from
https://www.thecollector.com/middle-ages-entertainment/
6 Ways to Pass the Time in the Middle Ages
The Middle Ages, like today, had their times of fun and frivolity, with
many forms of entertainment taking place.
May 7, 2024 • By Greg Beyer, Assistant Editor; African History
middle ages entertainment
There is a common misconception that life in the Middle Ages was
extremely harsh and depressing. This couldn’t be further from the truth! While it is true that, at times, war and disease spread across the land,
not all was doom and gloom. People (including peasants) had plenty of
free time to enjoy life, and there were many ways to enjoy it. Here is
the entertainment that was on offer during this time.
1. Board Games
pieter bruegel the elder childrens games detail
Detail from Children’s Games by Pieter Brueghel the Elder, depicting a
game of Knucklebones. Source: Wikimedia Commons
Board games were a very popular form of entertainment in the Middle
Ages. They challenged the mind, requiring deep thought within a
competitive environment. Many of these games are still popular today,
such as Chess and Checkers.
Modern Backgammon is a direct descendant of a game called “Irish,”
played throughout Britain, and was, in turn, a direct descendant of a
game called “Tables,” with various versions of the game going back to Greco-Roman times. Other board games, such as Nine Men’s Morris and Fox
& Geese, were also extremely popular.
nine mens morris
Nine Men’s Morris was a popular board game during the Middle Ages.
Source: The Historic Games Shop
Get the latest articles delivered to your inbox
Sign up to our Free Weekly Newsletter
Email Address
Join!
Games involving dice, bones, and other paraphernalia were played besides
board games. Of particular note was “knucklebones,” especially popular among children. The object was to throw a knucklebone (or a substitute)
into the air and manipulate other knucklebones before the thrown object
landed.
Mentioned in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, “Hazard” was a dice game that was popular as well as complicated.
Naturally, many of these games involved a fair amount of gambling!
2. Eating!
royal feast british library
A scene of a royal feast. Source: British Library
Contrary to popular belief, the Middle Ages was not a time of poor
nutrition. Everybody, from peasants to lords and ladies, had, for the
most part, access to plenty of food. While the peasantry was a bit more conservative in dealing with their supplies, the wealthy could afford to
eat extravagantly, and many did so with great enthusiasm.
Feasts and banquets were an excellent way to enjoy life and display
wealth, impressing guests by procuring the fanciest foods with the most
exotic herbs and spices. These dinners were large affairs and required a tremendous amount of preparation, with teams of cooks working many hours
and even days to make things ready.
The main difference between feasts and banquets is that feasts were
generally large dinners for any occasion, often accompanying religious ceremonies. In contrast, banquets were feasts held to honor a special
guest or guests. Whether a banquet or just a regular feast, the dinners
were often accompanied by entertainment, such as jugglers and jesters
who would amuse the guests with their antics.
An interesting note about medieval dinners is that there was no
separation between the courses. Everything was brought out at the same
time, which required many more servers than was actually necessary.
Although the idea for separating dinner into courses originates in Spain
with a Persian man named Ziryab, who insisted his food be brought out in separate stages, the modern three-course service originated from Russia
and is known as service à la russe.
3. Hunting and Hawking
hawking middle ages
Illustration from the Codex Manesse, 14th century. Source: Public domain
via World History Encyclopedia
For the peasantry permitted to hunt, the activity was a way of
sustaining oneself and one’s family. For the nobility, however, it was a sport that involved a great deal of socializing.
Horses and hounds were used to find and chase down prey, and the art of
hunting was closely associated with military training. Hunting required skillful horseback riding, an essential part of being a nobleman during
the Middle Ages. Large tracts of land were set aside for the nobility,
where peasants were not permitted to hunt. These forests were kept
populated with game and tended to by gamekeepers.
Hunting in this fashion is still prevalent among the English nobility practicing fox hunting. This has led to a massive backlash from the
public, and a widespread campaign in the early 2000s saw the sport
banned. Despite this ban, there is little enforcement of the law, and
foxes are still being chased and killed by terriers, hounds, horses, and
human beings.
The use of birds of prey in hunting was also popular in medieval Europe
and was a widespread pastime among the nobility. Admired for their
agility and speed, falcons were the most popular bird used. Small prey
such as squirrels, rabbits, and birds constituted the quarry for this
form of entertainment.
Hawking or falconry is still a popular sport today, although along with traditional horseback hunting, it has received a lot of negative
attention in that it is regarded by many as a bloodsport, as well as
being inhumane to keep falcons and other raptors caged.
4. Minstrels, Music, Mummers, and Medieval Plays
goreston psalter marginal image
Marginal image from the Goreston Psalter. Source: British Library
Music, dance, and song were extremely important parts of medieval
culture. Group singing was especially prevalent, and traditional songs
would be learned and sung by families and groups of people on all occasions.
pieter van der heyden peasant dance
The Peasant Wedding Dance by Pieter van der Heyden after Pieter Bruegel
the Elder. Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Traveling minstrels were popular and would journey to villages and
towns, taking their music with them and putting on performances for the
locals. Troupes of theatrical actors also took their shows on tour.
Different types of plays were presented for various occasions. There
were religious plays, often produced by the church, as a way to teach
the Bible to the masses. There were pantomimes performed by mummers,
morality plays, mystery plays, and a host of other styles of theater, enrapturing audiences from all over.
play critique bl
The first work of theater criticism in English, the Treatise of Miraclis Pleyinge. Source: British Library
Plays were written down and disseminated; many were available for
different troupes to perform. Of course, playwrights and their skills
were in high regard during the Middle Ages, as were the services of
writers and poets. Storytelling was an essential part of medieval life
and need not have been done by trained actors. Family members
entertained one another by telling tales, made-up or memorized!
5. Fairs and Festivals
gillis-mostaert-village-fair
Village Fair by Gillis Mostaert, 1590. Source: Wikimedia Commons
Medieval fairs were huge socio-cultural events that served as a way to
break the monotony of everyday life and to provide a way for merchants
to sell their wares. Originally beginning as far back as Roman times,
fairs were held by French royalty during the early Middle Ages, and by
the 7th century, they had become a regular event, being held in
churchyards and usually on the feast days of certain saints.
The heyday of Medieval fairs was the 12th and 13th centuries. Traveling merchants made good use of these fairs, which served as a way to
introduce and spread exotic items from far and wide. As such, fairs
attracted people from all classes, from peasants looking to buy a pig to
middle classes interested in procuring wool or linen to nobles fawning
over expensive jewelry.
pieter bruegel the elder childrens games
Children’s Games by Pieter Brueghel the Elder, 1560. Source: Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
Of course, fairs weren’t just about buying and selling. They were also a
way for people to socialize and experience life outside their often
insular state of existence. Fairs also drew their own entertainment,
with minstrels busking for music and troupes of actors putting on
productions to catch the people’s attention.
Festivals were regularly held and were celebrated in the name of famous religious figures or events. Every month, there was a festival with a
different theme, such as spring harvest or veneration of the dead. Many
forms of entertainment were included in these festivals, which were held
across much of medieval Europe.
In June, the Midsummer Eve festival included much fire and celebrated
the tale of Saint George and the Dragon in England. A big pyre was lit
in which bones would be thrown. This practice resulted in the term “bonfire.”
6. Medieval Sports
jousting modern reenactment
Modern jousting re-enactment. Source: Pseudopanax / Public domain, via
World History Encyclopedia
Various sports were played throughout Europe during the Middle Ages.
While children played made-up games as well as ones with established
rules, much like today, adults played sports that were associated with
their status in society.
The noble classes engaged in sports that required a great deal of
preparation and equipment that the lower classes could ill afford.
Martial games such as jousting and armored combat required armor that
cost a fortune and was the preserve of the exceptionally wealthy.
Archery, however, was a sport practiced by all men, especially in
England, where it came to be an important part of English culture. These
sports served an important function in honing skills that would be used
in warfare. They could be the difference between life or death and the kingdom’s safety. Apart from the martial sports, the forerunner of
tennis was popular. This medieval version is known as “real tennis” and
was played with a glove instead of a racquet.
For the less wealthy folk, simpler games involving balls and skittles
were popular. Many of the sports played by the lower classes were
particularly violent. Games similar to rugby or soccer were played.
These games had few rules and could involve entire villages and
utilizing vast tracts of land as the playing field.
Boxing and wrestling were also very popular and were practiced in
various forms throughout the medieval world.
jacob cornelisz van oostsanen the laughin fool
The Laughing Fool by Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen, ca. 1500. Source:
Wikimedia Commons
Unlike today, where we can entertain ourselves in front of the
television or computer screen, the people of medieval Europe had a
generally more social outlook on entertainment.
It helped create and maintain the bonds of family and friendship while
also providing happiness and meaning to life. In a world that could
often be brutal, entertainment in the Middle Ages was a great source of
love and laughter.
Cite this ArticleDouble Quotes
READ NEXT:
What Was a Peasant’s Life in Medieval England Like?
Share
Tweet
Share
Share
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)