy ounces. Figure that most of the time, people were eating a smaller piece of a 1-1.5 lb. (16-24 oz., avoirdupois pounds) loaf of bread for a morning snack and/or late supper and splitting a 3-4 lb. loaf among about four adults or two adults and two-to-four children during the dinner or luncheon (the main meal sometime around mid or late afternoon). The traditional sack of flour weighed 280 pounds (20 stones, but changed to 140 lbs. later for safety reasons and ease of transport). So figure that a baker could make about 80 large loaves from one large sack of flour; therefore; one baker, working with one journeyman or apprentice and one boy assistant, could feed somewhere around 400 to 500 people per day. The quality of the bread (rye (or barley, oat)<white) also affects the price.
Bread (one loaf) 0.25p-1p
Bread (daily loaf for 1 year) ~8s
Rye (cheaper, mostly for peasants); dredge (oats and barley); maslin (mixed wheat and rye); wheat (more expensive)
[A farthing loaf could vary in size based on the cost of grain as well as the allowable variations; more or less a Tower pound (12 oz.), and a two-pound loaf may have been common]
Horsebread 0.25p-0,50p
Wheat 5s-6s/quarter
Rye 3s-4s6p/quarter*** (cheaper than wheat)
Barley 3s-3s6p/quarter
Oats ~1.5-2s/quarter (4-5.5p/bushel)
Eggs and Dairy Products
Eggs 1p (10) ; 2p (24)
Butter (1 lb.) 1p
Cheese
Whey
Vegetables
Beans
Peas
Onions
Leaks
Cabbage
Turnips
Parsnips
Garlic
Poultry
Capon (fat) 6p/animal
Chicken 4p/animal
Goose 6p (legal); 7-8p (“asking price”)
Geese 1.5p each (rural)
Hen 1.75-2p
Fish
Herring (6-10) 1p [white=salted; red=smoked]
Conger (salted) 5p
Cod
Eels
Mussels
Oysters
Fruits, Nuts, and Spices
Apples 1s9p/for 300
Pears 10p/for 300
Strawberries
Cherries
Figs
Grapes
Dried Fruit (Raisins, Dates, Prunes) ~3-4p/pound
Plums
Rice 1.5p/pound
Almonds (1 lb.) 3p; [1s/5 lbs.]
Hazelnuts
Walnuts
Pepper (1lb) 1s-1s4p
Ginger (1lb.) 2s3p-2s6p
Cinnamon 10p-1s/pound
Honey 12p/gallon
Wax (1 lb.) and Honey (1 gallon) 2s [output of one hive]
Hive+Wave+Honey 3s4p
Cloves 13s/pound?
Nutmeg 6-10s/pound
Sugar (1 lb.) 1s7p-1s8p [almost all spices typically sold by the pound]
Salt 3p-5p??/bushel [often sold by the hundredweight, too, at price set by mayor]
Candles 1.5p/pound (rural); 2.5p/pound (city); 2s3d/two dozen.
Meat
Roast pig 8d
Sheep 6p
Leg of pork 4p
Hare (large) 12p
Ale, Beer, and Wine [Ale prices also fell under law or court controls.]
Ale (gallon) 1.5p (best quality)/1p (medium)/0.75p (low quality)/gallon
Wine (gallon) 8p/9p/10p/gallon [3p/4p/8p/gallon]
Wine (pipe)[120 gallons?]
Wine (tun)[240 gallons?]
Beer (gallon)
Barley malt, malted wheat, malted dredge, oat malt=~50 to 96 gallons of ale per quarter of malt
Upkeep or Food Allowances (for household members or guests; budgeted average)
Lord 7p/day
Esquire 4p/day
Yeoman or Soldier 3p/day
Groom/Page 1p/day [maybe a few farthing loaves or pottage, some onions or leeks, ale]
Horse 10lbs. of grain(oats, often)/day+~10lbs. forage
Pig 3-4s
Cow 9s-10s
Ox 13s 1.25p
Sheep 1s6p
Commodities Prices [village price is lower than city price, usually]
Salt 6s4d/quarter [probably in 12-oz. pounds]
Wood (from 1 tree) 1s
[Wood [1 cord=~128 cubic feet of small logs (4’X4’X8′]]
[Iron (hundredweight) 7s]
Linen (1 yd.) 6p
Wool (2nd grade, 1 yd.) 2s
Wool (fine grade, 1 yd.) 4s
Canvas (12 ells) 3s9 1/2p
Tools
Hatchet 5p
Sharpening axes or chisels 2p/dozen
Other Goods
Candles–wax (1 lb.) 1s [made from honeycombs; ~3x the cost of tallow candles)
Candles–tallow (1 lb.) 3p [made from sheep fat]
Surcoat 2s
Russet gown 9p
Hood 4p
Cap 7p
Gown 4-5s
Fustian shoes 6p
Products and Materials
Bricks 5s/1000
Lime 16p/quarter
Estate or Shop Income
~5 pounds/year=enough to support a yeoman archer
[Profit Income from one acre 4s6d?]
Rents and Special payments
Entry fine (one-time payment for assuming control of land)=6s8d to~13s4d to 17s5d to 30s per yardland, or ~6p/acre for assuming control of land)
[Annual rent (yardland) 7s to 20s (~4p to 8p per acre)
Normal land tax assessment 2s/1 hide
Rent to farm one acre 3-9p/year; typically 6p
Rent for meadow 9p to 1s9p [three times arable acre]
[Rent for one yardland 10s-20s, ranging from 7s-40s; higher cash=lower service]
Pasturing of one sheep (summer) 2p
Grazing for one sheep (in meadow) 1p
Bed (common room, inn) 2p/day
Bed (with snack+2 meals) 1s/day
Bed (private room+meals) 1c/day
Room (rental, in city/town) 6p/month
Cottage (rental) 5s/year
Corrodian Contract Fee ?? [lodgers in monasteries with room, board, and sometimes other allowances]
Craftsman’s shopfront+ townhouse 20s [annually to lord]
Renting merchant’s house (incl. warehouse) 2-3c/year
Tax for road repair 0.5p/yardland or one cartload of stone
Annual income from a typical manor 20-40c
Board for one day 2.75-3p/day; 20p/week
Buy
Cottage 2c
[House (four bays) 8 marks]
Row House 5c
Hunting lodge (wood) 25c
Townhouse+Warehouse ~30-50c
Townhouse (wealthy) ~80-100c
[Barn (large) 8c]
Build Cost
Great Galley ~1,000-3,000c?
War Galley ~300-600c?
Cargo Boat (30 tons) ~40-60c?
Tower ~150-200c
Church (medium, stone) ~1,000c
Castle (small) ~500-2,000c
Castle (large) ~5,000-10,000c+
Fulling Mill ~9c to 11c [~1c entry fee and ~3c annual rent]
[Stone tower (w/ noble bedroom) 1,000 gold crowns]
[Stone keep and castle (large but not largest) 7,000 gold crowns]
Hiring a substitute/replacement for a military levy 8p [often from a communal fund]
Payment into village fund to avoid a levy ~2-16p [varied based on means]
Scutage (fee to avoid feudal levy for nobles) 20s (sometimes more)
Cow Gift ~2p [small payment for returning a missing or stolen cow]
Travel
Warhorse 40c -80c
Palfrey ~5 marks to ~27c; average=10 marks
Rouncey 40s to 5 marks
Cart horse 15s to 20s
Sumpter Horse ?
Water Transport of goods ~0.5p/ton/mile
Cargo (200 tons, by water) 10c to 20c, based on distance
Transport of goods 1-1.5p/ton/mile for a day[~2p/mile for longer trips]]
[Transport of wine (in winter) 3.5p/ton/mile]
[Boat (fishing, small to <30 tons) 3 to 27£] [crew of five maximum]
Barge (to rent) 10c
Cart (one-horse) 2-2.5p/day [day roundtrip]
Cart (two-horse) 3-3.5p/day
Cart (to rent) 4s (for short periods)
Hiring a courier from Large city to town (~60 miles) 10p
Ferry ride per horseman 1p
Bath (public, steam) 2p [Some cities were permissive regarding both gender and clothing; some were not.]
Bath (tub) 4p
Hot water for one person 2p
*[Based on recorded medieval prices or costs from Penn, Dyer, Singman, McLean, and others]
For food and drink, I used J. E. T. Rogers’ eight basic food categories, the ones common to most English households; staple foods vary for other cultures.
Typical daily intake (aristocratic or prosperous household)=“2 to 3 lbs. of wheat bread, 2 to 3 lbs. of meat or fish (beef, pork, and mutton favored over game and poultry), and a gallon of ale” (Singman and McLean 159).
Typical daily intake (prosperous peasant)=2 to 3 lbs. bread, 8 oz. of meat or fish, and 2 to 3 pints of ale
Typical daily intake (poor peasant)=More water, less ale; less or no usage of wheat; more rye, barley, oats, beans, and peas; pottages, puddings, or gruel in place of bread.
Boon Days–when peasants fulfill their service and help to bring in the lord’s harvest, they receive a variety of rewards (a rake loaded with hay, a grain allowance of several quarters; some lower-quality butter and cheese); peasants often receive a meal in the hall when paying their rent.
Marching Speed–~2 miles per hour for infantry; ~3 miles per hour for cavalry. Rest periods of five minutes per hour and ~half an hour or more about three-quarters into the day’s distance (partly to allow the rear to close up)
Movement Distances–royal pace=~10 miles/day; foot pace=10-15 miles/day; mounted traveler=20-30 miles/day on good roads; fast/messenger pace with remounts=60-80 miles/day; special fastest pace (supreme exertion, multiple remounts)=100-150 miles miles/day for three days max.; cart/wagon=~150 miles/8 days (over good roads; oxen=~2 miles/hour (for ~8 hours)
