Renaissance+Housing

Houses During the Renaissance “A man’s house is his castle.” This quote is true because even though a house may not come off as a “castle” it still is a man’s castle because that is where he feels in charge. Even in the Tudor Age, this was still true, and many buildings are still standing from the Tudor Age. Stone castles, cathedrals and churches were all common types of buildings during this time. There were different types of housing for all classes of people. There was peasant housing, middle class housing, castles and more.

Peasant houses are the least nice of the kinds of housing during the Renaissance. Peasants worked for feudal barons, land owning nobles, city, republic, or commune (Brown). Peasant houses were made of earth stone or wood, whatever they had more of (Brown). They used thatched roofs. Thatch is a plant stalk or foliage, such a reeds or palm fronds. Windows were rectangular holes with wooden shutters to cover them (Ridley).

People who were in the middle class were usually merchants, artisans, lawyers or doctors (Brown). These houses were most likely made of wood or stucco (Brown). The roofs of these kinds of houses were made of slate or tile (Brown). They had leaded windows made of several small panes of glass held together by strips of lead (Brown). Unlike the peasant houses, middle class homes usually had more than one floor. The middle class houses had two or three rooms on each floor (Brown).

One of the greatest and most royal kinds of housing was the castle. Castles are some of the greatest buildings ever made. They were originally built to protect inhabitants during wars and sieges (Brown). Eventually castles were turned into homes for royalty and nobility. Castles were the best kinds of houses in that time and they are still very popular today. Castles may sometimes be thought of as a mansion; however a mansion was for royalty and important people to live. Castles were meant for protection and that is what they were built for. They were built with more stability then other buildings, mostly made of brick or stone.

There were many kinds of houses during the Tudor Age, including houses for peasants, for the middle class, and for the royalty. “A man’s house is his castle” works for any kind of house. Whether or not a man lives in a cottage, a mansion, or a palace, it is still his castle because that is where he is in control. People in the future will be able to learn these kinds of things from buildings that we leave behind today.

Works Cited Brown, Lorri. "Renaissance Housing." //West European History//. N.p.,15 Nov 2008. Web.15 Mar 2012. [].

Ridley, Jasper. //A Brief History of The Tudor Age//. London: Constable, 2002.

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