ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Medieval Merchant's House

Okay kiddo, let's talk about medieval merchant's houses! Imagine you're in a town a long time ago, where people didn't have the fancy skyscrapers and apartments that we have now. Instead, they would live in houses that were made of things like wood, stone, and clay.

Merchants were people who sold stuff. They might have sold things like wool, spices, or tools. They were like the shopkeepers of the past! Sometimes these merchants would make a whole bunch of money, and they would want to show it off by building a really nice house for themselves and their family.

A merchant's house would probably be pretty big, and it might even have several floors! The first floor would be used as a shop or a place to sell things. The merchant might have put up big signs outside to let people know what he was selling.

The second floor would be where the family lived. There would be bedrooms, a kitchen, a dining room, and maybe even a fancy living room. The windows might have been made of stained glass, which would let in colorful light.

The merchant's family might have been pretty comfortable in their big house, but not everyone in the town would have been so lucky. Most people would have lived in much smaller houses, and some might not even have had their own house at all!

So there you have it, kiddo. A medieval merchant's house was a big, fancy house that a merchant would build to show off his wealth. It would have had a shop on the first floor, and the family would live on the second floor.