http://www.svincent.com/MagicJar/Economics/MedievalOccupations.html
What did people do: in a Medieval City?
What did people do in the Middle Ages? If you meet a random
person on the street, what is his likely occupation? Or did people
work at all? Were the Middle Ages some Communist utopia, where
everybody laid around all day and things were magically produced by
fairies?
Of course not. They didn't have electronics engineers and
computer programmers, but they did have coopers, bakers,
blacksmiths, and many other jobs that made their society go around.
If you do a little research, there were tons of medieval
occupations. Luckily, I've done it for you, so you don't have
to!
In the following list, I have made a link to the online version
of Webster's Dictionary, so you can find out what things are. In
some cases, the definition is also included locally. I am slowly
making local definitions for all these occupations, for your
convenience.
Is there something on this page you'd like to see that isn't
here?
Send me an email at
svincent@svincent.com -- let me know what you were looking for
-- maybe I can help. Also, do you know more occupations that aren't
on this list? Do you have definitions that I'm missing? Send them
in! I'd love to improve this page!
Open Questions
This site gets me a fair few questions via email, many of which I
can just answer. Some of them have stumped me. This is my current
list of stumpers:
If you can answer any of these, or even have some clues,
mail me. I and my
questioners would be ever grateful.
Governmental Occupations
These are the people who run things. They keep society moving
smoothly, if they're good at what they do, and can bring society to
a crunching halt, if they're not. Rife for corruption, government
officials can play a significant role in many campaigns.
- bailiff - the man who makes arrests and executions.
Bailiff was not primarily used for the office of policeman.
Etymologically, bailiffs were those in charge of the bailey - in effect,
manager of the craftsmen and servants in a castle or manor house.
- catchpole - literally 'chicken catcher', one who finds and brings in debtors.
- chancellor - a secretary to a noble or royal
- constable - the warden of a town or castle
- diplomat - the person who negotiates with foreign nations
- emperor - the ruler of an empire
- exchequer - the man responsible for the king's revenue
- hayward - an officer in charge of fences and hedges
- herald - had two responsibilities: a man in
charge of making pronouncements and proclamations, and one who is an
expert in the field of heraldry (the various insignias used by the rich
to identify themselves.) These two responsibilities were one in the
same. Medieval Europeans wouldn't have thought it possible to separate
them; much less would they have considered them separate roles.
- jailer - the man responsible for a jail: he keeps the criminals from getting out
- judge - a man who is responsible for deciding questions brought to court
- king - ruler of a kingdom
- knight
- lady
- liner - an officer in charge of tracing property boundaries in the city
- master of the revels - official in charge of court
entertainment, and later of the theaters [note: the first Master of the
Revels was not appointed until Henry VII in the 15th century]
- nobleman
- prince
- pursuivant - officer of arms, ranks below herald, similar duties
- reeve - church warden. Note that the word
'reeve' applies to much more than the Church. Reeves usually came out
to be combination administrators and business managers of estates, towns
and small territories (i.e. shires) - something like a chief bailiff.
- sherrif
- summoner - officer of the court who serves subpoenas (see also religious version)
- watchman
- woodward - the keeper of a forest
Military Occupations
Who keeps the country safe from encroaching enemies and wild
monsters? Why, the military, of course. These brave men - and
sometimes women train against the possibility that they'll have to
protect their country with their lives.
- Arbalestier - one who fires an arbalest (a type of metal crossbow)
- archer - one who shoots arrows
- bowman
- camp follower - people following an army, making money off of the soldiers
- cannoneer
- crossbowman
- drummer
- engineer
- guardsman
- halberdier
- Knifeman - one skilled with a knife; specifically, a soldier trained to disembowel horses
- mercenary
- pikeman
- pioneer - an early term for military engineer
- sapper - specialist in field fortifications
- scout
- siege engineer
- sergeant
- sergeant-at-arms
- spearman
- spy
Criminal Occupations
Wherever there is society, there are criminals. These
occupations include only the so-called "professional
criminal": it ignores those people who are corrupt at every
level of society who has a legal "front", from kings to
beggars.
- boothaler - marauder, plunderer
- burglar - one who breaks into, and steals things from, other people's houses. (If you break into and steal stuff from your own house, you're just a nut.)
- diver - fig. a pickpocket
- fence - one who trades in stolen goods
- footpad - one who robs pedestrians
- outlaw - a man wanted by the law
- pickpocket - one who picks pockets
- poacher - one who illegally kills animals, usually on somebody else's land
- silk-snatcher - one who steals bonnets
- stewsman - probably a brothel keeper - "since the
words stew and stewholder both mean a bawd, I'm guessing that a stewsman
would be a brothel-keeper as well. Whether bawdry counts as a criminal
activity varies at different times and places."
- thimblerigger - a professional sharper who runs a
thimblerig (a game in which a pea is ostensibly hidden under a thimble
and players guess which thimble it is under)
Religious Occupations
If Government officials run the affairs of earthly beings, then
those occupied with religious pursuits mediate between earth and the
gods.
Priests are relatively common in role playing games. These men
and women are the people behind the church: not typically
"adventuring priests", but vitally important to the church
nonetheless.
- abbess - superior of a convent
- abbot - superior of a monastery
- almoner - a distributer of money and food to the poor
- archbishop
- beadle - church official -- ushers preserves order at sermons
- beguine - member of certain Netherland lay sisterhoods
- bishop
- canon - a prebend attached to a cathedral (the definition is somewhat wider, but that's the most common usage)
- cantor - a choir leader in churches, the man who sings hymns and leads the congregation in prayer in a synagogue
- cardinal
- chantry priest - a priest employed to say prayers for the dead; often taught on the side (thus so-called chantry schools)
- chaplain
- clark - see clerk
- clerk - a priest
- curate - priest in charge of a church
- friar - a wandering monk, especially a Franciscan
- metropolitan - a bishop in charge of other bishops; an archbishop
- monk
- nun
- ostiary - a church's doorkeeper
- palmer - a pilgrim who's been to the Holy Land
- pardoner - seller of indulgences
- parish priest
- pilgrim -
- pope
- priest
- primate - head of the Church in a country or region (i.e. the Archbishop of Canterbury was Primate of England)
- sacristan - a person in charge of the relics and religious
items of a church
- sexton - minor church officer - rings bells, digs graves
- summoner - officer who brings people to episcopal courts (see also government version)
Merchants
In a society based on trade - either with hard currency or
barter, there are always those who spend their lives in the pursuit
of selling things to others.
Note that most craftsmen also sell the results of their labor,
farmers typically must sell their crops themselves, people in
service trades often must hawk their own wares. This section does
not include them. It includes only those people who spend their
entire lives devoted to selling things, and nothing more.
- acater - a provisioner (food)
- alewife - a female alehouse keeper
- apothecary - a preparer and merchant for drugs and medicines
- banker
- beer seller
- boothman - one who sells grains
- chapman - travelling merchant
- collier - one who makes or sells charcoal (later coal) [can also fit under craftsmen]
- colporteur - seller of religious books
- costermonger - fruit seller
- drover - one who drives sheep or cattle to market
- eggler - an egg-merchant
- fishmonger
- fruiterer - a seller of fresh fruit
- fruitier - fruitseller
- fueller - one who sells charcoal, wood, or other fuels
- glass seller
- greengrocer - seller of vegetables and fruits
- grocer
- harberdasher - seller of men's clothing
- hay merchant
- hetheleder - one who sells heather as fuel
- innkeeper
- ironmonger - one who sells things made of iron
- lighterman - one who ferries goods from ship to shore on a small boat
- linen-draper - one who deals in linens, calicos, etc.
- mercer - a dealer in expensive clothing (silk, etc.)
- merchant
- milkmaid - a female servant who milks cows
- oil merchant
- old-clothes dealer
- oynter - an oil-merchant
- peddler
- pie seller
- plumer - a dealer in feathers
- poulter - seller of poultry
- shrimper - one who catches shrimp
- skinner - a dealer in furs and skins (essentially, the same thing as a furrier)
- spice merchant
- spicer - grocer or dealer in spices
- stationer - seller of books, etc.; also, a copyist
- taverner - innkeeper
- thresher - one who thrashes grain, separating it from straw
- unguentary - one who sells unguents
- waferer - confectioner (a dealer in 'wafers', a kind of cake)
- waterseller
- weirkeeper - a keeper of fish traps
- wine seller
- wood seller
- woodmonger - a seller of fuel wood
- wool stapler - one who buys and sells wool wholesale
Artists/Entertainers
In any society, there is the need for spare time. And what did
people do before television? Well, they mostly sang songs, told
stories, and danced. From this, some professional entertainers
developed.
Also included in this section are artists: those who devote their
lives to creating works of beauty and expressiveness. There is
enormous overlap between artists and entertainers... I won't get
into the argument of whether art should be used to entertain or
express the artist's true feelings. That's beyond my scope here,
certainly.
- bard - a Welsh minstrel
- barker - one who advertises at the entrance to a show
- bear-ward - the owner of a performing bear
- fiddler - this is an unfair translation, "geiger" is applied to any player of bowed and stringed instruments
- fool
- fresco painter
- glasspainter
- harper
- illuminator
- jester
- limner - illuminator of books
- lutenist - a lute player
- minnesinger - a German minstrel who specialized in love songs
- mummer - actor, specifically the predecessors to mimes
- musician
- nakerer - a player of the naker a small kettle drum
- organist
- painter - portraits and landscapes
- piper
- player
- playwright
- poet
- sculptor
- singer
- troubadour - most properly a minstrel from the southern
part of France (though it can be used of any minstrel who specializes
in romances).
- tumbler
- writer
Farming and Workers with Flora and Fauna
Ah -- the farmers. Without them, we'd starve. Wresting
sustenence from the very earth itself. There's a large number of
occupations associated with farming: you need people to watch the
animals, work the fields. In fact, probably most people in a
medieval society were farmers.
Also included are hunters and gatherers: those who travel into
nature and grab things to eat, as well as all those who work with
animals.
There's also a good
overview
of horse history in Europe.
- ackerman(acreman) - an oxherder
- falconer - breeds, trains, hunts with falcons
- farmer
- fewterer - one who keeps the hunting dogs [put it in whatever category you put falconers and hawkers]
- fisherman
- forester - game warden or forest ranger
- fowler - one who hunts for wildfowl
- gamekeeper
- goatherd - one who looks after a herd of goats
- hawker - breeds, trains, hunts with hawks
- hayward - a tender of hedges
- horse trainer
- hunter
- huntsman
- master of hounds
- molecatcher
- ostler - cares for horses
- oyster raker - worker on an oyster fishing boat
- oysterer - one who catches oysters
- parker - caretaker of a park
- plowman
- rat catcher
- reaper
- sheepshearer
- shepherd - one who looks after a herd of sheep
- swineherd - one who looks after a herd of swine (sometimes pigherd)
- thresher
- tillerman
- trapper
- woolcomber
- woolman - sorts wool into differing grades
Scholars
They may have called it the dark ages for lack of scientific
output, but there were still people interested in the world around
them, willing to poke and prod it until something broke.
- alchemist - a medieval chemist
- astrologer
- astronomer
- bearleader - a travelling tutor (a silly name) - related to the figurative use of the word bear to describe a boor.
- dean
- librarian
- mathematician
- philosopher
- professor
- scholar
- scrivener - scribe
- tutor
- theologian - a scholar specializing in the study of God and doctorine
Sailors
The lure of the sea, the crash of the waves: a boat-filled life
was the norm for a great many medieval people. Some sailed on
rivers, some on the ocean. Exciting and dangerous trade missions
with far-off empires, exploring strange new places, and always
coming back home to tell exciting stories in the local tavern.
- bargeman
- boatman
- canaller - canal boat worker
- ferryman
- hobbler - boat tower on a river or canal
- lighter man - worker on a flat-bottomed boat
- mariner
- navigator
- pilot
- sailor
- sea captain
- ship's captain
- shipchandler - ship provisioner
- waterman - riverboat sailor
Regular Folks
One of the problems with coming up with a list of Medieval
Occupations is that lots of people in a feudal economy didn't have
occupations at all. They were just tenants of other folks. Also,
there are in any society, a large number of homeless and
impoverished.
This section deals with people like that.
There's a
fun
story about a peasant, who had a bit of an adventure, at
Stefan's Florilegium.
I've also heard that the book
A
Medieval Life: Cecilia Penifader of Brigstock, c. 1297-1344, by
Judith Bennett, is recommended by some schools. It reconstructs the
life of Cecilia Penifader, a medieval peasant, from various legal
records. I've never read it, but it seems to get good reviews!
- begger
- buffoon - publically amusing person
- clown - a peasant
- crofter - tenant of a small piece of land
- dwarf
- franklin - a freeholder
- gardner - one who gardens
- hermit
- housewife
- jew - a class of their own in the Medieval Period
- landlord
- palmer - one who had been, or pretended to have been, to the Holy Land
- peasant
- pilgrim
- spinster
- tenter - an unskilled workman's assistant
Craftsmen
Game worlds typically have armorers and blacksmiths, but then it
breaks down, and everything else is available from the marketplace
or the "general store". Add a bit of spice to a campaign
by having the player's harness become damaged, and have to deal with
the local harness maker - who is also the town shoemaker and his
loud wife!
Most of the occupations on this list are craftsmen and service
occupations. Because of this, I have seperated out the most common
craftsmen from the bulk of the list, so that the gentle reader can
make sense of it. The list of common occupations was derived from
the tax list for Paris in 1292, from the book
Life in a Medieval
City, by Francis and Joseph Gies. The number indicates how
many there in the city.
Common Craftsmen - sorted by frequency
- 366 - shoemaker - one who makes and repairs shoes
- 214 - furrier - one who makes and repairs goods made of furs - esp. clothes
- 197 - tailor - one who makes and repairs clothing
- 131 - jeweler - maker of jewelry
- 106 - pastrycook - baker specializing in pastries
- 104 - mason - bricklayer
- 95 - carpenter - one who constructs things from wood
- 86 - weaver - weaver of cloth
- 71 - chandler - one who makes candles, also grocer. Often associated with ships (see shipchandler)
- 70 - cooper - one who makes and repairs barrels and tubs
- 62 - baker - one who makes bread and other baked goods
- 58 - scabbard maker - maker of scabbards
- 54 - hatmaker - maker of hats
- 51 - saddler - maker of saddles
- 51 - chicken butcher - butcher of chickens
- 45 - purse maker - maker of purses
- 42 - meat butcher - butcher of all sorts of meats, esp beef
- 36 - buckle maker - maker of buckles
- 34 - blacksmith - one who works with iron to form metal implements: esp farm tools.
- 28 - roofer - one who makes and repairs roofs
- 27 - locksmith - one who makes and repairs locks
- 26 - ropemaker - maker of rope
- 24 - tanner - preparer of leather
- 24 - rugmaker - maker of rugs
- 24 - harness maker - maker of harnesses
- 23 - bleacher
- 22 - cutler - one who makes and repairs cutlery
- 21 - glover - a glovemaker
Less common craftsmen - sorted alphabetically
- accoutrement maker - makes military accessories
- alabasterer - worker in alabaster
- architect - a designer of buildings and other constructions
- arkwright - a maker of "arks" -- wooden chests or coffers
- armorer
- balancemaker
- basketmaker
- beekeeper - also known as apiarist
- beerbrewer
- bellfounder
- bellmaker - these are the little bells that go on sleighs and clothing, as opposed to the large civic bells cast by the bellfounder
- besom maker - one who makes brooms (known as besoms in the middle ages: 'broom' was the name of the plant use to make them)
- billier - axe-maker
- blockcutter - for block printing
- bodger - itinerant wood turners (read more)
- bonecarver
- bookbinder
- bookprinter
- bottelier - maker of leather bottles
- bowyer - maker of bows
- brazier - makes brassware
- brewer
- bricker - brick baker, not mason
- bricker - brick-maker
- bricklayer
- broderer - embroiderer
- bronzefounder
- broom-dasher - maker of brooms
- brushbinder
- builder
- buttonmaker
- cabinetmaker
- campaner - maker of large bells (church-bells, for example)
- canvasser - canvas-maker
- carder - one who cards wool (combs out wool in preparation for spinning it)
- cardmaker
- cartwright
- chainmaker
- charcoalburner
- cheesemaker
- clockmaker
- clothier
- cobbler - shoe maker
- coiner
- combmaker
- compasssmith
- confectioner
- coppersmith, redsmith - a worker in copper and brass
- cordwainer - worker in fine leather
- corsetier - maker of corsets and other undergarments
- currier - one who cures leather
- delver - ditchdigger
- diamantaire - diamond-cutter (actually, diamond-cutting
wasn't discovered until after the Middle Ages, but once it was
diamantaires usually had their own guilds)
- disher - a potter who makes dishes
- draper - Originally, drapers were clothiers, though today the British use the word for a dry goods merchant.
- drycooper
- drywaller
- dyer - one who dyes cloth
- embroiderer - one who decorates fabric with stitched designs
- engraver - for printing, not to decorate items
- fabricshearer - trims the nap and makes pleats for customers
- feltmaker
- fewtrer - felt-maker
- fletcher - maker of arrows
- founder - foundryman
- fuller - cloth worker who shrinks, beats, presses cloth
- fuller - someone who cleans and thickens cloth by beating it
- furniture maker
- gemcutter
- gilder - one who gilds (applies gold leaf to something)
- girdler - leather worker who made girdles and belts, chiefly for the Army
- girdler - belt-maker
- glassblower - one who makes glass objects by blowing
- glazier - maker of stained glass
- goldbeater - one who makes gold foil
- goldsmith - a worker in precious metals. In the
Middle Ages, all people who worked in precious metals were called
goldsmiths; the term silversmith is a much later word.
- gravedigger
- grinder - knife sharpener
- gunsmith
- gunstocker
- hacker - hoe-maker
- hatter - one who makes and repairs hats
- horner - craftsman who works in horn -- spoons, combs, musical instruments
- ivorist - an ivory-carver
- joiner - skilled carpenter
- knacker - harness-maker
- knapper - a worker in flint
- knifesmith
- lacemaker
- lampwright - maker of lamps and lanterns
- lancier - a maker of lances
- lanternmaker
- lapidary - worker with precious stones -- usu. other than diamonds
- latoner - worker in brass and latten (a brass-like alloy)
- leadworker
- lensgrinder
- limner - someone who illuminates manuscripts
- linen-armorer - one who makes cloth armor [same as a merchant taylor]
- linener - a shirt maker [also, a linen-draper]
- linenspinner
- lorimer - maker of horse gear
- lutemaker
- luthier - a maker of stringed instruments (lutes, guitars, etc.)
- mailer - enameller -- not a maker of armor
- mailmaker
- malemaker - a maker of leather trunks
- mapmaker - also known as cartographer
- marler - one who digs 'marl', a type of soil used as fertilizer.
- marleywoman - a maker of marli, a type of fabric (gauze used for embroidery). Note that embroidery on this material is also known as marli.
- master builder - chief architect
- merchant taylor - tailors and "linen armourers"; they made the padded tunics soldiers would wear under metal armor
- milliner - maker of womens' hats and clothing
- miner
- miniaturist - painter of miniatures (small paintings usually found on icons or in books)
- minter, mintmaster, moneyer - one who mints coins
- mirrorer - one who makes mirrors?
- nailmaker
- nedeller - maker of needles
- netmaker
- oilmaker
- papermaker
- parchmenter
- parchmenter - a parchment-maker
- pasteler - a pastry-maker
- pattenmaker
- perukier - a wig-maker [I don't know if the word was used in the Middle Ages; the oldest use of the word peruke I can find is 1548]
- pewterer
- physician
- pinmaker
- plasterer
- plattner - beat out sheets of metal
- plumber - worker in lead
- pointer - lace-maker
- poleturner - maker of polearms (spears, pikes, halberds, etc.)
- pot mender
- potter
- printer
- purser - a purse-maker
- quarryman
- quilter - a quilt-maker
- rectifier - one who distilled alcohol
- reedmaker - a maker of flutes and other wind instruments
- roper - maker of ropes, nets
- rugweaver - one who makes rugs
- sailmaker
- saltboiler - makes salt by boiling water
- salter - makes or deals in salt
- sawyer - saws timbers to boards
- scythesmith
- seamstress
- shingler - wooden roof tiler
- shipwright - a ship builder
- siever - a maker of sieves (a picture)
- silkmaid, silkwoman - a woman who makes items out of silk.
- silk-dresser, silk-maker, silk-mercer, silk-dyer, silk-carder - various individuals making silk articles.
- silversmith
- smelter - refines raw ore into pure metals
- smith - blacksmith
- spectaclesmaker
- spooner - a spoon-maker
- spurrer - maker of spurs
- stonecarver
- stonecutter
- swordsmith
- tallowchandler
- tapestrymaker
- tapicer - tapestry maker
- tasseler - one who makes tassels
- thacker, thatcher - one who covers roofs with thatch
- thonger - maker of leather straps or laces
- threadmaker
- tile-burner - one who forms clay into tiles and bricks
- tiler, tile-theeker, tyler - one who roofs with tile
- tile maker - tile-maker
- tinker
- tinsmith
- treen maker - one who makes various small wood items
- turner - lathe worker (makes turned wooden objects, like chair legs)
- typefounder
- upholder - an upholsterer
- vaginarius - scabbard-maker (pl. vaginarii)
- vintner - a winemaker
- waxchandler
- webber - weaver
- wheeler - maker of spinning wheels
- wheelwright - a maker of wheels
- wiredrawer - maker of gold and silver wire
- woodcarver
- woodcutter
- woodturner
Service Occupations
There are many important positions in society for those who do
not produce, but serve their fellow man. When they're done their
job for the day, there are no new products, no changes in physical
objects, but people are moved, jobs get done, and society keeps
moving. These are the service workers.
Service workers can play an enormous role in your campaign. All
the time, characters need to get their hair cut, have water fetched,
or have something written down.
Unfortunately, since this list is so enormous, I've again taken
the liberty of separating out the common occupations, again, as
defined by the Geis book. The numbers are the count of the
occupation in Paris, in 1292.
Common Service Occupations - Sorted by Frequency
- 199 - maidservant
- 151 - barber - one who cuts hair, also performed surgery and pulled teeth.
- 130 - restaurateur - one who owns or runs a restaurant
- 58 - water carrier
- 43 - laundress - also known as lavendar
- 42 - porter - one who carries burdens, or one who waits at doors. Probably the former
- 29 - doctor
- 26 - bather - owner of a bath
- 24 - copyist - one who copies books and documents -- not all of them can read
Less common service occupations - sorted alphabetically
- accomptant - an accountant
- accoucheur - midwife
- accoucheus - midwife
- accountant - man who does financial bookkeeping
- actuary - man who does financial bookkeeping, clerk
- attendent
- bagger
- bailiff - the man who makes arrests and executions.
Bailiff was not primarily used for the office of policeman.
Etymologically, bailiffs were those in charge of the bailey - in effect,
manager of the craftsmen and servants in a castle or manor house.
- barrister - solicitor or lawyer
- bath attendent
- bather - owner of a bath
- bodyservant
- butler - one in charge of the buttery (where alcohol was kept)
- carman - one who drives a vehicle for transporting goods
- carter - one who drives carts
- cartier
- carver - the servant who cut the meat
- ceiler - one who installs ceilings
- cellarer - one in charge of the wine cellar
- chamberlain - a private attendant who waits on his lord in his bedchamber
- chimney sweep - one who cleans chimneys and smokestacks.
- chirurgeon - surgeon
- clouter - one who fixes things, a tinkerer
- cook - one who cooks, especially food.
- cowherd - one who looks after a herd of cows. A medieval cowboy, as it were.
- currier - see tanner
- dairymaid
- dapifer - a servant who brings the meat to the table
- dentist
- ditcher - one who digs ditches
- diver - one who dives for a living.
- dog trainer
- drayman - cart driver
- dung carter
- executioner
- famulus - "a servant or attendant, esp. of a scholar or a magician" (Random House Dictionary of the English Language)
- farrier - maker of tack, esp. horeshoes; also a horse-veteranarian
- groom - one who takes care of the horses
- harlot - vagabond, beggar, rogue, 14th century male servant, attendant or menial, and 15th century, loose woman
- horseleech - veterinarian, farrier
- hurdle maker - made 'wattle fences' for sheep
- lawyer - a master of the law.
- link boy - boy who will carry a torch to guide people through the night
- link man - like a link boy, only older
- maid - a female household servant. A maid is always female; the word literally means virgin.
- marshal - a horse tender
- midwife - humorously known as a babycatcher
- miller - the person who turns grains into flour.
- napier - the person who manages royal linens
- nurse
- panter - keeper of the pantry
- paperer - needlemaking industry -- inserted needles into paper to prepare for selling
- pavior - one who lays pavement
- pavyler - put up pavilions/tents
- pissprophet - doctors who would diagnose disease from a patient's urine, specifically from the sight, smell, and taste of the urine.
- potboy - cleans out chamber pots
- privycleaner
- procurator - or proctor, this is a kind of legal agent or representative
- prostitute - one who sells sex
- quartermaster
- ragpicker - sorts through leftover rags, find re-usable ones
- raker - street sanitation worker
- riveter - one who rivets (a rivet being a nail designed to secure metal to metal)
- scullion - the bottom-rung servant in a household
- seneschal - senior steward
- solicitor - lawyer
- sperviter - a keeper of sparrow-hawks
- stainer - one who stains wood
- stillroom maid
- surgeon
- tapster - one who draws ale, etc. at an inn; innkeeper/bartender/barmaid
- teamster - one who drives a team of oxen or horses
- trencherman - carver, trench-digger
- userer - a moneylender, specifically a Jewish moneylender (the only people allowed to hold such a job in the Middle Ages)
- wagoner - wagon or cart driver
- waller - one who builds walls
- wattler - made 'wattle fences' for sheep
- weeper
- wetnurse
Other
These are occupations that I can't identify. Any help here would
be appreciated. Thanks!
- basinbeater - ? a maker of metal basins ?
- belter - ? maker of belts ?
- fool for money - ?
- gluttonous fool - ?
- nailer - ? one who makes nails ?
- rivener - ?
- tentsman - ?
- terrazo grinder/mosaic layer - ?
- thimbler - ?
Credits
Some of this material comes from
Stefan's Florilegium, an
online archive of interesting articles from the SCA's newsgroup,
The Rialto (at
rec.org.sca).
A
ton of definitions and editorial help were provided by
Jared Oakes.
Thanks!
Some definitions were provided by
Ryan Ramage.
Thanks!
Some of the definitions came from
A List of
Occupations
Adminstrative Details...
This file is a part of the
Crystal Obelisk
project.
This page can be found on the Internet at
http://www.svincent.com/MagicJar/Economics/MedievalOccupations.html.