What did a chambermaid do in medieval times?

What did a chambermaid do in medieval times?

They were provided with food, clothes and boarding inside the homes where they were employed. They were responsible for all the details of household maintenance so that their Masters could focus on matters more fitting to their social status.

What were the duties of a chambermaid?

Chambermaid Job Description

• Cleaning and Disinfecting Surfaces and Areas. After each guest vacates a room, all surfaces and areas must be properly cleaned and disinfected.
• Dusting and Polishing.
• Sweeping, Vacuuming, and Mopping.
• Organizing and Stocking.
• Changing Linens and Towels.
• Waste Removal.

What did a servant do in medieval times?

Medieval Servant Domestic servants in the Middle Ages were in charge of procuring, storing, and preparing food. Many male servants were military personnel and worked as gatekeepers and esquires. Some of them served other functions as well. At the lower level, servants were recruited from the localities.

What did female servants do in medieval times?

Medieval servants performed works as required by the employer’s household: men cooked and cleaned while women did the laundry. Like their independent rural workers, rural wage-labourers performed complementary tasks based on a gendered division of labour.

What is a male chambermaid called?

A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. A butler is usually male, and in charge of male servants, while a housekeeper is usually a woman, and in charge of female servants.

Why did they put straw on Castle floors?

The herbs were laid on the floor along with reeds, rushes, or straw, so that pleasant odours would be released when people walked on them. In a typical medieval English monastery, for instance, the floor of the dormitory would have been strewn with rushes that were swept and replaced once or twice a year.

What does a scullery maid do?

Duties of the scullery maid included the most physical and demanding tasks in the kitchen such as cleaning and scouring the floor, stoves, sinks, pots, and dishes. The scullery maid also assisted in cleaning vegetables, plucking fowl, and scaling fish.

Where did medieval servants live?

Most domestic servants would have slept in shared chambers in either the cellars or attics of the castle buildings.

What life was like for children during the Middle Ages?

From a young age, children were expected to help out at home with tasks suited to their age and development. They could care for animals and siblings, fetch and carry, cook, and even help out in the family business.

Sometimes nurses make their own beds; but the chambermaid does their cleaning in their rooms. She makes the beds of the men, cooks, kitchen maids and laundresses, etc., and sweeps, dusts, and tidies their rooms – keeping them in perfect order.

What did a medieval woman do to clean her castle?

She would need to sweep the floors, generally downstairs until those who were sleeping had risen, then she would head upstairs. But even sweeping was a big deal. For instance, a lot of medieval castles had the floors strewn with rushes or straw.

Who was the household staff of a medieval castle?

An English medieval castle, if a large one, could have a household staff of at least 50 people, which included all manner of specialised and skilled workers such as cooks, grooms, carpenters, masons, falconers, and musicians, as well as a compliment of knights, bowmen, and crossbow operators.

What was the job of the housekeeper in medieval times?

His job was to take care of the estate and supervise the staff, as well as take care of the events in the great hall. The housekeeper would be in charge of the kitchen staff, the chambermaids, and cleaning of the estate.