Roads

=**Medieval Roads, Bridges and Travel ** =



 Roads and bridges were very important in travel but were not always kept in good maintenance. The stones used to pave roads were sometimes carried away to be used for building other things. Since camels were mainly used and could travel on almost any terrain there was no reason to keep the roads in good shape. When it rained or snowed and the roads got muddy gravel, logs, and bundles of sticks were used to cover up the muddy spots. Most roads had tolls that travelers had to pay. The best roads were the Roman roads and some of them are still here today. Bridges were mainly built of wood ans rarely stone. Bridges were the center of town life and could be used for defense.

People traveled a lot but it always took a lot of time. Walking was the easiest way to travel and a good walker could travel 25 miles in a day. Horses could be faster but they had to rest and eat often. Wagons were the slowest means of transportation and at best could travel 20 miles a day. When caravans traveled they needed special places for the night and special places to eat and drink. During the night travelers would pay a farmer for a place to sleep, stay in monasteries, or stay in an inn if they were lucky. Dangers of traveling by road were rivers flooding, getting lost, and warfare blocking roads. During this time there were few travel maps and most of them were just list of the places and the distances between them.

Ships were also used to travel. Ships could carry people and goods to places. All ships were powered by oars. Ships took their cargo in and out of rivers and oceans. Once the Europeans reached the Atlantic their sailing technology really improved. The biggest ships were the Chinese, which had twelve sails and were maned by 250 seamen.

Works Cited AR
 *  Edson, Evelyn. “Modes of Travel.” Calliope Apr. 2009: 18+. Student Resource Center Junior. Web. 11 Mar. 2010.
 *  “File:Roman Bridge Near Covadonga Spain.” Wikimedia Commons. Wikimedia Foundation, 22 Dec. 2008. Web. 1 Apr. 2010. .
 *  “Roads and Bridges.” The Middle Ages: An Encylopedia for Students. Ed. William Chester Jordan. Vol. 4. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1996. 11-13. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 8 Mar. 2010.