MEDIEVAL CHURCHES

Early medieval churches were built in the Roman style, called Romanesque.
Romanesque churches had very thick walls made of stone.
They had round arches.
They were built with only a few small windows, so they were dark inside.
Later, medieval churches were built in a new style called Gothic.
Gothic churches had thinner stone walls and stone roofs.
The roofs were vaulted.
Gothic churches were larger and taller than Romanesque churches.
They were bright inside because they had many large windows.

Romanesque Church Santa María del Naranco,
in Oviedo, picture from Wikipedia by Amadalvarez

Gothic Church in Exeter, picture from Wikipedia, by Torsten Schneider

TRAVELLING IN MEDIEVAL TIMES

Travel was difficult and slow in medieval times.
There were few roads, and they were in poor condition.
Travelling was dangerous because many travellers were atacked by thieves.
People travelled on foot, on horseback or in horse-drawn carts.
Small sailing boats were used on rivers and at the sea.

LIFE IN MEDIEVAL TIMES

1000 years ago, noblemen lived in castles with their family, servants and soldiers.
They were built on hills and surrounded by a deep moat filled with water.
Walls made of thick stone surrounded the castle.
Soldiers guarded the castle from towers.
Inside the castle walls was a large house for the lord's family and several other smaller houses.
there were stables for the horses, a blacksmith's a well for water and warehouses for storing food.
Peasants lived in villages near the castle.
They lived in simple huts made of wood, straw and mud, with one simple room.

Manzanares el Real Castle. Picture from Wikipedia by Eleagnus

Medieval Castle: The Tower of London. Picture from fsmschmitt

ROMAN REMAINS

The Romans were excellent builders.
They built:

• Theatres for performing plays.
• Amphitheatres for watching gladiator fights.
• Circuses for watching chariot races.
• Temples for worshipping their gods.
• Bath houses, called thermae, for bathing and relaxing.
• Aqueducts, for transporting water to the cities.

The Romans decorated their houses with works of art:

• Frescos were beautiful wall paintings.
• Mosaics were elaborated floor decorations made from thousands of tiny, coloured tiles.

The Romans spoke a language called Latin.
Castilian Spanish, Catalan and Galician are some modern languages that developed from Latin.

Roman Theatre in Mérida, picture from Wikipedia by Xauxa

Roman Amphitheatre in Itálica, Andalucía. Picture from Wikipedia by Pufacz

Roman Colosseum, Picture from Wikipedia by Dilliff

Roman Circus in Lybia. Picture from Wikipedia by Papageizichta

Roman Temple. Picture from Wikipedia by Arpingstone

Roman Bath in Bath, Picture from Wikipedia

Aqueduct of Segovia, picture from Wikipedia, by Bernard Gagnon

ROMAN TIMES: TRAVELLING IN ANCIENT ROME

Roman cities were linked by straight roads made of stone.

The Romans used the roads to travel on foot, on horseback and in horse-drawn carriages.

Sailing boats were used to carry food and merchandise to other Roman cities.

The Romans built large seaports

ROMAN TIMES: LIFE IN ANCIENT ROME

Over 2000 years ago, the Romans built many cities.
They lived in different types of houses:

• Domus: were private houses for rich people.
• Insulae: were apartment buildings for the poorer people.
• Villas: were luxury Roman country houses where rich land owners lived.

Domus, picture from Flickr by Sebastià Giralt

Domus, picture from Flickr, by Sebastià Giralt.

Roman Villa, picture from Wikipedia, by Boksi

ANCIENT REMAINS

The first human beings decorated cave walls with paintings.
In this period, tools were very simple.
Humans shaped knives and arrowheads by hitting two rocks together.
They made spears and harpoons from wood or bone.
Primitive human beings made clay pots to hold food and water.

Prehistoric painting in Altamira, Spain.
Picture from Wikipedia, by Rameesos.

Picture from Wikimedia Commons, by Mercy

A spear and a series of javelins from Wikipedia, by Master z0b