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General Travel:
» Travel in the Middle Ages was a very harsh ordeal. Very few roads had been paved by the Romans, so many remained cobblestone during most of the Middle Ages. Many of the stones had been removed by peasants looking to fix stones broken or missing from their houses. These missing stones caused many potholes in the roads, thus restricting the travel to horseback, light carts, and by foot. Only the wealthy could afford horses, so the most common mode of transportation was on foot. Heavy loads were transported either by sea or by river. Robbers were also prevalent at this time. Only the desparate would travel at night. Many people did not travel at all, going no further than 10 miles from the place they were born. Nobility traveled more frequently than all other classes, traveling from castle to castle to keep track of their property.
Merchant Travel:
» Merchants traveled a great deal to achieve new items to sell or trade. Merchants usually traveled by sea or set up a trade route. At this time the general belief was that the world was flat, so merchants usually did not stray too far from land for fear of falling off the Earth. Merchants would bring various goods from exotic lands.
Arabian Horses:
» The most important creature in the middle ages was the horse. Arabian horses were considered to be the fastest and most aestheticly pleasing of all the horse breeds. Nomads of central Asia raised huge herds of horses. These horses were small but very strong and carried the Mongols and the Turks on many of their conquests.