Transportation

Today we use cars, subways, planes, and ships for transportation, these types of transportation are different than the transportation back then because practically everybody walked everywhere because they didn't have to pay to walk and if they wanted a horse, they would have to pay a lot of money for a horse. There were a lot more types of transportation from medieval times.

Ships were also used as transport; these ships were made of wood and were powered by wind trapped in large square sails. These ships were steered either with a large oar or rudder at the stern (back). Sailors slept and ate in the cramped space below deck. Only rooms were for the captain or wealthy people. These rooms were at either end of the ship; these tall structures are called "Castles". These tall structures made the ship top heavy and likely to capsize in a storm. Early ships relied on oars to propel them through the water, later, ships relied on wind power as voyages became longer, and oars were no longer practical. Warships were built with "Castles". At both ends of the ship. Soldiers stood on top of these to fire arrows at the enemy. Boats were also used to transport goods and were guided by a compass or an astrolabe (something that observes the sun and the moon and it makes accurate measurements.

Horses were also used for trading and transportation but only wealthy people could afford horses. If these loads were too heavy and when merchants had to move goods over long distances, when possible, these loads were moved on boats with water transport because it was cheaper and easier than road transport.

As you see, medieval transport might be different than the transport we use today but we still study and sometimes try them out.

Bibliography

Basel 2007-2008 Technology, retrieved 4/21/09, http://www.fcps.edu/canterbury woods ES/5th grade class pages/technology. Htm

Salariya D. (1995) how would you survive in the middle ages, New York.

Corbishley M. (1990) The middle ages, North America.