Daily life in medieval castles
The daily life in medieval castles depended on what was going on around them.
Feasting and enjoying food was an important part of medieval life, because during a war there wasn't very much to eat. Nobles had to pay for food and wages for his household. These are some foods people liked in the middle ages; bread was the basic food in the Middle Ages, it could be made with barley, rye, and wheat. Wealthy people used thick slices of brown bread as bowls, (called trenchers) to soak up juice and sauce from the food. Flour made for the castle was ground at the lord's mill. Millers produced different kinds of flour, fine, to make white bread for the king or lord, and course, to make brown bread for the servants. Birds like chickens, geese, and ducks were also popular. On special occasions the wealthy ate swan and peacock. Beef and venison were well liked, so was pork. Mustard was a favorite ingredient. Medieval people liked fish and fresh meat that was not salted yet. Meat was salted in huge wooden vats so that the food would not spoil. Salt was expensive but large quantities were bought every year. Most people eat with their fingers; forks were brought in towards the end of the Middle Ages. Many people thought forks were silly, but every one had to behave properly at mealtime. There were many rules on the correct way to eat and where people sat at the table. Before 1100 honey was the only way to sweeten food because spices were expensive because they came from the Far East. Cabbage and leeks could be grown in the castle gardens; herbs were used to season food and make remedies for the ill. During medieval ages the Crusaders brought new foods like raisins, dates, and figs to Europe.
Tournaments were a great occasion, they often went on for several days; they attracted lots of visitors. Some of the activities were jousting, archery competitions, sword fights, and wrestling competitions. The main event was a joust. Two men charged on horse back with wooden lances and tried to knock each other off. Both men wore armor and their horses wore richly embroidered cloth. The lances took a lot of skill, because they were long and heavy.
"Tournaments began in France in about 1050 when several men took part in pretend battles. Since these were dangerous, and men were killed, single combat took it place. The tournament was ideal for men to practice fighting and prove how skilled they were." (Adams, p.22)
The castle always had to be ready for an attack. If the lord of the castle found out there was going to be a battle, he brought more food to the castle in case of a siege. If the battle started and the lord was not at home, the lady organized the army sometimes the lady even led the battle. A siege was an army strategy; the attacking army surrounded the castle to stop supplies from coming to the castle. Usually a siege only lasted a few weeks, but in 143 BC the city of Carthage had a siege that lasted 3 years. The defenders sometimes would throw bread off the walls to show food was still plentiful, they also propped up dummies beside the walls to make it seem like there were more people than there really was. Sieges didn't always work, the attackers lived in tents until the castle surrendered, in the summer the armies could be hit by a disease and sometimes friends of those in the castle would attack the besiegers' camp, then drive them off. Some weapons used were the trebuchet; a catapult, a siege tower; a tall wooden tower, and a mangonel; another type of catapult, both armies shot burning arrows at each other.