This lesson focuses on the experiences of different types of travellers in the medieval period.
It aims to dispel misconceptions about medieval people as necessarily static and unworldly.
Students first reflect on the reasons why they and other people in the modern world undertake journeys.
Next, they consider the (sometimes differing, sometimes similar) reasons why journeys were undertaken in the medieval period.
They are tasked with plotting six different medieval journeys on to a map. In this activity they encounter pilgrims, Jewish moneylenders, Vikings, Slavs, warriors and refugees.
Students learn, too, about the experiences of medieval peasants – whose lives were not rooted in the single parish or village in quite the way that we might have been led to believe.
Finally, they are guided in writing up their conclusions, drawing on their new knowledge of movement and travel in medieval Europe.
Download lesson
- Lesson presentation: PowerPoint
- Lesson write-up: PDF
- Worksheets 1 & 2: PDF
