Young Writers Society

I have a character who is in need of a job. My story somewhat focuses on what happens him walking to and from a village he lives near, and he needs a reason to be going down to the village so often. He is new to this village and used to be a warrior, but he wants to forget about that. The setting is kept a little vague in this story, but let's say Early Middle Ages in Europe. It doesn't have to be too interesting since it won't come up a ton. Just a little detail I need to fill in a gap.
Thanks in advance!

Farmers and merchants would have to travel from their homes to the village. At home, they would make the goods, and then try to sell them in the village. They could sell tools (knives, cutlery, pots), wool (they could farm sheep), food (farm vegetables or cattle), etc.

Hope that helps. :]

I would suggest getting The Writers Complete Fantasy Reference, to have as a guide. It's got a ton of information on the Middle Ages in Europe, and has been invaluable for me to get those little details without a ton of research. There is a whole chapter on employment you can browse.

It's a worthwhile investment if you're writing anything set between roughly 1400 and 1600 AD, fantasy or not, just because the information is so detailed.

Following up on what Rosendorn said, I'd suggest looking at her provided link as well as taking a look at common jobs during the time period from multiple sources. I'll go ahead and point you to an article called Work in the Middle Ages which also goes over the specific topic of work and jobs around that time for convenience, hehe.

Hope that helps!