I was just watching a documentary about Campus Galli, an experimental archaeological construction site for a Carolingian monastery.
There it says:
Between 20 and 30 staff members will be permanently at the site, with an exception according to the Medieval custom for resting during the winter months from November 11 (St. Martin's day) until April 2 (Charlemagne's birthday).
Assuming this is accurate, was such a resting period common in the early Middle Ages? What did the construction workers, stone masons and carpenters do during these 5 months? Did they find other work? (were they allowed to?) Did they live off their savings?
Also, were there similar working restrictions in place during later centuries as well?
Since this question is unanswered for 7 years, I wanted to revive it and get it answered already. 😁
Not a medievalist, and don't know the background to the Plan of St Gall. But this seems a very odd rule for any pre-industrial professional craftsmen of later centuries. Assuming the workers were under cover, inside, logs could be hewn into timbers, bents and braces could be laid out, cut, mortised, fit and then stacked, to be later assembled into roof trusses and frames for walls. Boards could be sawn. Clapboards and shingles could be riven. Nails, hinges, latches and other hardware could be forged.
Masonry, brickmaking and tile making could have been affected, of course- it's bad to have mortar freeze, and it's hard to mold frozen clay. But surely during the Medieval Warm Period ( from about 950 to about 1300) there would be plenty of times in four months when everything was not frozen, even in St Gall in Switzerland. And in a wooded area, the snow made transport by sledge of building materials like timber and stone much easier, compared to hauling it in wagons over muddy roads in April.